Kaseys Korner

Thanksgiving tree

Back-tracking a bit this morning to say how great you all are!  Here I thought I wasted a bulb by "dissecting" it and now (after all your great comments) I'm encouraged that daffodil could possibly survive the severing and bloom another day!  So, the experiment is not officially over, it continues until spring.  (I can hear my Mom groaning now ~ she didn't "get" why I would do such a thing in the first place). :-)

Meanwhile, indoors instead of out, I decorated my first ever Thanksgiving tree and thought you might like to see it. 

 

If you don't mind looking at terrible photos that is.  Sorry for the sun glare ~ any other time of the day, it's too dark in this spot to get a good photo and I hate to use a flash (and I'm feeling too lazy to try again).  The base of the tree is grapevine (I took apart a grapevine wreath and wound it around a post).  The rest is Thanksgiving-themed garland (with all the fake pumpkins and gourds on it), some orange ornaments (used on my Halloween tree), a little gold "ting-ting" and big ribbon bow.  Fun and easy, right?  I also wrapped gold lights around it ~ which makes it really warm and inviting at night.  I was thinking a partridge would fit really well with this theme instead of on your traditional Christmas tree ~ whadda you think?  If I have time, maybe I'll search one out...  Or maybe not.  Who the heck decorates for Thanksgiving anyway?  It seems like anymore we skip straight to Christmas from Halloween. 

In other positively riveting news, there are lots of these starting to push up from the new Amaryllis:

 

which means it won't be long before we have some gorgeous color brightening our lives again.  It's going to be especially nice since we've been cloaked in winter brown for a month already (because of the lashing Mother Nature gave us with that earlier than normal hard freeze & snow).  Now I better get busy hauling the remaining tender tropical containers into the basement (that have been stored temporarily in the garage).  Then I think I'm ready for winter (if that's ever possible)???  I'm relieved to say I got the last of the bulbs in the ground yesterday.  I was beginning to wonder if that would happen this year!  Aren't you so glad you've caught up with the mundane details of my life?!!!! 

Belated Halloween

I woke up to the sound of dripping the morning after Halloween.  That can be a good or bad thing but this time, it was most certainly a wonderful sound ~ it meant the snow had kept melting overnight!  Hooray.  Our grand total was about 20" but it's quickly disappearing now that the sun is back.  Another "hooray" for that.  The streets were even almost clear last night for the trick or treators.  We did not go out but we did have a couple adorable door-greeters to help pass out candy.  The first one was a green-haired witch:

Awwww.  He's so good at his job, I must say.  He never failed to keep an eye out for new arrivals and notify us of their presence.  I can't say he loved the hat but he honestly does like the neck piece.  He's worn it countless days, all day long, and even slept in it!

He gets "treats" for being such a good sport, wouldn't you agree?  Not quite as enthusiastic is our little spider (aka Regis the cat):

It's hard to even tell there's a cat under there, isn't it?  He refuses to lift his head when his costume is on so we never saw eyes.  I think I'm going to have to enlist a little help to get a better photo.  I'll be back to post it (when I get it) because he really is too cute to miss!  Hope you all had a fun Halloween too?  I'm happy to say everything is looking up here ~ the weather forecast and most especially my daughters health.  I think it's the first time I've ever been happy to turn the calendar over to November but this was one October we're glad to see in the rear view mirror!

A Halloween trick

definitely not a treat ~ this one compliments of Mother Nature.  The weathermen (and women) were right ~ drats.  I was hoping they'd be wrong (as often happens) but unfortunately not this time.  It started snowing almost right to the predicted minute and is still snowing as I type.  So far, we have approx 12" on the ground, (maybe more?) and it's not supposed to stop until tonight.  I took a couple pictures of the birdhouse (standing in my doorway) but haven't ventured out yet.  I'm hoping not to until it stops! 

It looks more like winter than fall, doesn't it? 

The pumpkins are toast.  We can forget about winning any carving contests this year unless we go out and purchase new ones.  Maybe we should just tuck away the Halloween decorations and pull out Christmas??!!  No, we won't go that far but I did do what I often do when it snows ~ a little papercrafting!  Usually I make cards but on occasion I'll still scrapbook like I chose to do yesterday.  I don't know what it is about creating a summer layout (on a wintry day) that makes me feel instantly better?  Maybe seeing, touching, and feeling the pictures transports me back to my favorite season?  I don't know.  I selected the swallowtail photos because we hardly saw a butterfly (of any kind) in the garden this summer.  I thought they deserved to be preserved.   The results of my creative time are below but I did want to say (before you take a peek) that I don't usually have to resort to this sort of therapy until much later in the year! I hope it's not a sign of what's ahead...

I don't know why I did this the old fashioned way ~ scanning and stitching the two halves of the layout together instead of photographing the whole page??  I guess you get the idea either way?  Maybe I'll go back and photograph then edit this post??  Sometimes my mind doesn't work right the first time around... FIXED IT!!  Besides the photos, I really love the June calendar card ~ I added the color to it using chalks.  They were one of those supplies I bought then realized the moment I got home they were already "out of date."  The year on the 12 month set was 2008.  arrggg.  I hate when that happens.  Instead of tossing them, I decided to cover the year and use them anyway.  Cute (and true) message on the card too, don't you think?

 

While we're doing close-ups, let's take a better look at the title:

I'm going to have to keep staring at this layout all day instead of looking out the window ~ maybe it will convince me that we're still in "sweet days of summer?" 

a slow comeback

I first want to say thank you to everyone for the well wishes & messages you sent my daughter.  They are so uplifting and comforting to read.  I think it's going to be a slow road back to "normal" but after one week at home I'm feeling more confident that we'll get there.  The biggest thing seems to be exhaustion at this point.  It's been a long time since she's napped twice a day so I hover and get nothing done!  If only I'd had a crystal ball in June, I wouldn't have ordered all those bulbs.  and then there's the garden ~ it's waiting patiently for me to put it to "bed."  It will happen, just at a different pace this year.  Remember that snow photo I showed you two posts ago??  The next morning (same day my daughter was admitted to the hospital) it looked like this outside my kitchen window:

Does that look like a fall scene to you??  Well, maybe ~ because there's still green foliage on the rose bushes BUT not anymore.  We set a new record low that night ~ 16 degrees.  Whew.  Pretty frigid, right?  As you can imagine everything is brown as a result.  So many trees and shrubs never even changed color ~ they went straight to brown (from green).  I've never seen that happen before.  Also, my poor fish ~ I didn't have a chance to "winterize" the pond or get the stock tank heater installed.  All the water plants froze which makes me wonder if they'll come back next year or not??

I did manage to get outside last week long enough to trim back the foliage and sink the pots to the bottom of the pond.  (I'm trying to be optimistic that they'll pull thru the freeze because they were expensive!)  I also cleaned out the water hyacinths and decaying oak leaves.  The heater still needs to be connected and I need to construct a screen to keep out the remaining oak leaves.  Another reason I needed that crystal ball I guess ~ maybe this wasn't the year to learn about ponds??  If I weren't so distracted, I know I'd be putting more effort into figuring out what I really need to do to keep the pond going over the winter.  Oh well.  That's a curve ball of life, isn't it?  I was also worried that I was holding up the "Gardening by Letter" project I signed up for ~ organized by Anna (flowergardengirl blog).  Our cards are usually due to her by the 20th of each month.  I missed that date but had fun making up for it one cold afternoon.  I thought you might like to see the results (hopefully that's okay to share?):

You probably remember the fall wheelbarrow arrangement??  Good thing I took pictures right after I fixed it because the only spot of color left now is the pumpkin (which is a bit mushy).  Here are a few close-ups of the card just for fun:

and one more with the cute butterfly button:

 

Some of the supplies are older (like the button) but it's fun to pull them out and breathe new life in them.  I enjoyed myself so much that day that I even created a special packet for the hollyhock seeds I'm sending along with the card:

I hope Ann likes the color pink?!

I know it did me good to get my mind off the serious situation my daughter has endured.  I also hope your fall garden has a lot more color in it then mine?  It was an abrupt end to the season for us.  Darn it.  In some ways it doesn't surprise me since we've had a strange weather year all the way around ~  why stop now, right?!!!  Here's hoping next season will be a little more "normal."

fall makeover

Poor vintage wheelbarrow.  It's glory days of summer are over.  I knew the time was coming (although no matter when it happened, it would be too soon for me).  Let's look backwards (one more time) so we can "ooh" and "aah" over it in its "prime:"

Wasn't that just beautiful?  It hurts my heart (slight over-exaggeration) just looking at it.

But seriously, it was very sad when I looked out the window yesterday morning to see this:

Boo hoo.  There was no way I could leave it looking like that.  Too, too hard to see.  Replacements were sought:

and replanting began:

Wait, wait, wait.  Something was wrong.  The new arrangement was not coming together to my liking.  It took some standing back, a few "walk-arounds," and an hours rest until I figured out what the problem was ~  the small mums were not to scale.  Very important, scale.  Let's try again and let's also move it around to the front flagstone patio where it can show off properly:

Aaahhhh, SO much better.  Now I don't feel quite so bad about losing my summer plantings.   The sting of dead zinnias has been soothed.  We have moved forward into the season. 

Let's hope we can enjoy it for a while without winter creeping into the picture too early....

some decisions are just good

I know you know what I mean.  One of those good decisions in my garden is electing to put an arbor over my side gate ~  remember I did that this spring?  Even tho the Sweet Autumn Clematis and Akebia vines never really took off (planted on either side of the arbor) look what a showcase it's turned out to be for fall:

We're having a Halloween party (for my daughters friends)in the back garden and this will be the perfect entrance.  btw, those pretty purple flowers protruding into the left side of the photo are Tibouchina blooms! Nice that they are still flowering, huh?  Here's a closer view of the cute little jack o'lantern lights dangling from the top of the arbor:

What Halloween/Fall scene would be complete without a black cat?  None at our house (or that I know of)!  Although this black cat is only outside when I am there to watch him:

Hello sweet boy!  I think he approves!  Now you know why I haven't been blogging ~ I'm still decorating.  :-) 

fun fall project

If you're like me, you'll want to fire up your drills when you see this project.  I wish I could say it was my original idea but it came from the pages of last years (2008) Southern Living special issue called "Fall Decorating."  I found the issue too late in the season (last fall) so I saved the idea to re-create this year.  I'm so glad I did.  I love the results and my neighbors are asking if I'll make them one too so I think it's a hit.  Southern Living used real pumpkins for their project but I wanted mine to last a lot longer so I bought 3 fake ones in various sizes ~ that way I can use the project next year too.  The plastic pumpkins were very easy to drill ~ I used two different sized drill bits (this is what I was working on last week when the weather had me in such a bad mood).  You also need to cut the tops out of the two bottom pumpkins & the bottoms out of the two top pumpkins.  Clear as mud?  Good.  Now here's a look at the finished results (all duded up) during the day:  (I still plan to add a few more real pumpkins around the base)

The pumpkins were stacked together after a 100 count string of white lights was spread evenly throughout all three (which is why you need to cut the tops & bottoms).  I pulled a bit of the light string out of the bottom pumpkin to weave around the grapevine at the base of the urn but you could also just add another string of lights instead.  Isn't that the best project ever?  As gardeners, you most likely already have any number of containers handy that you could use as a base.  Or you could also use a pedestal instead of a container, just a thought....  Want to see the night-time effect?  I thought so. 

oops.  Looks like I had my camera turned at an angle.  I didn't realize that when I snapped the picture.  It really isn't crooked as you can see in the daylight photo!   I'm thinking I'll leave this up right thru October because it would be nice for Thanksgiving as well, don't you think??

Edited to add:  That crooked photo was really bugging me so I just went out and took another one.  Here it is not leaning!!

I'm happy now!  :-)

Bur Oak Acorns

Yes, I know I'm a little "out of season" here but I feel like shouting ~ I've found an old acorn cap.  So yes, Virginia Gail, there is are a Santa Claus acorns on my Bur Oak afterall.  Maybe I should back up.  Last fall, Gail showed some beautiful acorns she had collected from the Bur Oak in her garden.  They were gorgeous, giant, furry specimens and it perplexed me even more as to why I haven't had any on mine.  It was planted about 12 years ago and my only theory was it had to be a certain size/age to produce them??  Anyway, yesterday, during another one of our (frequent this year) severe storms, which produced wind gusts up to 80 mph, look what blew down:

 

It's an old acorn cap!  That means there must have been at least a few acorns last year that I wasn't aware of.  Maybe this year will be the year for the first real crop??  Here's what they look like on the tree so far:

 

Something seems different about them but I don't know what??  I'm hoping it's a difference that means they will develop into full blown acorns.  In previous years, they get about this big, then turn brown and dry up:

Certainly these are not the beautiful acorns I know they have the potential to be.  All of the sudden, I'm excited for fall.  I am crossing my fingers/toes and everything in-between that my Oak tree will bear fruit this year. 

PS  I know this isn't as exciting for most of you as it is for me.  I hope you'll humor me for posting about it ~ I've been waiting a long time for this to happen! 

a home & a pledge

Since Memorial Day is officially supposed to kick off summer, it makes sense the garden is finally ramping up for an explosion of blooms.  I am SO ready.  This is the moment I wait for from the time I put the garden to bed in fall.  My pledge for this garden season is to more fully enjoy the never ending parade of flowers as they wax and wane thru their respective cycles.  I want to sit in my neon lime green chairs more and indulge myself in the beauty that surrounds me.  Wish me luck.  I'm one of those people who have a hard time relaxing.  I started this AM tho, despite the lingering cool temperatures and a consistent breeze.  I took my coffee (and my camera) out on the patio and just absorbed the spring garden before me.  I am happy with the vision that greeted me, so I thought I would share a little with you.  Look at this photo and tell me it's going to be simply glorious in a couple days time:

 

There in the very foreground are the Mediterreanean Bells (Allium nectaroscordum siculum), behind them (just beginning to bloom thru the obelisk) is Clematis Integrefolia (one of my favorite clematis), followed by a blue iris (name unknown), salmon poppy & finally, in the very background, the buds of peony 'Karl Rosenfield.'  Here's a macro of one dainty Clematis Integrefolia "bell:"

 

I tend to favor clematis with these bell shaped flowers, I'm not sure why.  It's what made me purchase 'texensis' too (which is no where near ready to bloom).  Integrefolia is great in a garden bed because it will scramble in & amongst other blooms if you prefer a more casual, cottagey style.  I lean toward a more "controlled" look so I usually surround it with an obelisk when it first emerges.  The blue iris (that I can't remember the name of) behind Integrefolia is one of my favorites.  I think I like iris when they are in bud form as well as fully flowered:

 

Maybe the anticipation of the bloom is almost more exciting than the bloom itself??  I don't know.  I just know I like the ruffly buds.  Oh, look what else I photographed for you ~ the dragonfly sundial I won on Anna's blog!  It's found a permanent home atop a boulder in the front bed ~ doesn't it look nice??

 

I think it's the perfect spot and the Jupiter's Beard (Centranthus Rubra) shows it off well.  Here's another angle:

 

I still have yet to set the time.  But now that it's found a home, I will make that more of a priority.  Wasn't that a lovely way to start the day?  Oh, one last thing, four little house finches left the nest early this AM, on the 17th day after hatching.  I regret I never took an updated photo.  I'm also already missing the sweet cheeping sound of them near the door.  It seems so quiet with them gone.  I'm happy they all made it to that stage tho and hopefully I'll see them around the yard. 

I was May Day'd!!!

and I'm a little embarrassed about my reaction.  My daughter and I were sitting on our sofa yesterday after school (talking about her day) when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement by my front door.  The door itself was shut because it was cold & rainy but I could see two young(ish) kids sneaking up the steps thru the side glass panel.  I started to get up when they rang the doorbell and ran!  Instead of going to the front door, I looked out another window and saw a white car waiting for them.  They hopped in and the car sped off.  My first thought was "it's pretty sad that parents are accomplices in kids pranks today."  Is that cynical or what?  It never dawned on me they were May Daying us and that's why I'm embarrassed.  There's a lesson in that, isn't there?  Later on, I discovered this adorable yellow paper cone with a stapled green paper handle, dangling from my front door:

 

The inside of the cone was full of popcorn, animal crackers, one wilted grape hyacinth & this lovely daffodil!  I have no idea who the kids were (I didn't recognize the car either) but whoever you are, thank you!  What a nice, refreshing gesture and I'm sorry for thinking the worst right off the bat.  I've May Day'd people myself (last year even) but it's never happened to me.  You taught me something and delighted me at the same time.  I needed that!!