Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Weed Identification

Ugh - this creeping weed is creeping itself all over the place! It is mainly in the front lawn and it is growing in bald spots as well as very nicely in the lawn itself.

What the heck is it?!?! At first I thought creeping charlie, but that has scalloped leaves. So that isn't it. It is easy enough to pull up so the roots are very deep but it is very, very annoying. I even found a little sprout in my vegetable garden and I rarely get weeds in there because I am so diligent in picking them once, if ever, they do pop up.
Apparently whatever it is it is oblivious to the corn gluten. It has no problem growing wherever it wants. Granted the purple flowers are cute and I may even admit pretty, but I don't want it in my yard!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The War Is On!!!

I have completely had it with the squirrels. I transplanted my lettuce out in the window boxes on my back porch and covered them with bird netting. All was good, then the lettuce started to pick up and I needed to raise the netting. I used wire hangers, bent them in a U shape and inserted them upside down to support the netting and to allow the lettuce to grow. For the past three days I keep finding massive holes in the boxes!!! I wouldn't be so mad if they took the lettuce with them, but Noooooo, them just dig and then leave a half wilted lettuce plant around in the box! I cannot find how they are getting in. The netting is tucked in on all sides, there are no holes and I also placed chicken wire - spoke side up in the window empty adjacent boxes. I am getting really, really pissed. Today they got into my German Thyme. I can't stand it anymore.
I have tried the "Squirrel Be Gone" deterrent and that so doesn't work. I have a packet tied to the Shepherd Hook were I hang suet and there the squirrel was, waltzing around the pack and noshing on the suet.
I think this is a job for some Thai Hot Pepper spray.
Round 1 goes to the squirrels.
The next round is mine.

Friday, May 13, 2011

A Sad Spring Day

So this morning the city came and chopped down the very large, very old and very rotten oak tree across the street. I am pretty sure there were Downy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker families that just lost their homes. I am hoping that they hadn't already laid their eggs.
Tuesday morning a giant limb came crashing down at about 8am and went clear across the street, across the top of a parked car and right up to the front stairs of the house across the street. Thankfully no one was hurt. That is the time of day that all the kids are walking to school and commuters are heading to catch the bus so everyone truly was lucky. The city posted signs on Thursday about its removal and they were here by 7:30 today so I never got a chance to call City Hall to ask if they could wait till the breeding season was over. Not that they would have listened to me but it would have made me feel better that I at least tried. Human safety trumps non-endangered birds any day, but still it doesn't seem fair. I kind of feel that it is now like a game of musical chairs. All the good trees/homes have been taken and these birds now have nowhere to go and probably won't produce a brood this year.
I think I will add more suet cakes to the yard to make up for the lost homes. Again, the birds won't get the gesture but I will know that I am doing what I can for them.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Tulip Color and Soil Makeup

I know that acid level in the soil can affect the color of hydrangeas but is that true for tulips as well?

These tulips were a bright, "Hello Kitty" pink last year. I naven't planted any new bulbs out back and this is what they look like this year.
That pink tulip also has three buds on one plant. Unheard of in this yard!

I am not a huge fan of red tulips because, well, they are everywhere. So I know I wouldn't have planted this.
I could blame the squirrels for digging it up from somewhere else but they are not helpful little critters that replant. Unless it is the oak growing acorns that they love to bury and forget about.
A Google search is on the list of things to do to find out about this.