For a Good Cause

Browsing blogs, I came across Farmgirl's post (scroll down) about The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado and its dire financial situation...why not give them a few dollars, if you can?

[toddlin' off to get my credit card and realizing I don't need to go get yet another piece of decorative nonsense from the discount store tonight...more important business needs tendin' to]

Extreme Dislike

Trying, for some reason that probably has to do with far too many lectures from my mother havin' to do with gentility, ancestral pride and Not Being White Trash (all backed up by a resounding threat involving both all-girl parochial high school and house restriction until I was 25), to be nice and not completely hate August with unbridled passion...like I do...I wandered outside for about 10 minutes this afternoon, searching for a reason...any reason...to like August...just a little...

Well, ask (as you stroll in a casual barefoot haven't brushed your teeth since breakfast since no one but the dogs and cats are home anyway mode out to your yard....that's right...right now, it's a yard...not a garden) and ye shall search harder to avoid disappointment and feelin' like a great big jackass...

2 Reasons to Not Hate August...as much



Purple fountain grass is magnificent in August...even in Georgia...which is slighter cooler than, perhaps, the 7th level...maybe...


The Black-Eyed-Susans completely ignore the heat...and humidity...God bless them...I should muster some of that grace as I mungle through August...

And, as an added bonus (see? be nice and you get a little karmic payback), I got to see our first bunny...well, not ours...I scared him (her?) out of the ditch next to our mailbox across the road when I went to get the mail...which I decided to do since I was outside, sweating and baking anyway...



Unfortunately, I still hate August...I love the grasses, the black-eyed-susans and that bunny with the evil eye...but I still hate August...even more than I do July...less than a Thanksgiving Day with temperatures in the upper 80s, making it impossible...ever...to wear a sweater with a pumpkin or a turkey or leaves on it to the Thanksgiving Table...unless you ask your host to crank the a/c down to about 55*F "and leave it there, please"...

Ah, winter holidays in the South...although I guess Thanksgiving might be officially considered a Fall Holiday...but it is August and I'm really not in the mood to argue about it...

I expect Southern Kids have all experienced getting armloads of wool sweaters and corduroy pants and outercoats of all stripe for Christmas...and then it is too hot to even wear any of your new clothes out...heartbreaking...especially when you receive the prettiest blue velvet blazer (hey...it was the 80s) ever made for Christmas...and you decide you will, GAYW, wear it to the Starcastle Arcade that day or you will pass out tryin'...even blasting the car's air conditioning all the way there doesn't keep a fine shine from breaking out on your face...because you're also wearing your brand new heavy jeans, a long sleeved shirt and about a pound of hairspray to keep those Fawcett wings from droopin' in the ever-present humidity...

Live and learn...now I pick out a special pair of shorts and buy a new t-shirt to wear to Thanksgiving dinner at the in-laws...my hair is cropped short (why, you're welcome, Mr. Ozone Layer)...and I buy all my Christmas gifts of clothing during the summertime...on clearance...

Baby Gourd Impedes Master Plan

This morning, have worked up my resolve, I went onto out of doors to *remove* the gourd vine that has taken over one whole side of our back deck and a pretty dern good piece of the chain link fence by the deck as well...

Mr G is all set to pressure-wash the deck Labor Day weekend and then do some much needed painting out there...

This gourd vine has been growing...and growing...for months...plenty of blooms, but not one single gourd has shown up...

Until now...

And, although in the way of things, this 4-inch long baby gourd that will probably be eaten by one of the dogs or visiting wildlife before it can mature has kept me from ripping the vine off the deck in hopes that we can claim having grown at least one gourd out of all the vines we planted...

Mr G really did get quite the look of hopefulness when I told him we have a baby gourd...

I almost felt mean letting him know, gently of course, the the rest of the deck could still be pressure-washed and painted...almost...

You Are a Black and White Cookie

You're often conflicted in life, and you feel pulled in two opposite directions.When you're good, you're sweet as sugar. And when you're bad, you're wicked!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Fried and Spray Painted Gold

Okay, David C. Barnette's book makes no assertions about any form of gardening so I'm a little off my normal range of topic here...but I laughed off and on as I read through the book and just have to help spread the word about this little gem of a book...if you're Southern, you'll have no problem recognizing the truths behind the humor...and that is why the humor works...



There is at least one person on my Christmas Gift List who'll be getting a copy this year...because while I'm a Recovering-Five-Tree-Christmas-Freak, I ain't got nothin' on this gal...

Extreme UCT-Ness

I feel as if I should be sayin' "What's up, doc?" while feigning interest in actually eating a raw carrot[shudder]...

doesn't this look like a Looney Tunes cannon?
(just agree with me, easier that way)

What this is, in fact, is the UCT-9...our (my) new tumbling compost bin...I've wanted a tumbler for years, but never could convince myself to spend the money when our previous 2 compost bins were made of, first, scavenged pallets and, second, leftover bricks scavenged from beneath our old house...

But, as a special treat, we splurged & ordered this little baby...UCTie just looks like Business, doesn't he? sittin' there all solemn and stern...ready to get down to making Garden Gold...

I even dreamed about compost last night...in my dream, after only just putting in a few scraps from my kitchen, I turned the UCT over and pouring out came a darlin' little pile of beautiful black compost...sigh...a happy dream...

However, as I am blithely ignoring the manufacturer's instructions about how to create compost in the shortest time frame, I feel sure my just Toss Stuff In As It Comes Available approach will take a tad longer than I would want...

Perhaps I need another UCT to optimize my conversion time...I can see this becoming an obsession far too quickly...

Your Linguistic Profile:

40% Dixie

30% General American English

25% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I can't resist taking these little tests when I come across them...

but 25% Yankee...where did that come from? oh well... I do find Yankee accents cute :)

General Garden Notes

The weather is finally giving us a brief respite from near 100*F temps and killer heat indices...I think tomorrow's high is forecasted to be in the high 80s...

Good heavens...

Of course, the heat returns to the upper 90s by the end of the week, but I'll take a cool spot where I can get one because...

My poor garden needs a break...I gave up and ripped out the coleus this afternoon...I cut them back by about 8 inches last week, but the poor darlings just couldn't take any more of the brutal heat even with my dragging a watering can out there most every day...

Kind of ticks me off because I do enjoy my coleus...

I've got dianthus dying, rosemary dying (can you even begin to imagine?) and my hanging baskets...well...they're just sad sad sad...the cucumbers plants have given up the ghost & frankly, I'm glad...I can't recall what variety I planted, but these were the largest cucumbers I have ever seen in my life...and I don't really like cucumbers...I planned on canning them using a recipe from a friend's mama who makes the most di-vine pickles...until I learned one is not supposed to can on electric glass-topped stoves...in a way, I'm glad...I never have to grow cucumbers again...

The most successful thing in our garden so far this year (excluding the rampant wisteria that just laughs out loud when it sees one of us coming towards its entrenched bunker within the azaleas) has to be our gourd vine that is actually climbing along our brick walls, along the deck railing, and along the chain link fence...nary a gourd yet, but lots of blooms and lots of beautiful green vine...

I tossed around the idea of doing a cool-weather planting for the vegetable garden, but 1) I'm thinkin' that might be only 2 weeks in February so why bother? and 2) I am pretty sure I'm going to sweet talk Mr G into moving the veggie garden to a spot that gets some shade! A full day of hot Georgia sun is just too much for most vegetables, I don't care what the seed packet says...

I picked the current veggie spot this past winter, before having spent a summer watching the sun and shadows...I know better, but couldn't wait to do something with this barren piece of land we've bought...so my poor vegetables paid for my impatience...I've felt a pang of regret each time I stared into the garden trying to see if my plants would manage to hang on for just a little while longer...

At some point, I will be okay with not having to re-learn these same gardening/life lessons over...and over...again...

Tomorrow: Pictures of my beloved UCT-9!