Baby Acer - Foliage Close-up 4, Day 4 from planting, 25.9.12

Spent part of my day Friday at the court house with my attorney going over "fair and equitable distribution of marital assets". Let me tell you something...there is no such thing as FAIR and EQUITABLE distribution of anything marital. However, he accepted my counter proposal with one change and without having to pay a mediator $125/hr, billed in quarterly increments, we shook hands and walked out. It's over and done. I can now officially end this chapter on the last 24 years of my life. Saturday was spent packing and moving, packing and moving, packing and moving. I've packed and moved so much stuff but it doesn't seem like I've put a dent in anything. By 8 pm I was bewildered so I put on my pj's, grabbed a pint of Ben and Jerry's and called a friend. Sunday was more of the same with a slight twist. Instead of packing and moving repeatedly, I sorted (for upcoming yard sale), packed, moved and unpacked. I was running low on box tape so I figured what the heck, the stuff would have to be unpacked sooner or later, right? Might as well do it now, haul the boxes back and repack them. By 5 pm, my shoulders hurt to the point they felt like they were on fire. Somewhere amongst the moving and the time change, my computer decided to give my new anti virus program the boot and I'm now able to log back in here. Have had problems for over a month and no matter what I did, I couldn't get in. Of course, now I'm peeved that I spent $65 on new software for nothing. Oh well... My new house is sweet. It's the ugliest house on the block (painted an awful shade of pea green) and it sits backwards on the lot...driveway is on the left side, entrance is on the right side and NO walkway between the two. LOL! I love it! The yard is a mess but it's lined with amazing camillia's, gardenia's, and dogwoods. It's a Craftsman house, built in 1949, with gleeming hardwood floors and a completely finished attic where DS can reign supreme. It's small and cozy, so I have to purge all but what I cannot live without, but it feels so right. After umpteen million trips inside, I finally noticed a small brass placard on the front door that reads "Peace to all who enter here". That's exactly how I feel when I enter! I couldn't believe that I had missed reading that so many times, am I that blind? It's firmly nailed into the door so it didn't just appear. It was a bit overwhelming and, being the sap that I am, it made me cry. But, they were tears of happiness, not sadness. And there you have it, the start of the next chapter in my life. Oh...and I do kinda sorta remember Halloween being in there somewhere.... Maryanne

I have a lily explosion, and no husband on the weekend (he's going backpacking with a friend, I don't have the heart to try to get him not to go) to drive the truck to market in addition to my van, so it looks like I'll have to make two trips to market. That means getting up at 3:30 in the morning on Saturday. Maybe I just won't even bother going to bed Friday night. I'm sure enjoying the explosion, though. Most of my Asiatics and Asiatic-and-whatever-hybrids bed is blooming. Two different yellows (one of them is the HUGE Golden Tycoon), two different reds, a pink, a white, a bright orange, and the two-tone Centerfold, about 50 of each color, plus some of the Orientals in the greenhouse, predominantly Chambertin and Dizzy, are all going off at once. Steve, can I borrow your sister-in-law? I could provide a good ten hours of therapy for her, and some Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Patty, I don't grow Jade any more either. Just too small and the color isn't all that great. Ditto Peach Passion. But I love Lemon Aura - it's one of my standbys. Maybe it likes this climate. Isn't Bashful cute? Fast, too! I'm growing it for the first time this year and will grow it again next year. It is as fast as Peach ProCut here, and faster than the lemon and orange ProCuts. I like the Peach ProCut also; this is my first year for that, and I'm impressed by size, color, and speed. I'd better get busy washing buckets, or I'll run out of time for harvesting and arranging tomorrow. It's going to take awhile to wash enough buckets for all those lilies! Jeanne

Well, We got, by the rain gauge, 1 .80 inches Tuesday night--but according to a previously empty bucket in the yard, it was closer to 5 inches--then another heavy rain last night. Can't measure anymore, I took the rain gauge down. For some reason, small Bumble Bees pack into it-and die!! I'd empty it each day, but every time, I'd have 5-20 bees in it. Wonder if its because it was mounted on one of my raised garden beds. Anyhow, I dont want to loose that many bees if I can help it. I do like Bumble Bees! I'm taking Cucumbers and Eggs to our local Munch program after a bit-That way I can only hope the ones that get them are grateful, and not see the attitude I sometimes see. It does upset me to have a person say "they'll take something off my hands" if I have too many. My beautiful Heirloom tomatoes? I dont think so! Cucumbers are really producing this year, Tomatoes are slow ripening, and dont have the flavor I expect, I think because we arent getting hot weather. I understand the Brown Recluse is very deadly too, it's the one that all older farmhouses used to have, and we just existed with them. I think everything has had a attitude change in the years passing. From people to animals. With one exception!!! My resident family of Groundhogs! The graze yard, paths in the garden, etc--and have never touched the garden. I watched one yesterday, grazing around like a cow. Well, enough rambling.