Nancy, I use the wrap around tags on my tomatoes and peppers last year. The squirrels thought they were great fun.

Oh, Rebecca, of COURSE they did. You know, I am not in favor of killing anything. But I recognized the squirrell imbalance here, for whatever reason, was not acceptable. Our area has been squirrell heaven, and deer heaven. None of our neighbors have gardens. We are surrounded by federal or state lands where the deer and squirrels have carte blanche. And yet to these critters, this is Nirvana. Well, enter at your own risk, you opportunistic beings. Titan hasn't been a cure-all with the deer, but he has been close to it. The only effective treatment for the squirrells has been the shotgun. I walk a fine line between loving every creature and insisting on some form of distance and self-preservation. I'm not out to take all their food and land. I am willing to share. But I am not willing to provide a living for just them. They could have a bit. But NOOOO, they want it all. That's when their lives end. This isn't the solution I'd prefer, but it's a solution. You stay across the road, you're safe. You come here, you're dead. Boundaries. And then of course, we have the fenced in raised beds, and haven't seen any criminal activity in there yet. I have NO patience for squirrels. I know you're in a really difficult situation, and I hate it for ya!!

This one was Seeds: The Untold Story (although it actually isn't untold.) It's basically about genetic engineering, Monsanto and the rest of the conglomerates. It's done in a very sort of dissident artsy way. It makes a powerful argument. But though I am in that camp, I think the FACTS need to be explained for a layman's understanding, and didn't appreciate the "emotion" and "passion." If a regular non-gardening, non-farming person watched the movie, I suspect they'd think. . . "Oh, these are the environmental freaks throwing a fit about nothing." This is a very complicated issue--not just about seeds, but about our earth. Our native plants and why they matter, our invasive plants and why they matter, our pollinators. In short: Can humans really improve nature/God, or perhaps are we getting too smart for our britches. There are no short cuts for our answers, despite Twitter and short attention spans.

Thank y'all for the kind words about Jet. He has always been Tim's dog more than mine. Don't get me wrong. He is by my side all day every day no matter what I'm doing, but when "daddy" comes home from work, Jet forgets I exist and follows Tim everywhere. On weekends, he is Tim's dog all the way. Then on Monday, after Tim leaves for work, he's my dog again....until Tim gets home. Despite the fact that I am No. 2 in Jet's heart, I am quite attached to him and dread the inevitable ending. He is fiercely protective of me, though, and sometimes he puts himself between me and Tim or me and Chris and growls at them to make them stay away. I have no idea why he does that, but it makes me laugh. They are less amused than I am. Anyhow, we will plow onward and make the best of whatever time he has left. I wish that there were dogs (and cats) that lived as long as we humans do because one thing we know with our pets is that we likely will outlive them, and it is painful to lose beloved pets over and over again over the many decades of our lives. He is the last dog remaining here that was born here and that we have raised from birth, so there's that as well. Our other three dogs are rescues that were half-grown puppies when they came to live with us (which doesn't mean I am any less attached to them).

Nancy, When you put your plants in the ground, tag them two times or even three times. Generally I stick a tag, made from a miniblind slat and written on by an Industrial strength Sharpie (available at Home Depot or Lowe's), completely in the soil and totally bury it beneath the soil, usually close to the plant stake or cage stake so I can find it again. This is the tag least likely to disappear over time. Then, I put a tag on either the cage or the stake, and another one in the ground but sticking up out of the ground instead of being completely buried. I also make a map on graph paper as I plant, labeling each plant on the map. That map is as close as I get to journaling anything any more. This helps me remember which plant is which if all the plant tags disappear AND if the map doesn't disappear and lose itself. Usually, once the plants start ripening fruit, I will know which variety is which just by the appearance and/or the flavor of the fruit, but that's only because I've grown some of these for so long---fruit size and shape does help distinguish one variety from another as long as you aren't growing too many varieties that strongly resemble one another in appearance.

Dawn

10-4 on the multiple tags, Dawn! :)

For "wraparound tags", last year i cut styrofoam cups into rings & slid them over the plant stem when they were little. Even after the ink wore off, I could still read the intention.

And squirrels are nothing more than rats with fluffy tails.

I don't know HOW I missed the Trump chia head! Hysterical! Also agree with the one black-eyed pea and alcohol approach, Jack.

I will have to go back and reread posts to catch up but I got home safe and sound. But my Sophie got hurt while I was gone. The msg that I got was she's fine just bruised and had gone missing after jumping or falling out of the pickup !?

Well I am taking her to vet her hip seems completely dislocated or broken and she is in pain. I am sick about this why did I trust them.

Dawn - I'm sorry to here about Jet's illness. I'm Hoping that the meds and diet give you many, many more days of his companionship. We are contemplating going to the shelter to get another dog and possibly a cat as well, but we will wait until the weather warms up. We only have two chickens at the moment unless they froze in the last few days. There is a little 'neighborhood' dog named Max that visits us from time to time. His so called owner neglects him so we and several other's in the neighborhood kind of take care of him and take him in during bad weather.

Nancy - I don't have any updated pictures of chia Trump to post. His hair doesn't seem to be growing very fast. He also seems to be leaking or maybe the water is weeping out of the terracotta. Maybe I should get him some Depends!!!

Kim - I hope the vet is able to fix up Sophie asap. And welcome home!

Kim, I'm glad you made it home safe and sound, and sorry about Sophie. I hope the vet can help her. We went through a big ordeal where Biscuit ran in front of a truck and got run over long, long ago (our sweet neighbor all but ran off the road trying to avoid him), and miraculously he suffered no broken bones (we had expected a broken hip or pelvis), just lots of bruising and pain. The vet gave us some sort of medication for him (may have been for pain, I no longer remember) but what helped him most was a steroid shot. He healed completely, but was in a lot of pain for a couple of weeks. He never was allowed to run around the yard off-leash after that because I wasn't sure if he'd learned to stay away from the road even after that.

Jack, Poor Chia head.. Did the chia head instructions recommend Depends? This is too funny, and it doesn't really matter if he is weeping or leaking, it still is funny.

We have had some dogs like that in our neighborhood as well, and also some cats. People out here take in as many as they can, but there's limits, and the other issue is that as long as folks from town drive out into the country to dump unwanted pets, there's always going to be far too many strays wandering and searching for a home out here.

We are at 31 degrees here at our house and about to go above freezing for the first time in several days. Friday? Saturday? I don't remember. Well, if any pipes froze, we'll known soon enough........yesterday they had a lot of trouble with water mains rupturing in Ardmore, one county north of us, and it did not make a lot of sense to me. The water mains should have been buried beneath the freeze line up there, and the air temperatures still were in the low to mid 20s. Usually, both here and in Fort Worth when we lived there, the pipes didn't rupture until temperatures made it back up above freezing. Our pipes usually don't freeze here, but we got fairly cold---9 degrees on our coldest morning. I wouldn't expect pipes to freeze, but they sure were bursting in Ardmore yesterday so I think we have to expect the unexpected. It looks like we'll have a good week or two of warmer temperatures before the next big blast of cold makes it this far south. So, typical winter lately in that regard.

Dawn

Sophie will have surgery in the morning. It is definitely broken. She also may lose the puppies. When I went to get her yesterday I told her well your winter coat sure did get huge these last 2 weeks girl. Apparently she got pregnant before I figured out she was in heat because she due within 2 weeks. Ryder was so excited to see her. He petted her head that whole way to Childress. He would not leave her side and wanted to spend the night with her so she wouldn't be too lonely. Poor babies. He said I sure have a lot of hearts for her.

Oh dear, Kim. I was so hoping it wasn't. I know you she did not need this, nor did YOU. And bless Ryder's heart. Thinking of you!

Kim, I was hoping it wasn't broken and am sorry she may lose the puppies. Wow. She hid that pregnancy well. I hope the surgery goes well.

It is so sweet that Ryder loves her so much. He has such a kind, loving heart.

Did everyone warm up today? Our forecast high was 42 and we went to 48, with full sunshine all day, and it felt and looked so good. I hope tomorrow is as nice.

Then, 5 gardening catalogs came in the mail, so it was a really good day here.

Dawn

I'd been waiting for Select Seeds catalog since I loved last year's so much. Was all nervous that I might not get one so went online this morning and ordered it. And then it came in the mail this afternoon. And two others--and two others yesterday. I'll have a bunch more to send to SIL, soon, I suppose. Did you get Ryder calmed down. Kim? I suppose he'll be worrying about Sophie all night (and you probably will be, too. I would be, too.) I so hope the leg will heal properly!

One of our grandsons (from Tulsa) brought his new girlfriend down this evening to meet us. She's a cutie--and I like this young man very very much, so hope the best for him. Fun visit. AND Tom and Jerry got flea collars today. Not really because of fleas, but so that it'll be super easy to tell them apart. A blue collar and an orange one. Tom is more than a little annoyed. Jerry doesn't even seem to notice his. In fact I need to cut the tail off Tom's and it may be a while before he'll let me do that. I am not his favorite person at the moment. I slipped it over his head and tightened it before he knew what was happening, but once he figured it out, he took off. It wouldn't be bothering him if I could get it cut off. Bummer. Ah. He just let me pet him. . . this won't take too long.

Don't we live an exciting life! :)

I need a chia pet to keep me entertained, Jack. Exactly. What else is there to do, cooped up. Well, I guess I could clean house. Nah. I fell like a petulant 6-yr old sitting inside watching it rain outside.

Aha! Just got it cut off and now he's good to go! They look very handsome in their orange/blue collars.

Jack, yes, I think you need to go to the shelter straightaway to get a dog AND a cat. You NEED these guys while it's winter and all you have to do is grow chia pets/heads.

Kim, I wish I had a Ryder nearby. He reminds me so much of Evyn at that age. She was my little buddy--and she touches me by the memories she has of those precious bonding years between 3-10. It was a golden partnership, timed just right. I adore my grandchildren and love all my new grandchildren, children, and even great grandchildren. But for that one little person, the timing was exactly right. She was my Ryder.

Dawn, I think we got up to 36 today--GDW and I ran to town this afternoon to run a few errands--first time in 7 days. We didn't even go to church NYs Eve. So many folks have the flu near us; plus it was very cold. Two of our church acquaintances were hospitalized with the flu last week. I told Garry the night before maybe we should think twice. Folks are so huggy in church, and no one thinks about it. I HATE getting older and thinking about these kinds of things. But I'm remembering last year when one of our daughters came to see us with some of the other kids, she had a horrible cold, and yet none of us thought a thing about the hugs. . . until we were sick a few days later. Now, I prefer to avoid the flu or colds if they're smack in front of us. Makes me mad that I care now. I didn't care 10 years ago, and certainly never before that. Now it's not so much that I WORRY, I just flat don't like being sick! Still. Means I'm old. Only old people think about that.

Dawn--ordered mini-blinds today, on sale for a ridiculous price. Love Amazon/hate Amazon. But mostly love. If I have to buy from a mega-corporation, Amazon is it. I've been a fan of theirs from WAAAYYYYY back when.

Tsunami

My mom is in the hospital with the flu. I feel terrible because my mom cries wolf so much i did not believe she was sick. Just attention seeking.

Yeah, I'd say it's a tsunami. Are you good at crisis-mode action? I sure hope so. I myself happen to perform best then. And I pray my strength is yours, too, or if not, can be laser-beamed to you. You got this, Kim. Strength beaming through.

hahaha. . . and you know what? So many of us think we have to save everyone and be there for everyone. And we rush from here to there to do our duty and life either goes on or doesn't, regardless. Once in a while we may be of some help. I guess that's why we keep on.

True Nancy. I haven't tried saving mode. Grief, mourning, praying yes but rescuing saving not really. Still there's an intense amount of pressure stress related to many of life's incidences. My whole family got into what I call a p*****n match over what to do about mom. She is really not talking good care of herself Even when perfectly healthy. She can not clean up after herself. Three of us thinks she is ready for the home 2 think no way. I talk to my mother every single day. Two of the other call her once a week one of them calls monthly and one calls quarterly. I am going to suggest before they make a judgement they talk to her every day and go stay with her 1 week. Get a real feel for what's going on. I personally am tired of the family drama. They are all so negative I feel life draining from me when I have to deal with them.

My son and his fiance seem to be constant drama, well she is anyway. Sigh. ...I am weary of it all.

This week of heaven with Ryder is the only medicine I need.

And seed catalogs help too lol

Ah. Oh dear, that family drama. What a mess, huh! What the! Do they all live nearby? When I was thinking I could move Mom down here last summer, I didn't consult my sister first. I didn't even think to discuss with her, since she lives 2 hrs from Mom and sees her about once every 18 months or 2 yrs; nor does she talk with her in between times. And thus it has been with them for the past 20 yrs or so. Well, sister was a bit shocked--and her daughter was downright hostile with me about it. Ha. All I could do was laugh. Well of course it didn't happen, so all quieted down. I wish you the best. Tough times.

It sounds as though your Mom is in the same place mine was when we moved her into assisted living. That was the answer for her for her transition time. But she was lucky in that enough of her own funds at the time to pay for it. And 3 years later it was time for her to move to the nursing home. She is doing VERY well with it now, by the way. Are you all familiar with the nursing home she'd move to?

Nancy, In the dead of winter, I think pet care (and pet play) and garden catalogs are about the most excitement we can muster, and that's okay. We'd all be exhausted all the time if we stayed as busy in winter as we do during the gardening season. I think of winter as a time to recover and recharge from the hectic growing/preserving season.

Kim, I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I hope she recovers quickly from the flu. The drama surrounding putting one's parent into some sort of assisting living center or nursing home is real, and it is hard to get all the children to agree. Then, once you agree, you mom has to buy into the idea too---or it won't happen. Well, unless someone has a signed medical power of attorney thing. We got all that sort of paperwork signed, sealed and delivered from our parents while they still were rational. That smoothed the path when decisions had to be made.

I agree with you that any child resistant to the idea should have to spend a week with your mom in her home and see how well she does or doesn't do there. Truthfully, though, if you have a sibling who is highly resistant to the idea, that person may not ever change their mind. I speak from experience. We got through it all, but our younger brother fought us every step of the way and was very ugly about it. None of us, including my mom, have much of a relationship with him now--but that is his choice and we just have had to accept he's decided how he wants to live his life and we cannot change him or change his mind. I expect similar drama when the time comes with my mom, but at least this time we know to expect his resistance.

Enjoy your week with Ryder. Dealing with the youngest generation is so much easier than dealing with the oldest generation, isn't it? You can't change anything that is happening in Denton at this point, and you and Ryder need your time together, and Sophie needs y'all too.

That's nothing much new down here. Our burn ban expired at midnight Tuesday and we got paged out to a grass fire around noon Tuesday, so I guess that's a clue how things are going to be now.

Much of New Year's morning was devoted to working accidents on the interstate after the ice and snow started falling. I learned this morning on the news that a young lady who was transported to a hospital from, I think, the third of the four accidents, did not survive. That is just so sad. You always hope for a happy ending in cases like that, but oftentimes the happy ending just doesn't occur.

I sent the guest cat who stayed indoors in our house during all the cold weather out into the sunshine a little while ago. She acted like she didn't want to leave. I feel like, if she has a home, she'll go there. If she comes back here, wanting back in tonight, then maybe we can assume she is a stray and give her a home.

Jet enjoyed his special prescription dog food for 24 hours or so, but won't touch it today. (sigh) I was hoping he wouldn't be difficult and now will have to try to find something I can mix with it to improve the flavor so that he'll eat it.

The last amaryllis finally bloomed this week. It is a double white one instead of the hot pink one I was expecting, but is quite lovely and it is nice to have something blooming indoors.

I have a big stack of garden catalogs now, and more keep coming. I should be ordering seeds, but I am sleepy and think I am going to take an afternoon nap. Jet's need to go outdoors frequently during the night is going to make it hard for Tim or I to sleep well, I'm afraid, but we'll just have with it.

Dawn

Oh I hope Jet will cooperate. Our pets :)

Sophie made it through surgery and they said it was much worse than expected. The caretaker said he was so happy to see her sitting when he last checked on her. I will call back in the morning to see how she is doing and if I can pick her up or not. If I can't I may take Ryder to see her. He is upset about this whole situation also. He thought they were going to take her whole leg off. I am so thankful he verbalized his fears with me.

Kim, so sorry about all the stuff you're going through. Glad you have Ryder to add some sunshine to your days.

We did have actual sun today. I didn't get home until after dark. Poor dogs. There is such a big difference in 10 degrees vs. 21 degrees. The coop doesn't freeze in 21 degrees, but does at about 10 or so. I could tell you how I know, but don't want to be gross.

I about have my lengthy (haha) tomato list together! Then I'll start looking at other things I want to grow.

My daughter fixed dinner for me tonight. It was very good. She does Hello Fresh and really likes it. It is a tiny bit expensive. She orders 3 meals for 2 people, so is able to get 2 or 3 meals out of each 1 meal. The dinner tonight was very tasty. She's a vegetarian too and they have that option. Tonight was a butternut squash pasta with kale and other things. These are things I could make with stuff grown in the garden. It was also good to talk to her-- just the two of us. It's weird when your baby daughter can have grown up talks with you....like a friend. I don't know how I feel about it honestly. I enjoy it so much...and think that if we were peers, we would make good friends. But...she's my little baby. It's weird.

Tom is on his way home from Nebraska. Maybe I'll have a glass of wine to celebrate. I've missed him. My house has not smelled like smoked meat lately and the kitchen is clean--I do like that about being "alone". haha Most women think it's a dream to have a man who likes to cook and work in the kitchen. It's really not if the woman likes to cook and be in the kitchen as well. We have different ways of keeping a kitchen. But I'm starting to miss him just in time for his return.

I do like the different seasons. I enjoy the darker times too once I figure out what to do with those dark hours before bedtime. I am trying to read but my eyes start drooping within just a few pages even if the book is very interesting. I am sad for the dogs. Maybe they'll get some outdoor play time tomorrow and this weekend.

Just checking in. :)

Hi Jennifer. I hope you cozy up sipping a nice glass of wine--picturing it. And am glad Tom's on his way home. I hadn't known about VFN ML, so checked it out. Hmm, may have to order a packet. :)

Kim, I'm glad as well that Ryder was able to verbalize his fears to you. It sounds like Sophie is doing as well as can be expected considering what she's been through.

Jennifer, It does feel somewhat different when you begin to relate to your child as an adult, I agree, but also very rewarding. Sometimes when I watch my son in operation as a firefighter, but also just as a young adult interacting with other adults or even with kids, I think to myself "who is this man?" because, you know, in my heart, he's still my little boy...and always will be. It is cool, though, to sit back and watch and see that your child has grown up to become the person you'd hoped they would become. One of the times that I realized my little boy wasn't a little boy any more was when I picked up a firefighting textbook written by someone he works with (a big, huge, college-level textbook that was highly technical) and found that the writer thanked our son as one of the people who had contributed to the textbook---which I didn't even know he'd done. It was so weird to see his name there in that book under the acknowledgements.

I think Hello Fresh could make sense for a young couple or a young single person who works full-time and just doesn't want to come home and do a lot of food prep, especially when you think of the time and money they save not running to the grocery store to buy everything they need. There's an obvious trade-off of spending a bit more money, but you gain time in return. I loved cooking from scratch when I was single and did it all the time, but it was very time-consuming to grocery shop, put away all the groceries, etc. before you could even begin doing the food prep and making the meals. Even when I was 19 or 20, I relied on a crockpot a lot. There's only so many hours in the day after one gets home from work, after all. Sometimes friends from work would just show up knocking on the door (uninvited but always welcome) to see what was for dinner. I tried to always make enough that we could feed anyone who dropped by because I'm a southerner and that's how I was raised. Also, at that age, a lot of my friends didn't really know how to cook, but I had worked in a restaurant as a teenager and could prepare just about anything, though often I made it in bigger quantities than we actually needed. If Hello Fresh had existed then and if I'd been able to afford it, I think I might have at least tried it out to see what I thought about it.

I hope Tom made it home safely and in time to sit and spend time with you. I do like it a little bit the first couple of days when Tim is gone---I can do things my way and don't have to compromise with anyone, lol, but then I also miss him and cannot wait for him to come home. We split kitchen duties pretty well---I do more during the week and he does more on the weekends since that is the only time he is home for an appreciable amount of 'free' time that could be spent cooking. Over the holidays, he spent more time in the kitchen than I did, and I was okay with that---if we are making something that is his family's recipe, he likes being the one to make it, and I'm not going to complain about that. He also does all the grilling.

I don't much like the early darkness in winter, but have learned to live with it. It always feels like darkness sneaks up on me and I'm pausing in the middle of making dinner to run outside and close up the chicken coops, garden gate, greenhouse doors and vents, etc. Then I wonder how in the world it is dark so early, because I just never really get used to it being dark early. I have noticed that the minute it gets dark, I start getting sleepy and thinking surely it must be time for bed---even if it is only 6 p.m. and Tim is still an hour away from arriving home. My body is strongly in tune with the sun---I cannot sleep once the sun is up and I am sleepy once the sun goes down. I suppose that's a good thing as long as I'm not trying to follow some sort of schedule or routine that is built around clock time instead of sunlight.

Dawn

Dawn, I'm like you with the early darkness. Can't tell how many times I go to prepare supper and realize I didn't empty the compost coffee cans, and in the winter by the time I begin, it's 5 pm and dark. So I set up a way station--an empty cat litter bucket on the deck where I can dump the scraps and coffee grounds. And my sleeping habits have improved somewhat of late, too. I'm thankful for that, and hope I can make it last.

And dittoing the comments about Ryder being able to tell you his fears about Sophie, Kim, and I'm amazed and grateful about the advancements made in vet medicine, that they were able to save her, period!

Dawn, I SO hope Jet will EAT! Oh, DARN. Keep us posted. PS: I hope your guest kitty comes back! You need more dogs and cats!

We have both declared our teenage cats to be great cats and great teenagers. I had an aha moment tonight. We're retired. They're rarely left to their own devices. We're always here, and Titan. They're super playful, and occasionally get into something they shouldn't. But by and large, with us both here (and Titan) and constantly paying homage to them (in their minds)--me at my computer/desk/reading area in their home room, or GDW reading in the living room with a warm lap or Titan following them around or them following him around, in their daytime waking hours, they're either wrestling and playing with each other or their cardboard box games, or in my face and pettings at the table, or with Garry in his lap, or messing with Titan or vice versa, they are too busy to get into trouble. And I know some may not believe this. . . . my 23-yr old Kitty. When she was about 14-16, I finally introduced her into car traveling and the great outdoors. She loved both. So I got her a little red harness for outdoors. Put it on her and she thought she was the Queen of Egypt. She LOVED her harness. And when I took it off her and put it in her toybox, sometimes, she'd drag it out and bring it to me. So I ended up putting it on her for most of the time. She thought she was something special with that harness. Well. Tom all of a sudden thinks he's Tom Sellick (or Cruse), depending on our age differences. He has done a 180. All of a sudden today, his eyes are bigger and brighter, and he's strutting around like he's King Tut. (I DO keep telling him how handsome he is. He must understand.) And just in the past two days, he decided Garry was also his peep, and has been giving GDW the same kind of attention he has given to me--that is, all over him and in his face! And Jerry took his collar like, "Well, it's about time." The cats seem to love their collars! Isn't that funny? Jerry's the lover, Tom's the character. And they're both enchanting. And now they're enchanting Titan, too. He doesn't know what to think, going from a Princess who treated him like dirt, to these two outlaws, who decide to attack his tail. He's too aggressive at times, and then one will turn around and smack him (and they have CLAWS, whereas Daff didn't). . . or one will attack his tail and he'll jump back as if he'd been violated and growl and bark, and they back off but don't run, just sit and look at him, like, "Really?" What a fun experience this is.

Alas, the only thing I'm missing right now is a Chia pet. Some of the larger garlic got nipped pretty good by the weather, as did a couple of the rosemary, but if we don't hit much more prolonged freezing, they might make it. Same with the cabbage. I watered the WS stuff on the deck today. I have no idea what I'm doing, which is the usual path for me in gardening. I study study study, read read read, and then go for it. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much.

Have any of you read Thoreau--or Annie Dillard?

I think one important thing about stewardship/gardening is observation. Experience. Paying attention and learning from it. Right? And the more years one has to observe and experience, the more one learns. And as you know, my observation time and experience is extremely limited here, so study and reading is my only other aid. But am praying for a fast track! Tending God's Garden. A worthy objective!

It is so funny that Kitty liked her red harness! Charlotte will wear a collar with no fuss. And she does look pretty in a cute collar with her heart shaped ID tag. The only issue for her, is it gets pulled off as she's exploring ours and the next door neighbor's property. We've lost too many, so no collar for her now. My daughter's cat, Diana Prince, will not wear a collar. It freaks her out.

Dawn, that's really cool that your son helped write a textbook! It is cool (and interesting) to observe your child as an adult. Even shopping with her last night--we ran to Target. Wait. I don't have to buy everything? You have your own money. It's a weird feeling. I still miss them being little. Crazy things like...when was the last time either of them picked a dandelion and brought it to me. When that last time happens, you don't realize it's the last time.

Okay, so really, looking through my seeds, I don't need much. Dale gave me several packets that a local nursery gave him (by the dozens). Tomatoes, a couple of things from Kitazawa, tomatillos. And potatoes and onions.

What am I missing...I have all sorts of lettuce and greens, cucumbers, radishes, carrots, beans, peas, southern peas, melons, peppers of several varieties, cabbage, beets, broccoli. Not doing squash..

Note to self: No one needs 10 cayenne pepper plants

I need a flippin' horseradish root. Good grief. This will be Year 3 trying to grow stinkin' horseradish.

As far as flowers go...I have Ice Plants (no luck last year), marigold, LB petunia, nasturtium (actually that packet might be empty)...I probably need flower seeds. The marigolds "volunteer" every year. As do most of the other flowers I've ever planted. Do the LB petunias volunteer?

If I don't get some sort of fencing up, all of it is doomed to a quick death by the chickens. Either that, or the chickens will be stuck in their pen and very unhappy.

Remember that hydrangea I foolishly bought last year? I'm sorta freaked out. I can't remember the pruning directions. Old wood, new wood?? I can't find the tag that I "saved".

Do you recall if it was supposed to rebloom, HJ? If so, blooms from old wood AND new.

Atwoods has seed racks out!!! Made me smile. Only Burpee was up, they weren't finished opening boxes. I need the Jiffy dome trays, they were still in crates.

We've been sick. DH never gets sick, but he's had trouble since NYE, I've been fighting vertigo and we might have a stomach bug on top of it. If you're not sick now, stay home, because everybody else is.

I've been reading along, but haven't been up to long posts. Sample Seed Shop and SESE seeds came yesterday.

Dawn I snickered at your enabler comment. Where's Rebecca? I think I'm going to buy something from Floral Encounters (see the link post above). They have some unusual stuff, anything there you want? Also, I think Eileen and I are going to go in on Swallowtail, if anyone forgot anything from there.

I'm sorry Jet isn't well. It really is hard when they reach the senior years. You have my sympathy.

Honey chewed through the Cable TV cable again. And a hose outside. And the corner of the couch. >:( I have to check evey time I go to let the dogs out, because speckles keeps getting out. It's gotten so I know because Honey watches from the window. SHE sees the stupid chicken even if I don't.

H/J, 15-20 years ago I lusted after "Daytimers". These were fancy planners I couldn't afford. I did have several off brand versions. Now people do all that in their phones. I have scaled down to a small spiral notebook I keep by my chair for lists. My grocery lists are in a spreadsheet even DH can print. Then we highlight what we need. Before computers I used to have a card box with menus on the card. Menu on the front, ingredient list on the back. I would pick out 7 menus, turn the cards over, figure out what I had and put the rest on the list. I could never figure out how to do that on the computer. I hope your planner makes you happy.

I think we will have asparagus for the first time this year, too. I hope the cold weather didn't hurt it.

Rebecca, I am starting to picture your squirrels as evil little aliens out to intentionally annoy you.

Dawn, I have plastic spoons and steak markers EVERYWHERE in the back yard. I dig them up when I plant, I rake them up with solo cups. The dog eats them (oh, dear, ANOTHER thing I have to keep her out of.). And that is with only ONE marker, not 3. Yeah, I guess I'm messy and don't do a good job of garden clean up. Sometimes I map. When I planted a lot of varieties of garlic, I mapped. But a spoon tells DH a plant is not a weed.

Jen, I like the styrofoam cup idea, just not the styrofoam. We call squirrels tree rats.

Kim, I'm glad you got home and SO SORRY about Sophie. It is not a good week for pets.

I'm sorry about you mother Kim, I'm so sick of hospitals. I hope she's better soon.

I notice that when I talk to my mom in the morning she's fine. When I talk to her in the evening she can't remember anything. Can't come up with the words she wants. I wonder if it has to do with medicine she takes after dinner. I know we're all avoiding the thought of what comes next with them.

I ordered Mom risers for her recliner. You might have seen bed risers for raising a bed so you can put storage containers underneath? Well recliner risers have a slot for the recliner base to sit in. She has trouble getting up out of a chair. Before I had my hips done DH built me a platform for my chair so I was about 6" higher and it was easier for me to stand. She doesn't have room for that, so I hope these work. A lift chair would have a power cord. Her chair is not against a wall, it's back is to the open dining room, so they would trip over a cord...or have to completely rearrange and I'm not sure that is possible.

Dawn, apparently #1 son and his girl were among those who came up I35 on New Years day. They had taken her boys back to El Paso and had a very harrowing trip home.

I don't know when I realized my kids were adults. Are they? I cried the first time #1 moved out. (he was a boomerang kid) and I cried when #4 moved out the first time (he came back a couple of times, too.) You have to believe it when they have wives and kids of their own. I like it when they're sitting around talking to each other and not arguing like they often did as kids. That's when they seem like adults to me.

I'm looking at my grow lists and wondering who am I kidding. There's no green house this year. How am I going to do this.

Y'all, Since our burn ban expired on Tuesday, we're having several grass fires a day. That's all I'll say about that. (sigh)

Nancy, The little guest kitty returned around sunset last night, spent the night indoors, and is outside playing now, so it is likely she's becoming our cat. I've been watching for a neighbor to post a 'lost kitty' message on FB but no one has, so it is likely she was dumped out here and had been trying to fend for herself until the cold spell came. She certainly was smart enough to show up here, demand to be fed and then demand to come indoors so it is like she knew that the bitter cold was arriving and she needed to find herself a better place to stay. You know, once you feed a stray cat, unless they are a wandering cat like Yellow Cat was for so long, you pretty much become that cat's family the first time you feed them. (It took longer to win over Yellow Cat because he'd been feral for his whole life---well over a decade.) Also, when she came in yesterday, Tim said, upon his arrival home from work, "I see Lucky came back in", so I guess he named her Lucky. She's a sweet cat and well-behaved and litter box trained, so I know she had a family at some point in time. I would have named her Smarty, because it wasn't luck that brought her to us, it was her own intelligence in knowing she needed to find a safe, warm place....but I can live with the name Lucky if she can.

I love watching cats grow up from kittens. It is fun to see their personalities develop as they mature. Right now, I'm watching Jet zealously attempt to bury a green squeaky bone in Jersey's dog bed. He thinks he covered it up and laid down beside it, but the bone is still in plain sight, so I guess he was covering it up with invisible soil...and why on Jersey's dog bed and not his own? I hope he isn't losing his mind. He still doesn't want to eat his Prescription food, which is canned. They've ordered us a bag of the prescription dry food, so when that comes in, I'm hoping he'll eat it. I know from having other pets put on prescription diets in the past that some of them never accept the healthier food. We'll keep working with him trying to get him to accept this new food. I've already noticing he isn't having to go outside quite as often as before, so at least it appears the medication, which is an ACE Inhibitor, is working. He still goes outside a lot, but just not quite as often. That's a relief to see a change so soon because with some pets it takes weeks to months of taking the ACE Inhibitor to start seeing a difference.

For me, Laura Bush petunias reseed prolifically, It is one of the things I love about them.

I've read Thoreau and I think I read one book by Annie Dillard long ago, but don't remember which one it was.

Jennifer, Our chickens have been locked up for several weeks now and are considerably less unhappy than they were in the beginning. I think they are beginning to adjust. I wasn't kidding about their free ranging days being over. The coyotes are just so bad any more and if we let the chickens continue free ranging, we won't have any left by Easter. If we eventually have a big outbreak of something like grasshoppers, I might have to let them out for a couple of hours in late afternoon occasionally so they can do their pest control job, but I do think their lifetime of free ranging all day every day has ended. That sort of decision is months away, so maybe by then, they'll have forgotten they ever free ranged and will be more content to be confined within their chicken runs. Chickens are creatures of habit, so after a while, this confinement will be their new habit.

I so agree that anytime your children do anything for the last time before they outgrow that particular thing, you never realize it is the last time until some future day when you're thinking back.....

I'd leave the hydrangea alone and see what it does this Spring. I think when you're in doubt about pruning one, it is better to leave it alone and see if it blooms. Then, at least, you'll know whether or not it blooms on old wood. Hydrangeas are very confusing in this area because they're so different. Here's a page that tries to demystify hydrangeas somewhat. Perhaps you'll see something on it that helps you remember what you have. Did it bloom last year? Was it in bloom when you bought it? If so, the type of flower it has might help you figure out what hydrangea type it is.

Hydrangeas Demystified

Amy, I'm sorry y'all have been sick. It certainly is that time of the year. I've been trying to stay home and avoid people since the holidays ended---there's just so many different illnesses going around now.

A 15 year old boy on the Texas side of the river passed away this week from what was originally believed to be the flu way back in October. They never really were sure though....and he went into respiratory failure way back after he was supposedly diagnosed with the flu (I don't think they ever got a positive flu test, so it might have been something else) and fought for his life for months. I think at some point he went into multi-organ failure, and that was the beginning of the end. I cannot imagine how his parents must feel---he was healthy and should have been able to recover from the flu (or whatever it was) and, yet, he didn't recover and they never really got a firm diagnosis either. They must have been so frustrated and now, of course, must be absolutely grief-stricken.

I've seen other people act like your mom---more together mentally early in the day and not so much later in the day and often have wondered if it is related to medication, or diet, or something else. It is so puzzling. Unfortunately your parents (and my mom) and the parents of many others here are at the age where there are so many unknowns....and the road only leads, really, in one direction. I look at my mom, who is turning 89 this month, and wonder how in the world she has lived so long because she's never made any effort to eat properly, or to engage in any physical fitness, or to do anything that would lead naturally to a longer life. Being on dialysis has saved her life in more ways than one because she's getting her vital signs checked three times a week when she goes to the dialysis center, and if anything is messed up, she has to go to her doctor right away. So, in that sense, they sort of 'force' her to take care of herself to some degree---a larger degree than she would if she wasn't going to the dialysis center three times a week. I think we just have to be grateful to have them for as long as we have them (look at how many of us have living parents in their 80s and 90s!).

I-35 was such a mess during the ice/snow. We didn't get much precipitation, but the highway becomes treacherous with even just a very light glaze of ice on it. While we worked a lot of accidents, there were tons of other incidents where people just slid off the highway into bar ditches or shoulders or medians or whatever. The tow truck drivers worked as hard as or harder than any of the first responders that day, and ODOT employees were out working all night long, from one end of the county to the other, trying to keep the roadways as safe as possible. I'm glad your son and his girl made it home safely. I wouldn't have wanted to make the drive they made.

Chris and his girl had to drive to the Beaumont TX area on Tuesday to pick up her older daughter from her dad's house, and that was after Chris had worked a 24-hour shift. So, he drove home from work, fed and watered his birds, and left to make that long drive to Beaumont. When I finally got a text from him, they were headed back to OK, but were still 240 miles out and that was probably at 7 or 8 p.m. The traffic was bad, but most of the roadways had dried off during the daytime, so it wasn't so much that the roadways were dangerous as it was that he spent a whole day and half the night driving after working a 24-hour shift. He was literally on the road from 7 a.m. on the 2nd until around 11 p.m. and was so tired he couldn't get out of bed early the next day. Sent me a text that he was "laying in bed and cannot get up" around 8 a.m. on the third. I encouraged him to lay in bed a while longer unless the kids or birds needed something. I felt like he had earned his rest and needed to take whatever chance he had to get some rest. I know that once the kids are awake, there's not going to be any rest. His tropical birds are almost as bad as kids and start to pitch a temper fit if he hasn't come into their room, uncovered the cages, fed and watered them, etc. by a certain time. They are quite spoiled and used to having a certain routine, but I guess most pets are that way.

Regarding Honey and her chewing. I think Ace and Princess have her beaten in that regard. They chewed through a cable on TIm's desk chair, which had a built-in back massager. So, now he just has a desk chair that never will massage his back again. They chewed on the arms and legs of two recliners, one of which was awfully new when they adopted us. With the older recliner, Princess pulled out the stuffing until she got the chair back 'cushy' in just the way she wanted it, so she can lay on the top of the back of the chair and have a little indentation there like a nest. She has aggravated me beyond belief with that chair. They chewed on the window sills. They chewed on the coffee table. They've chewed on the wood blinds, but not the curtains (yet). They have chewed through every blanket I've bought to cover up the chewing damage on the recliners, and the blanket I use to cover the sofa (which, thankfully, they've never chewed up). Tim's office looks kinda sad, but until I am convinced they have outgrown the chewing stage (they kinda, sorta have, but they still chew the blankets so I cannot say they wouldn't chew up new furniture), we aren't buying new furniture for the office---unless is is made of something unchewable like concrete or steel. I also don't let them stay in the more open area of the living room/breakfast room/kitchen when we are not in those rooms ourselves because I don't want anything in those rooms being chewed up either. So far, so good, in that regard. They also are voracious diggers, but didn't dig out of the backyard a single time in 2017 so hopefully the digging/escaping stage has ended and now they will be content to just dig holes in the dog yard. They are two sweet and precious little dogs and they try hard to be good and to do what we want, but in those first early months when we were away at bad fires daily, no one was here correcting their behavior and that's when most of the chewing occurred. I don't know why they still chew on the blankets because they have oodles of dog toys and bones to chew on, but they do.

In lieu of a greenhouse to raise seedlings, could y'all do a quick cold frame? Maybe one made of hay bales topped with an old window or an old shower door?

No garden catalogs came in the mail today, which is okay, because I haven't even read/looked through all the ones I have. Apparently there will not be a 2018 catalog from Tomato Growers Supply because Linda is retiring and has sold the company. I hope the couple who are buying it from her don't change things at TGSC too much---I think it is fine just the way it is. So, if any of you are waiting for their catalog to arrive, there's not going to be one, but the website is supposed to be updated sometime this month.

Dawn

There's a form of Alzheimer's commonly called 'sundowners'. My grandmother had it & we'd often get calls in the evening from her nursing facility. Evening seems to be a trigger, hence the name.

Home with some bug. The husband had to get a physical for his CDL, & a few days later came down with a cold, & so nicely shared with me. He gets sick & is over in a couple days. I get sick & feel like microwaved death for a week.

I really don't remember about the hydrangea. It had blooms when I got it--blue and then the flowers turned purple. It was pretty. The tag is probably somewhere. I just need to find it. If anything, I might could run up to K and K and see if they can help me. That's where I bought it. Pruning makes me nervous.

Sorry so many of you are sick. Hopefully I got my flu out of the way in November.

Amy, I remember Daytimers. There was even a comedy movie about a guy who lost his. Although people use their phones for a LOT of stuff, it seems like planners are a "thing" now. They've made a comeback. Younger folks are using them...and they're pretty or can be pretty if you desire. There's a lot of people who LOVE certain brands who are all named after women: Erin Condren, Emily Ley (who Kim likes and I will buy next year probably), Danielle Laporte, Leonie Dawson and mine is a Blue Sky designed by Whitney English. My daughter bought a new one last night at Target--dozens of choices. She had one for 2018, but didn't like it so will use it for her workout schedule. Many of them are almost like journals in a way. You set your goals and "Big Picture", determine priorities for the year--stuff like that. Mine has a place to write what I'm grateful for each day. I really need help in this right now. I wanted a Daytimer too back in the day. And I also bought a cheap imitation one. However, back then, I didn't really need help with remembering things. My life is more hectic and busy now--too many irons in the fire type of thing. I bought colored ballpoint pens tonight. Each kid will be given a color, work a color, and of course, garden will be green. :)

Eva Purple Ball tomatoes? Anyone have experience with them?

I've been struggling with some lung thing this week. Thought it was just the cold snap getting to my asthma, but now we aren't sure. Just know I'm short of breath most of the time. Doing the steroid thing over the weekend to try to get on top of it. Wanted to do a bit of wintersowing this weekend, but maybe not. Depends on the breathing.

I'm with Dawn on the hydrangea, HJ. No prune. No harm, no foul. I suspect it's a re-bloomer. But if you don't prune, all you have are a bunch of dead branches next summer. I know my Endless Summer blooms on new and old. . . last spring, the "dead" branches appeared dead for quite a while, but yep, then they turned green and bloomed after all.

Rebecca, I was frightened hearing of your shortness of breath. I'm thinking of you--do you have good docs? Please keep us posted.

Amy described me exactly, with the Daytimer "lust." Now I make my grocery list--mandatory, since I hate going to town. And I do NOT forget it! And I have my spreadsheet, and One Note for gardening, and remembering the weather from year to year, and the progress of the garden from year to year and all the info about plants. I'm So So SO lazy that I hate to look something up 22 times. And I also keep hand-written notes in a 3-ring binder, and every so often insert them into the OneNote. But I cannot/have never been able to keep up with one handwritten source, like Daytimer. The only thing I CAN say is that I'm doing better now than I have ever done before with tracking things. And I probably owe some of that to GDW. He is a list-maker. And he has turned me into one--in terms of shopping and in terms of tasks. It's workin'. Well, whatever it takes, right?

Jen, sorry you've got the bug now, too. We skipped church last week. . . because of flu and because of how cold it was. So now I'm thinking. . . .. . how paranoid do I want to become? I don't! But I don't want to get sick! Hmmm. Got some thinking to do. Yes, God will take care of me. But I have to row the boat. LOL So I guess I'll listen for the Guide. Meanwhile, can't believe I'm thinking like this!

Generally, my Mom is most chipper and alert about 10 am. . . but lately she's been good at 2pm or so. But by evening, yep, she has faded mightily. Mom has been so lucky and blessed for 96 years, bless her heart. When she's on, it's like she never aged a bit. But the times are fewer and further between. It's all good.

Dawn, I was SO tickled to hear Lucky/Smarty showed back up (and don't tell Tim, but I think YOU chose the correct name! lol) I'm thrilled for you guys. You need her. It's time. We're having the time of our lives with our two new rascals. However, was filling in my Gardening One Note with photos from the past 3 years, of the garden and yard, and came across many pictures of Daff. My fondness for the two new ones takes away from me focusing on Daff being gone. . . but seeing pictures of her, I'll always miss and love her, like Kitty before her, and like relatives who have passed. And that's not a bad thing. That is a good thing. Right?

The 15-yr-old you mentioned who died hit me like a hammer. SO sad.

And HJ said something VERY touching. . . .

anytime your children do anything for the last time before they outgrow that particular thing, you never realize it is the last time until some future day when you're thinking back. . .

That thought needs to be memorialized in concrete, HJ.

Sorry you and DH have been sick, Amy. I've missed you.

I had a crisis today. Freaking out about WS and growing what I'm growing, and whether they're gonna grow (not to mention, Dawn--lol--where I may put them.) Well. I'm just freaking out about this WSing, having never done it before. And now got totally sidetracked today chasing down the last few things I need to order, and finding 20 more things I think maybe I'd like to order. . . and now going crazy all over again. And here I thought I had my plan in place! And then reading stuff. . . and though I WSed stuff that I thought was difficult to start on grow lights or direct. . . reading up that difficult-to-grow things (so they should be tried by WSing) were exactly the things that I pegged, too, upset me. Should have assured me. I just want it to be March already and see seedlings! EEKS. I really don't care about the $$ spent on seeds, I just really want the stuff to grow!

Finally, it was so WARM out today (well, like 46-ish, and in the sun I was quite comfortable), and at 5:30 pm it was still not totally dark! Our days are getting longer!!!

Dawn, I'm glad the little cat has adopted you. They adapt us, not the other way around. About a month after our first cat passed, a little kitten adopted us. I was cooking Italian sausage. She showed up on the porch, meowed like let me in and literally stood on her hind legs and danced in the kitchen begging for sausage. She was small, we thought she was a kitten, but vet said she was fully grown, just malnourished, so small...and, apparently, pregnant. Never had a chance to get her fixed, she was always pregnant. We kept some of her offspring.

Honey is going to make me crazy. But the joy of life just explodes from her. Sometimes she is so happy she just jumps straight up in the air. She's smart, I just have to get her trained. I think I will have to fence the garden this year to keep her out. And that is another issue with seedlings. She loves to chew up solo cups. I need a roof top garden to keep her out.

Jen, I've heard of sundowners. I just don't want to think about it. Plus, the meds she takes, I also take. I keep thinking I'm seeing my future. Sorry you're sick.

H/J I've always been a list maker. DH once told me if I could get a job making lists I would have it made. I kept my lists, like the camping list (don't forget a sharp cooking knife), the packing list for traveling, my grocery list (organized by the order of the store), I tried a card file with things to do to keep the house clean. You did one or two deep clean cards a day, one or two monthly cards and all your daily cards each day. Yeah right, I had trouble getting through the daily cards.

I know nothing about Eve's Purple ball. I have heard of it, but it is not on my "to try" list. This makes me think it might be a tomato that might not like heat.

Rebecca, take care of yourself.

Nancy, winter sowing is really easy. The first time I did it I had read ONE article. You will be fine. There is always something that doesn't work, but usually you have more seeds to try.

Daytimers had those rich leather covers, and a page for everything. And you could get rulers that fit in the binder rings and other accessories. Fun even if you don't use them in the end.

What I would like to do today is sit in the sun. Unfortunately DH has decreed grocery shopping is in order. Daughter is going to go with us.

Seed inventory! Better late than never. Don't mind the Pyrex measure cup. That is my new coffee mug. I accidentally packed my other one. My new boss is going to buy my seeds if we use them. This is about 1/10 of my seeds. Sophie is sleeping peacefully as long as those babies don't get too wild in there. Happy garden dreaming day!

Love it! Really gets one in the mood! Measuring cup and all! :) I'm glad you have Sophie home--did she lose the puppies?

I just cut off all the plants in totes on the top shelf in the "cats'"room and put new cuttings on the grow cart--sweet potato vines, begonias and a too-fast growing brug. Got trays out for the grow cart. . . I may plant a few really slow growers soon,

Oh yes, I suppose you'll have your hands full keeping Honey out of the seedlings, Amy! Don't envy you that challenge.

Eva Purple Ball sounds like one worth trying, Jennifer!

Looking at seed potato ship dates. OSU says planting dates are Feb 15 to March 10. But most places won't start shipping until the first of April. I know I can buy them here, but then I don't have much choice as to what I get. Even Fedco early ship doesn't start until March 1, and then they go to warmer areas first. Buying from Sprouts or somewhere, I don't know what I'm planting or where it's from. How does that all work?

Oh no she did not lose those huge vigorous squirmers. She will probably heal faster with the multiplied circulation. And homemade broth. And plantain chips. Lol. She has slept all day. Poor girl is not used to being in the house at all unless it goes below freezing. It kind of freaks her out at first. So far my allergies are OK but who would know I am still recovering from flu.

Rebecca I had a thread on that exact thing. So we bought organic potatoes and put in closet. Hopefully they will be ready to plant out. We are doing red purple and white. Also check your tractor supply. Dawn said the reason they don't ship earlier is because of possible freezing during shipping. Makes sense.

Rebecca, I've never purchased from these people, but they say they ship earlier.
Potato Garden, I thought I had another seed potato place saved, but couldn't find it. Carmichael's in Bixby has a bigger variety than say Atwoods

Yeah, Nancy, either I have to fence the garden or make a dog run. We were grocery shopping. When we came home Honey was overly excited. She jumped on me and shredded my arms. She can be sooo sweet, and then she chews up something or jumps on me.

Kim, I think a measuring cup is pretty smart when you don't have a mug.

Vermont Bean seeds came yesterday, Totally Tomato today. And Kitazawa catalog.

Oh, Nancy, Sprouts had lactino kale today, if you get town you could try before you buy.

Jen, How rude of your DH to bring home germs to you. I hope you get well more quickly than usual.

Jennifer, I really think more and more than whatever you and I both had in November was the flu. I've been around so many sick people (despite my best efforts to avoid them all) and haven't come down with anything, so I think I've already had it and now have some degree of immunity. I really do believe that.

Eva Purple Ball is a good tomato. The color really is a deep pink, not purple, and the fruit are very smooth and globe-shaped, and maybe weigh 5-7 oz. each. It produces a decent harvest here.

Rebecca, Take care of yourself. Everything else can wait until you're able to breathe more easily again. I've noticed lots of folks in our area are having respiratory issues lately.

Nancy, We fed the Daytimer lust by buying them and they were marvelous. I think that was in the 1980s, maybe the 1990s too. I don't miss having one now and y'all know if I had one now, I wouldn't use it. I used to always buy Tim one for either his birthday (which is in December) or for Christmas until he started keeping track of everything on his phone maybe 5 years back. If he ever loses his phone, he's going to be so disorganized.

Lucky went out yesterday, stayed out all night, but was outdoors wanting to come in and screaming to be fed this morning, so I do believe she's here to stay. We have been adopted so many times by so many animals since moving here. I guess we are big suckers because we cannot turn away an animal that needs a home.

Like you, I never forget the pets we've lost. I think of them with happiness and with sadness, and I don't want to forget them. I've learned the more love we give to these animals, the more we receive back from them....and the more love we have to share with the next animal that comes along. Sometimes people tell me they don't have enough love to expand to another animal. I think they are wrong---I don't think you have to stretch some finite amount of love to make it cover another animal----I think the amount of love you have to give just is infinite and just grows and multiplies.

Don't freak out over the seed sowing and WSing. It isn't like you get only one chance and don't get a do-over. Be patient. Stuff will sprout and grow. You'll find places to plant it all, and if any varieties don't grow (assuming you didn't sow a whole pack of seeds), you can just sow more seeds. We have a long season and plenty of time to plant more and more and more.....

If y'all were warm yesterday at 46, then today we were hot at 63 degrees---and sunny! I love it and think we will have a couple more 'hot' January days before the next wintery blast hits us down here sometime Thursday. It's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow and maybe tomorrow night, and they mentioned the word 'thunderstorm'. The amount of rain expected is small, except for anyone who lucks out and gets a thunderstorm. If we are going to have a thunderstorm, I wish it would just go ahead and hail. That way, we can get our annual quota of hail out of the way before there's any plants out in the garden that it could hurt.

Amy, I think God sends us replacement animals before an old one dies. It happens every time. Lucky had been hanging around for quite some time now, but lurking nearby---not coming directly to us. I saw her for weeks and weeks before Yellow Cat suddenly went downhill and died. She has taken his place in the spare room upstairs and acts like she's been here forever. Shady is the last of a couple of litters of kittens gifted to us by Emmitt and Midnight when we first moved here and they just showed up out of nowhere. I enjoyed raising kittens and keeping them together their whole lives, but we got Midnight fixed after her second litter because we didn't want to turn into crazy cat people with 247 cats or something. Since then, we get each cat fixed ASAP after it shows up or at the appropriate time after it is born. (This, of course, does not work when a mama cat shows up with a bunch of babies in tow. and you find yourself adopting 5, 6 or 7 cats instead of 1.) It must be lonely for Shady to have outlived all his litter mates. He is a good decade older than the other cats we have now, and he does act paternal towards them. I think he learned good paternal behavior from his dad, Emmitt. He loves on all of them, likes to cuddle and snuggle, and tolerates no infighting amongst them, just like his dad before him. He even sits in the exact same spot on the back steps where Emmitt used to sit and watch over the yard and its inhabitants. It is like Shady was in training to take Emmitt's place.

Honey sounds so sweet, while at the same time being pure puppy and totally destructive. I love it when a dog has that sort of happiness just oozing out of her pores----no wonder we fall in love with them. I have found it very aggravating to garden with puppies, but they aren't puppies long and don't remember destructive forever. One day you realize they've settled down a lot, and then it seems like they suddenly, somehow, in the blink of an eye have gone from being settled down to old and lazy. I look at Jet now and think of how he aggravated me his first 3 years or so and think that I'd give anything to have one of those puppy years back. He mostly sleeps now, and I guess that is the stage he's at in his life now. He is still refusing to eat his Prescription canned food, and the dry is not due to arrive until Tuesday, but the medication seems to be helping him a lot. He doesn't have to go outside nearly as often and he seems like he even feels better.

Kim, The story about the Pyrex cup being your coffee mug made me giggle. I'm glad Sophie didn't lose her pups.

Rebecca, Our TSC usually has 3 to 5 good basic varieties selected just for OK, sold in bulk from large containers by the pound. They usually have them sometime in January or earliest February. A little later in the season, they'll have maybe 4 to 6 varieties of fingerlings in little bags like bulbs come in. I've grown and liked all the fingerlings, though they produce less for the space than full-sized tomatoes. Atwoods has seed potatoes, about the same varieties as TSC, and usually a little earlier, but theirs come in netting bags of maybe 3, 5 or 7 lbs. Our Wal-Mart usually gets seed potatoes in January (the common ones like Yukon Gold, Norland Red, sometimes Adirondack Blue or All Blue), some form of Russett, etc. and Home Depot usually gets them in February. I have ordered seed potatoes online a few times, but they are very costly when ordered online/shipped and I haven't bought them that way in some time since it really isn't necessary. I started doing it so I could try some of the fingerlings....but now those are available here, and I ordered online the last time so I could grow some of the purple potatoes---fun, but not necessary. Just relax. The potatoes likely will be in the stores by February, and I don't think I'd plant any early than February if I lived as far north as you do. I haven't been in any of the stores here looking for seed potatoes this week, but it would not surprise me if the potatoes are there now. If not, they'll be here in another week or so. If I'm watching for them, they never show up, but as soon as I forget about them and stop watching for them to appear, suddenly they are everywhere. It happens every time.

If you buy any grocery store potatoes to use as seed potatoes, just buy them (now) and put them in a cool, dry place and they'll sprout and be ready to plant by the time you're ready to plant them. The only downside is you won't know the exact variety and they won't be certified seed potatoes. Certified seed potatoes haven't been treated with a fungicide to ensure they are not carrrying diseases, but in the years in which I have used grocery store potatoes as seed potatoes, I have not had any special disease issues with them either. Remember, the reason to buy organic is so they'll sprout---conventional grocery store potatoes are sprayed with anti-sprouting chemicals to prevent them from sprouting so, even though that stuff wears off and they eventually sprout, it can take months and months.

I have bought seed potatoes from The Potato Garden and they arrived a little later than I had hoped for (but they have to work around what the weather is doing). The seed potatoes were small but healthy but grew just fine and produced well. Still, it was much more costly than buying local.

I already had received the catalogs you got today, but the new ones that arrived here today were Willhite Seed and Richter's Herbs. Now, if there is a catalog that is going to have some things I simply cannot resist, it is Richter's. I always have fun ordering new (to me) herbs from them and growing them. I've never had a crop failure or germination issues with their seeds either.

The stores here have a lot more seed-starting supplies this week than they did last week, and it does my heart so much good to see them. Irrationally, while we were in Sam's, I wanted to buy some MG Soil-less Mix---not because I have a need for it or a plan for it, but simply because it was there. I didn't buy any because if there is one word that describes my approach to gardening this year it is "restraint". (lol, and we'll see how long that lasts).

Dawn

Over the top is my word for gardening this year.
So proud I got my seed inventory done today except flowers which don't matter because I am planting ALL of them this year. My hyacinth bean need renewal and I will reserve a few of each but they are going in the ground, somewhere. Couldn't say how many seeds I have but my case is packed and weighs about 50 pounds. I can not believe how long it took to get them all written down. If only I could type I could have had them in a spreadsheet faster. Someday I am going to take tutorials on typing faster.
Rebecca take care of yourself. There is so much nasty junk out there right now. WS will be there when you are well. We can only do so much right.
I was stressing so bad over the holidays about not getting to move in which means I couldn't start seeds on January 1, which means my plants are going to be small when I need to set them out, which means, wow... stop. I think that is why I got soooo sick. I cant control any of that except the worrying part so I am focusing on what I can control. Seed inventory, orders, packing, Sophie (she has milk btw), journal setup. And when it warms a little I need to start rolling up drip lines, taking down fences, pulling up t-posts. Just a few more weeks.

Eva Purple Ball it is! I'm going to start calling it EPB or Eva? Something shorter. So, my short tomato list is complete now. Since most of you haven't grown Eva, I'll keep y'all updated...and if I have extra seedlings, I'll bring them to Spring Fling. I'm shooting for a total of 24 tomato plants.

The hydrangea label has been found. It's an Endless Summer Collection. "continuous blooms Spring through Fall". It says "do not prune in the fall. In spring, when the plant stems have started to grow, prune branches above the new green growth." I'm not sure what all of that means, but we'll give it a try.

The label was with my seed starting/planting notes from last year. Apparently I started pepper, broccoli, and cabbage seed in January. And tomatoes the first week in February.

I planted broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and radishes outdoors on March 7. I wonder if I could get by with planting them earlier....

I had such a productive day! I didn't get everything done on my list, but I'm pleased regardless. I helped Mom choose a bed for her guest room. And stuck with my plan of not shopping other than that. I really wanted to spend a couple of hours in Hobby Lobby but didn't. I got all the labels cleaned off the wine bottles. I should have enough to make the bed in front of the chicken pen now. (One side is complete already.) Also, organized important papers, etc. (My LEAST favorite job ever.)

We got a big chunk of the shop organized. It's an overwhelmingly HUGE project, so when I say "big chunk" it doesn't look like a big chunk. The holiday tubs are all organized and stacked where I can get to them without Tom or Ethan's help. And they are all together rather than scattered everywhere. We also put many of Ethan's toys in the rafters. We seriously have $1000s worth of legos. And have a pile of other toys he needs to decide "keep" or "give away". Who am I kidding, he will want to keep them all...just not in his room. He tends to hoard stuff. But I will force him to get rid of some because I don't want to store them all. He loved toys when he was little unlike our daughter. We had about 100 cardboard boxes piled around, so I chose the ones I wanted for the garden and we burned (don't cringe, Dawn!) the others. I found all the asparagus ferns to throw on, as well as the Christmas tree. We were safe. Watched the fire and had the hose handy.

Just realized that I'm hungry and didn't eat. Tom fixed moose burgers. (those were expensive burgers from Newfoundland...the shipping alone! His friend took a hunting trip there.) and Ethan walked around Bricktown and ate with friends. I'm hungry, but lazy. Sigh...I'm not sure what to eat. Maybe a baked potato.

Y'all sickies get well soon! Take care of yourselves and rest!

HJ! Good day! I am impressed and in awe! Yeah, me too, re paperwork. I really hate it.

Endless summers are what mine are, as well. They had their third year here last summer and bloomed from May 1 to when it frosted. (They don't bloom prolifically after the first prolific blooms, but did at least bloom the whole while.) Good luck with it! Yes, I left the old wood (with the top parts cut off), and it actually greened up, unbelievably and bloomed. They looked ugly and unlikely for a while, but it happened. The hydrangeas have done so well that I plan to order 5 additional Annabelle ones for the shady back yard this spring. Those and my new brug are my only planned ordered plants.

Sometimes I love just a baked potato for dinner--well, actually, that was in the old days BG. Now that wouldn't happen. But back in my single working days, it often did. Did Tom say how he liked his moose burgers? Have never tried moose anything. Friends back in WY didn't relish moose (nor did any of us cotton much to pronghorn. For that matter mule deer don't make tasty venison, either because they survived on a lot of sagebrush. Nor have I tasted bear or bison or, really, any wild game, save mule deer, an occasional whitetail, a sampling of pronghorn, and rabbit. Well, and squirrel, my first summer here--lol.)

Are we all supposed to have rain tomorrow? I sure hope we get it!

Dawn, I am positively jealous of your 63 today! I was happy with our 46 and 47. Still, We are relishing in the cool temps, right? I walked around in the yard yesterday AND today and was comfortable enough with my jacket on. It was great to be outside.

And I'm so excited about your renewed excitement, Kim! We're all with you on this trip! That's a lot of seeds you have! I still don't get how you learned what you did in the short time you've been learning. Obviously you were born to this.

And me. . . . . thinking about my life. . . took me long enough to get here--that is, to be planting seeds willy-nilly and being able to have beds and raised beds wherever I want them and just all this time and freedom, and the best part is GDW doesn't be-grudge me, but indeed has joined in. Whew. . . . dodged a bullet there, didn't I? Isn't that just sheer darned good luck!?? And every day he asks me if there's something I want him to do. I look at him like he's nuts every day and say, "Uhhhh. . . no is there something you want ME to do?" And then we laugh. Neither of us is used to being accountable to no one. We're both quite accomplished at procrastinating on our own respective lists. But today I actually did vacuum and thoroughly clean the dining and kitchen floors. And I DID dust last week! LOL AND cleaned the bathrooms! Woo-hoo.

Kim, Your seed addiction is so bad, but mine is just as bad and there are times it has been worse. I am working hard to avoid buying more seeds than I have room to plant, but the seed box is so full and I think I'd have to buy no seeds for the next 5 years before I could come even close to not buying seeds I don't need. There's no way I'm not buying seeds for five years.

The Willhite catalog came yesterday and I was circling the varieties I like and want to grow, with no regard for whether I already have those seeds. So then, when I was done, I went back and drew an X through the circled varieties I already have seeds of, and that didn't leave me with a whole lot left to order. I'm still going to order Israel and Israeli melons because my seeds of those varieties are several years old and I never want to run out of them. I'll put the 2018 Israel and Israeli melon seeds in the freezer and keep using the older ones that are in the seed box. I also am out of seeds for Big Boy southern peas, so I[ll order those as well,

Jennifer, That's always the ultimate question. Keep in mind that last winter overall was very warm and we haven't had enough winter weather yet this season to know if it will trend quite as warm. So, I think a lot of us who planted early last year still have no way of knowing if we'll get to plant as early this year too. I do know that here at our house, the lowest temperature of this winter so far has been only 8 or 9 degrees, and our lowest temperature last year was 2 degrees, so maybe that's a good sign. Of course, there's lot of winter remaining and the weather certainly could get much worse than it has been so far.

I wanted to go to Hobby Lobby yesterday, but talked myself out of it, and now I wish I had gone. We went to Ikea instead and I picked up a few random items (pillows for the sofa, candles, some pink bath towels to perk up the largely gray bathrooms) and some fake flowers in pots (oh, yes I did...yellow and pink English daisies that look fairly real) to set in a window so I can pretend it is Spring indoors, and a row of coat hooks to hang low for the girls in the mudroom because the existing row of coat hooks are at a great height for adults, but are too high for the kids. Today we have a lot of little To Do items on our list, including finding the source of a light, slow leak in the laundry room. I hope it is just one of the hoses to the washing machine, or the washing machine drain is clogged or something, because the alternative is that the plumbing inside the wall froze and ruptured in the last cold spell and that would be a much more time-consuming repair. (I don't think that is it because I think we'd be seeing a lot more water if it were.) The laundry room is the place in the house where the plumbing is most exposed to the north and those pipes are in an exterior wall, so freezing pipes would not be out of the question, though it never has happened in that room before, and we have had colder weather in other years, including last year.

You can burn whenever and whatever you wish and I won't whine about it because I know you'll do it safely. I wish everyone here would do the same. Our number of fire calls are creeping up and all we need is one really windy day and we'll have a disaster. Oh well, it is what it is, and the winter fire season normally really takes off in February so I'm not exactly expecting smooth sailing. I found a case of individually packaged Nutter Butter cookies (4 cookies per package) at the Sam's Club in Sherman yesterday so bought them for the firefighters. We've been out of Nutter Butters since the big fire out west last month and I haven't been able to find them in stock at the Sam's Club in Denton since early December. If there is anything our firefighters will eat at those big fires, it is Nutter Butter cookies. Homemade cookies are their favorite, but when the home-grown ones run out, every single firefighter goes first for the Nutter Butters until they run out, so I'm glad I found some.

Nancy, It almost got too warm yesterday. Tim had put on thermals before he went out into the cold early morning air, and then he left them on (which I thought was such a big mistake but he looked at the same forecast I did) when we left to go to Sherman and Frisco. When we came out of Ikea in Frisco, the thermometer showed 72 degrees and Tim was so uncomfortably warm. (Had I been the one wearing thermal underwear I would have marched right back into Ikea and gone into the restroom and taken off that extra layer of clothing, but he is pig-headed and woldn't do it, so he was burning up.) However, as we drove north, the temperatures rapidly fell back into the low to mid 60s which wasn't much better, but every bit helped. I had left the house in yoga pants and a t-shirt with a long-sleeved hoody type tunic over that, so I was a bit chilly when we left, but then was more comfortable overall for the rest of the day because the temperatures did warm up rapidly. Today won't be quite as warm since clouds and rain are in the forecast, but we are supposed to have a couple more days in the 60s this week.

I plan to clean house tomorrow. That way, at least it will be clean at least until Tim comes home....if I clean it today while he is at home, then by tomorrow it will need to be cleaned again....I think he creates dust and dirt more quickly than anyone else in this house, except for the dogs when it is muddy outdoors.

You and Garry worked hard all your lives, and now these happy golden years of retirement are your reward for that. Enjoy it! Some friends of ours who were in their mid- to late 60s (I'm guessing) when we moved here and who really were enjoying the retirement years and traveling and such, now are in their early 80s (again, I'm guessing, but I think I am right) and are having some health issues. She has become almost crippled by arthritis and severe osteoporosis these last few years and I feel bad for her as it has greatly curtailed what she is able to do. She remains positive-minded and as cheerful as one can be while enduring great pain and having very limited mobility, but I cannot help thinking how much the quality of her life has changed for the worse. I'm so glad they were able to enjoy their earlier retirement years, but things definitely have changed for them and not in a good way. Enjoy your good health---and I hope y'all never lose that good health and energy.

Dawn

It was a dark gray day today. Promises of rain. As of now, 3/4 inches. I'm happy with that. We went to church. . . I am not happy with flu all around and told GDW I wasn't gonna hug anyone. My GOSH is that a huggy church. I waved them off and tried to say why, with love. I fear a few were offended,. I didn't care. Sad things happening all the time with all of us. I'm trying to do better with helping out. My heart goes out to all of YOU friends with your trials.

And then I'm thinking should I start a few begonias by seed under indoor lighting, and get the asparagus ferns going, . . . and . I recognize that some folks are saying WS solves everything. But I think growing under indoor lights is best for some. My dilemma is figuring out which is which. For sure my tomatoes and peppers are on the inside grow cart. It's the darned flowers I'm having a hard time with. So, with my previous post, just buy lots and lots of seeds, and try some this way and some that!

:) Cheers!