I'm not really missing, I just don't post as much. There are plenty of "new" people here though, I've really enjoyed the new pics and opinions. I miss Nicki too. I thought of her not too long ago when a cat named Miss PissyScat had a prescription filled. I assume (ahem) the name was given affectionately. I was hoping to be the person to announce over the intercom that it was ready. And where is Steven? Did he run off to Europe? Not much new is going on. Sophronia, the bossy little Barred Rock, passed away in her sleep a few weeks ago. She would have been 2 this week. Johnny is a brave soul; he woke me up (early, really early!) to tell me he found her still in her dust bath, so she apparently died sometime between the evening scratch feast and sunset and he didn't notice her when he closed up the coop. I wouldn't have wanted to tell me that. I buried her by the shed (where a skunk and a groundhog are duking it out over the den underneath) and the lilac there is going to bloom (finally) after 7 years. I know a Rock was laying wonky eggs and we thought it was her, so maybe that was the reason. Who knows with chickens? The rest are fine, but a little bitter about being cooped until the plants and grass fill in a little. I'm still waiting for bees. I'm still debating how exactly I'll set up my hive. I've been getting outside and attempting to right wrongs in the garden. I stomped out one morning and ripped the medlar out. I couldn't take one more day of it. It has gotten fireblight and cracked fruit, and I can never figure out just how long to let the fruit rot before it's edible. Last year I got a fruit with fuzz on the inside...ick. I also tore out a few floppy plants that have been annoying me for years and moved them to the alley, where they can flop all they want. I've been planting up the hell strip up front. I'm sure the neighborhood terrors will manage to destroy most of it, so I'm putting groundcovers and daylilies up there. Daylilies and crocosmia divide endlessly. I'm modeling my efforts on a planting a neighborhood over. The only thing I don't like about their strip is that they didn't allow anywhere for guests to park. Getting out of a car would be awkward without breaks in the planting, so I moved the car around and measured out car lengths and placed stepping stones. Anything to entertain the curtain twitchers. The hens have destroyed most of the front gardens, so what I have left is what I'm going to go forward with, on the assumption those plants are pretty darn tough. We put up a short fence in the side yards to try to keep the hens in the back. I'm working my way around the yard, moving and dividing. I'll be putting in annuals here and there to fill in spots and I'll see how it goes. The longer I garden, the more I want voracious perennials that will cover lots of ground and look nice without needing my attention. If someone marketed variegated crabgrass, I'd be 1st in line. Johnny decided to plant a rose garden and he has some David Austin roses on the way. (And, oddly, after years of telling me to buy red roses, he got pinks and I think a yellow.) He's planting them on the back end of our lot, which means a long haul with watering cans or the hose. He claims it won't be so bad. I have my doubts, but after his tomato crop last year that he planted in what I think is a too shady spot, I'm willing to bite my tongue. I started the biting right after I voiced my opinion. I did offer up chicken poo and worm castings to help improve the awful soil back there. He's planning on putting up some sort of arbor. With any luck, his ramblers and my vines will help each other look better. We're still both knitting. He made a pair of fingerless gloves on a whim, I'm still slogging through a baby blanket that may never end. My advice on baby blankets is "keep it simple!" Hard won wisdom. I want to get back to projects that are more self-centered. Our Himalayan prolapsed again a month or so ago and is once again better and frisking around with practice thumb strips from Johnny's gloves. Our 9th anniversary is tomorrow, on April Fools' Day, no less. No big plans, but we're somehow both off together. Mostly, we just see each other in passing these days. I feel like I see him more on Facebook than in real life. kent

I have two huge hosta beds under black walnut trees that have been there for many years. They are not sensitive to the juglone that these trees produce. Hostas are one of the plants that do very well under black walnuts. My guess is that they are just not up yet. I have many hostas that have been up for weeks and many that haven't even shown an eye yet--and the funny part is, I can dig around where I know those plants are, and not find a thing--and the next week, there they are all along, right where I was digging......I've quit looking for them until I actually see spears coming up. If they never come up at all (in another couple of weeks) you might start looking for signs of voles as they will eat hostas from under the ground. You will see tunnels if you have them. Squirrels sometimes will dig around them but seldom dig them up, and if they accidentally do, they don't eat them.

Well, if your kitchen turns out anything like the bathroom re-model you just did before this, it will be well worth the 'non-decorating' gene domination!!! And I'm sure your kitchen is a dream come true! Can't wait to see pics! After our floors remodeling I have put off the kitchen countertops & maybe taking down one cabinet to open up even more ...so I know your feelings first hand! Later it will happen. My decor has been lacking lately because of all this wonderful weather!...so I'm outside alot...but today is cleaning day for Easter weekend (inside, ugh) I'm glad you 'whined' as you stated... cause losing any mobility is just the pits! Hope it heals for you & that you will be able to use your left hand more soon! Happy Easter, Marlene. Jeanne S.

I don't multitask good at all and in my case the blog suffers due to my reading and posting on here and FB. My husband actually does a better job at blogging than I do - I can count on him to keep the gardening side of our blog going :D I do love attending all the 'blog' parties that are going on right now and have seen some familiar names from those who use to post here - I guess it is just the way the internet is being used right now ..... Lynne