Conscious daily effort…..which are you on board with?
7 months ago
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- 7 months ago
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All of you have xeriscape Gardens?
Comments (27)We've had more dry years than wet years since owning our cottage in the San Francisco Bay Area. The soil is heavy gray adobe clay. We had it dug out about 8" down after killing off the Bermudagrass and yanking out the contorted junipers and nandina that the PO had put in. Those were the "low maintenance" shrubs du jour of the '50's. The clay was replaced by top quality compost and mulched after planting. Contrary to the usual xeriscaping, we have about 3000 sq. ft. of cottage garden beds. I never watered more than once a week in the beginning to get everything established. Since we are fortunate to have relatively cool summers, now that the plants are established, they can generally go 2-3 weeks between waterings, which are done with soaker hoses. When we get our rare hot spells I do have to water every 7-10 days, but the moment the fog comes back in, it's back to the usual. I have hundreds of different plants, but eliminate any that attract too many pests or take too much water. If it can't live on my usual summer watering schedule, it goes into the 'greens cart' when it dies. It's surprising how many plants have done very well on this infrequent-but-deep soaking regime. There's a twenty-year old stand of yellow cannas by an empty lot. Well-established, obviously, and gets no care except being mowed down once a year by the absentee owner. It survives our six-month summer drought with no trouble. Looks a bit tired by August, but perks right up again when the rains start in October and blooms its head off during the winter. It's on a downslope and must survive solely on any runoff from the neighbors, who don't seem to have any gardens to water at all. Surprises me every year, though; a lot tougher plant than it's supposed to be!...See MoreSS Daily Support - Mon. 3/7 thru Sun. 3/13
Comments (28)A heartwarming story...thanks for the link. It always amazes me that people can get in - with their kids! -a barely seaworthy vessel and set out on a journey to who-know-where. Courage and bravery come to mind---but also the chance of sacrificing your family. It takes a wild thought process to come to the decision to risk it all and take off. The whole experience for the students must have been mind blowing. It changes one's outlook on life and what's really important. On Saturday, I hope to spend most of the day outside, connecting with nature in the garden. If I get it pruned, weeded, and swept, I may reward myself in the next couple of weeks by buying a cool plant or two at the nursery. Sunday, I'm going to help a teacher build a set for the kindergarten St. Pat's Day play. That should take but a couple of hours, so maybe I'll take the kids to the beach! It's lovely weather here. I decided I'm not freaking out about the chores this weekend...can you tell it's the end of the end of the quarter for me? One more paper due and I'm off for a week on the COLD east coast! *********What's important to YOU this weekend?********** Check in before you check out for the weekend!...See MoreQuotes 11 - 8 - 17
Comments (1)I miss the old style reporting, even though it was policy to be unbiased, their look at news was neutral, but biased by what the general culture approved and it was based on the event and not on the personality...See MoreLadies, how do you wear your cologne/perfume?
Comments (51)Interesting Oakley that Wood Sage and Sea Salt had such a bad beginning for you. But glad it was pleasant in the end. I've had other things like that but can't remember what they were right now. And sometimes I've had the opposite too of something I thought I liked originally then after a bit it was terrible. Thank goodness for samples!!! For you 'bad dog smell', if they are rugs, I'd set them outside in the sun and fresh air a few hours and that always did it for my Mom when we had a dog. Of course if the rug is large, that's no easy task! I had great luck with bad smells from a healthcare worker that we had for my Dad not too long ago. Talk about perfume overload!! She used essential oils, smoked cigarettes and then tried to cover all that up with some sort of strong cleaner or laundry detergent and a strong mouthwash!! I could smell ALL the layers. Yuk!! I was gagging and could not get 10 feet from her. We had to cover the chair she sat in with a blanket so it wouldn't permeate the fabric. My Dad had lost most of his sense of smell and he smoked cigars so it did not bother him plus she was great with him so I just put up with it. But I couldn't stand it and by the 3rd evening we had gotten an Orek air purifier. It was a larger newer model that I had used before but worked fantastic. I could now be in the same room with her. And by the next day, it was the freshest smelling room in the house. And she was no longer ruining the furniture. Maybe this could work for you? No I don't work for Orek or anything, just reporting what worked well for us and saved us from having to fire an otherwise great worker. The new bigger one we used is called Orek DualMax Air Purifier and the smaller size we had before was called the XL Professional Air Purifier. I've since even used the big one to get cigarette smoke and mothball smells out of a few leather purses and after a few days they smelled like leather again. In fact, I'm doing this same thing as a favor for a few friends of mine. Hope you can find something that can help you....See More- 7 months ago
- 7 months ago
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