The Giddy Garden Gnome

Happy Winter Solstice

2009-12-21T14:00:00.004-05:00

Last night as the sun set, anticipation set in. After a full day of light snow (only 6 inches of the fluffy, white stuff this time), we settled in for the final evening of autumn.

Today at 7:04 a.m., we finally are making our way slowly back to spring and sunshine. Although the Winter Solstice designates the official beginning of winter, the knowledge that we are headed back to our gardening days warms our hearts.

Christmas is mere days away, all packages have been sent and we are settling down in front of the glowing wood stove to relax for the remainder of the holidays.

H, Spike, Sluggo and I wish all of you a wonderful Holiday Season! May the new year bring you all health and happiness.

Life is Good,

Hugs, Giddy

It's a Zen Day

2009-11-15T09:09:00.010-05:00

The remnants of Hurricane Ida are passing through this morning and it's a perfect day to just sit and watch the rain and fog outside. It has been a while since I've had the leisure to contemplate a posting for the blog, but the many photos I've taken over the past few weeks have given rise to my Muse, who has obviously been in vacation mode for a while now.

We try to begin our days with a yoga session of 20 or so minutes, however, we seem to get interrupted quite frequently when Spike and Sluggo decide our attention needs to be focused on them instead! We haven't told Spike that his pose is called "Downward Facing Dog", not Cat.

On a late afternoon walk up the road the other day with my camera caught my shadow, foretelling the shortening days of autumn and that winter would be just around the corner. We are still having mild days and the forecast is for more of the same once Ida heads up to visit our friends in Canada.

The dried seed heads of the Karl Forster Grass, highlighted by the autumn sun and waving gently in the breeze cause me to pause for a few moments and capture its beauty. Long after being buried in the winter snow, I'll be reminded of how lovely it was.

The hips on the Rugosa roses are turning red against the golden leaves. I've often thought of making a batch of Rose Hip Jelly, but just have never gotten around to it. Oh, well, perhaps next year.

Another one of my favorite vistas is from a short bridge crossing a creek that empties into the ocean. Card's Crossing, as it is named, is beautiful any time of year, but the glorious colors of autumn bring out something special.

H and I are not much on traveling, having done so much of it in our lives, but duty calls and we once again headed west for our annual visit to H's Mother and Sister in Nevada.

Last year, Mom was waiting on her second hip replacement surgery and was in quite a bit of pain, but this year found her very happy and not limping quite so badly. As always, it was good to see her.

H's Sister is quite the crafty artisan and was busily getting ready for the fall craft shows she attends. Her craft room is very well organized, unlike my knitting stashes, which can be found all over the house!

Her resident pet, is a very cute Cockatiel named Poco. He,s quite vociferous and his screeches can be earpiercing, but his cute whistling of Jingle Bells all year long brings a smile.

Normally very shy among strangers, Poco took a shining to H, particularly his mustache and eyebrows. H looked a bit dubious, but took it all in good humor.

After getting back home, we were called to transport two dogs and a cat from our favorite animal shelter, The Ark, in Cherryfield to the local vet for spaying and shots. While we waited for them to be loaded into their travel crates, I visited with the cats in the cat room. These babies are all waiting to be adopted and every one of them is so sweet and gentle. I just wish I could take them all home with me.

Of course, no post to this blog is complete without me telling about my latest culinary adventure. A few weeks ago, H and I discovered we like sushi! So, after a lot of research on the web, yesterday, I made my first batch! Came out quite good, actually, but I doubt if I'd get a "A" in sushi class. "-)

They were very tasty and the little bit of wasabi paste I put on mine almost took the top of my head off. WOW!!! What a natural way to clear one's sinuses!

Halloween was fun for the grandkids and our son sent lots of pictures from his phone, however, this one of little Kaiya had us literally rolling on the floor! Seems her costume was a princess and Mom had given her a ring to wear and she just had to show Daddy her ring!

Speaking of silly pictures, this is one sent from a little gray haired knitting buddy of mine. And, if I don't get cracking, I'm not going to finish the sweater I'm knitting for someone for Christmas!!! And no, I don't expect to get "paid"!

And so ends yet another post. I think I've covered all the excitement.

Life is Good

Hugs, Giddy

Mid October Musings

2009-10-19T09:49:00.004-04:00

Sun rise shining on the maples

It's hard to believe that it's already mid October. Where did our summer go???

My garden this year was pretty much a bust with the cool wet spring and early summer we experienced. But, on the positive side (there's always a positive side), our autumn has been spectacular with some of the best leaf color we've had in years. We don't often see beautiful sunrises as we face southwest, but our winter sunsets can be breathtaking.

We've had a few cool, rainy days and guess what Giddy does to keep busy? Why cook and bake, of course! I was perusing some of my favorite blogs and came across this recipe for Whole Wheat Pumpkin Scones on Dash of Sass's blog. She always has wonderful recipes that showcase good, healthful, and most importantly very tasty foods. You'll find the recipes, along with step by step photos on her blog.

And, of course, I can't have a baking day without baking something from the "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" book (See my post of January 15, 2008 for basic bread recipe details and video). Yesterday's choice was Caraway Rye Bread. It went together easily and came out of the oven looking great. Needless to say, H and I did not wait long to cut in to it. It did not disappoint.
I also highly recommend the book author's blog, Zoe Bakes. She always has something interesting and tasty baking.

And finally, I made a batch of my Guilt Free Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. I developed this recipe with our own tastes in mind and we love them! They're full of whole wheat flour, old fashioned oats, craisins, grated fresh ginger, pecans, Ghiradelli cocoa and Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips.

H and I worked hard the other day getting the deck ready for winter. We drained the fountain and put it in the garage and put all the deck plants into the "winter garden" downstairs. The winter garden is simply a spot in our mechanical room. The heat from the water heater keeps the temperature from freezing and most of the plants do quite well over the long, cold winter. Come spring, I'll cut them all back and begin feeding with Miracle Grow. By the time summer comes along, everything will be looking fine and I will have saved a bundle of money. Giddy is quite the tightwad.

My Muse has left me and Sluggo is bugging me for his lunch, so I'll have to sign off now.

Life is Good,

Hugs, Giddy

Road Trips

2009-10-11T14:48:00.009-04:00

Well, folks, life has been a wee bit busy around here. Autumn brings so many wonderful opportunities and it's difficult to pick which ones we will avail ourselves of before the season ends. Soooo, we begin this post with a continuation of the apple picking fun.

As you recall, in our last post, we had such fun at the orchard and before we knew it, we had picked 38 pounds of crisp, juicy apples. Of course, the first order of business was baking a Dutch Apple Pie. Oh, yeah. It was delish! Since it was too much for H and I to finish all by ourselves, we shared it with some friends.

The next order of business was the annual batch of Apple Butter! I think this was the first time H had really tried it and decided it was yummy. He's not big on sweets, but I don't put a lot of sugar in my apple butter. He spread it on a piece of my homemade toasted rye bread and was hooked!

My Mom made that Owl cookie jar in the background and it still holds doggie treats for any visiting canines.

We then made our annual road trip to Eastport, Maine which sits right next to the Canadian border. We stopped by Raye's Mustard Mill for a visit and picked up a jar of Hot and Spicy mustard. They are the last mustard mill in the US and their mustards have a wonderful flavor, tasting nothing like the mass produced mustards found on the grocery shelf.

After our visit to the Mustard Mill, we headed on in to Eastport for lunch and a quick walk around the downtown area. Since it was a bit chilly and windy, we didn't stay long, but a nice couple from Nashville was kind enough to take our picture in front of the giant fisherman.

The trees from the deck are showing color changing every day now.....

and across the bay, Bar Harbor is seeing daily visits from the big cruise ships for leaf peeping.

In between road trips, I still have my volunteer duties at the clinic. In addition to helping out in the office, I also plant and maintain the landscaping. This autumn it is looking particularly nice since I also planted mums which were used for a fund raiser.

Our next road trip was to Greenville, Jackman and back home via the Old Canada Road. This bit of historic roadway was exceptionally beautiful.

These bold fishermen were sitting in the middle of the river in their anchored kayaks.

We stopped by an historic marker and marveled that revolutionary troops could actually maneuver this far north!

The vistas were incomparable!

and the colors, all too fleeting.

On those days where road trips are not possible, we begin our days with yoga and exercise on the treadmill and stationary bike.

Sluggo, loves to participate......

and Spike just looks on in lazy disbelief that anyone would exert that much energy on purpose.

So, Dear Ones, such ends another post.

Oh, and if you've not read enough here, and want to see what my alter ego, The Downeast Knitiot is up to, check out my knitting blog.

Life is Busy and Oh So Good!

Hugs, Giddy

An Apple a Day

2009-09-30T16:06:00.004-04:00

Every autumn, H and I head out to the local orchard to pick our favorite varieties of apples. Today was a beautiful, sunny, crisp autumn day - just the right combination to pick apples. We got a bit carried away this year and before we knew it, had picked 38 pounds! I guess I'll be making my usual apple butter, but I've also researched a few recipes for Apple Chutney. It sounds like it would be wonderful with pork, chicken or turkey. My son, the Chef gave me the idea so I'll have to send him some for his approval!

H picked all the ones high up in the trees......

..... while I get all the low hanging fruit! (no short jokes, please)

Two bags worth ended up being 38 pounds; one bag of Empires and another of Macouns which are a nice, crisp cross of Cortlands and Macintoshes.

Just being in the orchard surrounded by all those apple trees was a treat

Kind of makes you want to take a bite, doesn't it?

Somebody found the bags of apples fascinating......

... and promptly fished one out for his entertainment!

Sure wish we could have taken these two munchkins with us. I know they would have enjoyed it.

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

I caught a whiff of autumn.......

2009-09-20T12:20:00.007-04:00

... in the air while walking up the road to fetch the newspaper the other day. I also spotted several maples beginning to turn red. I don't know whether to be sad that summer is coming to an end or rejoice in my favorite time of year!

We didn't have much summer this year and the garden had difficulty getting established, but we did eventually get some nice color in the perennial garden. On the other hand, the veggie garden was a bust this year, however, I did manage to get several meals of green beans and lots of peas.

I planted another batch of peas and am hoping to get some before any hard frost comes along.

The deck plantings did well, although it took lots of TLC to keep them looking good.

I managed to overwinter most of my geraniums, thereby saving lots of money!

The dahlias are looking pretty good!

My favorite pot was planted with burgundy leaved cannas, lime green Marguerite and a Sedona coleus.

The fountain corner was planted with lots of impatiens. I didn't think they would do well with the sun in that corner, but I was pleasantly surprised!

The Rudbeckia have reseeded all over the garden, but their sunny faces are always a welcome late summer sight.

That Joe Pye weed in the middle of the garden was not as tall as in previous years, so I think it may be time to divide it next spring. There's an awful lot of it - anyone want some?

We were busy last week with the annual Veteran's Club Lobster Feed. H and I are always on hand to help cook huge amounts of lobster, clams and mussels.

The "before" shot......

... and one of the after

Ah, but the final product is always the tastiest!

The lobster dinner was delicious, as always, but the really fun part was that I won the raffle for four more lobsters! I took them home, picked the meat off and froze it for another tasty dish. Hmmmm, Paella?, Lobster Rolls?, Cioppino? Boulliabase? Oh, stop me please!!!

Yesterday, H and I headed out to our friend's house and his firing range for a bit of target practice. I finally got to fire the 9mm we had acquired a bit back and to reacquaint myself with the Taurus .38. The guys were quite impressed with my marksmanship. Needless to say, none of the paper targets survived!

H is taking aim

Giddy and Clyde!

And so ends another exciting day in the life of a small, aging but fiercely protective gnome.

Life is Good

Hugs, Giddy

Catching up Again!

2009-09-06T09:27:00.003-04:00

Sorry I've been out of pocket for a while, but things have been popping around here.

By mid August, the weather had finally turned nice and the garden duties called for daily maintenance. In addition, I had to make an emergency trip down south as my Mother had been admitted to the hospital.

I spent five days helping Daddy take care of Mom when she was discharged from the hospital and not one to sit around and twiddle my thumbs, I cooked, cooked and cooked more so I could freeze meals for them before I left. I think I ended up with about 40 meals for them. Between Hungarian Goulasch, Chili, Chicken Soup, Penne Pasta Casseroles, Bean Soup, Brown Rice, Cabbage Rolls and various other dishes which escape me now, I think they will be set for a couple of months.

I learned my love of flowers and gardening from my Mom and she has lots of flowers in pots around the yard, so I also did watering and maintenance on her blooms. All in all, it was a whirlwind of chores and not a dull moment the whole time I was there. I think they were pleased.

The Mother in Law tongue behind them is a testament to Mom's plant care. It's almost as tall as me!!

I have always admired the photos of them hanging in their bedroom. They were taken sometime around 1948 or so when Daddy was a dashing young soldier and Mama was a beautiful young, dimpled German girl he met while stationed over there after the war. I tried to take photos of the pictures, but the light was never quite just right. The pictures had been colorized and I was startled to see that they had colored Daddy's eyes brown rather than the deep turquoise blue they had been.

Nonetheless, they were and still are a handsome, charming couple and I love them both dearly!

I think I have inherited very good genes!

Life is Good

Hugs, Giddy

A Bit of Excitement in the House!

2009-08-16T09:21:00.006-04:00

Last night, around 9:30, H saw something run under the love seat with Sluggo in hot pursuit

We spent the next hour or so trying to corner and catch a baby flying squirrel that had somehow gotten into the house. He got up into the half moon window and then came crashing down with one of the blue wine bottles.

It being well past our bedtime and still no luck catching the critter, we left the "boys" in charge and went to bed.

Sluggo kept a night long vigil........

but I suspect Spike had little interest in losing sleep over something he probably thought wouldn't taste good anyway. The next morning, we found him stretched out and snoozing instead of earning his keep.

In the end, with the help of a fish net, we corralled the little fella and set him free. We're still trying to figure out how he got in the house in the first place!

On a culinary note, yesterday, we had our first "mess o' green beans" fresh from the garden. The pole beans are beginning to produce prodigiously and I foresee lots of yummy meals.

With this first batch, I made a one pot dish of beans, potatoes and smoked sausage. It was a satisfying meal of food for the soul from my youth.

I'm happy to report that one of the BOB houses now has a "NO VACANCY" sign! The condos in the green house have all been occupied. This photo shows what I think is some kind of pollinating wasp checking things out. So far, the other houses have not seen any interest.

And, on a final note, it seems that all that fog and rain earlier in the spring and summer have produced some beautiful Annabelle Hydrangea blooms. I sat next to the bush to show how huge they are.

The weather here has turned hot (ok, maybe not HOT HOT) and the humidity is up so the watering chores have begun in earnest and H has begun spreading watersealer on the deck and we are schlepping plants and furniture back and forth, so I guess I'd better get busy and get the chores done while it's still relatively cool.

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

This and That

2009-08-07T16:31:00.007-04:00

Just catching up after a couple of hectic weeks! The sun finally came out and I had to get busy in the garden in between rainy, foggy days. It was so heartening to see the clear, blue skies and we did take off for a quick trip to Canada's Kingsbrae Garden in St. Stephen by the Sea. It was my birthday treat and it turned out to be a spectacular day for a road trip!

I had recalled that one of my blogger friends had mentioned never having seen Hens and Chicks in bloom and I happened to see some at the garden

The sun has finally won out over the ever present ocean fog and the bright skies have really made my own garden colors begin to pop.

The Annabelle Hydrangea with the pink Astilbe nestled against her look sweet together...

and the little antique wheelbarrow which was a gift from a dear friend is filled with many of the geraniums and dahlias I over wintered.

Hansi, the fountain gnome is enjoying the dappled shade provided by the Japanese Maple. I'm so glad I transplanted it this year as I don't think it could stand another winter of having tons of snow plowed on top of it!

Speaking of gnomes, yet another one arrived in our mailbox last week. He's a little bookworm whom we have named "Basil" after our favorite herb and of course, our favorite "Fawlty Towers" character played by John Cleese.

The veggie garden is limping along, but the green bean towers have finally begun producing prodigious amounts of beans. By next week, I think we'll be up to our eyebrows in haricot vert! I can foresee a green bean, potato and smoked sausage dish in our future.

Our neighbors are building a new garage and had to take down several cedar trees which they offered to us. Never being ones to turn down anything free, we of course headed right over to collect what we could. We usually cut it up into kindling and I think we have a few years worth here!

Of course, we have learned over our lifetime that nothing is truly free. H has had his eye on a small, electric log splitter and all this wood gave him the perfect excuse to finally purchase one.

This bit of "free" firewood has cost us $300!

We've had quite a bit of activity in the cove this week as mussel draggers have been harvesting a wealth of mussels. Out in the bay, the sailboats have been sailing back and forth from here to Bar Harbor.

Spike obviously has not heard the old saying about curiosity killing the cat. He almost got mailed to Grandma and Grandpa's house the other day!

And, so ends yet another couple of fun filled weeks in Downeast, Maine!

May all our remaining summer days be filled with sunshine and flowers.

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

New Occupants

2009-07-24T08:46:00.004-04:00

The BOBs have begun moving in to the condos! Yesterday, as I was meandering aimlessly through the garden as I am wont to do on a daily basis, I noticed that one hole in the BOB house had been sealed!
Notice the sealed hole - it's the second one down on the left.

The female bees lay their eggs in the holes and then seal them up with mud plugs. In the spring, the new bees will dig their way out and begin their task of pollinating plants.

The bees look very much like a common housefly and are not in the least agressive.

More information about these fascinating bees can be found on the website below:

http://osmia.com

It was a beautiful afternoon, and the boys were happy to join me in the garden. They, however, were more interested in the jumping grasshoppers and the chipmunks chirping in the shrubs.

Sluggo was obviously entertained by something as he focused intently for quite some time.

My huge Ruby Spider daylily has just begun blooming. Again, this year, it's blooming about a week or more earlier than in years past. I hope this doesn't portend yet another cold, snowy winter!
The dahlias have begun blooming, as well. I thought I had overwintered all of them, but it seems only the pink ones came back.

This coreopsis "Zagreb" was a pass along from one of my dear neighbors.

The "Jackmanii" clematis is blooming and I see buds on the "New Dawn" climbing rose that is winding it's way through the clematis. It should be a pretty combination!

Down in the shady part of the garden, the Ligularia is blooming a beautiful yellow, and when the dark purple Monkshood begins, they too, will make a nice combination with the silvery lambs ears encircling their feet.

And finally, here's a shot of the new hosta bed and the impatiens, astilbe, catmint and cranesbill on the other side of the rock walk. If you recall, this is the where we dug and found the cleanout to the septic tank earlier this spring. The big pot of geraniums is sitting right on top of the cleanout.
And today, it rains yet again. If this keeps up, we should have a very colorful autumn (providing of course, if the sun comes out in October!) One can only hope that Mother Nature will bless us.

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

BOBs?

2009-07-19T18:02:00.007-04:00

Blue Orchard Bees, that is.

If you recall, from a previous post, H and I had visited Thuya Garden in Northeast Harbor and saw these cute, whimsical Blue Orchard Bee (BOB) houses. As most of us gardeners have read, honey bees are being decimated by Colony Collapse Disorder and as we are all dependent on pollinators for our very existence, it makes sense to cultivate breeding areas for a variety of pollinators.

Sooo, H and I are doing our part by making four BOB houses for our garden. They are so easy to make and give us an outlet for our artistic side. I think they turned out really cute!

H painted the one with the kitty in the window. Spike is on one side and Sluggo on the other and
I painted the other three. Now we're just hoping the BOBs will find these accommodations pleasing.

This morning dawned clear, cool and beautiful. We awoke to the thrumming sound of a lobster boat in the bay so I had to get a quick shot of it and the seagulls flying around, hoping to catch their breakfast.
And, as long as I was out on the deck, I took a few shots of the amaryllis which have been blooming for weeks now.

My eldest son sent these to me from his garden in Florida.

This is the first year I've tried Nemesia and so far, I've been thrilled with it. It's been a non stop bloomer and no dead heading needed - my kind of plant. I think it looks very pretty planted with the deep blue Lobelia.

The veggie garden is just now coming into it's own and the other day, I prepared peas and carrots with the Sugar Ann peas I planted in the spring. The Sugar Anns are an edible podded pea and so tender and tasty that it's difficult to get enough to bring in to cook as I tend to just eat them in the garden.

Now, it's off to the garden for more weeding!

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

Thuya Again

2009-07-17T09:08:00.006-04:00

Last Tuesday, the sun was shining again, so we headed back over to Mount Desert Island to revisit Thuya Garden. We had been there four weeks ago and due to having substantial rainfall in June, and the lack of sun all month, not much had been blooming at the time.

This time, after a bit of warmth and sun, there were more blooms, but still not as much as should have been by mid July. The trip, however, is always fun and we enjoyed the quiet, peaceful stroll through the garden.

The path up to the garden at the top of the hill looks quite steep, but the pink granite steps make the climb much easier as it winds it's way to the top. In many spots, the granite cliffs give one a feeling of being in an ancient stone cathedral......

and the view from the top is nothing short of spectacular looking down on Northeast Harbor.

The garden itself is full of beauty and whimsy among the more formal parts. This old cedar tree had literally split this huge boulder before it finally succumbed to old age and had to be cut down.

Many of the Dahlia varieties were beginning to bloom, but this pretty one caught my eye.

I took a shot of this rustic bench so H could build one for our garden. How difficult can that be???

The Delphinium were having a contest with the sky to see who could be the bluest!

And the ferns were winning their own contest with the other verdant greens of the garden.

This little Blue Orchard Bee house (BOB), reminded us that we still had to finish our BOBs.

After a lovely time winding throughout the garden, we headed back down the hill and moseyed on over to Little Long Pond for a picnic beside the quiet water of the pond.

And so ended another wonderful day in our little corner of the world.

Life is Very Good!

Hugs, Giddy

What's That Bright Light in the Sky?

2009-07-13T11:19:00.007-04:00

Gasp! Can it really be the SUN????

Maine has had the rainiest, foggiest June ever. I doubt we saw the sun more than three days all month and unfortunately, July is looking pretty bleak as well. However, we did have a few days of glorious sunshine and blue skies last week and H and I took full advantage of it with an annual tradition of attending the Belfast Garden Tour.

We visited 6 lovely gardens and I was heartened to find that my garden was not alone in falling behind due to the gloomy weather. Many of the gardens showed signs of the nasty slug infestation that was so difficult to keep under control. And I awarded myself bragging rights as no one had as many tomatoes as I do! The experiment of bucket versus garden planted tomatoes so far, has the bucket planted tomatoes ahead by a mile. One of the plants has a tomato the size of a baseball - I'm excited!!!

Each of the gardens were unique and one stop on the tour was the Cellar Door Winery near Camden.

The view of the vines from their deck was spectacular with the Camden hills in the background.

However, I think H and I enjoyed the glass of wine on the deck of the winery best!

We met some lovely ladies on the tour and it was very apparent from their accents that they were not from Maine! Turns out they were from Georgia and with H, being originally from Alabama, a discussion of the finer points of boiled peanuts ensued. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly H and I fall back into our southern drawl. The ladies were kind enough to get a picture of the two of us together for a change.

These lemon yellow daylilies were so bright and pretty they made me smile.

Always one to find uses for the pile of twigs I end up with after pruning, I found this little masterpiece quite interesting. Looks like a cute way to prop up the floppers in the garden.

Remember that humongous pile of wood we had delivered to the door yard last month?

Well, there only remains to stack another 1/2 cord and we will be finished with the task!

Yesterday, we stacked 24 wheelbarrows full before the spirit finally gave out......

ah, but there's nothing more satisfying after a long day of stacking than looking at what one has achieved. Our winter will most definitely be warm and cozy.

As lovely as the gardens were, we were happy to get back home to our own for a bit of relaxing in the sunshine. As Dorothy said, "There's no place like home"!

The goatsbeard is in full, feathery bloom right now.

The nonstop begonia is putting out a great effort to brighten the front porch....

and the fern garden out front is really getting lush. I think I may have to transplant the remaining hosta next spring to make room for the lady ferns behind it.

Despite the ravaging of slugs, the cabbages are looking pretty good. Now that I've gotten more slug bait, the nasty creatures shouldn't be a problem. I was getting pretty tired of looking for them every morning with my spray bottle of water and ammonia.

The green beans are finally beginning to climb the poles

The lovage in the background is blooming and is larger than I have ever seen it. It must really have loved the rain, as unfortunately, did the weeds. I've just not been able to keep up with them.

So, Dear Ones, this day finds me finally able to sit down at the computer and blog. And to my blogger friends, please rest assured that I'm keeping up with all of you, just don't have time to do much commenting.

Life is Busy and Blissfully Good!

Hugs, Giddy

The Fog Rolls In, the Fog Rolls Out

2009-06-28T12:19:00.007-04:00

We have only seen flashing glimpses of the sun for the past 10 days now and it's getting to be a bit tiresome. The seeds in the veggie garden are rotting in the ground and the slugs are taking over despite my best efforts. There is no end in sight!

We haven't been able to see beyond Hog Island for days. On Friday, we did have a few brief moments of sunshine, but the fog quickly regrouped and came creeping back in.

Fortunately, many of the annuals actually like the cool mist the fog brings along.

Several years ago, my eldest son brought me a few amaryllis bulbs from his garden in Florida. Those few bulbs are now bursting out of their pots and I'll have to be gifting a few to some of my gardening friends. These babies are so easy. Every autumn, I put them down in my unheated mechanical room, don't even water them all winter long. Along about late April, I begin watering them again and in June, as soon as the danger of frost is over, I place them outside and feed them with Miracle Grow. When they're done blooming, the green, strappy leaves give the deck a nice, tropical feel.

The gazanias don't seem to mind the foggy weather.....

nor do the lobelia and nemesias.

Every year, I anticipate the blooming of the poppies and this year, I counted 19 buds....

unfortunately, the rain has beat them down and they are not in their glory which is sad as their bloom time is so very short.

The Cranesbill is in full bloom along the perennial border......

and the catmint is keeping up it's blooming. It's one of the hardest workers in my garden, blooming almost all summer long!

I have a confession to make. I'm somewhat of a kleptomaniac when it comes to sedums. Just about every public garden we've visited seems to have an overabundance of sedum varieties, and in my need to "help out" these gardens, I tend to prune a few of their sedums. As a result, I have quite a variety, but have no idea what their names are. However, I can tell you which garden I nicked them from! This beautiful bloomer came from my neighbor's garden, but I did have her permission to "pinch" a bit!

Lastly, I'm happy to report that the poor, abused Japanese Maple I transplanted this spring has been deliriously happy in her new spot next to the pond. The Gnome in charge of the water feature has been keeping an eye on her and reports she's growing by leaps and bounds!

And so, my friends, Giddy hopes to have your wishes and crossed fingers for a really, really, sunny and warm July!

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

Rainy Day Blues

2009-06-20T09:57:00.008-04:00

Well, friends, it's raining again - for the third day in a row. And not just nice, gentle rain, but big cloudbursts, sending sheets of water zipping down the road toward us! Luckily, we have excellent drainage and none of it is entering the house.

Nonetheless, we are in good spirits and this post will just meander on about what's been happening over the past few days.

Last week, I was stacking some of the firewood we had delivered last week and I came across what I thought looked like a piece of lichen. Much to my surprise, the lichen opened his eyes and looked at me!

The rain has kept me out of the garden, but I've been busy knitting away the hours in the house.

I finished this vest this week.......

and popped out a quick wine cozy.

We did have a beautiful, sunny day last Tuesday, so we took advantage of it to revisit Asticou Azalea Garden and make the first of our summer visits to Thuya Garden in Northeast Harbor.

Most of the azaleas had already bloomed out, but there was enough color left to make for a wonderful visit.

there were so many photo opportunities........

each one lovlier than the next.

At Thuya Garden, the blooming had not begun in earnest, but there was still plenty to delight the eye!

These Himalayan Blue Poppies were stunning.

These cute little Blue Orchard Bee (BOB) houses were peppered throughout the garden. H has promised to make a few for our garden.

http://osmia.com/bluebee.htm

The above link about the bees was quite interesting.

And last, but not least, we discovered who the thief with the sweet tooth was who had been draining the hummingbird feeder on the nights that I forgot to bring it in.

This little guy is obviously a descendant of "Big Booda, the Fat Raccoon", who undoubtedly grew so fat he could no longer make it up the stairs to raid the feeders.

And that pretty much sums up the highlights of the past week. Despite the rain, we are grateful for the cool weather and wish we could send all you southerners a respite from the awful heat you are experiencing.

Life is Good and Soggy!

Hugs, Giddy

Unusual Sunrise

2009-06-15T08:56:00.003-04:00

We are situated on a peninsula and our home faces southwest so we are usually not able to see spectacular sunrises. On occasion, however, atmospheric conditions are just right for some great shots when the sun peeks out over the tops of the trees behind us and spotlights Calf Island across Flanders Bay.

H was up at his usual hour of 5 a.m. and got these great photos. It was a bit foggy out so the close ups look a bit washed out, but as usual, the camera just couldn't quite capture the beauty!

Calf Island stands out orange in the distance.

Life is Good

Hugs, Giddy

Where's a Kid When 'Ya Need One??

2009-06-13T18:35:00.003-04:00

Today, we had our annual five cords of wood delivered. The next couple of weeks will find us schlepping this pile, one wheelbarrow at a time, to the area under the deck so it can season nicely until we begin using it in October. We still have a bit left over from last year and that will be used on the occasional cool summer nights to ward off the chill of the evening.

We stacked about 7 wheelbarrows full and then decided to quit and fix our lunch. I suspect it will take a considerable amount of time to get it all stacked.

In the meantime, it was a beautiful day and we dined on grilled steak, steamed mixed veggies and yellow rice.
After lunch, I meandered out in to the garden to see what was blooming.........

the Columbine is in full bloom.......

as are the Centauria.

Clematis "Firecracker" is popping.......

and the viburnum "Marisii" is blooming for the first time!

the tiny blooms of the Cranesbill fill the garden. They are quite prolific with their seeds!

And so ends another day in the life of Giddy's family!

Life is Good, but really busy!

Hugs, Giddy

The Long Road Home

2009-06-11T09:14:00.003-04:00

On our last day in Florida, H and I spent a pleasant few hours early in the morning sitting on a bench in Crystal Beach.

The cool ocean breeze and the birds singing overhead made for a very relaxing respite from the heat.

Everything was going along just fine. We'd had fun with the kids, didn't eat too much and blow the diet, got some exercise despite the gawdawful Florida heat and now it was time to quickly jet back the next day to our beloved Maine for some cooling off.

Right.

The clouds were lovely looking down from the aircraft 36,ooo feet above the earth.........

until we began seeing the ominous thunderheads accumulating. If you click on the above picture to enlarge it, you can almost imagine a diabolic head on the right side of this cloud cluster.

The day started off well enough with our 6:20 a.m. flight getting off the ground on time and we were just about to make our final descent into JFK on time to make our connecting flight to Portland.

Oops! All those pretty clouds I'd been photographing from the airplane were a good indication of what was transpiring on the ground - severe thunderstorms in New York. We were being diverted to Richmond,Virginia for refueling and waiting out the T-storms. Darn (this was not the word I was using at the time).

After two + hours on the ground, we were finally headed to JFK once again. H, being the anal retentive personality that he is, had Jet Blue's number in his cell phone and called ahead to get us on the next available flight to Portland at 1:55 p.m.

When we landed, we checked the board and found the flight had been delayed until 5 p.m. Darn (another bad word here). Upon further looking at the board, we realized that our original connecting flight had not yet left and were waiting on a crew. We rushed to the Help Desk and gratefully, got reseated on our original flight! Yay! Only one problem. Our bag would not make the flight and we would need to pick it up the next day - a six hour, round trip drive. But, what the hey, we were exhausted and wanted nothing more than to get home as soon as possible.

H spoke nicely with the Jet Blue lady about our predicament and she told us that, unfortunately, since we were "technically" on a stand by basis, we would have to pick up the bag ourselves. H, being the kind, polite person he is, thanked her and commiserated with her about what a difficult day she must have been having with all the weather delays.

And so, we headed home. Later that day, the nice Jet Blue lady called to say our bag had arrived and that she would talk to her supervisor to see if they could have it shipped via FedEx with whom they had a contract. Two minutes later, she called back to let us know our bag would be arriving the next day!

It pays to be nice to people!

And so, ended the Great Florida Adventure. Giddy is back home, her garden has burst forth with color, and tomorrow's blog post will feature photos of blooms, blooms and more blooms!

Life is Good.

Hugs, Giddy

Giddy's Big Florida Adventure

2009-06-08T08:53:00.007-04:00

The trip began with a last respite at the Portland Jetport before heading into the eye of the hurricane known as "The Grandkids"! We were so looking forward to seeing everyone and the anticipation was high as we lifted off for warmer climes.

Of course, we hit the beaches first thing and it was good that we did as the heat was just about to do us "Mainahs" in.

The Divine Ms. Kaiya happily dug in the sand and helped dig moats around the sand castle we built.

Master Ashton helped find shells after we got out of the water because Gramma was pooped. The waves were coming ashore pretty fast and I took more than one tumble. But hey, one pays pretty good money for exfoliation at spas and the sand did a nice job on my skin!

Grampa sat quietly with Ms. Kaiya and made sand creatures.

Youngest Son, Brian and Dad got to spend quality time, deep in conversation.

After the beach, we headed back to the house for some delicious smoked barbecue with baked beans and potato salad, compliments of Brian and Amy and then launched into the "project" which Gramma had planned for the kids.

We purchased terra cotta pots, paints, potting soil and flowers at the store and then Ashton and Kaiya each painted thier pots (and themselves!).

One would think that by then, the kids would have been worn out. But NOoooooo! There was more in store for Gramma and Grampa. Gramps showed off his artistic bent by coloring with the kids and Gramma danced the afternoon away when Ashton held out his hand and asked "Would you like to dance"? Kaiya joined in for a really fun Conga Line! What a hoot!

After dragging ourselves out of bed, every bone in the body creaking and complaining, we headed up north to see Eldest Son, Jason and his girlfriend, Sabrina.

After yet another delicious meal of smoked salmon, smoked pork tenderloin, coleslaw, salad, yellow rice and black beans and other yummy side dishes, we headed back to our hotel and crashed in preparation for another day.

The next day, we enjoyed another day at the beach with Jason and Sabrina's son, Noah.

Jason entertained us with a few tunes, none of which we recognized, but then he probably didn't know any tunes from our era! He's a fine musician, however, whatever generation he's playing.

Today, we head back to Tampa for an early morning flight back to Maine and gratefully, cooler weather! While Florida is nice and we certainly enjoyed getting to see the kids and grandkids, the heat here is brutal and we look forward to firing up the wood stove if the evening cools off at home!

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

Gnomenapping Most Foul!

2009-05-31T08:45:00.005-04:00

What dastardly deed has been perpetrated upon this poor, unsuspecting garden creature? Who, I ask, would be so sinister as to snatch a gentle, earth loving garden sprite? Giddy is not pleased!

We are off to purchase the ransom request of 2 cans of WD -40. No doubt to be used to clean the rust off of the Stihl chain saw we found left in the woods during the pouring rain!

As in most kidnapping cases, we will not be alerting the local constable lest he inform the FBI and the perpetrator spend the rest of his life making small pebbles out of big rocks.

Evil villain! We shall find justice in clever ways, so beware!

The Giddy Garden Gnome
(Who, incidentally, packs heat!)

Catching My Breath

2009-05-28T13:17:00.008-04:00

The weather has been pretty good lately, so I've been frantically trying to get the gardens in order and the pots on the deck planted. Sounds easy enough, but it takes more time than one thinks to get it done right.

Gratefully, today is a dreary, wet day and I can catch up on my blog reading and writing.

I finished this summer sweater just before the good gardening weather set in......

it turned out pretty nice.

Last week, we made time to head over to Mount Desert Island to visit the Asticou Azalea Garden. Unfortunately, we were just a wee bit too early for most of the azaleas and rhododendrons, but the PJM Rhodies were in full bloom. Guess we'll have to make another trip in June to see it in all it's glory!

We made a quick stop in Somesville on our way for a photo op. I couldn't resist the reflection of the bridge in the pond.

The dooryard garden is shaping up quite nicely with many things getting ready to burst forth any day now.

The Creeping Phlox is the one bright spot in the middle of the yard.

His Majesty, Spike has been enjoying afternoons in the garden on the hunt for errant chipmunks. Good thing he's in his harness and I'm able to yank him back before the strike.

A lovely young chickadee couple has leased this house for the season and it's been fun watching all the comings and goings.

We were also graced with the presence of an Indigo Bunting at our feeder.

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

And You Wonder......

2009-05-14T14:01:00.004-04:00

why I can't move today?

Yesterday, H and I went to the local soil guy and had our truck bed filled with lovely compost to sprinkle on the garden. It was about a yard and a half and took me most of the day to unload it.

This is a spot on the side of the house where I'll be planting some Collard Greens and pickling cucumbers. It's in the shade in early morning, but gets lots of good sun in the afternoon.

I put lots of compost on the daylily bed up the hill.......

and on the side of the house where I transplanted some of the hostas that had outgrown their spot in front of the house. This is next to the spot where we found the septic clean out.

Next year, I'm hoping H will put faux rocks on the foundation! I made the rock sidewalk out of the rocks that ended up on the backside of the house when they blasted the ledge for the foundation. I have a LOT of rocks!

My good friend, Nancy, gave me this beautiful wheelbarrow and I have all my overwintered geraniums sitting in it soaking up sun before I transplant them to various pots on the deck.

The whole front of the house is blooming in PJM rhododendrons. I sure wish they would bloom all summer long, but I guess we just have to enjoy them while they are here!

Today is quite windy outside, so I'm taking this opportunity to stay inside and try to heal my poor aching shoulder and hands. They took quite the beating from shoveling all that compost!

Life is Good!

Hugs, Giddy

A Treasure Hunt

2009-05-10T10:33:00.006-04:00

For the past 6 years we've been blissfully unaware of certain things about living in the country. One of them was the septic system. We knew not to put anything down the pipes that we hadn't eaten first, and not to plant trees or other deep rooted plants on the leach field. Long time Maine residents also gave us good advice about the tank and leach field and cautioned we should know where the cleanout was.

Delaying way too long, this spring we finally undertook the task of finding the septic tank and its cleanout access. After a bit of research through our house construction photos, I came to the realization that five years ago, I had planted a thread leaf cypress right over the tank! So, the first order of business was to dig up the shrub and transplant it elsewhere.

After we found the cleanout access, we carefully marked it so it could easily be found if we needed the septic cleaned.

The cypress was transplanted to the spot in front of the old wheelbarrow planter and trimmed. I'll keep it well watered and hope for the best.

On Friday, we noticed that our local hardware store had cedar outdoor twin seats on sale, so we hurried out to get one. They were selling like hotcakes and we managed to get one of the last ones. We put it in the garage on top of a tarp so I could stain it before it went out into the yard.

It looked pretty good after I finished........

but it looked even better in the garden!

Up in the garage loft, things are coming right along.....

the cucumbers and squashes are beginning to sprout......

and the geraniums are begging to be let out, however, up here, we still have a chance of frost til the end of the month, so they'll just have to cool their jets for a while longer.

The boys are very happy to see the warmer weather coming. Now they can watch the squirrels and chipmunks up close and personal through the screen door.

Life is Good and warming up nicely,

Hugs, Giddy

The Long Hibernation is Over!

2009-05-05T10:56:00.006-04:00

The last of the snow piles deep in the forest are finally gone and the black flies have begun hovering about as I work in the garden. Yep, spring has arrived in Downeast, Maine and Giddy has come out of hibernation.

The little red squirrels never stopped raiding the feeders all winter long

The Primroses are in full bloom now

Sweet little Johnny Jumpups have reseeded all over, their cute, sunny little faces always elicit a smile.

My Narcissus are actually blooming this year! Now those of you living in the south have already seen these come and go, but they are a sight for sore eyes for us up here in the Great Frozen North.

The Catmint will be blooming soon, bringing happy bees to the garden.

Hosta "Aureo Marginata" is coming up much faster than the other varieties. I guess she's not quite so adverse to the cooler nights.

The bleeding heart has begun blooming, as well.

The PJM Rhododendrons will be in full bloom by Mother's Day if the warm weather keeps up.

We've had a couple of days of rainy weather so I made good use of my time by continuing my quest to bake the perfect English Muffin. My apologies to Pete of Pete Bakes Blog and to Alton Brown of the Food Network. Neither of their recipes quite did it for me. I couldn't get good "nooks and crannies" out of Pete's recipe and Alton's muffins were just a wee bit gummy. Sooo,
I set about to play with the recipe to get just the right amount of texture. The crows had a feast on the rejects.

However, I am happy to announce that I think I've finally hit upon the right formula. It's an adaptation of Alton's recipe and according to H, it's the best one yet.

Just look at those nooks and crannies!

I pretty much followed Alton's recipe, but decreased the powdered milk to 1/4 cup and used only 1/2 TBSP canola oil in place of the shortening (no trans fats for me!). I increased the yeast to 2 tsp.

I did purchase 4 - 3" rings at the local kitchen store. They were only $1.50 a piece so it was a relatively inexpensive purchase. I did, however, resist the temptation to purchase an electric skillet. My cast iron skillet, heated on a low flame works just fine and the four rings fit perfectly.

The dough is quite loose, so I used a 1/2 cup measure to fill the rings after I sprayed them with olive oil spray and sprinkled the bottom with corn meal. After I filled the rings, I sprinkled the top with corn meal, as well. Cover the skillet and "bake" for about 6 minutes, flip the muffins and bake for 6 more minutes.

Hmmm, think I'll go pop one in the toaster now!

Life is yummy!

Hugs, Giddy

Giddy Recycles!

2009-04-30T13:51:00.005-04:00

Never one to waste anything, my latest recycling idea is quite brilliant, if I do say so myself.

As you know by reading this blog, H and I have two beautiful rescue kitties. Spike and Sluggo truly do light up our days and we love them dearly. Not a day goes by that they don't bring a smile to our faces or a hearty belly laugh with their antics. Not to mention that the cats always have the best seat in the house!

Now, the downside of having pets is the, how shall we say it, ahem, the "exhaust" created by them.

We purchase the clumping kitty litter in big 40 pound, plastic tubs, which unfortunately, cannot be recycled by our local recycling company. I have used these tubs for everything from yarn storage to compost buckets, but alas, they still pile up in the garage. What to do? What to do?

Last year, I began buying all my eggs in recycled cardboard cartons. As I used the eggs, I kept the shells in the cartons and then stored them all in the garage with the intent of using them in my flower pots instead of styrofoam peanuts in order to save on the expensive potting soil. Not only will the cardboard help keep the soil moist, but the eggshells add calcium and other nutrients to the soil. At the end of the season, the egg cartons and depleted soil could be conveniently thrown on the compost pile for next year's garden. Perfect!!

A couple of days ago, I found some really nice tomato plants at our local nursery and decided to purchase them even though it's too early to plant them outside, but I knew if I waited, I would not have the selection of these lovely, healthy plants.

In years past, I've not had the best of luck with growing tomatoes like I did when we lived in the warmer climate of Kentucky, so I decided that perhaps growing them in individual buckets would be best up here in Maine. Voila! The need for buckets presented itself and what a better way to recycle the kitty litter pails!!!

The tomatoes spend every warm spring day outside in the sunshine, but I'm able to put them back in the garage in case of an unexpected spring freeze. Once the danger of frost is over, I'll keep them in a warm, sunny spot outside.

And just what is this nasty looking tub of vegetative stuff?

Why, it's seaweed collected while on one of our favorite walks in Sorrento Harbor. This stuff has been sitting above the high tide mark on the shore all winter long and is perfectly dried and ready to be spread on the garden. It's full of lovely nutrients like potassium, magnesium, zinc, selenium and loads of other things good for the flowers and veggies. We'll be collecting more each time we go.

I've finally managed to find the time and left over building materials to create a small planting area on the sunny side of the house. The area was mostly sandy fill, so I added lots of composted cow manure and seaweed and then planted red and white onions and red and green cabbage. It will be interesting to see how things grow. Our friend, little gnome "Dopey", keeps watch over the patch.
We're finally seeing some color in the garden as the primroses are beginning to bloom.

The Rock Arabis is blooming in the middle of the vegetable bed. I'll have to definitely move it this year!
Pansies always bring a spring smile to my face....

However, the Italian Parsley seedlings look as though they need more sun.

All in all though, I'm so happy to finally be able to get dirt under my fingernails again!

A dirty life is a good life!

Hugs, Giddy