Rhodo

This rhododendron plant is at the front stoop. I was struck today by how many different stages of "blooming" were present on the single plant.

 

 

 

 

Pears

 

This pear tree has never done all that much. It makes pretty flowers and produces lots of really small fruit. I think over the years it got too tall. It was full of broken limbs. We finally decided over winter that we would pull it down and start a new tree. I mentioned this to Eli on Saturday in passing, and later that same day he took off a representative sample of small limbs. Today it was ropes and ladders galore, as he and Briggs tore into the project in a big way. Eli made sure they were safe; Briggs made sure they got a lot done. I have encouraged them to work from the top of the tree down, taking off manageable pieces. That seems to have worked well. Because of the pandemic, the town is not picking up debris like they usually do, so that part of the project will have to wait. But the boys will probably have the whole thing down tomorrow. Briggs has been getting frustrated with the chainsaw's malfunctions (chain slipping off the bar). I explained that it was a cheapo device 30 years ago, and that he shouldn't expect to much from it. It's probably done more in 24 hours than it has in the past 24 years! We'll have to figure out how to deal with the stump. But the new tree is ready and waiting.

Play structure, revisited

Not much has been happening with the play structure for quite some time. Every now and then I would spot Calvin upon it. But it remains unfinished, with weeds overtaking the sand box area. But the past couple of weeks have seen some renewed energy surrounding it. I have kept out of the way, but noted as Calvin has used tools and materials out there. I haven't kept much track of what he was doing, just seeing that he has been busy. One night last week he had things to such a point that he declared he was ready to spend the night outside on the structure, in a hammock borrowed from Eli. He tried, but lasted only until about midnight. He reported that the wind was very strong (which it was) and that made sleeping impossible. These are some pictures of the "finished" project, minus a hammock.
 

Redbud

A few years ago I got us a redbud tree for our anniversary. We planted it near Kerlee Heights Road on the bank above the drainage ditch. There were some other mature trees around. The redbud didn't do very well. Most noticeably it leaned toward the street. It took forever for me to figure out what was going on. I finally realized it didn't really like the location. But I never got around to moving it. Finally a couple of years ago it died. Last year about this time I got another redbud, and we put it in the same spot. Almost immediately it started leaning. Over winter I decided that I would move it in order for it to have a chance to thrive. I did that right before things began to warm up. I moved it further down the bank, toward the apple trees, near the Japanese maple, but not under anything else. It seems to be doing well. I used stakes and guide wires to help it straighten; those seem to be working.

March and April 2020

 

It's hard to believe it's been more than a year since my last post. And hard to believe I'll break the dry spell with this!

Covid-19 is all about. The boys have been out of school for a couple of weeks, with at least a couple more to go. They have been good about keeping themselves occupied. Schoolwork via remote hookup has been part of that. A couple of days ago I remembered that I had some spare fence posts lying around to work on the fence between us and the Griffiths. I replaced a couple a few years ago. I rented a digger then, which was kind of pricey. However, Briggs has gotten to the point he could easily dig the holes with a manual post hole digger, so I set him up for a trial run. Dottie Allen was out there almost immediately checking in on everything! She said she could not remember the posts ever having been changed in the 35+ years she's lived in her house. The first one kind of leaned, mostly due to the way the fence was placed. His second one was very nicely done. He did a couple more the next day. The hardest part is removing the nails holding the fence material to the old posts. He's used a couple of different tools. On one of the holes we got a little ahead of ourselves when backfilling the new post. We managed to shovel/rake a cheap flathead screwdriver into the hole along with the dirt. Neither of us was interested in re-digging to get it. Archeologists in ages to come will spends hours wondering "why."

I think the immediacy of Facebook has sapped my interest in writing in the blog format. Every now and then though I get an urge to write up something. Of late it's felt like too much hassle to use this form, but in the age of corona-virus in 2020, I have the time.

Christmas outside 2016

Some years it gets done; sometimes not. This year we had outdoor decorations for Christmas. Libby did the old basketball post as a giant tree. Pretty stunning actually. The boys got in on the act with an abstract creation that required the ladder and numerous tools to install. Somewhere I have a picture of the product at night, but I can't find it at the moment.

Chickens and corn

I looked out the window at some point this morning and saw five chickens poking around the cars. Two red and three white. Very nonchalant. I called Libby, who called Briggs, who called Calvin. By this point they had made their way into the well area beside the front stoop: lots of dead leaves and dirt, and worms in there. They looked very well cared for. They poked all around the yard, eventually discovering the ground underneath the bird feeders, which is rich with dropped seed. So after a few minutes, Libby and Calvin took off to see if they could spot an empty chicken coop in the yard of a nearby neighbor. Sometime later they had returned, the chickens were gone and we had a basket of produce including several ears of corn. This was the result. As it turns out, the boys were very appreciative of the chickens, which plays well into my plan for one day having a few of my own here at the Folly. No, I have no logical explanation for why I didn't get a picture of the chickens.

Bunny

I spotted him (or her, I have no idea) first a few weeks ago, as the weather began to warm. He would be in the grass mid-morning, after everyone else had left for school and work, and I was heading to church. He was very brave, sitting in the middle of the lawn, but would scurry, usually to the flower bed when he spotted me. I finally had my phone in hand recently and was able to get a couple of shots. He darted to a smaller escape area, and I was able to get closer than I would have in the flower bed. Still no great shots, but as good as one can expect, I suppose, for a wild bunny. Though it's not visible here, he does indeed have a white tail.

He's just above and left of center in this photo, about 1/4 below the white standpipe. Raven in the bare patches to the left.

Caught up with him in this smaller plant bed. He was desperately trying to hide, so I didn't persist too hard for the picture. You can see the fur of his back in the middle of the shot, under a couple of branches.

Carolina Silverbell Tree

stock photo

Most years for our anniversary, I get us a plant. Usually a nicer shrub or tree that Libby has been wanting. Most years I know what I am looking for because I can recall something specific Libby has talked about. This year I hadn't a clue. With Calvin tagging along I went to the little nursery here in Black Mountain. After some hemming and hawing, and making the staff hang around after the announced closing time, I picked up a witchazel, a beautyberry, and a Carolina silverbell tree (Halesia tetraptera {Halesia carolina}). There 's not much to the silverbell (nor any of them for that matter), but I was told it was indigenous to our area.

 what we saw while walking

As luck would have it, Libby spotted one beside the trail as we hiked in Ridgecrest yesterday. It was gratifying for us both, that these do exist in the wild, and that ours has potential.

 our specimen

Bonus plants

The whole yard was a mess when we moved in. Two years ago I finally conquered the back corner where these roses are. They had been covered over by all kinds of junk. I mulched the whole area, and thinned out the junky weeds. Last year these little roses said, "thank you." This year they screamed it. I may have to go back in here and thin them down. The aroma, though, is divine.

There are a few of these toadstools in the mulched area of the back yard. This area is more open and tree-shaded. There are a couple of these at the moment, but I could see more ready to pop through the mulch.

Just a few feet away are these, next to a dead limb. I'm not sure what prompted their development, but they seem to like where they are!

August fruits

Despite dry weather we've had some nice surprises around the yard. The apple trees have finally revealed themselves for what they are. They had not been pruned to look like one expects apple trees to look, so we were not sure until recently. They are a shade of red delicious, not all that hot straight off the tree, but they'll cook up okay. The pear did also has some fruit on it, though it seems the most finisky of our plants. I'm not sure where the watermelon came from but there are four pretty good sized melons on the vine. We finally had rain over the weekend, with more in the offing, so maybe things can ripen up okay in the next few weeks.

Recent and random

Here are some random shots from the month of June. Included are some from Eli's "graduation" from elementary school, Libby receiving a gift for Manna Foodbank from a local church's Vacation Bible School, a couple of Calvin (a very funny one of him in mid-sneeze)and Briggs, and several from around the yard. Everything green has budded and bloomed. There are fruits on all the trees and shrubs. We've had blueberry pancakes, blueberry scones and still have big bowl in the fridge, plus all these still on the two bushes. We're pretty certain we've got some type of apple trees, which, due to mis-pruning, are oddly shaped, and a single pear tree with just a few fruits on it. It's in much better shape than last year, though, when the Easter freeze nipped every bud on it.

Play Set, part 2

I was able to add supports to the swing upright a couple of weeks ago. Last weekend I put the deck in and added the ladder and wall where hand holds will go, for a simulated rock wall. Tonight all three boys were trying everything out at the same time. Kind of cool.

The rail is kind of temporary; there will be one eventually, but I'm not certain yet of the height. It will provide support for upright slats that will block certain parts of walls for safety.

We're saving right now to buy about $100 worth of playset hardware from an online dealer: hand grips, the climbing wall hand holds, a big boy swing, a steering wheel and periscope. The play set is very popular even in its unfinished state. Neighbor boys up the street enjoy it as much as our trio.

FYI, Libby has not yet climbed up onto the deck. She's such a girl!

And one more flora shot

I think I kept mowing over these last year and we never saw the blooms. Three 8 inch clumps in three different places in the back yard. The leaves by themselves look dangerously (for them) like wild onions, so I whacked them down every chance I got. we haven't taken time to look up in the garden books to see what they are; feel free to weigh in with your opinions.

This year, Libby begged for mercy to see what they might do. Low and behold, they have really pretty, dainty flowers. Still looks like a weed, but I've transplanted them to one mower-safe locale.

More flora

I don't remember how ferns got connected to my dad so firmly in my mind, but they are forever linked. I seem to recall him being fascinated with them especially when they were in their very early stages of leafing out. We saw this last year, long after it had sprung up. I remembered it this year early and have been keeping an eye on it. I think we caught this plant at the perfect "fiddlehead" stage of leafing out. (Ignore the weeds.) Enjoy, Dad!

Flora

Last summer at our open house Charlotte S. and Betty H. gave us a gift certificate for peonies from their yards when transplanting time rolled around in fall. We transplanted 10 plants over winter. They all seemed to survive. We also discovered this spring an unusual (to us) variety of peony that did not bloom last year. Three nice blossoms this year. Several of the plants that Charlotte and Betty gave us have buds, though none have bloomed yet. We'll update when they do.

I hate tomatoes

Go figure: I hate these things, but we've got scads of them this week. Briggs will wolf them down; Eli and Libby will eat a few sparingly. There are a couple of varieties of the small tomatoes (orange and red) in addition to the big purple variety. We wound up with two ears of corn.

This-n-that

Not too much happening this month. We did find this whopper of a tomato; God-only knows what it tastes like. It's more purple than red at the moment. We picked it green and it stayed that way for the longest time! There's a single corn stalk in the garden; not sure where it came from. But it has fertilized, and there are baby ears developing! There is a lot of Rose-of-Sharon around the lot. I've grown to detest it, but it does have a pretty flower. Here are two varieties: no color in the center of the bloom, and a red center in each bloom. That's a shot of how it spreads: there are shoots like this all over. This is why I detest it! Lastly, there used to be a rusting aluminum shed on that slab. We're taking suggestions on what should go here now. It's about 20 feet from the back porch and deck, nicely sheltered by trees.