So the voles have a plastic deficiency? Not very bright, are they. Unless they were trying to get into a ready-made vole highway tunnel. Still not very bright. . . .

I was outside doing yard cleanup yesterday, and surveying my achievement today, when I realized that I STILL have not labeled all my daylilies. I just KNOW I'm going to have a few with '???' written on their marker until they bloom and I have a flash of recognition and go, "OH, THAT'S what that is!" (Or, "Huh? I don't remember planting THAT there!")

I have to go dunk my kids - it's bath time. The youngest must still be totally worn out from Halloween last night - she actually ASKED me to put her to bed a couple minutes ago. Who am I to argue with THAT?

Laurel

Royce, you've been busy. Other than my deer woes (posted in Janet's "Yucko Days"), I've done very little outside. The weather has been terrible -- too cold and rainy to work outside. So I check out the lily auction every day and try to figure out where I can add some new babies and where I'm going to plant my seeds.

Wow, a hose eating critter - wonder if they were trying to find water? I don't have a clue as to what would chew rubber but hopefully you will keep it there in the good weather. I have enough critters to deal with.

I finally got all the daylily seeds alphabetized and ready to be planted. I thought it was a bad pod year - nope, have over 2000 and I only wanted about 1200. About 75% of the crosses involve our own seedlings. Thankfully this will make culling very easy in a couple of years - lol! It was also exciting to see how many of my own spuf parents would set pods since pod fertility is an issue with the spuf-y ones.

Enjoy your weather Royce (is envy a sin?).

Brooke

Hey, I can't begrudge someone having some nice weather. Ours was nice on Sunday and Monday but Monday I had to come back to work and watch a perfectly nice day slip by. It's interesting to see folks to the east and north getting the weather we usually experience 2-3 days before.

It seems that once daylight savings time comes about I hibernate in the evenings. It's getting fairly dark here by 6:00 now and I refuse to take spotlights outside to work unless it's an emergency. Besides, who wants to do outside work in the dark when the temps have dropped to 30-40 degrees? Don't have to most of the time, ain't goin' there. With it getting dark earlier it is funny, I seem to start supper earlier and actually seem to have some time to choose not to fold clothes or clean house and instead sit around and sloth. Is that what folks call relaxing? Anyway, I suspect winter was given to us so we can rest up and recharge for the hectic summer months. Just three more weeks of Farmer's Market and I'm done for the year. One has already closed so there's much less baking to do and I'll have to say I'm looking forward to a break.

Yep, I've stuck to the topic. This is a total ramble

You folks with good weather get back out there and get at it. I'm going to work inside tonight. My thermometer said 26 degrees this morning.

Janet

Good to hear everyone's rambling. Our weather has been cold, then warm, then cold. We have had two HARD FREEZES so far, which is EARLY for us. Our first hard freeze was mid-Oct. with the second one being this morning! I sure hope my newly potted DLs won't keel over! Our first hard freeze isn't usually until mid-Nov. with our second one by end of Dec.! We have had wonderful daytime weather mid 60s to upper 60s. I am bummed that I had to file my first complaint ever against a lily auction seller too! BOO HOO...I hate paying for something, not getting any communication or my daylilies!
Nancy

Oh my, seems I'm not the only one with "DEER" problems. Sorry folks, I sure hope I didn't jinx all of you with my post about my deer woes! I did find where they had taken a few bites out of some of my seedlings in my beds out back, but they either didn't find them to their liking or something scared them off. I have sprayed them with some of that awful "stinky" stuff to farther discourage the deer from eating them. My cocker has been going crazy at night lately, so I'm thinking she knows the deer are out there. Decided to let her out tonight so maybe she'll chase them off.
We've had some great weather here lately too. Got lots done outside, but a cold front came in last night and the wind has blown hard all day today. We did get a nice rain out of it last night though. Stange, Oct. is usually our dryest month of the year, and this year we got more rain in Oct. than all the summer months combined. Things are really looking much better now.
Raked up more pine needles yesterday and mulched some of my newest arrivals. Also got about 75 or so daffodil bulbs planted among one of my dl beds. They are pink varieties and should be really pretty early next year, prior to the dl blooming.
Supposed to drop to the mid 30's here tonight and the next couple of nights and be in the 60's during the day. Be nice working weather for finishing up fall garden chores, I'm thinking. :)
Well, guess I better stop my "rambling" and let someone else have a turn now. LOL
It's fun to read about what everyone is up to though, isn't it?
Jan

Thought I was going to get some more stuff done this weekend but it turns out Saturday will be the belated birthday dinner for the first born. Since she was in the hospital for her 22nd she wasn't about to give up the dinner. Since Saturday is also hubbie's birthday, the big 5-0, she said that she'd let him blow out one candle. He's such a big poopie about his birthday we really don't usually celebrate it but we'll make an exception this time.

Sunday looks like it will be spend in Louisville watching child number three judge in the NAILE dairy judging contest. They start early (7:45) and probably won't be done until around 4:00 so I figure the day will pretty much be shot.

Now I'm whining.....

Janet

Another cold, cloudy day, with a weather headache. Too yucky to work outside, definitely. I still need to dig up my cannas and store them in the basement, but I think that's the last yard project on my list for the fall - everything else is as done as its going to get now. I have the terrible urge to go plant more bulbs, but since we're going to look for a new property next year, planting more bulbs doesn't make much sense.

I have seen SO many wonderful daylilies lately, it will be terribly hard to limit my purchases next year to a reasonable (??) number. I've got at least four different wish lists floating around here; every time I look at a hybridizer's site, I wind up adding more. I'll have to spend some time over the winter comparing what I've jotted down to what I'd like to have for breeding purposes in the future - not just every pretty face that beams from the computer monitor. 55,000+ registered cultivars, and I'd happily look at every one. . . . I do find that I have a bias toward taller, later repeat bloomers, with etched eyes of all colors. I like ALL colors, pastel to bold. I don't care for heavily bubbled/extremely ruffled and/or toothed edges, but I've seen some mighty fine picotee edges in white and contrasing colors. It's so much fun to daydream, and I've had to stay AWAY from the Lily Auction - I don't NEED any more seed for this year (and I'll keep telling myself that, over and over).

Laurel

Well, I think most of you can stop envying my weather now. It was 21 last night. High today has been 55, which is ok, but it has been very windy.

Jan, the deer can be sooo aggravating. I have told this story before, but not recently, so perhaps you have not read it. One year I planted a small dogwood tree. During the winter, the leaves all fell off and only a dormant, dead, stick looking thing was sticking out of the ground. A deer snipped it off almost at ground level and just left it lying there. Did not chew it or anything - just cut it down and left it. Ah yes, when I put up the electric fence, I did enjoy seeing them leave the area with tracks about 8' apart.

Haven't commented on lots of the posts, but am enjoying reading them. Think I will go cut a few low hanging limbs on my road to the woods. Good time to work in the woods, where they will block the wind.

Hello to everybody after a hot, dry summer in southeast Georgia. Good to see that Royce is still our Ramblin' Man--inspiration for the Allman Bros? School is still my #1 priority,and I'm practicing discipline I never had in my youth. I've only checked in a few times all summer to read posts. What a sacrifice I've made! You CAN teach an old dog new tricks, but it takes a LOT more time & effort!

Also, I moved over the summer. Just 15 miles, but I live in town now after 22 yrs in the woods, so major adjustment. I drive out a few times a week to run sprinklers on the daylilies, and plan to move back there when my sweetie retires (4 yrs?) The daylilies are doing much better than I expected, and I even got rebloom from some old standbys. I got fall delivery on a few plants purchased this past spring, so they're in pots here in town. I never had problems out in the woods, but several have been snacked on here in town!

I had to bring my birds and tender plants with me, so we got an aluminum carport, screened it with greenhouse shadecloth, and just yesterday wrapped it in plastic for the winter. Wish me luck with regulating the temps this winter. We've had a handful of nights dip into the mid 30's, but no frost yet.

I'm hoping I've got enough of a routine going now to start spending a little time here on the forum. This is such a great group of people, and I've really missed y'all!

Lelia
Waycross & Hoboken GA

Royce, you need to feed your critters because they must be pretty desperate to eat your garden hose.

I am wondering if maybe it wasn't gophers. I think voles mostly eat vegetation and moles eat the insects. ( grubs.) However, I was wrong once ( to far back to remember when ) so it is possible I could be wrong again. Twice in a lifetime...WOW!!!! If you find what it was, please let us know....Ellie

Welcome home Leila - you've been missed.

Yes it is the time of year that Royce rambles. He has just reappeared after doing the summer hibernating thing. I guess he gets talky when he gets up and rambles around his garden.

I got to ramble around the yard today in nice sunny weather with NO WIND. It felt great. Around here if the weather has been warm, it is either raining or too windy to be outside.

I managed to rake the horrible tulip poplar, redbud and hybrid poplar trees off of several beds. The daylilies had been cut back last week but you couldn't find them under those huge leaves. More rain in the near future, I want the water in the ground, not packing the leaves down. Hopefully in the next few days it will clear up, be warm and not windy and I can actually get them picked up and redistributed.

Brooke

Huggs to Brooke; you're such a dear! Good luck with your leaf chores. Doesn't your husband have a leaf mulcher among his boy toys? I've got a small one, but it gets all choked up when there's fresh pine straw mixed with the leaves.

Lelia

Oh Lelia, you know my husband so well. Indeed we do have a chipper/shredder - a really big one that he tows with the tractor. Guaranteed to do wood up to 3" in diameter. This is our third one.

The good news is we have only purchased one - the bad news - they keep breaking, can't be repaired so he gets a replacement. When this one goes, we are done with chipper/shredders. I even try to keep little tiny twigs out of the leaves so this machine won't break. Nope, no more, a mulching lawn mower will take its place.

Brooke

Hi Lelia, nice to see you posting again. Glad to see you didn't get all uppity over moving to the city and quit associating with us.

Brooke, you are right about my summer dormancy. I just can't get too excited over dayliies when it's 90 to 100+ degrees, the foliage is ratty, not many blooms and the few that bloom have already been seen (no new seedlings). I mostly stay inside and hug the air conditioner.

Weather is still fairly nice. I sorta divided strawberry plants and transplanted the divisions, then covered all with bird netting. Most green plants are now dying back and rabbits/deer will be looking for anything green on which to nibble. Thought it might be a good day to do the transplanting as the weather forecast is for 100% rain tomorrow. I ain't never been good at math, but best I remember, that's a purdy good chance for getting rain.

Is anyone else as tired of recorded political phone calls as me? I quit even answering it today and just let the answering machine take them. I wonder if these stupid things really change anyone's mind.

Fergot something. Ellie, I am not sure, but think voles ate the garden hose. And yes, I gave them something to eat.

BTW, I put all the garden hoses in storage yesterday, except for a short one in the gh. Through watering until spring.

Hey, Royce, one look at my neighborhood & you'd realize there's nothing to get uppity about, LOL! I'm a fish out of water here & can't wait to move back to my sandhill.

I've only got an 80% chance of rain tomorrow, and if you steal it all I'm gonna be mad at you. I had to run the sprinklers on my daylilies today.

Lelia

It's raining here now so Royce, you probably got some of it. Supposed to get more tomorrow and wednesday. Hurray!! Maybe the water table will rise...Ellie

5" of rain over the last couple of days...Hurray!!! Ellie

OK Lelia, now we know who is stealing our rain. Our forecast was for a 100% probabality of rain today. However, it did not say how much. We have gotten rain. If it rained like this all day, it might amount to 1/10 of an inch. Oh well, the forecast was accurate. We have rain.

Royce

Started raining here early last night ya'll, and is still spitting a little. Supposed to get more tonight. At least, I'm not having to water,I love it, although, I do get these terrible sinus pressure headaches when a front is coming through. Had to hit the bed early last night with this one, and just dragged myself up a couple hours ago. Feeling a bit better, but still not 100%. Sure hope it lets up before tomorrow. Got lots to do, to get ready for my NC road trip Thursday. :)
Jan

Political phone calls here got out of hand last night. Four calls. I hung up on the former govenor of the state. I didn't figure she cared. Local races here are hot and heavy. Both candidates for our county judge go to our church. They quit going to the same service. Now one goes to the early service, the other to the later one. I'm sure if they had a bon fire of all political signs that are around here it'd look like a major housefire.

At least the nasty radio and tv ads will go away after six o'clock.

Janet

I'm impressed Janet - no one has called me but I read on one forum that a former President called her asking her to vote. I think my age is against me and the former President just skipped right over me - I guess there is an advantage to being an old lady.

The nasty ads stop at 6 but then the talking heads will continue dissecting, interjecting, complaining, accusing, insinuating, alibing, excusing - and will continue for hours, days, weeks.

Will tomorrow bring relief from all of this - NO - because tomorrow it starts all over again for the next election.

Brooke - proud to be an American where we can do this without fear.

Jan - I also get bad sinus headaches when a front is coming. Often, they turn into a migraine and the only cure is sleep. I have been taking Excedrin Migraine this year. If I take 2 pills soon after the sinus headache starts and lay down for about 30 minutes, it works wonders. The trick is timing...I have to take the pills before it turns into a migraine. They are over the counter meds and I highly recommend them.

Trying to catch up on all the new posts. I've been so busy in the yard, I haven't had much computer time. And when I do have time, late at night, I'm usually too tired to type a coherent message.

I've been moving a lot of plants and replanting beds. All year I've been looking at things and thinking to myself, why did I plant that here...it would've looked so much better over there. Am I the only one who does this?

I also found a local tree service company that has a huge pile of free mulch and I've been stocking up. My husband and I have gotten 10 pickup truck fulls so far and could use about 20 more. Their pile of mulch is so nice and clean it disappears almost as fast as they put it out. I love that it's free, but boy oh boy, it's a lotta work shoveling into and out of a pickup truck.

Kathy

Jan, know what you mean about those sinus headaches. They're almost as good as a barometer. I can almost predict the weather 2 days in advance. You start taking sinus pills as soon as you feel a slight tightening and keep taking them every four hours. Maybe if you're lucky they'll work for an hour or two. Wal-Mart probably used to think I ran a meth lab because I'd buy the three box limit every couple of weeks. Now since we have to sign our life away in KY to get the pills with that stuff in them I've switched to some other sort of stuff that I don't think works quite as well. I used to never have sinus problems. I guess that was just another little gift of growing older...

Our local dump takes in all tree trimmings, garden waste, etc. and brings in a huge tub grinder and grinds it all up. Then they give it away free. While it's certainly not pine fines it's great stuff if you have a heck of a lot of ground to cover. I've hauled probably 10 loads so far this fall and plan to put a bunch down between rows this winter to try to cut down on mowning next summer. The good thing is that they have a backhoe at the dump and will load you. It sure makes it a lot easier.

Janet