Not so much, but, boy do I have a hard time getting up and down these days! You will usually see me scooting along on my butt because it is easier than getting up to move to a new area. Getting up off the ground often involves getting on all fours first. I make sure no one is around to watch, though.

Now, once I decide to venture out to attack the weeds on our (very) steep hill out back, I will most likely join you in the bumps, bruises, scratches, scrapes, etc. club. I have put that off until now because we just ended our school year on the 25th,and I couldn't risk injury at the end of the year. Seriously. Wish me luck! Ha.

I do douse myself and clothes/hat in lemon juice before I go out. Once the bugs start coming around, I know it is time for a break!

Hang in there-hope the injuries are minor and the rewards great when you sit and survey your beautiful yard!

Cynthia

My husband says I look like a meth addict in the summer due to all the bug bites! I use bug spray, wear long sleeves and long pants and tall socks, even in 90 degree heat with 80%humidity (today). I have tried the OFF personal 'bug fans', no perfume, lotions, etc. Every bug still finds me!

I also have a few bruises and scrapes. But the bug bites are the worst.

cyn: Lemon juice for the bugs? I've never heard of that!

Yep. They are repelled by citrus. I put it on my skin, face and all, hair, and rub it all over my gardening cap. I also wear long pants, socks, long sleeves, and my gloves. It keeps away the gnats for about an hour. Then, I refresh it once they start bugging me again-haha. Guess it also keeps away the mosquitoes. I just use Real Lemon from the bottle. I should buy stock! ;)

Lemon juice? Good to know. I JUST came in from checking over the hostas, swatting those goldurned gnats the whole time. They are vicious this year. One bit me just behind the ear - itches like a mosquito bite.

All of the above and add to the list poison ivy.

what you list.. is what i would call ...

FULL CONTACT GARDENING ....

non of this two hand tag.. or flag football nonsense.. lol ...

ken

Oh poor Kate, that's awful.

Hostanista, what no salty sweat in the eyes? I was desperate to get inside this aft to wash it out. A line of vaseline above the eyebrows would have prevented my agony, if I'd thought of it before starting out. My impulse buys (hosta, sedum, companion plants) keep getting me into trouble, in that I need to get them into the ground.

OH YEAH I forgot about the salty sweat in the eyes! Gonna have to try that Vaseline thing above the eyebrows! And the lemon juice. But that won't protect me from tripping over rocks, bumping into ledges, dropping tools on my feet, and throwing my back out from time to time....sheesh.....

Full contact gardening! I love it!

So, what is a fifty year old fat woman doing laying a stone pathway all by herself anyway? DH comes out, readjusts one stone, then when someone comments on it, takes the credit, as if wiggling one rock entitled him to kudos! The nerve...
Nevermind that i've been laying among the hosta in the mud for an hour starting at the treetops waiting for someone to notice me, before i Die there....

I was just given a tip - white vinegar to repel mosquitoes. Anybody tried that?
Rina

Full contact gardening - the perfect phrase. I tend to have more bites than scrapes. Not so much mosquitoes as those )*&% chiggers. Nothing seems to repel them. I work in full contact gear - jeans, Muck boots, long-sleeved T and gloves, but they still find their way under my clothes. I tried something called Bug Soother today. Smells good and lots of people swear by it, but I had to go back and spray with Off.

Have to give my DH full marks. I built most of our retaining walls, but he did give me help on the 3 newest ones. He always tells visitors that I built it all. I think the one going in front of the big hosta bed will be the last. Much harder to move landscaping block than it was 10 years ago.

Well, I was trying to get a good shot of my Sagae for a post about "Symmetry" and I couldn't get high enough because the plant is quite large, and the ladder started to lean, and then OH NOOOOO. AND, AND this was at dusk and the mosquitos were... My camera was not damaged.

whiner ⦠ever heard moc complain about fire ants? She just deals with them â¦

too bad we don't get hazard pay ⦠except when other make good comments about our gardens â¦

it's worth it

dave

Klutzy? Uncoordinated? Reckless? yes yes and yes, One hosta bed is kept behind a three foot fence which I must step over to get at, last week I caught my foot yet again and in my effort not to step on any hosta did a little uncoordinated dance/fall which had me falling back on the fence into the yard...SO happy no one else saw this. Definitely had my share of bumps, strains, bites, trips, spills, you name it so I can very much sympathize :)

Oh dear bragu, careful please... "whiner" is a hurtful label.
Hostinastas' thread is intended to be humourous.

Hi Dave,
This was not whining. It was an obviously totally unsuccessful attempt at being funny. I did, in fact, fall off my ladder trying to photograph Sagae while being bitten by mosquitoes. Dang mosquito, slap, whoa, tilt. As I advance into older age, balance is an increasing problem. And, thanks for asking, but not only is my camera fine, but I'm fine too except for some bumps, bruises, bites, scratches, scrapes, scabs and scars.

I lived in Louisiana for 12 years and never encountered a fire ant on a ladder.
Christine

This post was edited by anniegolden on Sun, Jun 29, 14 at 23:45

Oh the joys of gardening between the aches and pains and the klutzy feet we are still having the time of our life and it is well worth having dirty fingernails when we see those beauties growing! Not any mosquitos here this year and can't say I am sad about it either.

Well, you took that all wrong. i understood your jest, and just jested back.

C'est la vie â¦

dave

Yes, to almost all of these things. I've not fallen off a ladder yet, but give it time. I don't know how many times I find a big bruise or a cut with dried blood, and the weirdest thing is I don't know when I did it. You'd think I'd remember a time outside when I said "ouch!"

I fold up a paper towel and place it under and along the rim of my baseball cap to keep sweat out of my eyes. And there's a B vitamin that makes our skin stinky to bugs. I take a B complex everyday during gardening season. It really seems to help, but I do have to use bug spray on elbows and ankles when the bugs are bad. I'll try the lemon trick.

For chiggers, put sulphur in your socks. They won't bother you.

bk

Love the picture of Rambo the Gardener!

Full contact, armed to the teeth, head band holds back the hair and the sweat. Safety glasses steamed, pushed up, fall off, grime all over them. Shoe soles mucked....lace-ups are a pain.

Beaucoup mosquitos so wear mostly light colored clothing. Skeeters prefer dark fabric. Spray clothing with repellent, tiny bug proboscis can penetrate fabrics. Ants don't care about color, they attack legs and bite every inch of the way. Wool socks are a big help, pants tucked into them.

Gloves fingertips worn from "full contact"--pick up cement blocks, pots, bags of stuff, mix ingredients together. Sometimes walk right into sprinkler not turning off the water to move it. Feels good, like childhood days

Drink huge glasses of crushed ice and water all day long. Gotta keep hydrated. Rub ice on temple and wrists. Remember it is good to work smarter not harder. Marvel how much hotter it is now than during childhood. Pray for rain. Heck, pray for STRENGTH!

Remember to take a food break. Gardening euphoria even in harsh weather makes time fly, don't forget to eat something.

Moccasin, you're the best.

And what about the invisible scars? ... the heartbreak. Yup, my Blue Mouse Ears , seven years in the growing, just bit the dust...HVXed. What a bummer.

Good advice as usual, Moc.

Well, after much moaning and groaning to DH, I've decided I'm going out and buying 3 more BMEs... from Budd's this time.

Oh tsk tsk tsk, Irawon, that is so sad. Poor little mousey. Poor IWAWON, so devoted for so many years. What a bummer.

Thanks, AnnieGolden, Irawon, Bragu, Don, BK, we're gonna keep in training, right team?

Just call us the Dirty Dozen.....

Remember....work smarter not harder.

The hostas in this last photo are quite healthy looking, but will not get added to my wish list. The yard sculpture is interesting, however, and quite life like, and presumably, working smartly.

This post was edited by anniegolden on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 20:48

Thanks, Mocc, for the sympathy. I needed that. Hubby just said, "It's only a plant, for God's sake".

My garden is not the place for wimps. My scrapes, bruises, callouses, banged fingers and sore backs will confirm this.

Well, anyone is welcome to just look at a safe distance anyway.

Jon

I have the marks, bruises, scratches, a sore ankle... and I have no clue as to when these injuries occurred. I'm too focused in the garden - or day dreaming:)

Personally, I don't believe in low maintenance gardening. Whats the point of having a garden if your not out their "working" at it. The weather is nice and cool here for July 1, a sign that I should go out and plant something, weed and water.

AnnieGolden, I like your droll sense of humor. Oh yeah. As a garden ornament he works smarter. And, he is always amazed at MY hosta. He is Farmer Bill. I need to get him a pair of "overhauls"......and knee pads. And clodhhoppers, since he wore his last pair out from the TOP....Our gardening styles are 180 degrees at variance, him always with a plan, me flying by-- rule of thumb, dead reckoning, seat of pants, such as that. I make it up as I go along. I'm thus the first to be surprised with the results when it works out. It is a blessing that I am a pothead though. Mistakes in location are much easier to fix. All it takes is more sweat and bruises, scratches, cuts and pains.

The title of this thread is almost a mantra. Quite poetic too.