Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 4:39 am on June 4, 2013 Permalink  

  So Weary – It Feels Great! 

  My oh my, too weary to take a camera outside. Stauffer Avenue will be up to snuff pretty soon. Yes, yes, I know – way too many flowerbeds to make sense of. But they are my flowerbeds and I love working in them. I have one more day of taking the beds down to bare dirt and then I can sit in my backyard and just enjoy what each and every moment brings and the Preen takes care of the soil. June 5th may see a ceremonial dig. That is the first day in six weeks that I can go without my sling for the left arm. It’s all been worth it and no more wondering and worrying. It’s done, it’s over and I can say by 90% it has been successful. More another day as this ole Grammie is taking the rest of the day off. Weary, but wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s a good thing.

   
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  Noreen 5:01 am on June 3, 2013 Permalink  

  A Day of Discovery 

  Oh My Gosh – the sun was out and it felt like what the first day of Spring should have felt like. Though I have my left arm in a sling, I have a great garden tool to whack and stack weeds. It is an elongated triangle one at the end of a very long handle. With just a push of my right arm the triangle slides under the dirt to take out hundreds of little weeds that would like nothing better than to be left to their own and become huge weeds. I think a hoe like this may be what sugar beet farmers use when their workers walk the crops. Holding the long handle waist high and the very top of the soil is skimmed. The higher the handle is held the deeper it digs into the dirt. This is not a job for the faint of heart as many perennials do self seed and the newbee gardener may very well take them out with one swoop. I am starting at the flower bed the farthest from the house and working my way homeward. As each bed is cleaned a very nice substantial layer of Preen is also being applied to keep new weeds at bay.

  

  Some of the self seeders paired with a Hosta

  When I knew I would be recovering from surgery I did promise Dennis I would not do anything more than garden with whatever happened to make it through the winter. Hello! Who knew that when the gardens were under water in the late winter and early spring and then covered with ice that many of my favorite plants would not survive, but many new weed seeds were washed in. Slowly but surly the beds will be cleaned and be a fine canvas for that which did make it. Exercise is great and it gives me plenty of time for quiet meditation as Dennis is not a gardener but he keeps the coffee cups filled.

  It’s a good thing.

   
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  Noreen 1:33 am on June 2, 2013 Permalink  

  Waiting on a Meal 

  These last few days there has been so much to do about me walking through the backyard. The blackbirds are in a snit even though I have no idea where their nests are.

  

  Baby Robins waiting for some fresh worms

  When Mrs. Robin began dive bombing me, it did make me take notice. When I realized where her nest was I made sure to make a huge arc around the area so she could be left in peace. I am not sure if there was no room in the inn or if she preferred the great outdoors for her nest. With all the rain we have had I wish we had put an awning on the birdhouse. The lawns are soft due to all the rain we have had and there is no shortage of worms for the mama.

  I took to a patio chair with a cup of coffee and watched the many, many trips Mama Robin made. There are actually four babies crammed into her nest. Regardless of the multiple trips, the mouths continued to be open and ready for the next treat.

  It will in interesting to see how the babies do when they are about to make their solo flights. We do have several neighborhood cats that cross the yard and they have all they can do to get from point A to point B. Those self same blackbirds delight in dive bombing the cats, so I hope the cats will have their own safety in mind and leave the  babies alone as they take their maiden voyages.

   
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  Noreen 3:11 am on June 1, 2013 Permalink  

  Short Lived Beauty 

  Garden centers offer anything and everything to fill our flowerbeds and gardens. Every once in awhile there is a hand-me-down that grows more precious by the decades. The Fern Peony is a rare beauty and very elusive. When it is found in a nursery or a greenhouse you may find a single stem selling for $40.00 or more.

  

  The Wendlandt Fern Peony shared by many generatons

  This year of 2013 the farm that was my paternal great grandparent’s homesteaded has been farmed by a Wendlandt for 150 years. Ironically, that farm is where my Fern Peonies were gotten from. Peonies grow from tubers and these tubers do multiply. Little by little the tubers have been shared from the farm in Penn Township of McLeod County to untold numbers of decedents. When my mother received her tubers they were sheltered and protected during the growing season and also mulched during the freezing winters. In time to come when my Mom felt she could trust us as adults with garden skills, having been honed, she shared with her four children.

  As the tubers in my garden multiplied, I have made sure to have plants in several locations to insure that if one spot had winter kill, I would have a back up plant or two or three. I did share tubers with Orlin for his Arkansas garden but I have not checked with Martha to see how they are doing. As late as two years ago I started two plants for daughter Carrie for her home. Here is the unfortunate news:  yesterday they came into their glory and today the winds are wicked and the delicate blossoms suffer.

  We need to cherish our beauties while Mother Nature allows and take up the challenge to insure we will have them again for years and years to come. They love full sun and full sun means they are out in the open in our gardens, taking the beating of all of our seasons. Some things we just need to live with in faith.

   
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  Noreen 1:32 am on May 31, 2013 Permalink  

  Seeing Stars 

  As much as I have been walking the gardens, waiting to see what will appear after a nasty winter, I do see more than what pleases the eye. The earliest of greenery in our yards looks a lot like chives. Everyone with a garden would have several plants of chives as that was the perfect finish to a bowl of good potato salad. This greenery knows no boundaries. Dennis pays no attention to it in the lawn as he mows it with never a mind. As my perennials are struggling to get a foothold, they are almost strangled by this early crop of greens. Where they came from originally I have no idea. Birds carry much as they fertilize hither and yon. Strong breezes have also been known to share from yard to yard. As you can see from the photo, the greens are bountiful, much like thick grass. After a bit there appears a blossoming stem, coming out of the soil and the Star of David takes center stage in all of its six inch glory.

  

  Beautiful, but pesky, Star of David

  In time the entire mat of greens and flowers will die off and be left to be raked off as it looks really untidy. I did dig up a bundle and there is no counting all the little bulblets, waiting to be fed by the greenery as it dies off. As I had mentioned, the stars can make one see red. This self-seeding process is nothing new to gardeners. My Mom had Marigolds growing among the cucumber vines and dill plants were not hard to come by when the cucumbers were ready to become pickles.

  So it goes, and I need to remind myself that gardening is anything but dull and boring and you play the hand you are dealt. Each year we find the Stars of David in places where nothing else would take hold and we just marvel. I am quite sure if we tried to cultivate these little buggers we would have a crop failure. Some things are just meant to be.

   
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  Noreen 2:54 am on May 30, 2013 Permalink  

  That Which Amazes 

  During this spring of surgical recovery there are days when I am so close to finishing the process but yet so far away from being the product of the process. Seeking and searching for worthwhile endeavors to fill the day can almost bring me to the brink of “doughnuts.” That is my one weakness when I feel challenged spiritually and physically. In my mind it takes me back to when, as a very young person, my Mom’s baked goods fixed everything – and I mean everything – from stepping  barefoot on a board with a rusty nail in it to not getting a blue ribbon at the fair in my first year of being in 4-H.

  Days such as these I rely on coffee and many many trips out to the backyards to find something that will fill me and take away the gnawing impatience. It is a good thing that we have just about an acre for me to roam. I started out by pulling up the little volunteer Hackberry trees that have sprouted where no tree should dare to be. The heavy rains have made for many that will never see another light of day. It was required that a few be left go for another day as they may have been nudged in a previous year and now the roots are even deeper. One armed . . . but still dangerous out in the gardens.

  

  Soon to be a mini field of Jack in the Pulpits

  I had worked off most of my angst and was thinking about cleaning all the mud I had on my garden shoes when I spotted the plant that made my entire day. In years past my sister-in-law had brought back from Iowa a small Jack in the Pulpit plant. It was evident it had been in a plastic sandwich bag far too long and it needed some good soil to settle into. Now, after five years there are a total of four that come into their own with several other small ones that are just foliage. I am not sure if they are multiplying by sucker roots or if there are seeds of some types that are not readily visible. The canopy of large leaves makes it a treasure hunt to peek under to find the jewel of the plant that is truly amazing in its detail. That right there made me feel so much better for the day. Screw the doughnuts. I found my inner peace.

   
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  Noreen 5:02 am on May 29, 2013 Permalink  

  Good Friends Talking the Day Away 

  Oh yes, it was another day of clouds that broke open for rain right over the noon hour. Today plans had been made to visit the Hickory Inn for noon lunch. The previous Brown County Assessor Judy Friesen and the current Nicollet County Assessor Doreen Pehrson came for a visit to St. James. The three of us gals had all worked our way through assessors offices beginning as clerks and appraisers until we reached the desks where the buck stopped. Ironically, the three of us were all appointed in 1988, and with business meetings formed what has been a lasting friendship. There is only so much business you can talk about and perhaps as women always do, we found common interests that had nothing to do with market values, ratios and percentages.

  While many of the fellows at business meetings took the event into the evenings, the three of us would scope out nurseries and greenhouses to see what could be added to our yards. The friendship has celebrated births of grandchildren, deaths of parents and given each other moral support in leading departments that never did or will win popularity contests.

  The day was wonderful and we have agreed to try and get together in mid July when the temps are bound to be warm enough to enjoy walking through each other’s gardens to see how the green thumbs are doing. It’s a good thing.

   
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  Noreen 3:25 am on May 28, 2013 Permalink  

  A Saving Grace 

  Again with the cool, absolutely dreary, sunless day. I did go down into my sewing room in the basement. At least down there I have enough florescent lighting that it gives the mental mind set that my environment is bright. Dennis had been doing a fair amount of pacing before he found himself a job of working on an old saddle. I tackled a bit of hand quilting while I was in my sewing room. I have to have something to show for this day that the Lord has made.

  I have been on target for no or little activity on the shoulder, going on five weeks as it recovers from surgery, but there are days when you want to just get out and kick butt doing something physical to take the edge off. My better judgement tells me not to throw caution to the wind and have regrets later. I came upstairs after several hours and wandered the length of the house and there I found it: the saving grace of the day.

  

  The purple lilacs allowing me to feel peace

  The same little porch that has my thinking spot and rocking chair also affords me windows to the west. Though the sky was dark and gray, each window was filled with the blooms of the dark purple lilac. No, the skies did not part at that time with sunlight, but I did decide to just sit down a bit and do some self-reflection. I know the sun will shine again. I know my shoulder will soon be able to do more than hold my bra strap up. I know that my life is just as sweet as the aroma that these lilacs are sharing – so I cracked open the window a bit against the cool outside air to let the lilacs come in and rocked a bit of the afternoon away.

   
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  Noreen 2:57 am on May 27, 2013 Permalink  

  Garden Art is Everywhere 

  Oh for Pete’s sake anyhow!  Here we are on Memorial Day and the high temp for the day is 52 degrees. We had rain overnight and the ground is too wet to do any one-arm poking around with a hoe for damage control on the new crop of weeds. I still had to do a walk through the yard and the gardens to check on any progress of perennials that may have come up.

  

  Mother Nature and my garden art have
  made for a great Memorial Day

  This fence line between my neighbor and myself has been graced with lilacs. Luckily, they are on my side of the line and they are safe from pruning. Those that love to prune lilacs to conform to a specific shape loose out as the lilacs bloom on last previous year’s growth. I have a deep purple, a lavender and a white.  The base of the trunks are twisted and gnarled with age but low and behold the blossoms are just beautiful as if they were new plants.

  I do try to put out some garden art each year to enhance Mother Nature, and this year – quite accidentally – I knocked it out of the park. The green gazing ball made for a great backdrop of a rain-soak branch that bowed low and needed a resting stop for it’s blossoms.

   
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  Noreen 4:17 am on May 26, 2013 Permalink  

  My Thinking Spot 

  

  Grandma Laura Wendlandt’s rocking chair,
  waiting for a new chance

  I am sure every child has heard many times “you just sit there and think about what you have done.” We adults have that phrase slip off of our tongues so easily because we are no different thaN children. Everyone needs a place to do some deep thinking. For myself, I have always needed a quiet spot where I could hide away when pondering something important. Not until recently had I come to realize that I needed “one” spot. No matter what the thought process or the situation, I needed to return to that one spot. In the summer of 2012 I had visited my sister Elvera and she was cleaning out her basement. I came home with my Grandmother Laura Wendlandt’s rocking chair. It was in pretty bad shape. I took it upon myself to finish what several others had started. It took a lot of elbow grease along with sandpaper, glue, springs . . . oh, what the heck . . . everything! The entire time I worked on it I felt calm, knowing that I was giving life back to the memories of Grandma Laura.

  

  My Thinking Spot — Grandma Laura’s
  rocking chair restored

  It didn’t take long for me to find a place for it in our home, and about the same time I found I really enjoyed sitting in this rocker. I am sure some of the scars in the wood could tell stories to no end. One of the lap robes that grandma had made and sent to me when Orlin and I lived in Riesel, Texas soon found it’s way onto the backrest. Grandmother Laura was of short stature and the rocker height is evidence of  it. I really don’t mind that.

  When I need to sort out some items for myself and my family, I wait until I am home alone, and I do just sit here and think about it. Some  items bring a smile, followed by a few tears. Some items need serious thoughts as there will be serious results. In the end, when I need that extra oomph to get up and out of the rocker, I know that my decisions are sound and wise for those that will be effected. I also know my heart likes the time I spend in my thinking spot. That time keeps me connected to my children – you know, the wealth that you leave the world.  It’s a good thing.