New additions

Many of my (few) readers probably know that this area was devastated by a series of tornadoes last Saturday afternoon. Thankfully my neighborhood was not hit, but several of my friends and co-workers had damage to their homes. The tornado that struck downtown Raleigh was only about three miles from our house. We heard the 'freight train' and had hail, high winds and terrible rain.

But, on to better things. I acquired two new pieces of yard art. The sun was a yard sale find and the other piece I found leaning against a dumpster in a parking lot! I painted the two and we hung them last week.

I've added more food to the garden this year. Here are my early spring peas, which are coming up nicely. I've also planted a dozen tomato plants, with plans to can tomatoes and make tomato sauce. I will be putting in squash, cucumbers, pumpkin and I think corn, soon. This may be the tiniest vegetable garden around!

Earth Quake?

Yesterday morning something woke the cat and me, about 3:30. I felt a rumble and shake, and thought the heating unit was messing up. The cat wanted out, so I let him, and when I went back to bed I heard the furnace running.

When I got up, I asked my husband if he had noticed anything, but he had slept through it. I didn't think much more about it, until I saw a news brief that a 2.5 magnitude quake had been recorded in Virginia on Monday morning.

Not really related to gardening, but an interesting phenomena.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Quakes/se032811a.php#details

Brrrrr

Although Spring is officially here, it has turned cold again! Forecast for a dusting of snow tonight. What fun! But, at least we have gotten some much needed rain this weekend. The rain gauge had nearly .5 inches this morning.

We continue to do clean up in garden. Ligustrum drop seedlings everywhere. I spent nearly an hour pulling them up yesterday, all around the pond. Fortunately, they do pull up easily. I moved some monkey grass, and put down stepping stones at the pond as well. I also planted some vinca behind the pond, in the shady area. I will be adding more monkey grass as well.

Three years ago I was given a giant coneflower (rudbeckia maxima). Unfortunately it has never bloomed. I have now moved it to a place where it might drain better, and amended the soil with sand. The yard is more clay than anything else.

All winter the Blue Heron has been feeding in the pond. He will stay for an hour or more, if nothing disturbs him. On several occasions we have seen him come up with large gold fish in his mouth. When we cleaned the pond a bit yesterday, we saw a lot of fish, so there is still plenty for him. I took this picture this afternoon.

We have seen a variety of birds this winter, as well as chipmunks, squirrels (of course), a possum and a raccoon.

Spring!

I've been as dormant as my garden over the past few months. But now it is time for us both to be active.

Lots of things blooming this early spring. Redbuds, dogwoods, and azaleas are all about to bloom. Hostas are starting to come up, as are many other perennials.

Yesterday we dug up a new bed (15'x9'). We plan to put in tomato plants and do some canning this summer. I also put in 4 rows of early spring peas. Digging the new garden resulted in about a dozen Aucuba bushes, which we have potted. I'll be finding homes for them.

I also have lots of Rose of Sharon seedlings to dig up over the next few weeks.

Early snow!

It is snowing hard as I type. I have been in Raleigh for nearly twenty-five years and I do not remember ever seeing snow accumulate this early. We've only had a few frosts, and no real cold weather. You can see in these photos that annuals such as geraniums and tender perennials like elephant ears have not yet died back.

Could be an interesting winter.

Ignoring it all

Yes, I'm afraid I have been ignoring both my blog and my garden.

This summer was so hot (a record number of above 90 degree days), that working the garden became more of a chore than a pleasure. Many of the new plants I put out in the spring could not stand the stress of the heat, even with adequate water. So, I've done very little in the last three months, other than basic maintenance.

We've had a few light frosts this past week, but only my very tender plants have begun to die back.

What I have been doing, instead, is quilting. It is normally my winter hobby, but I've spent a lot of time on quilting this fall.

I finally finished a Dresden Plate quilt that I started nearly twenty years ago! I found the pieced "plates" among fabric in an aunt's house, after she died. She was not a quilter, so I think my grandmother may have pieced them. (She died in 1958!) So, I appliqued them on blocks, quilted each block, then sewed them together. The construction is not very good, but I think it looks nice, over all. I had put this aside for a long time, as I honed my piecing and quilting skills. Just recently I pulled it out and finished it.

I've also pieced to quilt tops. One is small, so I can take it with me. The other will go on my quilting frame. These should keep me busy this winter.

Music

Music was everywhere in Russia. We had the great pleasure of seeing two ballet performances, and a folk music performance. Swan Lake was presented by the Russian National Ballet Company, in Moscow. It was an amazing performance. We saw Romeo and Juliet in St. Petersburg. It was a contemporary choreography. Quiet interesting with a very moving ending, but not really my cup of tea. But both the orchestra and dancers were excellent. In St. Petersburg we also saw a show called Feel Yourself Russian. I think this is designed for tourist. It was great fun, with a variety of traditional Russian music and dancing. Free vodka and champagne before the show and during intermission, too.

There was also music on the streets and at the various historic sites we visited. I've posted some of the more fun ones. The men with the horns were at Peterholf, which was the Summer Palace of the Tsars. (Where the Amber Room is located). I had never seen these before. They were amazing. When we first came upon them, they were playing Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev. They then played several other things. It was amazing the range and tones they produced. I am sorry I did not think to video these men.

The man with the odd looking instrument was a street player in Old Arbat, the oldest part of Moscow. He made this instrument himself. Interestingly, he is pictured in the travel guide we used, Insight City Guide.

The video is a clip of folk musicians at the Museum of Wooden Architecture in Suzdal. This is an outdoor museum where a variety of historic log buildings have been moved to one locale.

More to come!