First Day Back

Today was the first day back at work after Labor Day and our trip last week. It also marks the end of my assignment with the IT group at work. I have been working for a couple of hours at my regular job, and then going to another building to work with our software implementation team. I have to say that I enjoyed the novelty of being able to stay in my office and actually stay focused on my work. I would rather do one job really well than to do two jobs half-assed, which is what it felt like I was doing. So I was very happy today. The picture above is from my succulent bird feeder. The plants in it are starting to get more established. Since they didn't have many roots the dirt has been washing out of it so I need to add more and respace out the plants.

Reprieve...of Sorts

I started classes on Tuesday and got a call my my academic counselor on Wednesday saying that they had to drop my class. There has been a problem with the financial aid year and an overlap or something and I won't be able to start back to class until October. On one side I am actually relieved by this, because it will give me more time to do other things that I like to do. On the other side, the money from the GI Bill was very useful for a single income family and it's going to hurt some while we wait for October. We'll still be okay of course, just might have to cut back on the several times a week Starbucks runs.

In gardening news, we still have quite a bit blooming including this succulent blooming on my bird feeder.

We got a massive rain last night which was greatly needed, even though it made the drive home from work very, very slow. Ah well, time to go curl up with a good book, since I don't have to worry about studying. :)

Enough

Over the weekend we finally reached the point that was Enough. I thought that we had already reached Enough when we finished off the back yard garden. But when we put up the bird feeder that my dad made for me, it looked awfully bare. So I decided that we would put in one last big effort and do a bed around the base of it. I had a couple of plants left that were sitting on the concrete patio in the back, and on thinking of it decided that they would make great plants for birds, butterflies etc. So we made up a list before we headed to Lowe's of everything that we could possibly think of that we could possibly need. Because I know me and I know my husband I also added '1 plant' to the list. That way when I picked up an impulse buy and he made a snide comment on whether it was on the list I could say "Well yes, as a matter of fact it is on the list, right here, 1 plant". It didn't come down to that though, because look as I may I just wasn't interested in buying plants. Okay, I'll pause long enough for you to pick yourself off of the floor. :) I may still pick up a few plants here and there throughout the summer, but when you transplant after it starts getting warm outside the plants are really need and require a lot of attention through the season. Watering all the time, protection from some of the sun etc. So I think that I'm probably finished until this fall when I start up again. :)

Succulent Feeder

When I found out that my Dad was going to come for a visit I asked him to make a project for me. I had seen it in a gardening magazine, and it's a bird feeder that has a living roof that is covered with succulents. When I saw it I knew that I had to have one, and here is the one that he made for me. I got it planted with some plants and it's sitting under the back yard until the threat of rain passes. I'm going to try to keep it on the dry side until the plants get established and grow more roots that will hold the soil in place. Isn't she a beaut?

There isn't a lot of gardening news this week. We have the beds in place that we had planned for this year so now everything just needs to get settled. We might do one more under the bird feeder, because it looks kind of bare. I have some blackberry, blueberry and a couple of flowers that are still waiting for homes so they may go there. Here are some pictures of what's blooming today. The Butterscotch Jasmine pictured above was planted at the end of last year after the Peppermint Clematis looked like it keeled over. This seems to be doing very well and enjoying its new home.

The Angel Face rose is the first one out of the gate this year. Being moved a few weeks ago doesn't seem to have set it back much. Hopefully they will all get settled in and be happy.

The Pink Chintz thyme that is planted in the scree garden (the gravel around the paver stepping stones) seems to be right at home. Some of the scree transplants aren't too happy right now and I'm hoping that they'll recover. We'll see. :)