What to do?

Everyone knows that I am an animal lover. Singer Karen Carpenter shares my feelings with the melodic line "Bless the beasts and the children ... in this world they have no voice ... they have no choice." 

Well, Steve (another animal lover) and I had no choice but to tackle an outdoor problem with what we suspected was a rat den next to my garden. We have seen a couple of rats in our backyard, feeding from the bird feeder and my compost pile which is ripe with rotting vegetable scraps. I thought it was kind of cute one early morning, seeing the calico colored beast jumping from the small bird bath to the large bird bath before hitting the mother lode of the bulging bird feeder. I remember telling Steve who was upstairs to "quick look out the back window at the bird feeder" thinking he would share my sentiments of the cute romp around the feeding trough. His unexpected reply was, "We need to get rid of that rat feeder!" I guess part of a husband's role in this life is to snap his gleeful wife back into a healthy reality. Darn it! I am establishing this scene because I recently shelled out about $700 of repairs to my car after finding out that vermin had been living under the hood of my car in the winter months, leaving behind spent bird food castings and apparently flossing afterwards on the thin electrical wiring that is needed to keep a 2001 Saturn station wagon in peek shape.

So, Steve removed the bird feeder which was really only half of the problem. It is summer after all and I have lots of compostable material for the rotting heap. Most of it comes from my recession garden on the side of the yard by the driveway (out of Winston's reach – I have seen Winston, our yellow lab, pull a green pepper off the plant and devour it). 

Recently, before leaving for work in the mornings, I started seeing the making of a small hole next to the basil and green bean plants. I didn't think anything about it until it got to the point where something was moving straw from the garden to cover the now rather large opening and then the sight of the "do not disturb" sign was a dead give away that something was taking advantage of a good situation and thumbing their long whiskered noses at us. The nerve of some varmints!

So, what is an animal lover to do? We thought about trapping the thing and releasing it at a nearby nature preserve or hope that one of the cats that roam the neighborhood would take care of the situation, leaving us with a clear conscious. Steve stepped up and said that we should just get some rat poison and be done with it. Images of Templeton from "Charlotte's Web" popped in my mind. Couldn't we just have an outdoor pet rat? Then I thought about the assault my car had withstood and it was pretty much decided what we had to do. The image of Templeton was quickly replaced with an open purse with the wind carrying away my hard earned dollar bills from what can be a stressful job. Lots of dollar bills. The sequence of the cash fluttering away seemed to go on for a very long time before I snapped out of the vision.

As I write this, one gray mouse has been buried and another is still taking the bait Steve is leaving at the entrance of the hole. An ugly ending for two big hearted animal lovers who would rather be putting their money toward the good life instead of the nearest Saturn dealership.

Preventing weeds

Yesterday was electronics recycling day at the Maplewood Recycling Center. Whenever there is mention of a trip to the center, my gardening instincts kick in and I think about the piles of free compost and mulch the city offers for those who can haul it away. And haul it away they do – by the truck loads. 

Before heading out, Steve packed our old Mac computer screen, hard drive and keyboard into the back of the Saturn station wagon. Keep in mind that the earlier models of Macs can take up lots of car space and I was thinking about how I may be limited in the amount of "black gold" I can bring back. Darn it! I was able to get in two rather big muck tubs so I was happy and already thinking about my morning and spreading the organic stuff.

So while Steve took care of getting a tax write-off for our old computer at the center, I was shoveling the brownish-black mulch which is a mix of composted dirt, partially decayed tree bark and leaves and other matter rich in nutrients. I will use this on my side flower bed to thwart weed growth and maintain some moisture for my daylillies, irises, alysum and other plants that get lots of sun. Without some sort of ground cover, crabgrass takes over! The look of the dark mixture is just right against the green and white colors in the area. So nice!

Another weed preventer I use is marsh straw. This ground cover is sold in bales like pine straw is in the South. Pine straw is really difficult to find up here which is unfortunate. I love the beautiful orange-brown color of recently fallen straw or even the darker brown tones found baled in stores or sold from trucks on roadsides. I remember buying pine straw in Birmingham for les than $2 a bale. This marsh grass is sold at a rather pricey nursery in town for $16 a bale! I cringe admitting that I pay that much for this but you do get a lot of it and I usually have some left over after the growing season. It is a nice compliment to my vegetable garden and I like the fluffed-up look of it around my green beans and cucumbers. Most importantly, it prevents weeds and saves me lots of time working in the garden.

My new gardening toy

I have been wanting one of these for years. A rain collection devise that will prevent unwanted water from draining into a low area of our backyard and will also provide water for my hydrangeas and other plants in the far reaches back there. I feel as though I am killing two birds with one stone. When we had our garage roof and new gutters put on about four years ago the guys put the downspout on the back which allows water to drain into what has become a persistently wet area. Had the guys placed the downspout in the front of the garage, the water would have most likely drained down the driveway away into the city sewer system. I'm sure they had their reasoning for doing what they did. However, I can't wait to see if my new rain barrel which holds 50 gallons of water will help prevent the usually muddy area turn into a drier area. I am also pretty excited about having a water source in the back and not having to lug the hose back there during dry times.

I considered getting one of the more typical rain barrels but decided on the terra cotta look which actually has a pot area on top that I plan on planting some shade loving plants in. This model seems a bit more attractive than the alternative industrial look. It is currently more than half full after the steady morning and afternoon rain from yesterday. When full, there is a small drain at the top back for overflow.

I can't wait to use this. I routinely do lots of watering during the spring and summer months and I am hoping this saves me a little bit of money and lots of frustration!

Spring gardening

When I lived in Birmingham, I couldn't wait until February because I knew this was the month to get out in my rather large garden and start turning the soil. I had read that potatoes were OK to plant then and plant I did for several years with good returns. The rest of the spring garden would have to wait until after Good Friday or the middle of April when the last threat of frost had past.

Now that I am living in New Jersey, I usually have to wait about a month longer to get outside and get my taters in. We had some beautiful weather last weekend and I couldn't resist whipping the garden into shape, getting out there Saturday afternoon. It actually whipped me and am rather glad that I have a small plot to hoe these days. I planted a single row of red potatoes and will have to wait for the plants to emerge and and their tops to flower before digging into the soil with my gardening pitchfork to see what has materialized underneath. Planting them is easy and I used store bought potatoes, cutting them into fourths, making sure each section has an eye where it will sprout roots and several potatoes.

I expanded my "recession" garden to just a bit larger than last year. Apparently from what I have read, I am following a national trend. It is, I'd say, about seven feet by 10 feet and is by the coal shoot of the house. Whenever I am digging in this space I always find small chunks of coal. They are easy to spot because its surface shines in the sun unlike other rocks. I have quite the collection of coal now that I save, clean and place in a container in the kitchen which holds my potted African violets. I can't imagine living in a time when house furnaces burned coal and how dirty the air must have been, especially in a tightly housed community like ours. I wonder if the air was dimmed with the soot.

So, I am finally writing about gardening on this gardening blog. Tis the season, finally!

Beth in New York City

My niece Beth was up this week visiting the city with the rest of the Pelham High School Marching Band. Steve and I were thrilled to be able to spend some time with her early Sunday morning. It isn't often that we have family up! We met the group at Rockerfeller Plaza and just walked around, checking out the sights like NBC's Corner of the World, St. Patrick's Cathedral and Radio City Music Hall. They all seemed to be having a good time on their first day in Manhattan.

As most of you know, Pelham's "Tower of Power" Marching Band did Alabama proud in the city's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. They got special recognition on the local NBC broadcast – a really shining example of all of their work over the year.

Here's a video of the group stopping for some photos before moving on to the next block: 

Volunteering at the shelter

Last week while spending some time at the Maplewood/South Orange animal shelter, I was bitten while taking a cute cocker spaniel mix on a walk. The bite required a trip to the emergency room and four stitches. The event was a real eye-opener (in more ways than one) and made me realized that you can't assume that a dog doesn't have a past and no matter to what degree you consider yourself a "dog whisperer," unpredictable behavior is just a second away. 

Going into work with a brace and ace bandage contraption around my thumb and wrist brought on lots of questions about what could have possibly happened to me. The general reply I would give is, "I was petting a dog at the animal shelter I volunteer at with my left hand and it turned around and bit me on my right. I didn't know this, but apparently this dog had been abused before coming to the shelter. Sad – huh?" Then I would get the reply, "Oh my gosh! Do you have your rabies shot?" Then I would hesitate and say, "Yes, I had a TETANUS shot about a year ago." So funny! 

The other question I got a few times was if I would go back to volunteer. My reply to that one was "Of course." There is such a need at this no-kill shelter and I am so glad to be a part of it. I joined in Jan. 2008 and have found that whatever you can contribute, they will accept gladly. So I walk the dogs, clean cages (sometimes), buy supplies like dog collars, cat litter, and poop bags and donate our New York Times in bundles. Steve and I have gone to the shelter occasionally which is only five minutes away from our house to cut grass, pull weeds and sweep the parking lot. Steve loves spotting the ferrel cats that mingle in the woods surrounding the shelter and I often have to tell him to stay on task of the yard work! The shelter feeds these cuties and offers outside housing from the cold. Once Steve and I were picking up trash along the street and hurling huge limbs further back into the woods and saw four deer admiring our work. Ahhhh, nature! Anyways, the shelter has its hands full with its limited paid staff and I truly feel like what I do is a community service and is so rewarding. I also get to play with lots of cute dogs, puppies, cats and kittens. Four stitches in just a year's time I think is a pretty good average. Have a look for yourself (click photo for a larger view):

A blast from the past

I was going through some files today on my thumb drive and found this. Apologies for the visual quality, but I hope the great memories make up for it. Enjoy!

Tag — Your it!

I got an e-mail from my sister Amy the other day telling me that I've been selected to participate in a photo tagging game/challenge. What you are suppose to do is go to your picture folder and open the fourth subfolder and then pick the fourth picture and post it on your blog. 

So, here ya go:

The photo is of Ali and Patrick from our family Christmas two years ago. We had a great time with each other and Alison is wearing her pink apron that Santa brought her. Patrick was able to hold Scout just long enough for the picture.

A morning of quilting

I am a quilter. The quilting I do is sewn by hand and very time consuming but the end results are priceless as they say. I have finished a couple. The last one, I worked on for five years and it is my pride and joy. It is made of Levi jean denim and muslin and filled with a microfiber. The current quilt I am working on is taking me about the same amount of years to finish. I work off and on on these between other projects I have going around the house. However, I am getting to the point where I can see the thing being done and it does motivate me to work more frequently. After completing the center portion I will have to quilt the border then bind it with some sort of complimentary piping.

This morning I decided to get out my recently cleaned sewing basket and my quilting material which includes a wooden hoop, 100% cotton white thread and embroidery thread. I am actually tieing this quilt top (completed by someone else) and involves using three strands of embroidery thread and a single strand of cotton thread. I bought this quilt top at a yard sale years ago that my boss at the Birmingham Post-Herald was having. He sold it to me for $7! It is very folksy in nature and its colors are rustic hues of red, white and blue.

Whenever I am sewing, Scout is usually close by. That was the case this morning. She is so curious as to what I am doing with whatever I pull out of the sewing basket. I've learned that turning my back on her is a cue for her to do something very mischievous. She loves to jump into the sewing basket or plop herself down in the exact spot that I am returning to after threading a needle. I am including evidence of this. I put up with almost two hours of Scout having a field day while I was quilting. It was lots of fun actually.

I am back from visiting with family in Birmingham over the holiday and have to say we had a wonderful time in the shorter than expected visit. Ali and Steve were there and we were able to talk with Patrick from his base in Basra. Even BB got to speak to him which she loved! Steve said the Army Captain seemed to be in good spirits under the circumstances.

When we arrived back at Maplewood, we had five days of mail that was delivered earlier that day to our doorstep to sort through. We were surprised to see that our contractor/friend Marek had dropped of a collection of Polish sausages, pierogies and a huge cheese danish! Most of the Christmas cards we received with this delivery had family letters in them with updates of events of their lives through this year. I really like these and might have to crank one out next year. I just love a good story of the human spirit. Each letter spoke of trying times and small and large victories their families went through. Layoffs, a death in the family, a new work position and a rare medical condition were all mentioned in these. One closed with hope that the coming year would be brighter. Knowing this family and their spirit, I am certain it will be.

I have lots of photos to tone and upload to the computer in the coming days. They capture the general feeling of the joyfulness and glee of a family gathering at Christmas. It is reassuring to me to have this feeling. The contentment of knowing that we are here for each other, to share our experiences and to ride out this wild life together. Forget about the gifts — this is what I want most at Christmas, at least at this point in time!

On assignment in New Orleans

The last day I was in New Orleans I took some pictures while on my way back to the house I was staying at off of St. Charles Street. The house had no electricity and I needed to e-mail a couple of graphics into work I had completed the night before. So the following morning, I walked about ten blocks with my backpack and laptop computer to a coffee house that was one of the few places that had electricity from a generator. I passed this statue of Christ standing before a huge magnolia tree at a Catholic agency. Like the city, the statue’s broken parts are easily detected, but still adored by most.

Just a beautiful old house with the typical wrought iron fencing and palm trees. I love the unique details like the unusual windows and brackets below the roof and the lone window jutting from the top of this classic Big Easy home. There were so many homes that had so much character and history to them. I wish I could have toured some of the interiors to see the craftsmanship.

This is the bed and breakfast I stayed at for two nights in Hammond – on a good day usually and hour and a half drive from New Orleans. During a hurricane evacuation late at night it can take you over three hours! The owners there, Michele and Isabel, treated me like family along with their two daughters, one of which was married and had a young son and daughter hunkering down at the place until Hurricane Gustav moved on northwest. Wonderful food, stories and critters (frogs, lizards and a kitten) were enjoyed after working at the Hammond Daily Star newspaper with about ten other hot and bothered AP employees. A few copy editors enjoyed the stay at the B&B as well.