New York Renovator

Well, it’s FINALLY getting to be good weather, people! After a soggy, cloudy winter and a soggy, cloudy spring, summer is finally here. And… it’s been soggy and cloudy! :-p I have very high hopes for July and August. And I have promised that I will take the kids camping sometime in the fall (maybe even late fall). I like the cooler weather (but not soggy cool weather) and for me, camping in October or November is the best time. I would even be willing to do some winter camping sometime (there’s a group here in Upstate New York that goes winter camping in the Adirondacks, all winter long).

Of course, camping in the fall or winter calls for better gear and clothing than the usual cheapo-Chinese made Walmart brand plastic pup tent and flip-flops. Some of the highest-rated yet still affordable gear I’ve seen is the North Face line. They have some outstanding travel and camping supplies. North Face offers one of the best and most popular hydration packs in the market (North Face is known for its quality). These are perfect accessories for hiking the high hills of Central Europe, or the Alps, or the lofty Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York (something we are going to accomplish sometime soon!). They are so stylish that I am sure I could get the kids to carry mine so I wouldn’t have to.

North Face also has some very nice fleece jackets. I love fleece during the cold months– quilted coats and laminated fabric coats are too restrictive to me. Fleece is great, because it’s soft and very flexible, but also very warm. North Face has those, too, for travelers and campers of all ages. Check out the Webtogs website where North Face is sold– I’m sure you’ll find something that makes you go “wow!” North Face is known for it’s versatile, athletic, high quality products. And right now, Webtogs is offering free shipping across the EU. And this is on top of the excellent deals and sales already going on. Check it out!

Here in Upstate New York, we remain rather skeptical of spring until at least Tax Day. I mean, snow in April is not a complete anomaly around here. And we really can’t set out any plants, safe from the threat of frost, until after Mother’s Day. Even so, last year in the first week of June we has frost. And then, there’s MY yard. There’s a microclimate here in my yard, at the base of two sloping hills perpendicular to each other. All plants in my yard bloom a good 2-3 weeks AFTER my neighbors’ plants do. I have no idea why this is so– it’s no Stratosphere hotel here to be sure…. maybe because it is so wet here? Or cooler than the other yards? But all my plants, year after year, bloom later than everyone else’s. It figures that I would have such a weird yard. Sigh.

Anyway… look! My peonies are starting to pop up! I love these plants, even though the flowers plop over each other when in bloom. They smell heavenly.

My Grape Hyacinths are back. I did not plant these– they were one of the very few pretty plants growing here when we moved in (the previous owners were real brown thumbs– besides a front bed full of boring, overgrown hostas, the only other plants here were 5 yews and a huge Stinging Nettle Bush).

My lovely lilac tree is budding. AT LAST. The shrub is now about 7 feet tall. I am eagerly waiting for it to tower over this area of the yard, to shield the ugly parking lot next door.

And look! A REAL BLOSSOM! One daffodil, yippeee!

I won’t talk about the other plants that were eaten over the winter, by the STUPID DEER. I hate deer. They chewed through my Privet bushes, my Weeping Willow, my Spirea, my Yuccas, my grapevine, my Iris… GRRRRRR! But I can’t think about them today. They will ruin a perfectly happy, sunny day. But I can still plot my revenge…. heh heh. More to come.

“April Showers” is right. After a phenomenally warm start to the month, the past several days have been soggy and cold. We saw snow Saturday, and more is forecast for Wednesday this week. And in between, it rains. I had hopes of getting some of the spring yard work done this week, but forget it now. It’s no fun raking old leaves through the mud! Some of my bloggy friends in Texas are reporting an END to their spring and are now entering the SUMMER season. That just blows my mind! My tulips are slowly, slowly crawling out of the mud, upward.

The only thing with any buds right now is the lilac. I wanted to get a photo, but it turned out poorly.

I do like shade gardens, so the non-stop rain isn’t too disappointing. I like the way wet rocks look when they are nestled in ivy and moss.

The animals are restless, too. My cats pace at the door, longing to go out, but I won’t let them out in the rain and mud. The dog loves the mud and it is impossible to keep her out of it, so she needs constant bathing. Outdoors, the robins and bluejays are here. We have a feeder and they have been very happy dipping into the birdseed while we all wait for the sun to come back and dry things up.

I bought my vegetable seeds and am waiting until the ground warms (and dries up) to plug them into the soil. Everything is in a “wait” mode. It’s too cold and damp to actually DO anything; yet it’s too warm now to be patient while we wait. Such is spring in the Northeast!

I gave my little beagle, Daisy, a chewie bone. She decided to bury it in the ground today. It’s been raining for the past three days and the yard is a disaster. Usually her area here has nice turf grass… but WHOA.

A face only a mudder could love. So to speak. HA!

One of my daughters said Daisy was exuberantly trotting around the yard, chomping on sticks and making a general mess. Then Daisy stopped suddenly, and went sliding in the mud, like Casey at the bat of Mudville. Whoops. Guess it’s bathtime for the beagle again! (She prefers mud to baths, poor doggy, lol).

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have lived on this property– all acre and a half– for almost twelve years WITHOUT a lawn tractor. When I used to mow the lawn with our push mower, it took me SIX hours a week. I had to break it up into twice a week. It was grueling! After the kids got big enough, they split up the job, but it was still an arduous job. One of my neighbors took pity on us (plus he wanted us to allow his son to play touch football on our lawn from time to time) and mowed the back half of the yard with his lawn tractor. It was a good deal— he mowed, we let his kids play on the turf.

But I am thrilled to finally have my own tractor! I don’t know what took us soooo long to get one?! The kids love it. We spent some time today, teaching them how to use it.

First a lawn tractor, next.. maybe a woodstove? Maybe– just MAYBE– a new kitchen?! My world is filled with hope now! Woooo!

Here in Upstate New York, we view March with a wary eye. ANYTHING can happen in March in the Northeast. A few years ago, we had a freak snowstorm that dumped a few feet on us. And we’ve seen 80 degree weather in March, too. So I’m still guarded about announcing that spring is officially here for March. But all the snow is gone (which is great).

Less than two months ago, the backyard looked like this:

Now it is this:

The weather has been really nice– cool, but sunny, until today (now it’s overcast skies with rain expected). And usually, March is a soggy month; but it’s been drier than usual so far this year (no complaints from me!). Still, the melted snow has left great gobs of mud and sludge in areas. It’s really too early to pack up the winter coats and boots, too early to break out the t-shirts and Walking Boots. March is the month full of surprises.

Nothing is really green yet. And I have a ton of work to do. Last autumn, I did rake my garden beds of the billions of leaves that fell in our yard! But either they returned or new ones took their places. My yard is a leaf magnet, I tell ya.

See? Here’s the evidence– we compost a lot of our leaves (not all). That’s about 10 cubic yards of compressed leaves there. And the town leaf patrol probably hauled off 30x that.

For some reason, the old wood pile looked like it needed a photo taken. We don’t have a woodstove, but the kids like to chop the wood from our felled trees. I do wish we had a woodstove, though.

I haven’t ordered any seeds for the growing season yet. I am so behind, it’s crazy! Usually I have everything assembled by the end of February. I have been visiting gardening blogs, and some folks have sprouted seedlings already! :S

I’m looking forward to being outdoors again, though. Campfires in the firepit… star-gazing… smelling the lilacs again… winter is worth it, just for the delights that spring gives.

How is your gardening coming along? Is spring weather more advanced where you are?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I hate deer! I hate them with a burning white hot fiery inferno of liquid lava-boiling anger!

YEAH, the nasty critters ate their winter through my trees and flower gardens again this year!!

They ate my baby Weeping Willow tree down to a stub. I nurtured that thing for TWO years, and it’s gone. They’ve eaten my Rose of Sharon, my hostas, my baby Redbuds… they also ate through some of my brand-new spirea shrubs, and I also just found out that they’ve been imbibing on my beloved grapevine!! Look at this!!!!!

I don’t know what to do, I really don’t. I’ve tried leaving hair from the kids’ haircuts; bars of soap, cat litter, dried blood…. nothing has worked and THEY EAT EVERYTHING!

*sobs*

Besides maintaining a standing army with rifles, I don’t know what to do. Maybe I could get some motion detector lights that will shine bright lights when they sense motion? No, I’d need electric wiring for that. I think I may have to go high-tech with some deer fencing or deer repellant. Has anyone has any success with this?

Buy.com is having a great sale on the stuff right now. Buy.com is my new favorite store right now. I can’t believe all the stuff they have. It’s great, because they allow other, smaller stores to sell stuff, too, which increases the inventory and really makes it convenient to shop. I got hooked on them after seeing their Weekly Sale page online. The home and outdoor selection is great! I spotted this owl (no pun intended), too. I’ve been wanting to get one, to scare off the mice and the crows. My neighbors all have these owls on their fence posts; and so the critters have taken up residence at MY place because MY gardens seem to be the safe place for the drive-thru!

Check out Buy.com for loads of stuff– everyday living stuff, housewares, patio and outdoor stuff, summer apparel, loads and loads more! And don’t forget to bookmark the Weekly Sale page. If ONLY they came with deer-removal services, they’d be perfect! The repellant will have to do…

Well. I guess we’re not getting our January Thaw.

Here’s hoping for an early spring. Usually we get a reprieve of winter’s gloom and cold about the last week of January. No such thing this year. It was a freezing cold January, up until the bitter end. We got up to a whopping 12 degrees F today. :-p Even my kitten was cold. Isn’t she adorable? She’s learned to sleep under blankets.

And look. My poor, poor, neglected lawn chairs. The kids left them out this year. *gasp* They look so forlorn and miserable under the snow.

Even the house is cold. See? It’s crying. Well, frozen tears.

But the best thing about this weather are the GIGANTIC snow mountains! Look at the size of the snow banks!

So not all is bad. But I’m still eagerly awaiting spring and sunshine and GREEN things again.