Tuesday's Things.....

My two large lilacs have done well to grow very tall.  They are so tall that I can not pick anything from them. I am having a hard time to get a good close up of them so I went to the alley. The alley used to have many white lilacs but the new neighbor cut most of them down to about two or three feet tall.  I only had one branch that actually bloomed this year and as you can see it is a meager growth of blooms. I do know they will regrow to full height in a couple of years.

The hostas really like the rainy season and also our now cool days.  I get discouraged about my backyard garden and how it looks but once the hostas start to fill out I feel it is starting to shape up into a better looking place. I don't hesitate to dig up large clumps and randomly pick new places for them to grow.  I am looking around to see if I can find some different variety than I have right now.

This apple tree has many blooms this year.  It is one that I rarely pick from.  It has a way of putting out small scabby apples and it just has never done well.  It sits right next to another similar kind of apple that does well.  I haven't been in to prune back limbs for awhile.  I always heard the best time to prune trees is when you have a sharp saw and the energy to do it. I think I can get a few branches out of there this summer.  One gardener teaches that the pruning actually makes the tree feel it is damaged and it rushes more energy to the areas to recoup itself. That gardener also taught that you could wrap the bark of the base of the tree with rolled up newspaper and you could get it to produce better.

The purple crab apple has given us great color to see.  I remember when the then neighbor planted this tree.  It had been given to him free from a bank as a promotional. It was almost chopped down a few years ago and I plead with the guy to leave it be.  I bet the rains have pretty much taken away of any chances for me to get a perfectly focused shot of the blooms.

 The ornamental pear tree continues to bloom profusely.  The real pear tree sitting next to it is putting out few blooms this year.  If the pears form I will have to get my tallest ladder to pick them.  The tree self pruned itself with heavy branches of fruit last fall and the snow this winter loaded down the smaller branches and removed some more.  I need to get in the tree and finish the job of thinning out the tree branches.

It is a stray planting of these four bulbs out in the orchard.  I am like the insane gardener as I place things mindlessly without a plan.  It usually is freezing cold and I find somewhere to quickly put the bulbs so I can go back into the house to warm myself.  Another article I read a few years back described a gardener as planting like an old lady, no plan and fill in all the empty spaces.  Well I don't plant like an old lady but I plant like and old man.

I am in the special education room today.  I am following a student to all of his classes.  He gets to leave five minutes early and arrive five minutes late.  I do have to shadow him all day so I will get a good middle school education today.

I haven't mentioned this but I keep telling you all my summer projects that I plan on doing.  I have refused the summer janitor job that was offered to me.  I am hoping that some of my health problems will fade away with a summer of self determined work.  Eight hours of labor is hard compared to being your own boss and starting and stopping when I want. Some time off will be welcomed both physically and mentally.   I appreciate you visiting my blog today and hope you have a good day.