Old Fashioned Tiger Lilies

A few of my Tiger Lilies escaped the deer foraging through the wild gardens.  These were a long ago gift from my Uncle Otto.

The patch used to be larger, but I am thankful to have just a few.

My Mother had Tiger Lilies growing on the farm in the little flower garden that was planted over the old outhouse hole.  We got a flush toilet in about 1960 and after that the old outhouse area became a flower garden…the flowers grew quite nicely there.

I can also picture Tiger Lilies along side my Maternal Grandparents home.  They really popped against the white house….Grandma had chicken wire around her flower beds…mostly to keep the dogs from laying in her flower beds.

I know they come in all kind of fancy colors nowadays…but I like the old fashioned ones the best!

 

The arm

I have an arm. It may hurt like the devil but it is a complete arm.  I have appointments with two different surgeons but not for two or three weeks.

I wrap my entire brace and arm in a fluffy blanket so it stays toasty warm at night and avoids any facial injuries by said brace flopping about in the nightime. I concocted a daytime brace with an elastic stocking and vet wrap…it helps with the pain.

Far Guy is my right arm.  He can scrub floors, scrubbing used to be my thing to do ..now it is his.

Thank goodness I am somewhat ambidextrous. I am not good at writing with either hand right now.  I will need more practice.  I can type (hunt and peck)! I can play cards totally left handed but someone else has to shuffle cards for me (those years dealing Black Jack have come in handy who woulda thunk it?)  I can wash dishes with one hand. I can pet the dog, I can dust…and I can cook as long as the pots and pans are not too heavy and have to be moved... my grip is non existent.

Carpal Tunnel sucks but I am trying to make the best of it.  I will be glad to get this common aging problem behind me.

My dreams are equally awesome and somewhat strange really weird, it must be from all the Ecotrin and Ibuprofin that I have been consuming.

This is the last I will mention it, I will let you know all about the surgery when it is over and done with.

Blanket Flowers or Gaillardia

Original Wildflower Gardens

I planted flowers in this area 18 years ago.  It used to be more formal gardens, we tended gardens in between customers all summer long.  After we retired from the greenhouse business we were both burned out and just let the gardens go “wild.”  We don’t water or fertilize or do anything special, what survives …survives!

Flowers by the sauna, Gaillardia out front and Ratibida out back with various other flowers. The Gaillardia is going to seed and is on my list for collection!

Ratibida pinnata

The small windmill.  You can see the sauna and my garage in the background.  The Liatris, Rudbeckia and Physostegia (Obedient Plant) are in bloom on this end of the gardens….along with some really tall Thistle.

Liatris out in front with a sprinkling of Rudbeckia and Marge Grass in the background.

This is a new arrival this year, it showed up on the edge of the Marge Grass. It is a Helianthus  or Woodland Sunflower.  A bird must have dispersed the seed into the area.  It is a native to Minnesota plant.  Not to mention one of my favorite flower colors!

Chance usually walks out to the gardens with me. When he was younger he would run the perimeter of the gardens and lay in wait for the ball.  Nowadays he doesn’t run, he will play ball on a good day but lays down with the ball after it is thrown once or twice.

I took these photos on Tuesday toward evening, yesterday (Wednesday) it rained all day.

Wistful Wednesday: Far Guy’s Family

This is a photo from Cousins Bonnie and Wayne.

Grand Forks North Dakota about 1958.  The car we think is a 1957 Plymouth Fury Stationwagon. The photo is taken in the driveway of Jim and Esther’s home (Marvin’s brother and his wife).

Evelyn has her cosmetics case ( I think either Trica or Jennifer has it now) her purse and something else in her hands?  Marvin is wearing one of his favorite flannel shirts under a wool coat, Janice has been shopping, she said “We often went shopping when we went to Grand Forks.” Far Guy is holding Muggy.

Far Guy said “I forgot  all about that car, my Dad didn’t have that one very long.  We might have been in Grand Forks for Easter that year.”

Far Guy’s parents were born in 1914, they have both been gone for some time now.  His Dad in 1994 at the age of 80 and his mother in 2006 at the age of 91.  His sister is alive and well and lives in Indiana and she still likes to shop!

 

The new wild garden

Back in May my brother put in a new drain field for our septic system.

The work has been completed.

Far Guy planted some old wildflower and left over garden seed out there.  One day we picked up a bunch of Sunflower Seeds and planted them too!

We watered

I had been going out there to spray the Poison Ivy to get rid of it. I wore my pretty red boots.

I stopped going out there. We could see a few marigolds blooming here and there.

It is a jungle out there. The deer have been in there eating and chomping off most of the sunflowers.

This is one of the survivors.

I will get out there one of these days.  Some of the weeds should be pulled because they are shading out the flowers.

On the far end we planted a Spruce Tree and some Lilacs.  Far Guy babied those lilacs for weeks…so they have a good start.

It doesn’t look like much yet, but once the wildflowers get established and we can mow a few paths it should be a pretty area.  If not then the deer will have another spot to graze.