Center of Attention

I spent the day pulling and digging out a weed. It was either Cowbane (highly poisonous) or Queen Anne's Lace (a beautiful, edible weed when placed where you want it). Whichever it is, I'm not sure how it got to my husband's grandmother's flower bed, but it quickly took root and took over. It literally drowned everything else out in the six weeks it's been growing. It's mission was to be the center of attention. The one thing in the flower bed that garnered all of the attention of passers by.

Ever been around a person like this? I seem to be surrounded by them lately.

Don't get me wrong, I love to be the center of attention. But I am also a middle child. I am used to having to share attention. I know that others enjoy it, too.

So today as I dug and dug and dug I thought about my options. I can go quietly, withdraw and be drown out. I can compete ferociously and leave a tangled mess. Or I can be gracious and graceful like the daffodils. I can find my niche and bloom in the quiet, in my own time when it is just right. Then take a back seat and let the others enjoy the limelight.

My Other Therapy

The weather here as been extremely crumby the past week. It's been really windy, cool and rainy. I haven't been able to get outside as much as I would have liked. Thankfully, my gardening is about caught up so I'm not stressed about it.


But tonight I had so many things on mind I needed my therapy. I needed some thinking time. Time to process all that was going through my head and put it into perspective. So, tonight, I returned to my other form of therapy: running. It seems like the harder I push myself, the better I feel, and the more I am able to work out in my brain. So here's where I've returned to:


I am blessed to have two healthy kids I adore. I am blessed to have a husband who loves us, works hard and provides for us. I am blessed to have friends I can confide in and love to be around. I am blessed to have a family who loves me in spite of me. And, I can not control other people's actions. I must give them the benefit of the doubt because they are not malicious. They do not set out to hurt others and they rarely realize the consequences of their actions.

I am a plantoholic.

I love the rush I get from seeing plants I don't have and thinking about how they would fit into my landscape. It's a great feeling. It's an even better feeling when I purchase and plant them.

I am going to stay strong for the rest of this season and not buy anymore. But since I will fall off the wagon next fall and spring, I thought it would be smart to start a wish list. This way I can keep track of all everything I need, prioritize and set a budget for next year.

Here's my start:

Jonquils - white with red centers
Iris - yellow and white
Clematis - red
White Flowering Crabapple Tree
Clump Birch Tree
Buckeye Tree
Redbud

I see more sod digging in my future. The chiropractor will be pleased!

Thank You Mr. Brown Thumb!

When I started this blog, I was a bit cautious and very skeptical. Cautious of over sharing and hurting someone in the process. Skeptical if anyone would find it, read or heaven forbid, follow it.

As I started reading other blogs I started to learn tricks from other gardeners. Like paper tube seed collars for direct sowed seeds from Mr. Brown Thumb. You see, spacing has always been a challenge for me. I always seem to plant on a ridiculously windy day so I direct sow very thickly just to get it over with. Then I never go back and thin things out because in the process I always uproot half the row. This trick allowed me to lay out my planting board (thank you Martha Stewart, although my board doesn't have notches yet) with the tape measure and place the collars then plant the seeds. Now my lettuce and herbs won't compete with one another and I will know where to weed!

You can see two tiny lettuce plants starting to peek through! As soon as I figure out which is stronger, the other will be removed.

Since I have learned so much from the garden bloggers of cyber space, I have decided to loosen my restrictions on who I tell about this blog. Last week I gave my mom the address. Tonight, I will send it to my mother in law. That makes five people total! Progress is good!

On Edge

I'm a little on edge. Literally. Yesterday was the first nice, almost windless day we've had in a while. I spent the day edging my foundation gardens. Thanks to Margaret at A Way to Garden I found a handy edging tool that helped control my depth. Bye, bye spade, I've found another!

I'm on edge for another reason. It stems from my inability to sense when my opinion does not count even when the sole reason for my being in a situation is to give it.

Tulips

I love my tulips. I wish they lasted longer. This has been one of the better years for tulips on our farm. The wind hasn't been as hard on them.

I work at a university and last night we had a send off party for some of our students. After five years, I'm still not used to saying goodbye to the good ones. I will truly miss a handful of students that always brightened my day with their visits and conversations. I have to trust that just like my tulips, they will come around again.

Running Behind

I know it's early. It doesn't matter. I'm still stressing about getting all my seeds planted. I have so much to do in the yard and at work. And, my house is a wreck.

We planted 25 Norway Spruce to form two seperate windbreaks on Saturday. Sunday was filled with running around. We accomplished a lot. It all had to be done. It's just not what I wanted to be doing.