Kitties!

When I went to feed the birds on Wednesday morning, I heard a hissing sound on the side of the house. Kitties everywhere!

There are a total of six which look to be around six to eight weeks old. In the first picture there are three-grey and white, brown and a black one with white paws. The second picture has one of two the same color. The other one ran away before I came back with the camera.

The bottom picture is either the mom or dad. The other adult cat is grey. These two have been hanging around for weeks, but they are taking care of the chipmunks and mice.

I haven't seen the kittens since Wednesday. I hope they'll be OK. ;)

Bonus Plants

These plants were thrown in the compost heap last fall. One day this spring when I was cleaning up the yard, I saw them growing and decided to salvage and pot them in hanging baskets this year. The mild winter must have helped. What a nice surprise! ;)

Potted Plants

Here are some of the potted plants that I got in the mail. The plants in the water jugs are started from seed. I have most of them planted in our landscape, but after I took this picture, I received more in the mail. I have been trying to get them planted every night of the week along with spreading ten yards of mulch and weeding!  ;)



Seedlings

Well, I have pretty much given up on starting seedlings. It must have been the soil or the weather changes. None of the tomatoes and melons sprouted. The rubarb is being difficult, but the pumpkins are are doing just fine. I will plant the rubarb in a permanent spot this week. The pumpkins will go in bigger pots until the end of May. Hopefully I'll have better luck planting the seeds directly into the ground. I'm planning on getting the garden rototilled this weekend. ;)

Barberry Shrubs

I've got all (21) of the baby barberry shrubs planted that were given to me a few weeks ago. I've placed 9 in the ground and 12 in these pots. I hope to have bigger shrubs next year. This just adds to my plant addiction. ;)

Getting Ready for Seed Starting

I finally have my grow lights and table set up. I will be planting rubarb, tomatoes, peppers and some flowers if I can squeeze them all on the table. Last year I purchased a timer which will help me immensely! With the nice weather, I'm not sure if I need the plastic sheeting yet.

I have most of the newspaper I need for making seed tapes. I used my new paper cutter to cut the newpaper. It was so easy!

I think I went a little overboard when ordering seeds! I purchased my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds this year. They were much cheaper than Burpee's! I learned that heirloom seeds can be saved from the vegetables to use next year so that will help me save money! Also, I don't have to plant all of the seeds this year. They're good for another year or so. I can't believe I planted all the seeds from the packets in previous years!

Visitors at the Bird Feeders

This winter I purchased a suet feeder for my bird friends. I was surprised to see a woodpecker eating the suet one day!

While the woodpecker was busy, a cardinal joined in at the finch feeder. I didn't know they liked thistle! If only I could keep the cats and raccoons out of the yard. The cats go after the birds, and the raccoons try to eat all the cracked corn. I love watching the birds with my binoculars. ;)

New Birdhouse

This past weekend we got the new birdhouse placed in the buckeye tree in our backyard. I'm hoping the chickadees or wrens will use it this year. The second picture shows how high we placed it. I'm planning on adding a few more on our property in the future.

You can see it when you pull into the driveway. ;)



Winter Sowing

I am experimenting with sowing seeds in the winter this year. I planted purple coneflower just to see if this works. Next year I will try vegetables. To do this, I cut the water jugs in half, filled them with dirt and planted the seeds. I ducktaped the jugs back together and left the lids off so that water can get into the jugs. I will check the jugs in April. I hope it's as easy as the website said. ;)

Italian Stone Pine Trees

 
Boy, do I need to catch up with my postings!

These are 18 Italian Stone pine trees that I picked up in January at the Lowes in Mayfield Heights. The cedar pines in the pots were free from the Lowes in Green last April. I need to put them in a permanent spot where the deer won't eat them sometime next month. They are showing a little winter damage, but I think they will survive. I have many places to put them, but first I have to get permission from my husband to dig up the yard. ;)

Flower Surprise

This plant was given to me by my cousin, Josie, this past summer. In the first picture it started to bloom during the Christmas holiday! I wasn't expecting this. I told Josie about it, and she said that she had one for the past two years with no blooming. The second picture shows the bloom three weeks later.

I was looking at Pinterest today (it's very addicting) under the Gardening section and found a picture and description that looked exactly like this plant! 

My plant has a name!  Kaffir Lily

Kaffir lily is also commonly called clivia. As a houseplant it usually blooms in winter with clusters of up to 20 reddish orange or yellow tubular flowers. Clivia blooms only when it has been exposed to cool, dry conditions, so give it lower temperatures in winter and keep it on the dry side. With its deep green straplike leaves aligned in a single plane, the plant is attractive even when not in bloom.

It's extra easy to grow and the flowers brighten up January days when there's not a lot else in bloom. (This plant is a keeper since I need flowers in the winter to look at.)

Name: Clivia miniata

Growing Conditions: Medium light; 60-75 degrees F., 50-55 degrees F. in winter; keep soil barely moist Size: To 2 feet tall and wide

Note: This plant is poisonous and can make children or pets ill if they eat or chew on the plant.



New Gardening Toolkit

Thanks to all my family members (or should I say "coke addicts") for saving their Coke Rewards points. I received this gardening kit for 1,000 rewards points recently. I can't wait to use them. ;)



New Purpose for the Christmas Tree

For the last two years, we have gotten a real Christmas tree. Now that the holidays are over, the birds get to use it for a place to stay or wait their turn at the bird feeders.  In the spring we will place the tree in the fire pit to dry out for a family bonfire. ;)



Ready for Snow

My garden is ready for snow. Bring it on! I've covered the asparagus bead, parsley, chives, oregano and strawberries with straw. We're getting a light dusting this morning. Not sure if we'll get the lake-effect snow just yet. I will be driving the SUV to work instead of my little car for the next two months. ;)

Propagating Grapevines and Forsythia

Happy New Year! The weather in NE Ohio has been unseasonably warm (40's). I had a chance to propagate grapevines and forsythia on Friday. The forsythia are in the foreground of the picture. I also added red weigela yesterday. I think I have around 60 root cuttings so far. I'm learning how to propagate root cuttings from a book I purchased three years ago. I don't know what took me so long to start do this. It was great to get outside in the dirt.  ;)



Evergreen Wreath

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Mine started out on Christmas Eve with my immediate family and Mom, siblings, nieces and nephew. Then followed a week of vacation from my day job. I didn't even have to use any vacation time!

One of the decorating DIY projects I created this year is the evergreen wreath hanging from my front door. I not only used pine branches from the Christmas tree, I also used pine cones and boxwood found on our property. I will substitute the gold bow for a different color to use the wreath longer this winter.   ;)