Tag: The Gardens of Sonnystone Acres

ADPIE

On By Jo Mayne CaseyIn Sunday Report, The Gardens of Sonnystone...1 Comment

I’ve been sick since Wednesday, flat out on the couch both Thursday and Friday, finally somewhat upright yesterday. My little brain has been doing the Nursing Process since the onset of symptoms — that is Analyze, Diagnose, Plan, Implement, Evaluate — and as I’ve analyzed the hell out of the illness, I have no diagnosis. Isn’t everything Covid now? It’s not a cold (what happened to our old familiar rhinovirus?), but the body aching is reminiscent of flu. The coughing could be either/or, low-grade temp same. After my #3 vaccine, I was sick for a day, and somehow this feels the same, only with lots of coughing/snot. I’m calling it Covid because I want to finally face this thing I prepared for all these years…

Even though the diagnosis is iffy, the Plan is the same, so I implemented decongestants, cough drops, tylenol, plenty of fluids. The most important treatment, for me, is to lie down with a box of tissues at hand, and let my body do its healing thing. Our immune systems are wonderful and hats off to mine for its valor and ongoing dedication to my well-being. I still feel rundown, and definitely brain-fogged, as if I’ve been gone for a while, but I have rallied, so I’ll evaluate the Plan as a winner and carry on.

It’s been rainy, a good time to be stuck on the couch, and of course the gardens love it…

(I didn’t realize that I had the long lens on my Nikon when I shuffled off to get these pictures between rains, but it’s an interesting change of our usual view…)

The Edible Garden

The Peace/Bird Garden

The Jose’ Family is moving into a new apartment even as we speak…err, write. Their new place has a large terrace and I’m excited to help Melissa plant and grow a nice garden. They still plan on visiting here at the Acres in a couple of weeks, so I’m gearing up for Camp. I’ll let you know as soon as I know when they’ll be here and we’ll plan parties!

Take care of yourselves! Watch out for mystery viruses!

Peace

In the Garden

On By Jo Mayne CaseyIn The Gardens of Sonnystone...Leave a comment

Sorry for my absence, but I’ve been caught up in the World of Irish Dance, on the edge of my seat for the North American Irish Dancing Competition that was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada this year. Emma placed #5 in the U16 group and Eliza placed #17 in the U11 pack. The Jose’ family, consisting of my daughter, Melissa, and son-in-law, Eric, as well as the two EE’s are having the time of their lives and it’s sweet to see.

In the meantime…the garden grows on…

What you don’t see — the bloopers, if you will — are this year’s fails. It seems all of our zucchini plants are boys, so no zucch forthcoming; something broke/ate the bottom stem of one of the canteloupe plants (we have three back-up); after a dozen nice sweet peppers, there is no sign of bloom or fruit. But, we’re feasting on tomatoes, brought in a couple of pounds of potatoes, and will soon have a bumper crop of cucumbers and green beans. I think we’re in the black…

The Shady Grove…a good place to stop…

Peace

Evening Edition

On By Jo Mayne CaseyIn Sunday Report, The Gardens of Sonnystone...Leave a comment

We went up to the New Harmony Antiques Show yesterday and it was kinda sad. We have regularly attended this show for several decades and the last years have seen it dwindle with few vendors, but this year there were only a dozen antique booths set up and half of those were local stores. Inside the gym, where it is usually packed with sellers, there wasn’t much to see. The crowds were paltry, too. Antiques just aren’t a “thing” right now, but I couldn’t help but notice that the prices are outrageous…I guess they don’t mind carting that stuff around.

I like antiques, but mine are actual heirlooms, making them priceless despite their chips, cracks, and stains…

This morning I woke up early to get some garden work done, having been forewarned that there was a 100% chance of a severe storm set to appear about 1pm. Turns out, it all dried up and we’re settled into a couple of weeks sans precip alongside record hot temps and humidity, so I don’t regret the mistake.

My black-eyed Susans, just one group of plants, has been steadily infected with black spot, and I cut it back from the other plants, removing most of the affected leaves. I’ve ordered some copper-based fungicide to treat any small spots that may reappear, and I plan to do some serious division next spring.

Before
After

I pulled up the peas and brought in the last harvest, a measly handful of dried pods, making room for the watermelons and cantaloupes to climb.

Here’s the latest photos of the Edible Garden…

Casey’s getting the mowing done and I’ve been just piddling around, relaxing and taking pictures.

Unfortunately, the WC Handy Bluesfest is this week and I wanted to go, but we’ll have to see…Stay safe, friends. Drink plenty of water–don’t wait until you’re thirsty–and stay inside if you have lung problems.

Peace

Catchin’ up…

On By Jo Mayne CaseyIn The Gardens of Sonnystone...1 Comment

Gosh, it’s been 2 weeks since we last talked. I think I mentioned I was allergy-stricken, but I got pretty wheezy and went in to the nurse and was prescribed 6 days of Prednisone and given an inhaler. I can never decide if I love or hate Prednisone…on the one hand I feel all speedy and get-‘er-done-ish, but on the other hand I feel so sick and tired. Speedy always wins, though, and I got the gardens planted, the house cleaned, and stayed up all night learning Italian cooking with Lidia…

This is my new “cottage” garden, planted just across from the Peace/Bird Garden…

There are 21 plants here with hollyhocks and foxglove at the back with liatris, garden phlox, delphinium and lupine in the middle; at the front are coral bells, rosemary, and lavender. Most of the back plants will need to be staked, though you have to use your imagination to see that now.

The Edible Garden is going strong with corn poppin’ up, cucumbers jumping, and a small crop of green beans pulling themselves upright. Our peas are podding and the spinach is ready for harvest. I don’t want to talk about the beets and carrots and radishes– I just can’t thin seedlings properly– but the greens will be good! There are four each of watermelon and canteloupe planted, but they’re not doing anything, yet. We’re going to pull up the spring crop and plant some beans, as well as start some melons from seed between the existing plants, like insurance…

The roses have been stellar, their gentle scent pervading the front porch, but we knew they needed to be pruned soon after their first bloom. That pruning is now a priority as last night’s unrelenting rain has weighed them down.

Before we left for London I bought a new used camera, a Nikon D3300, an affordable upgrade from my antiquated D60; all my lenses fit it, too, so I just needed the body. I opted to not lug it around London, but I’ve been playing with it a lot around the house and gardens. I’m so happy to have my eye back in a viewfinder…

My #2 grandie, Olivia Mayne Casey aka Nova Casey, is graduating from 8th grade this week and we’re so excited! I’ll be snapping pics through my tears! Time flies, doesn’t it? Cherish Every Moment…

Peace

Sunday Report 6-27-2021

On By Jo Mayne CaseyIn All My Ancestors, Weekly Wrap-Up1 Comment

Behind the scenes of the scintillating life that I share with you on this blog is my Real Life. In my Real Life there are many relationships and each of them takes their turn at drama. Most of my family do Not read my blog, so I’m often tempted to spill the tea about them, but really I would rather just let it all be. However, Real Life intruded just last week when I delivered my Aunt Shirley’s ashes to her son Jeff’s house. I brought her ashes up from Florida last March and she’s been sitting on a shelf, surrounded by other family pictures. She’s been inspiring me — Shirley never was one to be quiet. — but it was time to move her along, getting her verry close to her final resting spot beside her Mom & Dad.

Aunt Shirley just before setting off on the last leg of her last trip to Grayville…

At any rate, I’ve had too many dramatic scenes played out for me this year, Distracting me from Ancestry research that I started Last Year and I was beginning to think I would Never Finish! I’m here to announce that I have, at last, added my great-grandmother’s family to my ancestry blog in a 3-part series published right Here: https://allmyancestry.wordpress.com/kinkade-mcwilliams-walker/

I still need to write a 4th chapter to tie up some loose ends, but I really need to move away from the family tree for the summer. Genealogy takes up so much time that I have to make it a seasonal hobby to make room for my gardening and travel, not to mention my Living Family!!

Here’s What’s Happening in the Gardens…

We decided to stake our zucchini this year…

…so far it’s working, but it isn’t helping them get pollinated so I need to attract bees. We’re looking at Bee Houses to attract Mason Bees, but it may be too late for this year…still studying. Any suggestions?

Ellis Park starts live racing Today…another reason I have to put away the genealogy. I’m skipping Opening Day, but I’ll be there In-Person on Thursday or Friday, or both…depends on the weather.

I love Summertime! Hope you’re enjoying!

Peace

Sunday Report 6-13-2021

On By Jo Mayne CaseyIn Sunday Report, The Gardens of Sonnystone...1 Comment

I suffered through another rainy, gloomy week and we’re now rewarded with sunny skies and oppressive humidity; it’s almost summer, finally, and as I sweat through my shirt I wonder why I longed for it.

Samantha went with us to the New Harmony Antiques Show yesterday.

I found some old sheet music, well-preserved, to buy and discovered we hadn’t brought cash with us, just enough for some drinks and treats. The prices at the show seemed very high, just like everything else lately, but I wonder how much they sold. It was a paltry showing of vendors, but the crowd was good.

The gardens have loved the rainy weather…

Peace

Sunday Report 5-23-2021

On By Jo Mayne CaseyIn Weekly Wrap-Up1 Comment

When Spring decided to give us some planting weather, she did it right. We’re sleeping with the windows open, waking up with the birds, and loving every minute of these gorgeous days. I got Everything done: planted squash, watermelons, parsley, sage rosemary, thyme, basil, green beans, cucumbers, sunflowers, cardinal vine, marigolds, then polished them off with a splash of Miracle-Gro.

The coreopsis in the Peace/Bird Garden is so Cheerful, don’t you think? The purple coneflower blooms are beginning to open up and check out my strawberry!

We covered the pool area with new heavy-duty woven fabric and moved the umbrella table/chairs onto it. Today the pool goes up.

I’ve made some new discoveries regarding my Kinkade/McWilliams ancestors, and learned new Grandpa Eaton information, so I’ve spent any non-gardening time working on that. I’m planning a Cemetery Loop Scenic Drive for Memorial Day. I like to imagine that my 3x great-grandparents will be thrilled to have a visitor, as it’s been at least 50 years since any of our side has stopped by.

Oh, do you remember that we had to cancel our trip to London in June 2020? We received credits for our hotel and I rescheduled for June 2021…next month. UK is still requiring 10-day quarantines, so I cancelled out that date, as well. However, the folks at Queens Gate, where we’ll be staying, say things are opening back up soon and that quarantines should be lifted by July. We’ve decided to take our trip the last week or so of September and I’m full-on into making that happen. Sooo excited!

So that’s my week here at Sonnystone Acres… Hope you’re enjoying the Season wherever you are!

Peace

Growing Every Season

On By Jo Mayne CaseyIn Autumn at Sonnystone Acres5 Comments

The rains have loosened the leaves’ grip on the tree branches, forcing their Fall. There’s more precip on the way, too, but when that’s moved out and the sun has moved in, we’re scheduled for our first hard frost.

We have already prepared a cart with plants to over-winter and they’ll be put in the shed soon.

Everything else will be on its own — some will die, others will just hibernate until spring.

Check out how big the banana tree got this year! Sadly, it’s too close to our fence, so we’ll try to move it next year. These trees put out babies constantly and spread like crazy. I’m not sure they will survive the transplant and not sure where to move them, so that will be something to mull this winter.

I brought in the Thyme and Basil the other day. I’ve never been good at growing herbs indoors, but this thyme is too pretty to harvest. The long stalks of the basil are going to be cut and used for pesto, but I’ll try to keep the smaller, younger plant growing.

Since there’s not much to report about gardening these days, I’m going to switch up my Thursday blog post to Rave On, MadWoman. You may have met the MadWoman before and she’s anxious to spout off — I mean, share her perspective. She can get a little annoying sometimes, to say nothing of her short attention span, so occasionally I’ll substitute a little bit I call Photo Synthesis.

It will all be right here at The News from Sonnystone Acres, your one-stop source of drivel…

Keep on Growing…

Growing Every Season: The Movie

On By Jo Mayne CaseyIn The Gardens of Sonnystone...4 Comments

It’s pretty much all over for the Edibles, though there are still a couple of rows of green beans. The butterflies and goldfinches are still hovering around the zinnias, too. Finally the Mums are in Full bloom. Though today it’s supposed to be 85 and sunny, we probably won’t see the 80s again until next year. Gloomy rainy days are on the way, but even then the trees try to shine out with their yellows and reds…

We’ve continued to pull in veggies: the broccoli never recovered from the onslaught of whatever-those-worms-were, though they made a brave stand; The limas, too, just lollygagged along until there’s no more time left. The last two stands of green beans are going okay, so we’re putting off picking the as long as we can.

We usually travel in September and October, so bring it all in right after Labor Day. In this strange year, we’ve stretched the season out and it’s been a Work of Wonder and Joy…

I made a video… With so many pictures of All of the gardens, I had to focus on just the two: The Edible and the Peace/Bird Garden… The music is one of my all-time faves from the Ozark Mt. Daredevils…

Enjoy!

Keep on Growing…

Growing Every Season

On By Jo Mayne CaseyIn The Gardens of Sonnystone...3 Comments

I’ve been to an appointment with the eye doctor this morning. By the time I came out of the office the temperatures had dropped and there is a cold rain. Here at the Acres, we’ve got the fire burning and it’s cozy as a bug.

Busy all last week when it was sunshiney and warm, we finished putting the rock into the garden annex, giving it a more “finished” look. We still need soil, but that may wait until Spring.

I potted up the cilantro… I had thrown some seeds into the washtub planter about a month ago and there are eight nice plants. Basil, oregano, and thyme are all out on the porch now, too.

The mums are Finally opening…

We’re planning a day-trip up North to see some Fall colours.  Covid cases are surging througout our state and I still see too many people not-wearing masks, so we’ll be taking a picnic lunch.  I’m pretty impressed at how the safety precautions we have to take actually encourage a person to be more creative.  There’s always a Bright Side, if you look… 

Keep on Growing…