The Yard Today

Tuesday, June 23, 2026 

Stopped by Bachman's yesterday to pick up some more annuals. 

Added an impatien and the purple leafy thing to this planter. The pansies I planted earlier are really filling out. 

Picked up a plant of rosemary.

The petunias I bought earlier this season are really filling out. There are snapdragons hiding in there. They can grow quite tall and I'm surprised they haven't done so yet. 

The ferns continue to do well although they can start to falter once you get into July if you don't keep 'em watered. We've gotten enough rain this season that we've only had to water the gardens 2 or 3 times. 

In Planters

 Thursday, May 21, 2026

Got the flowers in planters today.

Ran out of flowers for this planter. I think I'll pick up some more snapdragons. They grow nice and tall so they'll look good behind the pansies. 

Pansies and More

 Friday, May 8, 2026

Fascinated that there's a pansy growing in this pot. For the life of me I don't remember planting any seeds here this past fall. 

Now it looks like there's another one growing to the left of it. 

Have been consistently working hard to make sure these gardens are weeded. 

It's been really nice not working this spring and not feel so burned out in April and May and feel like I have the capacity to get things done outside of my job. 

Cigar in the Back Yard

 Thursday, April 30, 2026

Cigar in the back yard today. It was right around 50 degrees and partly cloudy. When the sun was out it was perfect - still comfortable with a jacket, especially if not moving around. 

When the sun went behing a cloud it was cooler but not at all uncomfortable especially with a jacket on. If the wind came up while the sun was hiding I'd simply duck into the garage. 

I've been working slowly, steadily, and consistently on the yard over the past week. 

It's starting to look good although there's still more to do. 

Some of the gardens have been raked out. 

Some have not.

Noticed this lone pansy growing in one of our pots. They're not perrenials so I'm not sure where this one came from. I guess life's always better with a little mystery in it. 

The Back Yard Today

 Thursday, October 23, 2025

This is a photo of the tree across the alley from us taken this past Friday.

And here it is today. Can you believe it lost all of its leaves in just under a week? 

The temperature is supposed to hit freezing tonight. We'll see how the celosia does. 

The kale and the mums are a bit heartier so I'm sure they'll do better with the chill. 

Dale and I were commenting on how golden the October light looks especially in the afternoon. 

I've cut back most of the rhubarb except for this one plant. It was doing the best of the rest as it had the fewest dried out stalks. 

The backyard is covered in shade earlier and earlier because Andrea's house, which is on an incline from ours, is blocking the sun. This photo was taken at 4:18 p.m.

The farthest reaches of the yard still get some rays at this time of day. 

Our silver maple in the front can take its time dropping its leaves but it's making some slow yet steady progress. 

As October progresses the shadows keep getting longer.

Today was my first day back at school in 5 months. I was there for a few hours to help with the strike vote. I really enjoyed seeing former colleagues. I celebrated my triumphant return with a cigar after I got home. 

After my cigar Dale and I headed over to The Howe for dinner. Thursday is mac & cheese night. 

October Planting

 Sunday, October 5, 2025

After brunch Dale and I went to Bachman's to get some flowers to fill in some of the gaps left by the recent great flower thief incident. I added some additional pansies to this planter. 

We also got some more kale. This garden by the garage is looking pretty good. 

The pot of mums in the foreground is finally starting to flower. Got some rain today which is nice because we need it.

It's been warmer than seasonally average lately so the rain also cooled things off a bit. I'm ready for autumn. Heat and humidity is more tolerable when you know that's what you're gonna get but we're past that now so we really shouldn't have to deal with this anymore. Just sayin'. 

The State of Our Yard - Sunday Edition (With an Update on the Great Flower Thief)

 Sunday, September 21, 2025

Dale and I got home from church this morning and noticed that our celosia had been ripped from the pots which border our driveway. No other flowers were taken. The celosia planted closer to the house was untouched. At first I thought a squirrel or a rabbit may have done it but they would have made much more of a mess getting it out of the pots. All six stalks of it were completely gone with no mess left behind and there's no way small animals could have disappeared it so cleanly. 

Again, they only took from the pots which bordered the driveway so they didn't need to come into the yard. I moved two of the pots  closer to the garage so they're harder to see. Hopefully this was a one and done. 

UPDATE - On Tuesday, September 23, Dale and I made a trip to Bachman's to replace the flowers that were stolen. 

Ran into our next door neighbor, Andrea, who told us that on Sunday morning, while we would've been at church, her dog Marcia was barking at something near our driveway. 

Ran into our next door neighbor, Andrea, who told us that on Sunday morning, while we would've been at church, her dog Marcia was barking at something near our driveway. 

This was indeed confirmation that it was actually a person and not an animal but this made it even more baffling. I mean, a kid I understand might not know better but a full grown man? Rather sad. I think most people would agree that stealing flowers is rude, crude, and social unacceptable.  For realz.