Today's events

Because of the slip and fall I need physical therapy, however can't afford the co-pay necessary to get it... so I'm doing what I call "dog therapy" - I have a neighbor who needs her dog walked at around noon daily, and that's how I've been exercising the knee.
Why is that important? Because that's the lead in to today's issues.
I left the house by the back door to go get Armand, and heard what sounded like an open faucet running. Given that I don't have a working faucet out back, I made sure I found what was causing the sound.
I found it.
It was like someone had turned on a spigot and let it run - my back yard and a lot of the common area is a swampy mess right now. So I reported it to the HOA, who got a plumber out here, and initially, he said it was my water heater, and that I was going to be responsible for the repair.
I'm on the verge of panic, trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for a new water heater, install and everything else, when he suggests trying turning off the hot water at the source.
I was all for it, and when he did, the water outside kept going - which told him that it wasn't my unit causing the problem, it's the vacant unit next door.
I'm sorry to wish this on someone else, however for once there's a water issue at this place and it's not mine.

Leak update

Well, I gave it my best shot but I couldn't pull it off.
I spent a good part of Sunday and most of Monday trying to get the leak fixed - I thought I had it on Sunday, when I listened to the guy at the Home Depot when he told me that all I needed was silicone tape.
I dug up the yard, isolated the leak turned off the water to the cul de sac and put the tape on the leak. Covered the hole back up and turned the water back on - all was good until I woke up Monday morning to find that the front yard was a swamp.
So, back to the drawing board I went. Or in this case, back to the Home Depot as soon as everyone had left for the day. I dug up the yard again, and turned off the water. Went back to the Home Depot to return the water key I didn't need, and to pick up the part I thought I did.
Turned out to be too big, so back to Home Depot.
That turned out to be too big also, so back again to Home Depot.
Back again, and this time he assures me that this is it... the correct part.
I've also managed to cut a piece of the pipe in question off, to make sure I'm dealing with the right size for the pipe.
Guess what - no matter what I do, I can't get the piece to work. I'm sure it's something I'm doing wrong, so I go back again and this time get talked into buying a pricier part, but one that he assures me, will work without a hitch.
You guessed it, wrong again.
So now, I'm back at the Home Depot ready to spit nails. It's getting later and later in the day and I'm dying in the heat; not to mention that I'm working on a deadline of getting through before anyone gets home because in order to do this fix, I've had to cut the water for 12 units.
So, that'll be around 22 people coming for my head on a pole if I can't get this fixed before they get home and want dinner, showers, laundry, dishes, etc.
Little late to make this long story short, but crux of the matter is that I ended up surrendering to the inevitable (especially when the last time, I was sure I had the issue resolved except for a minor leak, tried to adjust it and the connection exploded in my face) ...I gave up. I called the Association's plumber of choice, and he came out and repaired the disaster in less than an hour.
Cost? $193.93
And came to find out that I was on the right track and could have handled the issue myself had Home Depot supplied me with the correct part in the first place.
I did learn a lesson though...there really are some things that you have to pay for instead of doing them yourself.

Another correction

It appears that I blamed the wrong rodents for the loss of my sunflower seedlings. They apparently weren't nabbed by chipmunks but by squirrels. This time I actually chased 2 off when I came across them in the side garden.
I hate squirrels.

Minor correction

I'd stated previously that out of the 100 gladiola I'd planted (minus the approximately 5 those damn tree rats got) I had the potential for a bloom off of only one.
Well, in doing my usual daily check of the gardens, I made the happy discovery of another glad that might be blooming. I say "might" only because when you plant 100 of something and only get 2 to bloom, it's better to err on the side of caution. (Additional note, the first one I found that should bloom shortly is going to be a rich purple color...I'll post a picture of it when it blooms)
That being said, the picture I have of the two sunflower seedlings is all that remains of them.
It seems that sunflower sprouts are apparently a delicacy with chipmunks. That being the case, one of those little ground rats nabbed both the sprouts.
So I'm back to the drawing board with them, although I do have one growing in a pot about 3 feet off the ground, and a couple more hopefully safely hidden in the side yard garden.
I had signed on with the Sunflower Project to monitor bee activity in my area, and they sent a number of sunflower seeds also. Now I understand why I didn't get a single sprout off those.
Apparently I've been running something of a buffet for rodents and they've been having a field day.
Only time will tell about the side yard though - I've been carefully monitoring, and as of today they're still there. I won't make any guarantee about tomorrow though.
I won't be transplanting the one in the pot into the yard until it's beyond anything a chipmunk or squirrel or any other rodent can nip off.
Blessed Litha, little darling!

Front yard garden pics

Trumpet lilies, from the front gardens. Last year,
when I planted them, there was only one flower stalk on each plant. Now, each has at least two, and in some cases three.

Dwarf cannas, from the front garden. The gladiola in the back is the only one out of a hundred bulbs planted that is giving any indication of producing flowers this year.

In between the dwarf cannas, (there are 6 total) I have a couple of variety of hosta and some gladiolas. The glads are a big dissapointment, to be honest with you. As I said, I've only got the potential for a bloom off one plant so far out of a hundred bulbs. I'll be experimenting with other plants next spring, I assure you.

The full size canna I planted in the front are still establishing, so there's nothing to show off there. I did want to show off the beginnings of the blooms from the dwarf canna though.

Side yard garden June 2008

These are calla lilies - I planted 4 stands of them last year, however only this one came back this year. I believe this variety is called "Picasso" but I'm not sure. The only thing I know for sure is that it's a calla lily. The plant in back of it is my hibiscus, however it hasn't started blooming yet.
I planted 4 of those last year too, one on each side of the side yard garden, and two in the back, but only the one in back of the calla came back this year.

The orange day lily is the common or wild variety.

The lovely pink specimen with the yellow throat is from my side yard garden.

This is a picture of the side yard from the front, June 2008.

This is the side yard garden, in a long shot.

Garden June 2008 pics back yard

Here are some pictures from the back yard garden, June 2008. I hope you enjoy them.

This is Tuscan rosemary, with a hosta in front, and an iris in back. I really worried about it last year when I planted it, as it acted as though it wasn't happy, and looked like it was barely hanging on.
What a difference a year makes. It's obviously decided it's happy, and is really taking off.

This is my stand of mint and in front of them is my patch of thyme. Both are doing very well - I'll be harvesting some of that mint in a week or so and enjoying fresh mint tea. They're next to the lily bed.

These are the moonflower I got from your Aunt Sheba - as you can see, they're already starting to climb the trellis. I have 2 out of the pot that have reached the trellis as of this point, and I expect the other 3 to reach the trellis in a couple of days. Once they realize it's there, they'll really start taking off. I can't wait to get some pictures of them when they hit their stride and start producing flowers.

These are my "trumpet" lilies and the Oriental lily.

The Oriental hasn't started blooming yet, however it should in about a week or so. Behind it are the pink lilies (I can't remember their real name, so pink lily will have to do), just as I can't remember the real name for the "trumpet" lily either - oh well, blame it on my age. All I know is they're happy and growing and blooming and that's all I can ask for.

These are sunflower seedlings - the variety is called "Mammoth" because they're supposed to reach a height of 12 feet. I can't wait. I had more but those damn chipmunks got to them.

This is a side by side of the "standard" elephant ear and the Gigantus variety. Audrey, as I've said before, is a Gigantus. To refresh your memory, the reason I call her Audrey is a reference to "Little Shop of Horrors", the Broadway musical and film and the original black and white movie from the 1960's. Technically then, she'd be Audrey 3, since the plant in "Little Shop" was Audrey 2.

This is Audrey 3 - June 2008

Garden notes

By the way, it appears that the black elephant ear has decided it likes where it is and has sent up 3 more shoots. That stand of elephant ear is going to look spectacular when it all comes in.
Audrey is looking great, she now has 4 leaves up. None yet bigger than average, however I think she'll produce at least by next year when she's fully established in her pot.
The moonflowers continue to sprout, and I've got a couple of shoots from the sunflowers to come up. The day lilies in the side garden have begun to bloom, I'll post a picture later.
The mint is very happy, and I hope to be able to harvest some soon - I'm looking forward to a glass of cold mint tea on a hot day.
The trumpet lilies in the front have both started sending up their flower stalks, so I expect to have blooms within a week or three.
Stargazers in the back, probably a day or two and they'll start blooming.
Oriental lily, probably another 3 weeks before I see any blooms, but the calla in the side will have a bloom up in a matter of days.
It's late and I'm rambling. I'll put up pictures of everything as it blooms.
G'nite sweetheart.

Garden June 2008

Here you have a picture of the potting I did today. I put down about 30 moonflower sprouts, and about 15 sunflower seeds. I'll be transplanting the sunflower to the sideyard as soon as they're big enough to survive out of their pots. The moonflowers will be both planted and gifted to neighbors as soon as they're big enough. I'm getting some climbing roses from one neighbor in exchange for some of the moonflowers, and I'll be giving another neighbor some since she gave me the canna lilies that are now on the side yard.

Moon flower seeds I got from your Aunt Sheba. I sprouted them using a ziploc bag and a damp paper towel after nipping the ends off the seeds and soaking them for 24 hours.

This is what the plants look like when they start growing - believe it or not, this is just 3 days after I put the seeds into dirt.

This is the mint bed and the thyme bed. It's kind of blurry, but the mint is on the left and the thyme on the right.

I'm so happy to see this little guy coming up - it's the first sign that the black elephant ear I planted last year will be coming back. Below you can more easily see the size difference between the normal elephant ear and the black elephant ear.

This is what the bed looked like back in March of this year. I really had my doubts at that point that anything was going to come back.

This picture is my lily bed. I have 3 varieties of lilies growing here; Stargazer, Oriental, and the one I call "trumpet" lilies since I can't remember the exact name of their species.

And of course, my newest installation, the trellises. I'll be putting the moonflowers down along the fence so they can grow onto the trellises, and as I said, trading a few moonflowers for some climbing roses, who will also be using the trellises.

As you might guess, Andrea, I do love my plants. It's a vice but it's one of my healthier ones.

Squirrel update

Andrea, I'm hoping that when you're reading this, you'll understand that your Uncle Merlin cusses like a sailor when he's upset. It's not a lack of language skills on my part, it's just that somethings just require cussing.
Like this one little rat bastard squirrel.
I went outside today to check on the gardens, and as I got to the back I heard a rapid series of chuck-chuck sounds.
I looked around, finally looked up, and there was this big fat squirrel on the roof, cussing me like there was no tommorrow.
How do I know he was cussing me? Body language for starters...if you do a little research, you'll find that squirrels use their tails to communicate, in addition to making gutteral chuck-chuck sounds, and the tail motions indicate their level of upset, among other things.
It seems that I had interrupted him while he was feasting on my gladiola bulbs.
How did I come to this conclusion? There were even more leaves by the pots, and evidence of digging.
I suspect my coming around the corner interrupted his meal, and he was expressing his displeasure at that.
If I'd had a gun, I'd have shot the little bastard. Gleefully.
This is rapidly moving into war. And they're going to lose.

Rear garden pictures

These are pictures of the garden in the back.

The elephant ear in the pot is Audrey, my giant strain from Thailand.

The one in the dirt is one that I had planted last year, and is now coming back with 4 separate stalks. I've also included my lily bed, consisting of Oriental, stargazer, and what I call trumpet lilies.

I *HATE* squirrels

I know, I'm supposed to have a heart. I do.
However, given what I just found in the yard, it's turned to ice where those tree rats are concerned.
This year, I finally allowed myself to indulge and planted gladiola in the gardens. I put them in the front, a few on the side, and the majority in pots in the back. Things were going well, everyone was coming up, and in a few weeks, I would have had a major color explosion.
I looked outside a few minutes ago however, and couldn't believe what I saw. A squirrel had dug up one of my sprouted glads, and after chewing on it for a few minutes, left it on the concrete surrounding the storm drain. While normally, this wouldn't upset me, it indicates to me that they now realize that I have glad bulbs planted. And they'll be back for more.
This means war.

Audrey - Colocasia gigantea Thailand Giant Strain

In case you're wondering, I recently acquired a new plant.

It's a Giant Elephant Ear.

The picture is representative of what this particular strain looks like in the wild, although they don't promise such results, saying 8 foot in height and leaves 8 foot by 4 foot are more what you'll get as the home gardener.

Regardless, I got one.

That's her picture up top... I've named her "Audrey" after the plant in "Little Shop of Horrors".