Bambi and friends

Last week I bought $20 worth of pansies at a local nursery and planted them out in the yard. The next morning -- yes, the very next morning -- they had been eaten to the ground! This evening I looked out the window and saw four deer in the front yard. In the first photo below, there are four, but it was hard to capture them as it was just about dusk. If you look closely, one is on the far left behind the dogwood tree; two are to the left of the big oak. and one is to the right of the oak.


In the photo below, you can see three of the four more closely. This is my front yard, just a few feet from the street, and the walk leads to my front door. But we don't have a lot of traffic on our street, and there are vacant, wooded lots next door and across the street.
Although the deer are interesting to watch, they do a lot of damage to our landscaping. I wonder if anyone has tried to estimate the economic loss caused by deer damage. They have eaten my hostas, daylilies, tulips, yews, sedums, and of course, pansies. They seem not to like herbs or iris. So I guess I'll concentrate more on things that are not as appealing to them next year.

On a happier note, it rained today. We've been under mandatory water restrictions, so I hope today's rain will replenish our water levels enough that the restrictions will be lifted.


Joanie 10/25/08

The joys of friendship

We all love our guys, our children, our siblings, our parents, but there is a special category of people who are precious to us -- our female friends. I am fortunate to know a delightful group of ladies. We belong to a volunteer group that educates the public on the value and benefits of trees in cities and towns. We get together once a month for lunch. Here we are yesterday at one of our local restaurants.

It is hard to put into words how much my friends mean to me. They lift my spirits when I'm feeling down. The bring lots of laughter into my life. And we work together on rewarding projects -- such as decorating a Christmas tree and donating it to our local arts council for auction. I hate to refer to them as "girls" because we are all mature adults (and some, like me, are seniors), but these "girls" are so creative. I learn from them each time we are together. Best of all, we enjoy spending time together. When we get together, there are no conditions. no expectations, just an opportunity to have fun and laugh a lot. To all of my friends, a big thank you for the joy you bring to my life.

Best to all. Joanie

Autumn

Where does the time to? October is half over already. The leaves are changing color and starting to fall on the ground. This is the view from the windows of the living/music room this morning. I need to get out there and start raking.

The cat usually sits on top of the sofa and watches birds and squirrels and whatever other critters (deer, groundhogs) wander through the front yard, but today he decided to take a little rest instead. What a life.
Happy fall.

Joanie

Tempus Fugit

People say "time flies when you're having fun" but at my age, time flies whether you're having fun or not!

Haven't posted for over a week and don't know where the time went. In fact, a friend of mine and I were talking last week and both of us said we don't know where September went.

Last week was busy. Monday I worked half a day at the Master Gardener help desk at my county extension office. Tuesday I attended a refresher class on trees. My garden club met on Wednesday and I was the hostess, which meant I brought the food and beverages.

I also made two arrangements to enter into our monthly competition. One was a "general " arrangement which means that the style and theme are the exhibitor's choice. Mine is shown above as the centerpiece on the refreshments table. Another "general" entry is shown below:
My second arrangement was a "theme" arrangement, which means the theme and style of the arrangement are set by the club. This month's theme was "Tempest in a Teapot" and the style was a stretch design--two containers, one smaller than the other, and connected in some way with botanical material. Here are some of the entries (mine is the second shown below):

We also assembled flowers in bud vases to be taken to a local nursing home. We do this several times a year and the residents really appreciate them. Below are the bud vases, boxed and ready to go.
Flower arranging is so much fun. I am amazed by the creativity of the others in my club.

Joanie