Ducks ALIVE in 2025!

[ducks4you]

I want to say that we should CELEBRATE every little garden victory this year!!!
I am working hard to tell you'all about what I did, even if it's a little gardening job, instead of what I intend to do.
My 2024 gardening job intention list is long, indeed.
I should add, however, that the smallest Apple Blossom amaryllis surprised me and grew a 2nd leaf, so it wants to live.
ANYTHING green in February is appreciated.
NOW, with Mardi Gras on March 4, 2024, what to give up for Lent....

 

[ducks4you]

Busy year.
I should tell you all that I resigned as the town's mayor. After I made sure that there was tax money for next year, I decided that 2 years of people arguing out of order, and screaming at only ME, was enough for one person.
Good news!! More time for everything ELSE in my life...like Gardening!!!



I now have time to deal with cleaning up, throwing away and repairing around the house and garden.
After 3 years of service my green flexible garden bucket developed a crack.
I considered using flex glue on this, like I did with the 13 ft gate on my deceased mare's stall, which merited this treatment, I decided instead to use gorilla tape and see how it will last.

 

[ducks4you]

Ponies are turned out with their shelter, they have extra hay, small new 30 gallon water tank is full, so I am still in my jim jams!
Here is a sample packet of late Italian garlic, 3 big cloves, SeedsNow ships many of their sample seeds in very nice small ziploc bags. The hoarder in me has been saving them. If I can send anybody seeds in the future, these are perfect packages.
This package had holes punched in it to prevent mold. Most of them do not.

 

[ducks4you]

Since the soil can be worked, early, and for some Strange reason, so I did 15 minutes work in my 3'x6' bed east of the Inner Sanctum. I pulled/dug out 4 burdock stems, then hand raked up about 2 ft worth of it, then dug a hole and filled 2 old black rubber pony water buckets that had ended up over there. I am not sure if they leak, or what they issue Was, just that they looked like good planters. I had time to dig and partially bury one of them. I planted the 3 Italian late garlic cloves in it, and I had grabbed 3 regular sized canning screw tops that I put in the soil on top of them, to mark where they are now planted. I want them to get some cold treatment, and, if we get too much rain I can always transplant in the Spring.
I hope to eke out enough time tomorrow, beFORE the snow/ice storm on Wednesday, and plant the garlic bubules and seeds that are now stored in a cleaned out and used cake frosting container.
I didn't want to plant any of those on top of the Italian garlic, and the screw tops will help.
Pictures tomorrow, then it will all make sense.
I don't think this is too weird. After all, I was mowing mid March 2024 bc it was that warm.

 

[ducks4you]

I should point out that MANY jobs have gone undone in the last few years. Bad knees will do that to you.
I have a big collection of canning screw top Lids that need to be recycled, for instance. I didn't know for the longest time that you were supposed to take them Off of the jars after canning, unLESS it was a jelly jar that you opened to use and store in the fridge.
Since the humidity in the basement rusts them, I have been gathering up lids for recycle.
I have a LOT of recyclable metal, but I need to make a play date with youngest DD, since I found out that the recycle place in town in open Saturday mornings.
We can get rid of a lot of metal in various places, in used pony grain bags, underneath my canoe, and now in the old popcorn tin, that itself needs recycling, but makes a good receptable for used canning lids and rusty canning screw tops.
I have 2 Lowe's gift cards. Asap, I intend to stop in at my local Lowe's and ask a cashier to check them to see if they still work. If so, same day we drive the Ram Cummins diesel in to recycle, DD and I can blow a small sum there this Spring. I owe youngest DD Big time for all of the pony care this winter, and she needs to replace a board in her attic, which is essentially a third floor of their house, albeit unheated. Before the new roof, which was pricey bc it has asbestos it smelled funny. Now, it smells like wood, and the roofers rebuilt a brand new window with a screen that opens so that they can put in a big window fan there next summer. This attic even has a full set of wooden stairs that match those from the first to second floor of the house, and a door from a bedroom that leads you there.
Old houses can have some cool stuff in them like that.
This board has a big crack and it is right in the middle, where you have to walk, so better to replace than repair.
I am Sure to buy some gardening stuff, too.
This will be a small Spring adventure...

 

[flowerbug]

when canning when we run low on rings we will take them off a batch to reuse on the next batches until we get some freed up again. otherwise i leave the rings on because they protect the lid from being disturbed or the rim of the jar from being chipped or the jars from being cracked by accident - stuff happens. our pantry is the front closet here so that is dry and the rings don't rust. rings on jars put in the freezer might develop a bit of rust or of you leave the rings in the sink soaking in water, but i try not to do either of those these days since i bought a package of extra plastic covers that fit the canning jars - they have them in regular and wide-mouth sizes for a few $.

 

[ducks4you]

We had family fun night last night, when we went to see the film, "Love Hurts."

Love Hurts (2025) ⭐ 5.4 | Action, Comedy

1h 23m | R

www.imdb.com

Ke Huy Quan is the adult actor who, as a child, played the kid in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," if you didn't know this.
I understand that he made an Oscar splash a few years ago, too, but I have not seen "Everything Everywhere All At Once."
Drew Scott and Sean Astin had cameos and DD's thought that Sean gave the best performance in the film.
It is campy, fun, and reminds me of a chinese martial arts film without subtitles, definitely Dark comedy.
It was a little bit slow, but worth seeing for the discounted Tuesday price that Eldest DD paid, as a Fandango member.
We thought that we were the only 4 people in the theater, but discovered 3 more when the lights came up.
(We were the only people in a Tuesday viewing of "Babe" many years ago, and enjoy talking back to the movie when this happens.)
The credits ran with one of my favorite 70's songs, too. DH was surprised that I knew all of the words, but HE turned his radio Off in 1970.
I WAS SURPRISED that my DD's Didn't know the lyrics. They seem to know the lyrics of all the 70's, 80's and 90's songs.
"The Things We Do for Love", cut to start mid song.

the things we do for love, lyrics - - Video Search Results

The search engine that helps you find exactly what you're looking for. Find the most relevant information, video, images, and answers from all across the Web.

video.search.yahoo.com

 

[ducks4you]

FINALLY, somebody agrees with me, brassicas are really hard to grow!
But, not impossible. Hope this helps somebody else. I will follow this advice in 2025.

 

[ducks4you]

 

[ducks4you]

These articles excited me bc I have supplies on hand. My old small tomato cages haven't really worked well, even for peppers, who often outgrow them, Too. That's why I went to 6 ft fencing for my tomatoes.
https://www.epicgardening.com/cabbage-growth-stages/
I have a good supply of chicken wire and I think I can combine the two to make cages for my 2025 cabbages.
I didn't know that chicken wire could stop these nasty white moths.
My biggest past mistakes were:
1) starting cabbage (all brassicas) too late in the Spring
2) cabbage moths--I could see the big holes in the leaves as they slowly withered
We, as a family can go through a LOT of slaw, and we also like to cook cabbage. Since DD has figured out how to take the unused beef cut and make it into corned beef, we will also enjoy That if I can grow them this year.
Garden dreaming....