Ice and Corn

Found this solution to slick sidewalks that might be just in time!

Instead of ice melt or other salt solutions, spread ground corn on ice and snow covered walkways to make the surfaces safe and easy to walk on without damaging the concrete or killing the surrounding foliage.

It's also less expensive, readily available, pet-friendly, and feeds the birds and squirrels when snow is on the ground.   (This was a suggestion by William Schweltzer of DePue, Illinois.)

Might just be the suggestion of the winter for managing slippery walks and just in time!  For those of you who do not produce your own corn, ground corn can be found at farm stores, ususally in the bird feed section.

Garden Allergens?

If you have allergies in the winter and wonder why you're still sniffling, here's some thoughts on the subject.  They're just this old girl's experience.


If you have:

• Ever had your windows and doors open,
• Have any carpet and drapes,
• Use a sweeper,
• Have indoor pets,
• Wear your shoes in the house,
• And are alive in 2010

Then folks you have allergens in your home during the winter.


Because I'm so often outside during the summer months, I am constantly in contact with some form of allergens and bring them into the house.  Pollen, mold, insect and animal residue and the list goes on. 

And then, there's my favorite little puff ball of allergens, Bitsey the cat. 

I'm not going to talk about the hows or whys of these allergens today.  Simply one measure to help.


Your sweeper has many places allergens can stick and then be recycled into the air of your home.  I've no experience with the super duper expensive sweepers which claim to filter all allergens but for us average sweeper owners, here's my tips:

• DO NOT have your sweeper attached to an electrical outlet during the cleaning process!
• The most obvious is to change the sweeper bags long before they are to the full line. 
• Now comes the disassembly of your sweeper.  Not as hard as it sounds since most have simple locking parts.
• If the sweeper has a cloth bag holder, remove and wash in a bucket of water.  I like to use "Green Works" as my soap because it doesn't add additional allergens and it smells good.  Line dry.
• Some sweepers have filters.  Either wash the foam ones or replace the paper filters.  A filter with a tear needs replacing. 
• Wash/rinse the inside of any tubes and attachments that are removable.
• With a old damp cloth wipe any surfaces that can not be removed or submerged.  DO NOT submerge any electrical parts or attached parts. 
• The brush devices comes off using a small screwdriver.  Check the belt for wear and if needed, replace.  Wash the brush device.  
• Let all parts completely dry before reassembling.

And that, my friend, is one way to cut down on allergens in your home. 


Of course, the most obvious is to totally clean all surfaces in your home every half hour or so.  Yeah, me either. 

Do You Use Plastic?

And I'm not talkin' charge cards or shopping bags!  I'm referring to artificial Christmas trees.  Actually, they come in a wide variety of materials, colors, sizes, and shapes.  As for smells, there's just one variety and it must be a real Christmas tree.

Side Note:  You may want to check out article #11 "Deck The Halls" where I tell a little about the history of Christmas trees.

I grew up with nothing but real Christmas trees.  They were large (or was I little) and usually long needle.  They always had a crooked trunk which caused more than one fall over and at times a hefty string tied off to a window frame.  They always had bare spots that we worked hard to hide either by turning this way and that or if that failed, put the largest ornament in the hole.  

Our decorations were an array of old and homemade.  I still have several of my mother's ornaments and cherish them simply for that fact.  Even at a young age, I was "into" decorating for Christmas.  Every year I made a series of paper chains, strung popcorn, and I'm sure colored and cut various oddities.  Believe me, Charlie Brown's Christmas tree wasn't something I laughed at - I sympathized!

Much ta do was made about getting the lights untangled, all working and hung on the tree.  This is something I still find tedious and pawn off on anyone near.  We had the variegated large bulbs and bubble lights.  They were so old they only bubbled if you flicked them with your finger.  

Another tradition was the star at the top.  Growing up in the Indiana "Bible Belt" required a star at the top, made of gold foil and one large yellow light.  Traditionally, the manger was placed under the tree.  It was my job (or perhaps I didn't let anyone else) to keep this arranged perfectly.  I still use the old manger and figures even though it's a little worse for wear.  It's the last thing I put out and I still pause when passing to reflect on Christ's birth and Christmas memories.

Shop for a natural/real tree:

• Buy from a local source.  Even some of your local retailers are buying their trees from local farms.  Locally grown trees will be the most fresh. 
• Bang the tree of your choice hard on the ground to see if the needles hold.  If they loose a bunch - look for another.
• Cut a few inches off the bottom as soon as you get home and put in a bucket of warm water in a cool place overnight.  A fresh tree will take up lots of water every day.  Check every morning and night to see if it needs more.
• At some point, it will stop taking up water.  This is the time to carefully watch how dry it becomes and dispose of it when it starts seriously dropping needles.
• Keep it away from registers and heaters and open flames.  
• Use LCD lights that produce no heat.
• Dispose of all old lights.  If you must keep that old set of lights from you mom or grandma, don't use them plugged in.  A large clear glass vase with them inside, a bow and a note:  "For Mom" works and isn't a fire hazard.

I've done artificial for several years.  One is thin and elegant.  The other is large and often fools people because it looks like it is fresh from the forest. I thought they were easier - in reality they're not easy at all and just about as messy.  The plus is they don't dry out. 

But, my heart is calling for a real tree and I'm thinking next year for sure.  Now, I just have to find one that is crooked and has a few other obvious flaws. . .   

Crafting Mojo - Part Two

I was reading "Dave's Garden" on-line today.  There was an article about making pine cone wreaths.  That took me back in the old Christmas memory bank.


When I was a very young mom, with little financial resources to spend on Christmas gifts and decorations, I always made many of both.  Not that it was a burden, I enjoy this kind of thing.  My problem is I never quite analyze if a project will become repetitive.  I don't do repetitive well or with a joyful heart.


I decide to make mother, mother-in-law, and sisters-in-laws each a pine cone wreath.  I bought the wire forms, the wire and gathered a blue zillion (blue zillion is larger than just a zillion for you non-math students) pine cones.  I'm so ready.


Each cone must have a length of wire wrapped around the bottom portion and then tied to the frame.  Pretty simple.  And then it moves into repetitive.  To look good, full, and totally covered, it takes a red zillion (that's about half a blue zillion) pine cones tied to the frame.  I finished all five and haven't done another since.  I had mine for years, occasionally changing the ribbons, until it simply dried to disintegration.


Other years I've made Christmas aprons, purses, painted pictures, painted cards, and on and on.  I've finally stopped making large batches of any one thing because I've finally stopped long enough in the excitement phase to remember more math:   We have a big family + repetitive tasks = B O R I N G.  This year I'm making a patch quilt - oh my goodness talk about repetitive - but that's another subject.


If you too enjoy making Christmas gifts, here are some good projects:

1.  Orange scented pomander balls:  Prick the orange skin with an ice pick to make it easier to insert whole cloves.  Insert cloves in a pattern.  Tie the entire orange in coordinated netting and tie the top with a bow.  Wrap in tissue and insert in a plastic bag to keep the scent until it is opened by the recipient.
2. Neck wrap:  Double stitch soft fleece fabric in a pillow case type bag.  Bag should end up about 12 x 4 inches.  Leave one end open.  Double the fabric if it is thin.  Insert dry rice (not instant), flax seed and natural lavender until it is about half to 3/4 full.  Sew (very securely) the open end.  This can be heated in the microwave and put around the neck for a calming sensation.  Make sure it's not too hot by heating in 30 second intervals BEFORE placing on the skin.
3. If you have access to cedar shavings, save them for a scented closet hanger.  Sew three sides of a colorful (not heavy) fabric.  The size should be about 4" wide x 6" tall. You may sew lace or other trim around the top.  Fill the bag with the shavings, tie the top closed with a ribbon (including a loop for hanging) and I like to add a simple sturdy ornament.   You could make your own stuffing with cinnamon sticks, dried roses petals, or other fragrant dried herbs, flowers, or barks.  Cedar does have moth repellent qualities.
4. Build a birdhouse from found or salvaged items.  Just needs to have drainage holes in the bottom, a vent near the top and has the capability to be cleaned out at year end.  If they are for birds, make sure all components are weather proof and functional for the birds' needs.  If it is simply decorative - glue guns and whatever are fine.  I have loads of plans if you want a copy or there are free plans on the net.
5. Bird feed ornaments:  Some of the ready-made have bird feed glued to Styrofoam balls or wreaths.  I'm not sure that is wise for the bird's sake.  None of the examples will last in a lot of moisture but hopefully, the birds will eat them first.  Mix seeds, peanut butter, lard, corn meal, and flour until it is the consistency of very stiff dough.  (You can also add nuts and fruit)  Form into balls with a loop of twine embedded in the middle and coming out the top for a hanger.  Don't make any larger than your two hands can go around or it will be too heavy to hang.  Lay on a wax paper covered cookie sheet and freeze for a couple of days.  Wrap in net or discarded onion/potato mesh, and tie a ribbon at the top.   Wrap in plastic wrap to give as a gift.  Don't let it get too warm before giving.
6. Dried flower uses:   For those of you that save and dry flowers and leaves, this is the perfect time to use in gift arrangements.  A simple little 4 inch grape vine wreath or a small bouquet tied with a pretty ribbon for a table are good uses.   A small canvas painted a color that coordinates with your flowers, then glue the dried flowers in an artful arrangement, frame and sign.  The smaller, the more charming.
7. Canned goods:  For those in your family, a jar of your canned tomatoes, pickles, etc. is always a welcome treat come winter.  You might want to include a ribbon around the top and an old family recipe.
8. Then there's that pine cone wreath . . . 

Use your talents and your garden supplies and your gifts will be original, perhaps inexpensive, and from the heart. 

A Shed Is A Shed

I've never seen a garden shed as well organized as the magazines and HGTV garden program examples.  I'm sure there are some out there - I've just not seen them and especially in my own back yard! 

This little area came about when my daughter moved and gave us her little storage shed.  In the winter, it holds everything that can get cold and is piled to the top.  Since it doesn't get water, it works well.  I did learn to NOT store the hanging basket liners inside the shed  - the mice thought it was nesting heaven.  This area also has my potting bench.

Some sheds are tiny and some are large.  Farm properties usually have barns and like-sized sheds which can hold the additional garden tools.  City/town lots must use garages or erect little utility sheds.  Both in-garage storage devices and the utility sheds can be simple to expansive. 

Even the most simple shed (as pictured in the oil painting by my mother) serve the purpose as long as they are dry.

I've got the organizational device called "20D nails".  I came from the 1900's barn type of organizational methods for hanging tools.  All my "handled" tools hang in the garage by two of these big nails supporting the rake or whatever.  I admit, it's not as pretty as the metal hanging devices sold at hardware stores.  I also admit, it still works.

I still use a bucket of kitty litter with used motor oil for my garden shovels.  Since a metal tool will rust if sitting on the cement floor all winter, it solves that problem along with the oil coating.  Plus, it's a least harmful place to dispose of the oil.

All my hanging lanterns hang on a 20D from the garage rafters.  It takes no work bench or cabinet space and they risk little breakage. 

I don't have an inside potting bench - mine is outside as pictured above.  Although I contemplated those lovely commercial designs for inside, there is just no way I'm neat enough to keep the mess off the floor.  In the summer, I simply store my bags of potting soil in that little outhouse style shed since it's been emptied of all the garden things earlier in the spring.  

If you have a greenhouse type shed, an actual shed constructed for gardening, and if you have them all organized - good on you!  I'll admire yours and may even dream about emulating your neatness.  In the end, Diane will hammer a few more nails and feel fortunate if at the end of summer my tools are all hangings and clean. 

Pretty - not so much.  Barn functional - yep. 

Sweeter Than Wine

This October we toured the rose gardens at Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. And as the country song says, “I had to stop and smell the roses along the way.” I took many photos of the beautiful roses; many heirloom and All-American winners.


And there in the middle of my tour, I reached for a red rose and my day became something more. It was a fragrance that can transport one to marvel. This beauty was the Hybrid Tea Rose “Chrysler Imperial”. It was seriously the high point of my garden walk.


In the modern hybrid flower world, plants have often been bred for larger flowers and more color choices. Rarely have they been bred for fragrance. The result has been many flowers no longer have their original if any fragrance.


Heirloom and open-pollinated flowers retain fragrance that past gardeners nurtured for their essence in cooking and for healing. Perhaps fragrance for the simple enjoyment was secondary in the early days, but, I’m sure it was enjoyed never-the-less.


Commercial marketing labs have discovered fragrance can sell. Think of the candle industry, a restaurant that fans their fresh baked bread smell out to the sidewalk, the hotel industry scenting their bedding with lavender to calm and relax, department stores pumping floral scents have increased sales, and research is currently finding certain scents may help diagnose and treat some diseases.


As far as roses, the Scented Geranium True Rose fragrance is said to improve recall and enhance the formation of memories. Perhaps for me the Chrysler Imperial was actually a recalled memory of some long forgotten event. As Louise Beebe Wilder wrote, “The gardens of my youth were fragrant gardens and it is their sweetness rather than their pattern or their furnishings that I now most clearly recall.”


Smell is one of the most powerful stimuli known. The olfactory receptors in the nose connect directly to the part of the brain responsible for memory and emotion. Our sense of smell affects 75% of our moods and emotions on a daily basis, and we are capable of detecting 10s of thousands of fragrances.


Given choices when choosing a plant for your garden, choose one that has scent. Next, put those scented plants where you will enjoy them. A single Oriental Casa Blanca Lily planted beside your porch or deck will perfume the evening air. Herbs such as rosemary, basil, or lemon balm planted beside a path will release oil and fragrance each time they are brushed.


Some plants wait until evening to release their perfumes; some will scent the entire garden and others need to be picked and placed in a vase for enjoyment. Think of a room with a vase of old fashioned peonies or lilacs.


Every flower that releases a wonderful fragrance, is handing you a gift. Heinrich Heine said, “Perfumes are the feelings of flowers” and I tend to agree.


You don’t need a $500 an ounce perfume when a bouquet of violets is just waiting to be picked in the back yard. Put away the sleeping aids and put the essence from lavender on your bed at night. Never be in such a hurry you don’t bend to smell a rose.


As a gardener, cut a few flowers and take them along on visits to others. Little kitchen glass flavoring bottles, old votive candle holders, or found containers washed and ready to hold flowers for your friends. Add bit of ribbon around the top. “A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.”

Gobble Gobble

This is a wild turkey I photographed at Brown County State Park in Indiana.  Not quite the picturesque version we see in most Thanksgiving pictures.  This old boy is the real deal much like the early settlers and the Native American Indians used for food.  

This pre Thanksgiving week has been an interesting mix of November weather.  Yesterday, we set the record high temperature of 71 degrees.  Thrown in for good measure was severe storm watches and then warnings, tornado watches and then warnings.  Eight tornadoes were sighted in Illinois and Wisconsin.

At one point, we were warned there was a tornado sighted at the Kewanee airport (not far from us).  Look as we might, we did not see it although friends in that area had some damage.  

Hail 

At our place on the hill, we had significant hail and wind and thankfully no damages.  We did loose power for over two hours and I noticed Ameren and Corn Belt workers busy into the evening hours in Galva.

Looking forward to Thanksgiving:

According to WQAD's Anthony Peoples':  70% of our Thanksgivings have had no snow, 14% have had flurries or a trace amount, and 16% have had measurable amounts 0.1 inch or more.  If you remember back to Thanksgiving 1968, we had 5 inches of the white stuff.  

This Thanksgiving I thank God for my family and friends.  I'm thankful for living in America and pray we take our many Blessings, this land and it's bounties we have inherited, and share with those who aren't so fortunate.  I ask God to guide my hand to cheerfully help others as He has always helped me.  As the gardener's hand guides the trowel into the earth, may our love of others guide us to be helpful and thankful.

To Pumpkins at Pumpkin Time

Back into your garden-beds! 

Here come the holidays!

And woe to the golden pumpkin-heads

Attracting too much praise.

Hide behind the hoe, the plow,

Cling fast to the vine!

Those who come to praise you now

Will soon sit down to dine.”

By: Grace Cornell Tall

 

Billie Creek early Indiana log cabin.