The Soil Knife

Ward and I have been working in the yard this weekend doing some mowing, planting, pruning, and just general clean up. And the whole time I was never without our handy, dandy soil knife. That is I was never without it unless Ward was using it. It is just that handy. Below is a previous post about the knife that gives a little more information. It might be a good present for Father's Day for those dad's who like to garden. 

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Ward's new soil knife

I have a new favorite garden tool.  It cuts, it digs, it measures, it saws, it makes coffee. Well, actually I'm not sure about the coffee part, but it might. What is it? A soil knife also known as a hori hori knife.  The miracle tool is the shape of narrow trowel with a sharp knife edge on one side and a saw-tooth edge on the other. The one we have is also marked off in inches for measuring.

Apparently, it's been around for a long time. It was first implemented in Japan to dig mountain vegetables. (Thus the original name of hori hori which means "to dig" in Japanese.) However, I only heard of it recently when Aunt Martha suggested that Ward might like one for his birthday. I got it for him, but I felt like when I was a kid and for my sister's birthday bought what I really wanted. Ward has gotten to use it a few times, but I have had it out almost every day.

Each time I use it, I find another thing it does better than any tool I've used before. It makes digging very easy. Its sharp blade cuts into hard soil almost effortlessly. And if you run into roots while you're digging--no problem. You can saw right through them. You can measure the depth of your hole when you are planting, and it cuts better than any razor blade I've ever used when opening a bag of mulch. I love it. The only problem is that Theodore has discovered it too. Maybe Ward needs another one for Father's Day.

A Second Look--May 13, 2015

I have two special needs girls that I am friends with. One of them, Kimmy, lives next door and visits almost every day to read a book or two with me. One day the book was talking about cows and I asked if she had seen the cows behind our houses. She had never seen them and thought the idea was ridiculous. Since then, I have been trying to show them to her. However, that has been harder than expected because but the cattle are rotated from field to field frequently.

Well today, I thought I had hit the jackpot. While doing a Second Look, I found many of the new calves and their mothers right up against the fence in the back. Close enough that you could reach out and touch them if you wanted. I hurried next door looking for Kimmy so we could get a look at the cows that she thought didn't exist. One thing after another seemed to delay us to the point that when we got there, they were all gone. She still thinks I'm a little crazy, but I'm sure soon enough it will work out. However in the meantime, I did get some pictures.

On bird nest front, the wars are on. The wrens are building a nest on top of the sparrows nest. I'm not sure what happened to the sparrow's eggs but there are no new wren eggs yet. Apparently, the wren's nest in the other box, may be there just to prevent other birds from using the box. Survival of the fittest. The bluebird didn't lay any more eggs this week so the final total is four. I have seen the mother going in and out of the box often. Since the weather has been really hot (80's and 90's), she may not need to spend as much time sitting on them to keep them warm.

New things are blooming continuing the beautiful display of spring colors. The rhododendron is the most noted of these this week with new buds blooming every day. Not as showy, but just as beautiful are the lily of the valley that started blooming a few days ago.

Here are a few things I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

Rhododendron

Elusive Calf

Star of Bethlehem

Notice the twigs that the wrens are using to build a nest on top of the sparrow's.

Lily of the Valley

So many colors of green this time of year.

Brighton Dam Azalea Garden

Here's yet another post showing spring flowers, but it's that time of year. We made what has become our annual trip to the Brighton Dam Azalea Garden last Sunday. The blooms were not quite at peak yet, but there were still plenty to enjoy. Here a few pictures from our pleasant afternoon strolling through the gardens.

The gardens are adjacent to the lake formed by the Brighton Dam.

In some areas, the azaleas were just starting to bloom.

In other areas, like where Ward is walking, they were in full bloom.

A close up of one of the bushes above. This pink variety seems to be the earliest bloomer in the garden.

One of the things they do to maintain the gardens is to replant a new section every year.

The gardens are a favorite place for photographers.

Among the azaleas, dogwoods were also blooming.

This was Ward's favorite. He likes how only one petal has pink dots.

A Second Look--May 6, 2015

We've had some very nice warm weather recently--warm enough that we're thinking it might be time for the air conditioner. But it is still spring, so it should cool off soon. There are still a few daffodils blooming and the dogwoods are just starting to fade. Most of the azaleas have burst into bloom this week with their brilliant pink and purple colors.

There are eggs in two of the nests now. Last time I checked there were three in the sparrows' nest and four in the bluebird's nest. I don't if they laid any more, but mothers are sitting on both nests now. I think I'll leave them alone for a little while.

The wrens nest is getting bigger, but it is not completed. I've read that sometimes wrens will build a decoy nest and that's what happened in this box last year. We'll see if we get any eggs this time.

Here are a few things I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

Daffodil

Japanese Colored Fern--I think these are just past the fiddlehead stage.

Azalea

Wild cherry

Azalea

Bluebird eggs

Azalea that is growing out of our weed compost pile. 

Wren's nest

Squirrel who just had a nice meal from the suet cake he just removed from its holder.

Dogwood tree

Dogwood, sweet gum, Japanese maple, juniper, and cherry trees (and a drainage ditch)

A-Z Challenge Reflections

Now for the last formal part of the A-Z Challenge  Reflections

I was so relieved when I finally did the Z post for the A-Z Challenge, I didn't think that I would post again for a while. But that wasn't correct. I was happy to get back to the unrestricted posting of yore. I did a Second Look post the very next day because my yard was teeming with things to share.

So, what did I think of the whole A-Z exercise? Quite frankly, it took more time than I should have let it take. At times, there were more important things to be done than to think about what I was going to do for the letter J. But a challenge is a challenge, and I was determined to finish it.

Even though I gave the Challenge a higher priority than it should have had sometimes, I liked the creativity of coming up with a post for each letter. Because of it, I wrote some posts that I would never have thought about before. And some of them meant a lot to me. I also visited some interesting blogs and made some new friends. Some of the blogs I visited were not subjects that I would normally be drawn to, but I found them interesting all the same.

If I do the A-Z Challenge again, what would I do differently? First of all, I would anticipate it and start collecting ideas for posts ahead of time. This time, I signed up at the last minute and didn't really understand the whole thing. I was always scrambling to get something ready for the next day.

Do I think I will do it again? I'm not sure. I'm thinking about a 6 months challenge with a new letter every week instead of every day. That would be more my speed. We'll just have to see when next year rolls around what I will do.

Also, a quick note. Thanks to the sponsors of the challenge. It was well organized and I can't believe that the few of you visited each and every blog several times. I was amazed that you took the time to do this and I was thankful for your encouragement.