One More Done

 Who says that hanging baskets have to hang?  They can make instant gardens.  Lots more fun!

While I was doing that garden, daughter Kathryn dropped by.  We had a nice visit.  Wish the ladies in Ottawa were closer.

Stay well folks.

Gardening 101

 I haven't posted in a few days because, quite frankly, it's been a boring time.  Dig weeds and field grass out of a garden, plant something, spread mulch, cut grass, dig another garden, etc.

But, today we have a result to show.  Two gardens that are (temporarily) under control.

The cactus has started budding up........

...........and we should have a beautiful show next month.  It only blooms for about a week, but it is incredible!  Makes it worth while dealing with the hairlike thorns the rest of the year!

And, I've started working on this garden.  The field grass roots reach in about a metre sometimes so I start from the edge and work in to try to get them all, but there are always some that escape.

Should finish this one tomorrow, weather permitting.

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These days I'm putting in between 15 and 20 hours a week at the greenhouse - not bad for an old guy I guess.  But it doesn't come close to Sean's and David's 80 plus hours each.  And for David, some of those hours are middle of the night, as he takes his product to market and brings home product from other growers.

May and June are demanding months for sure.

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Stay well folks.

Botany Plants?

 Welcome to Trillium Hill!  This morning I helped Jenn update this sign.  Love her sense of humour!

Here are two views of what you could be shopping for.

And more product is coming in every day!

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Did my gardening and lawn cutting schtick today.  Golf takes precedence tomorrow.

And tonight Mardi and I attended an Optimist meeting.  We sponsor these young grade 10 people from three local high schools to the Central Ontario Leadership Seminar (formerly called The Hugh O'Brien Scholarship - remember him as Wyatt Earp?  He did a lot to advance the learning of young folk) which will be held at Guelph University this weekend.

This is an annual event for our club, and often, the kids come back in following years to mentor those attending for the first time.  A life changer for most of them.

Stay well.

I Did It Again

 I screwed up two ways this time.

First of all, by not publishing yesterday I neglected to mention Sue and David's 34th anniversary.  Sorry kids.

However, I spent a rather unexciting weekend as parking attendant, soil skid mover, lawn maintainer and a bit of gardener.  Not worth posting.  That's my excuse.

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Today was the busiest of all and I spent most of the time helping helpless people park.  There are some really stupid drivers in the world 😓, but they buy plants so they can't be all bad 😅.

And then came the second screwup.  I got the fork lift stuck again.

Just so you know, I didn't tip the skid.  Mother Nature did that last year.  But, with Ewen's help we got the fork lift out, moved the skid that tipped, and I was able to get the full skid at the back and bring it up front for sale.  Life is never dull!

I'm on my first rye and coke, so things are more humorous now.  They'll be even better after the next one!

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Blue Jays won their second game in a row!!!  I think they're toast as far as any World Series action, but sometimes fun to watch.

Stay well.

Wayne and Shuster?

 Today was golf day for the Dofasco League.  Unfortunately, Matt and Gary were not well enough to join us, so I invited John Buckley to fill in again.

Some of you know John.  Some of you know Al Knapp.  Some of you know both.  And now they know each other.  And you can guess the rest of the story.  Calvin and I couldn't stop laughing at their repartee.   Reminded me of Wayne and Shuster (I know that a lot of my readers won't know who they were).

It was a beautiful day for golf, although we didn't do the game justice.  Probably having too much fun with our good friends.

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As requested, Monica sent me a picture of her parking performance today.

Hope you approve of my parking job!!!!

Monica, I approve.  And I hear that you and your friend could hardly fit into the car after you loaded it with plants!  I definitely approve of that!  Thanks, and enjoy your ferns!

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Stay well.

Stuck

 Cut the grass as planned yesterday, but I got the mower stuck in a wet area (looked dry before I made a mess of it).  Sean came out to give me a push out.  After I finished my cutting I took four bags of soil (broken or ripped bags that can't be sold) and built up the low spot.  Added some grass seed and solved the problem (or moved it to a different location).

A few days ago I got the lift truck stuck in some loose gravel while moving soil skids to enlarge the parking area.  That time I had to ask Ewen to haul me out with the tractor.

I imagine when I walk in the door my grandsons ask themselves "What has Grandpa done this time?"  But Sean hasn't fired me yet so we carry on.

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Today was a mixed bag of duties.  Parking attendant until I got the four lines of cars organized, thanks to some cooperative customers.  Then replenished and reorganized the soil skids along the driveway.  Dumped some more broken bags of soil in low spots in the back field.  Cut a bit of grass that I had missed yesterday.  Routine.

Stay well.

I'm In Demand

 I spent my time at the greenhouse this weekend as a parking attendant - felt good to achieve my full potential.  Mother's Day weekend increased the traffic by quite a bit - exceeding our parking capacity at times yesterday.

When I arrived this morning, things were a bit messy.  The cars on the right should have been in line with the white car at the front.  And the ones on the left should have been lined up with the dark van.

Once we got that straightened out I was able to add one more row down the centre and accommodate the crowd for the day.

But I took a 15 minute lunch break to enjoy the pizza that the boss provided for staff.  And when I got back, they were parking down the driveway..........

.............while the parking lot was half empty.

Straightened that out with some waving and smiling.  The best part is that the customers who are here want to be here and enjoy the plants that they buy.  Makes for lots of good friendly waves when they leave.

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David sent the following picture to me today.  It's a coyote den that he and Charlie found in the back field.  The mother coyote was growling in the den while they were there.

Mother Nature doing her thing.

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Tomorrow it's back to golf.  Tuesday cut the lawns.  Wednesday some gardening.  Thursday golf.  Friday gardening.  Weekend cut grass and parking.  And so it goes.

Stay well.