DUCKS for THEE in 2023

[ducks4you]

Here are the two packages of shallot samples. The packaging is adorable!

 

[ducks4you]

For the Redbud seed pods,
https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/a-seed-savers-garden.24181/page-253
Post#2,525

 

[heirloomgal]

DD and I didn't see deals to tempt us to rise at 4:30 and drive in to the brick and morter stores on Black Friday.
For those outside of the USA, "Black Friday" is the day when vendors make enough pre Christmas sales to put them in the Black. Otherwise, they often operate at a loss.
DD's and I had registered for the "Reds of Monticello." We went a few years back. Vendors in this town, which SO reminds me of Georgetown, CO, offer red wine. Starts at 5PM, goes until 8PM.
You get a wristband when you sign in, and a small glass, etched with the occasion and the date, and a map of who is offering. The organizers decided they didn't want all vendors to give out wine--too many adult drunk "trick or treaters???", maybe--so several vendors offered alternatives. Many places had cheese and sliced salami and crackers, and some chocolate.
We had to get there about 6PM bc eldest DD had to work yesterday, but we got a super good parking spot on the square. (This is their county seat and the square surrounds their courthouse, where youngest DD works.)
DD's were concerned that I couldn't walk the whole route. I really needed to work my right knee, and I found a few places with chairs for a few quick breaks and we walked to most of the stores. Couldn't differentiate between many of the red wines, but I had bought Josh Cabernet Sauvignon before and several stores served that.
The closer to 8PM (Closing time) the bigger they quantity of wine is poured in your glass. Several stores had their wine in fancy decanters. Many others had punch...one ice cream store gave out small samples, instead.
DD found 2 lovely tree ornaments, a Drosselmeyer and a Mouse King, from the ballet supply store on the square.
Anyway, DD's were well pleased that we got to attend this year. Cold, but dry, so...perfect! They even had a Christmas ornament photo spot for everybody AND they were celebrating CHRISTMAS there, always refreshing, like their wine.

Awe! Beautiful mama and daughters! 🫶 Also, your shoes are very, very cool.

 

[heirloomgal]

I liked the nippers so much I ordered another pair for DD, the gardener.

ON THIS order, shipping and taxes really stung, BUT, it Is a Christmas present. Order FM224143​ Placed on November 16, 2023 at 10:07 pm Order FM224143 PRODUCT SKU PRICE QUANTITY TOTAL Ferry-Morse Home Gardening Carbon Steel Garden Snipping Scissors Fulfilled November 17, 2023Track shipmentUSPS #9400111206216922630469 H-SNIPPER-12 $3.49 1 $3.49 Subtotal $3.49 Discount -$0.34 Shipping ($7.99 Flat Rate Shipping) $7.99 Tax (Champaign County Tax 1.25%) $0.14 Tax (Illinois State Tax 6.25%) $0.70 Total $11.98 USD

Good for deadheading AND collecting dried seed heads!

 

[heirloomgal]

I don't think that I will have much more to post from 2023.
This year I fell back on my knee physical therapy, at the gym 2x/week therapy, had a severe hive allergy (Downey Unstoppables are poison, IMHO!!!), and lost a LOT of time between being Mayor and being SICK and living on benedryl!!
Still, I got my tomatoes out, started from seed and ALL heirloom, learned a LOT about planting peppers, started from seed, learned that my 2 favorite ground covers are:
--oats
--turnips (Everybody sells discounted turnip seeds, mostly bc most people don't know how delicious they are!)
SO, you can buy your turnip seeds cheap, or save the seeds when they mature, bc they breed seeds like weeds!
I mastered a wildflower garden and, forgot to post, I managed to harvest over 100 Redbud seed pods 2 weeks ago. Boy, you touch them and they fall off of the limb, so I had to be quick. Some cold and snowy day this winter I will take them out of the damaged food saver container they are living in and remove the tiny seeds.
I planted a VERY late crop of pickling cucumbers and green beans, and still got a harvest.
I hope to plan out my indoor seed starting calendar for 2024. That starts in about a week...and so will my 2024 thread.
Any suggestions for names will be considered and appreciated.

Ducks in a Garden Row 🤣 So many possibilities with this because there are so many great duck idioms.....

Phrases that contain the word: DUCK

Looking for phrases related to the word DUCK? Find a list of matching phrases on Phrases.com! The Web's largest and most authoritative phrases and idioms resource.

www.phrases.com

 

[ducks4you]

I love it WHEN I can have my "ducks in a row."
Regarding the shoes, those are Walmart sneakers. I found a size that really fits and they are designed to not tie.
I always like to have inexpensive sneakers to use for short outdoor chores when it's warm.
For the "Reds..." it was about 40 degrees, no real breeze and dry, so I chanced it. My feet did stay warm.
I wore my (equestrian) field boots 2 years ago bc it had been raining.

 

[ducks4you]

I also liked this one:

hunt where the ducks are

To seek opportunities or results in situations or places where they are most likely to be found.

 

[ducks4you]

2nd year in a row that Philo has had their own Christmas Tree in the intersection. They put in heavy cement "logs" of sorts, holiday decorated, so that if anybody hits the tree, they will smash their car!!, instead of ruining the decoration.
This is a low volume intersection, so it doesn't really impede traffic. Their main drag looks like Bedford Falls.

 

[ducks4you]

FINALLY, I transplanted my peach tree!!!
If you recall, I ordered 2 bareroot peach trees. One died, the other flourished in my big tree pot. Postponment after postponement, with the hole 1/2 dug last August, I finally got it transplanted 2 days ago,
I dug a little deeper than it needed and I lined it with used stall straw bedding and a good amount of horse manure to go under and to line the hole and protect the tree against freezing. I am hoping that they will also ferilize it. I even used my manual hole auger to dig an extra deep cylindrical hole to encourage a tap root to dig lower.
It sits now 2 inches higher than ground level, encased in a tomato cage, just in case I think I need to surround it with chicken wire. A rabbit might decide it tastes good,
The roots had expanded to fill the pot. It was planted 1/3 down in the pot. I did the trick I have seen, where you dump all of the extra dirt onto a plastic tarp--I had an old one needing a job--and that made it easy to roll the soil back on top of the roots.
I watered it for 30 minutes on Thursday, with a hose and using my cistern water, which is rainwater that has settled through the soil to fill the cistern. I watered it on Friday for 30 minutes and today we have a steady rain.
I can see it through my office window and keep an eye on it throughout the winter.
The new growth is greenish and bright red, and there are plenty of swollen buds for next year.
I should add that the weather has been especially mild. High's of 60 two days in a row, colder today, but no more freezes until Monday morning.

 

[ducks4you]

It's official. I am done shopping!!!
All extra gifts arrive by Wednesday.
I bought jingle bell necklaces (for family) AND jingle bell bracelets (for Family Christmas and for the "Christmas Queen, retired Christmas Queen(s), and future Christmas King," just for idenfication purposes,
The job, should one be able to carry it out, is to perform "the dance of the Christmas Queen," and to hand out all presents while the rest of us get to be lazy bums in our respective living room chairs.
Asssssss....issss...tradition.
I think I should buy stock in cardboard....