Guess what?
I was out on the deck taking pictures when a bright yellow flower caught me eye. There aren’t any yellow flowers growing this time of year, so it really took me by surprise. Then I realized little visitors stopped by the fairy garden. What a nice surprise.
If you are reading this post and you know who the fairies are, please be sure to extend my thanks. It was such a treat to find those flowers. I spotted a tiny mum tucked in as well and a few greens. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!!!
Flower Surprise
Pumpkin Countdown
Last summer we grew several pumpkins. Four of them were over 40 pounds. My husband carved one, but they were really thick and not well-suited for ‘Jacks. We lined the wall of our garden pathway with the remaining pumpkins, and they’ve weathered the months beautifully. Twice in recent weeks, someone came to the door and asked if they could take one for cooking. We happily obliged, with a warning to please lift carefully. We now have one large pumpkin sitting on the wall, with a smaller, autographed one nearby. That one is just now starting to soften and will probably be headed to the compost bin in another week. We’ll be down to one ‘little’ pumpkin, sitting on a wall. 🙂
Two ‘little’ pumpkins, sitting on a wall
Avoiding the Scale
I know what you’re thinking. It’s January and I can’t hide from the scale forever. Time to put away the treats and face the music. All true.
I’m avoiding the scale that remains on the now-dormant Magnolia. Honestly, it creeps me out. We had quite the infestation last summer. We did a bit of research and got down to business. I ordered beneficial insect larvae. While waiting for them to arrive, I heavily pruned the tree. The inner crown was far worse, so I removed as many of those branches as I could. Left unchecked, scale can kill a tree.
Magnolia infested with scale
Now that the Magnolia is dormant, it’s easy to see what remains. I need to scrape the scale into a bucket, before it takes hold again.
To think I thought putting away the chocolate was hard.
Gardening Nirvana 
Is that a saucer magnolia? Scale killed ours. It was so sad. Be vigilant against those nasty little buggers.
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I’m so sorry to hear that, Susan. That’s what I’m afraid of, too.
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Hopefully your Magnolia recovered and blooms again in Spring. Is it a traditional pink/mauve colour?
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Thank you! Yes it is. The blooms are spectacular. Stay tuned for a future post on the same.
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Ha, ha, ha…avoiding the scale…too funny!
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Well…it’s funny till I get on the scale. Then it will be sad.
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You are so funny, I have no problem avoiding the scale…LOL but yes, all those goodies will soon be revealed…urrg, the truth will hurt. Seems you’ve initiated a fairy garden folly…neighbours sneaking around with bags of goodies and fairy landscaping incognito…what a gas. I like your autographed pumpkin too, that was a fun way to savour the event. Good Luck with your Magnolia, they are just so gorgeous when they bloom. We admired them in Virginia and I couldn’t believe the scent.
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Thank you, Boomdee! That poor tree will need a bit of luck. I’m still putting off that scraping chore. Ick!
Yes, the secret fairy tradition seems to be catching on. Fun, fun, fun! PJ tells me she plans to make on next spring, too. Can’t wait to see what she does.
How about you? Will be see a Boomdee fairy garden on your lovely porch?
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Oh yes, you can count on it :D. I wouldn’t miss out on the fun!!! I will be making a treat for our patio on the back of the condo. We have a little bit of a break from the sun there and it shouldn’t dry out as fast as the front pots…stay tuned…giggle. You’re little wand casts a wide spell Alys, across large ponds and back again xoK
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Awww! I love that. I can’t WAIT to see what you do.
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🙂
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I saw you on Bloomdeeadda’s site, so I thought I’d check your blog as well. Very beautiful site. 🙂 Marsha 🙂
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Hi Marsha,
Thanks so much for stopping by and for your lovely comment. I’ll come see what you are up to as well.
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🙂 Thanks. I do love to organize, and my nature is to unorganize, so I have to really work at it! 🙂
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Interesting dilemma.
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Life is sometimes. 🙂 Hope you are enjoying great success and joy as you start the new year. 🙂
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Thank you! I had a good clean out yesterday and continue into today. It feels like a clean start after the holidays.
How about you?
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I just got back from San Diego last night after a week-end of extreme fun with friends, but with no internet. I stayed up till 3:00 a.m. getting caught up. I drank coffee and ate some left-over creme brule and a half a cookie from my trip for breakfast. I have written two articles for future posts this morning, and answered emails and comments, read nominations and made comments on a rubric for an award that is due today for our organization, California Council for the Social Studies, and sometime soon, I am going to shower and get dressed! In less than 10 minutes it will be noon, and I haven’t cleaned anything yet!!! Maybe I’ll start this afternoon after I walk the dog. 🙂 Like I said, I have opposing characteristics. 🙂 Can you still like me as a blogging friend???? 🙂
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of course we can be blogging friends. I got dizzy reading your long list of achievements. Well done, history gal! That was an enormously productive day.
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Hahaha I was wondering if I would ever hear from you again, be such a lazy girl and staying in my pjs all morning!!!! Around here, pjs are my husband’s and my favorite articles of clothing in the winter – well summer, too. It gets dark so early. He comes home and immediately changes clothes, as he lovingly says, “I’m home, Pie. Gotta put jammies on!” That’s almost TMI!!! What is it about you that makes me unload all these details about my life????? It must be your friendly looking gravitar. Well, welcome back!!! 🙂
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Thank you! I try to check in daily, more when I can.
I love your nickname. How sweet. Their is something about putting on your comfies that really makes you feel at home. For me it’s a soft pair of sweat pants and my clogs. Ahhhh.
Thanks for your lovely words.
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Ha ha, you must have a camera. I haven’t worn my sweats all winter, and when I went to the closet this morning, I grabbed them, and said, “This is the day!!!” 🙂
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Kismet!
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