This has been another roller coaster week. I didn't mention it earlier, but Gail had a heart attack 2 1/2 weeks ago! It scared all of us; she's only in her 40's and very trim. It was all very sudden and threw all of us into a tizzy.
The good news is that she will be fine; she just needs to take it easy and do only as much as her body will allow. She came into the store a couple of times this week and is starting to look like herself. So...I've been trying to take care of as many things as I could for her.
In addition to all of this, I've been dealing with insurance issues (don't you just l-o-v-e dealing with insurance stuff?) and job hunting. Job hunting - talk about the emotional roller coaster. You talk to a recruiter and get your hopes up...then nothing. I have nothing but sympathy for all of you that are in the same boat, or knows someone who is. It's really tough now with all the competition and the companies can be extremely selective. Enough of this crap; it's too stressful!
I got to have this weekend all to myself. I was ready to pull my hair out after the last two weeks and didn't want to go anywhere or have any obligations - just have some peace and quiet for 48 hours. And I got it. I worked outside all weekend doing more fall clean up. There are still several areas in the yard that have blooming plants, but for the most part, the plants are tired. I cut back bushes, ivy, perennials, and more bushes. The wax myrtle out in the field are so tall I have to get up on an 8 foot ladder to reach the tops with the loppers. Now I have a couple of beds ready to plant some pretty mums in. And I can't wait to get some pumpkins and gourds. Oh, and I got the barn cleaned out too.
This bed beside my driveway was crawling with hummingbird vine. I hated to pull it all up but it had just about smothered my beautifuly muhley grass, which is getting ready to bloom. Next year, I'll keep the vines under control better.
My little deciduous holly tree is beautiful right now. The birds will feast on the berries in late winter.
And how those black eyed susan vines grew - all volunteers!
My miscanthus and other ornamental grasses are in full bloom now. This isn't the best picture, but this plant is huge - and perfectly rounded!
Remember when my big, round flower bed was ruined by the deer and I planted a few more coneflowers and covered them with deer net? Well, the bed is overgrown with annual salvia volunteers (which I love) and behind them all is my tomato plant that grew back. If you look closely, you can see one lonely tomato beginning to ripen. Out of four tomato plants, this will be the only tomato I've been able to harvest. I'll have to make myself a tomato sandwich on white bread with mayo and salt and pepper when this baby is ready! The last of the summer :(
I left the gate to the little pasture open and Tinkerbell and her friend, Little Mama, decided to come out and see what I was doing. They are so used to me giving them some sort of treat that if I have anything in my hand, they think it's food for them!! They are such funny birds :)
Well, I'm going to cook myself a yummy dinner and then take care of some dreaded insurance business. Then I want to finish my little autumn table runner I showed you a peek of a while back. It's turning out pretty cute, if I do say so myself.
I hope you all had a nice weekend, whatever you did. :)
