Weatherman says the Hill Country may experience the first light freeze Thursday nite. I'm just not ready for that yet. We've been talking about putting up the temp. greenhouses in the backyard. I've resisted because I'm finally enjoying the garden after a dismal summer of dryness and bugs.
I've had a good time these past few weeks, giving plants and cuttings away. Still have too many to take care of..... And now, The Great Outdoors nursery has invited our garden club to be their guests tomorrow night for tours, food, plant raffles, and "deep discount" shopping. My husband is still shaking his head...... Of course I'm going!
And then Friday.......Road Trip!!! A group of us are going to Seguin to look over Green Gate nursery. Guess it's some sort of group illness! Of course, I don't plan to buy anything.........

It can't freeze yet! I'm having to add a temporary section to my greenhouse and it is not ready yet. Still have to put the plastic up, re arrange the bunched up pots and transplant some plants out of their root bound 1 gallon pots.

That "deep discount" shopping sounds dangerous. I'm trying to keep away from nurseries because I know I'd fall for another zone pusher.

Repeat after me.
I'm _____ and I'm a plant addict!

Gosh Linda, I'm sorry you're a plant addict!!! It must be terrible! Not me, of course...... When I told DH we were going to Seguin in two vehicles, he wondered why 4 women couldn't just ride together. Silly guy....how could we ride together and have room for plants. I mean...if we did happen to find plants.....we wouldn't have room.....I mean if they found plants, not me....I don't need any plants...

Betty...the "deep discounts" are seen by DH as a ploy to get rid of stuff they don't want to winter over. Such a cynic! Those are considered "plant rescues" by some of us, tho.

I've had someone here everyday (for three days....two a day!), to get plants for over a week. Then Monday, I was invited to lunch at the home of one of those ladies. And I came home with two bags of cuttings!!! Just potted 'em up and they're all over the patio. If they're free...is it still wrong to take them home??

Just call her Cleopatra for she's da............Queen of Denial I suffer from the same affliction (or was that addiction?) and,....like Veronica,.....I want to say...:" It can't freeze yet! ". I too,....have to finish modification of my greenhouse. I did prune the bordering lantanas
and other stuff growin' around it.......in preparation for what I need to do..........but I'm NOT ready

OK Linda,..........I'm Lee.............and,........I'm addicted to plants.....of all kinds { actually,....I consider it the study of true miracles....of all kinds)
Coincidentally,....this "addiction" has led to " harder" studies of insects (paticularly...butterflies...again the miracle thing) as well as other life forms we encounter while "in the Garden" }

Forecast says 39° here tonight...shiver me timbers...but at least no freeze. We took a 100-mile trip (roundtrip) the other day to Hondo to early vote. Only in a rural county would you have to go so far, but I don't think DH would be up to going to the local polls on election day. On the way we saw Monarchs flying by. Not very many...they're pretty scarce this year, but at least some are headed to their second home in Mexico! And I actually tried to go to a S.A. swap without bringing home new plants earlier this month...just was going to give away plants and seeds. But one swapper INSISTED I take a couple of plants! Can't win for losing. I'm doing renovations on my yard, changing some things around, so that's enough work without more plants.

None of us are ever ready. Good to see you posting Lee. I was afraid you'd gotten bored with us...or been kidnapped by the pygmies. We're still in the "talking" stages of putting up ghs. And I still have brugs to trim back....not going to let them get so tall next spring and be bug magnets.
Linda, we voted Monday at the grocery store...no one in line. But that hasn't stopped all the recorded political messages at all hours.
I saw a one lone Monarch flitting thru the backyard yesterday. Wonder if all the recent fronts have them blown off course a bit. Those danged Pipe Vine Swallowtails are chewing my Aristolocia down before I can enjoy the blooms.....and...I understand the cats don't live long when the eat that particular one.....gigantica. I have a lesser pipevine, and I move some of them, but mostly...they're sneaky and hide...
Good to know there are other plantaholics out there. I have an area I call the "hospital" where I start cuttings and keep things that don't look so great. I noticed that there were plants that I started in spring...still down there growing leggy from too much shade. Maybe next spring.......

Stopping in to say I didn't buy much at the nursery on the Road Trip! Some older gentleman customer talked me into Chinese cabbages...even tho I told him over and over...I don't have a vegetable garden!! I wound up buying 6 for $1.79, such a deal. Picked up a 6 pk of mixed lettuces too. And 3 hoyas... I have some hoyas, but not something I collect. These were a couple of Hindu Rope ones that were variegated and one heart shaped variegated. AND I got 8 perennial daisies for free. I spent about $17. The other gals didn't hold back, tho. They filled the back of two vehicles! We had lunch in Seguin and were invited back to friend's garden that the other two hadn't seen. They got lots of cuttings (I had been there for lunch and cuttings Monday). Then another of our group invited us to her garden. I called DH and told him I was back in Austin and would be home later! At her house, we found a tree full of pineapple guavas and another tree full of persimmons! I resisted anymore plant cuttings, but did pick some persimmons and some guavas off the ground. It was a great plant day!
Yesterday, we drove to the lake to put the water toys away for the winter. It was chilly up there. Our DD and SIL drove up with DGS to help. I picked a bunch of Cow Pen Daisy seed heads off the neighbors' across the street. I think they're pretty, but most of the neighbors hate them because they can be invasive. We were home before dark. Probably won't go up again until we meet the roofers in a few weeks. Always something...
We missed a great Halloween party last night. We were just too tired to do anything last night but watch UT lose another football game... This morning, I'm going to plant those dern cabbages somewhere!

I love that cabbage.....especially in a good Won Ton soup! A quiet Halloween here......I'm another year older...so I ate a very delicious chicken-fried steak to celebrate

Happy Birthday Lee! Hope you took a Lipitor after that chicken-fried steak!

Yes, hope you had a great birthday, Lee! And cholesterol and calories don't count a birthday. But that being said, I take Zocor every day...cholesterol can be a problem for me.

Lipitor took my cholesterol from 240 to 145 in 3 months...I wish it had been around for my dad yrs ago.....

I have plaque on my carotid arteries...which I wouldn't know if it wasn't for having some possible cardiac symptoms last summer. They did tests and everything was fine other than the sonogram on the carotid arteries.

Well, that's scary... Do they now monitor you or something?

I'm sure that you're keepin' a eye on that........blockage isn't good no matter where it is......but the carotid area is relatively easy to clean out

My major blood dilemma is the triglyceride level..........probably would be attributed to somethin' like too much Chinese food....who knows,...
but it won't affect the consumption of my DESIGNATED "comfort food"

since this cubit is my 1st stop,...I don't know if any discussion of rain has been logged elsewhere....but we had 4 1/2" of rain Monday nite...into Tues morn........made for good sleeping.....especially after watching the 1st three series of downs by the H. Texans.....turned it off an' went to bed.

btw - thanks for the birthday wishes!

They checked the carotids another time recently. Besides Zocor, I'm on baby aspirin...not sure if that was specificly for that purpose, but probably. My biggest downfall is cheese and butter. Ooh, Lee, lucky you! Been fairly dry around here...so very small amounts of rain!

Early Tues morn,...right at daylight,.......I swear I heard what I can only guess was a collective sigh of relief.........by ALL the vegetation in the area......everything was so withered and dry.....to have that much rain over 10-12 hrs time span was great,....even the pocket gophers came out to celebrate........doin' back flips from the top of their most recent "mound" of excavation dirt. Our "pond" (really an ol' stock tank) grew considerably larger....overnight. Now,....to focus on the modifications of my greenhouse

This pic is an earlier view of the GH...during winter

Oooooooh...........I envy you that greenhouse! We're still in the talking stage of putting our temp. ones up. Yours would just about cover my whole backyard!!! As for the rain....we got a piddling amount of rain,..... but about 2" of acorns. I'm a little worried that the oaks are dying from the drought and throwing acorns at an alarming rate. Sounds like people running across the roof....day and night...

Linda, we take a baby aspirin and a vitamin each morning too. I tried to get DH early on to take aspirin, but he resisted. Then his doctor asked him a couple of months ago if he was taking one daily and he told him no, that his wife kept bugging him about it...... Doctor said take it...
So now it's okay...but I still have to set the two out every morning for him....

I'm still waiting for any rain that's over 2/10 inch or that comes along more often than every 2 or 3 weeks. More than half the state is officially in a drought. http://drought.unl.edu/DM/DM_s...
Glad you're getting good rain, however, Lee!

Love that green house! I have been trying to figure out what needs to come in, stay in a "greenhouse" shelf or can be left. Yes Sandy, am am looking at you! I will post them soon and you can tell me
Please take care of those arteries. I am a therapist who works with people who have had strokes, and you must do everything you can to avoid one.