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Jun 22, 2021 11:20 AM CST
Name: Dr. Demento Jr.
Minnesota (Zone 3b)
Rain -- hmmm, I could have stood on the roof and peed into the the wind and probably gotten wetter than if I stood outside during the forecast rain.
Peed, there, not me, enough that during the get together this Sunday, every one tolerated a few drops now and then, THEN, dark clouds, cleaned off the tables, the Midnight Skulker stood on the roof and peed and then the sky cleared.

SO, my water bill will still go up but at that, it was a good weekend, Hurray! every one enjoyed my oven fried creamed Pheasant, (except me, my taste buds have gone phhht) and the inside of the shack (house) is cleaner than it has been for over a year. Hurray!

Now I have to go home and finish weeding my green carpet garden. I tip my hat to you.

I have heard, that fireworks are really pricy this year but will still spend a few hundred and pick some up. Sighing!
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Jun 22, 2021 12:31 PM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
It rained again today, just as I was about to go out to - what else? - do some weeding... so I was forced to do some housecleaning instead Sticking tongue out
“The new dawn blooms as we free it, for there is always light –
if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.”
~Amanda Gorman~

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Jun 24, 2021 7:02 AM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Looks like another rainy day!
Thumb of 2021-06-24/Weedwhacker/035b20
“The new dawn blooms as we free it, for there is always light –
if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.”
~Amanda Gorman~

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Avatar for RpR
Jun 24, 2021 10:20 AM CST
Name: Dr. Demento Jr.
Minnesota (Zone 3b)
We could use that here.
The Twin Cities and South East Minn. get showers often but the South West and Heartland of Minn. just get peed on , now and then. Blinking
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Jun 24, 2021 10:26 AM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
I think it can stop here and move to your area now - we have mushrooms growing all over the yard Rolling my eyes.
“The new dawn blooms as we free it, for there is always light –
if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.”
~Amanda Gorman~

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Jun 24, 2021 3:53 PM CST
Name: Rj
Just S of the twin cities of M (Zone 4b)
Forum moderator Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Plant Identifier Garden Ideas: Level 1
No rain just south of the Twin Cities except for a 20 minute downburst 3 days ago, extremely dry June.
As Yogi Berra said, “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
Last edited by crawgarden Jun 24, 2021 3:54 PM Icon for preview
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Jun 26, 2021 2:30 PM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Well, I sure wish I could send some of the rain to those who need it - it is still raining here and we are supposed to get at least 0.5 inch overnight Blinking The weeds are very happy. But I did pot up some asparagus seedlings and do some tidying up in the greenhouse. I really NEED to WEED!!
“The new dawn blooms as we free it, for there is always light –
if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.”
~Amanda Gorman~

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Jun 29, 2021 12:18 PM CST
Name: Dr. Demento Jr.
Minnesota (Zone 3b)
Up North we had a healthy rain, but down South a whole 1/2 inch pee job.
It is 77 One Fifteen and it rained again this morning.
Will have to mow at least part of the lawn for the first time in two weeks.

Dry 80s and 90s for the next ten days forecast, as of now, so I will have to run home and water the roses as when i was there I never gave them a bath which they need.
Water bill will be annoyingly high already. I tip my hat to you.
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Jun 29, 2021 5:22 PM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
It is still raining here... not large amounts at a time, just enough that I can't get much done outside. Sighing! But, our temps have been so nice, compared to what seems like everywhere else - mostly in the low to mid 70s.

And I have to wonder WHY the wasps find it necessary to build a nest under the step going up to our deck?? We live in the middle of a cedar forest, for heavens sake, what's wrong with building it in a nice tree? D'Oh!
“The new dawn blooms as we free it, for there is always light –
if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.”
~Amanda Gorman~

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Jun 29, 2021 8:11 PM CST
Name: Susie
Leonard, Minnesota (Zone 3b)
Annuals Herbs Heucheras Canning and food preservation Irises Lilies
Region: Minnesota Native Plants and Wildflowers Peonies Sedums Seed Starter Vegetable Grower
We got 3/4 inch altogether Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. I'm thankful for that but still need more to green up and get things going better. Where I have it mulched it isn't so bad and have been working on getting more of it mulched. Lots of things have burned edges including almost all the hostas and daylilies so the gardens will not be as pretty this year. The daylilies are putting up scapes now though and my favorite time in the garden is when the daylilies are blooming so I'm getting excited every morning to see if any are blooming yet. The Martagon lilies are about done but the Asiatic lilies are starting to open up and they don't seem to have been damaged by the dryness. The delphiniums are starting to open up, the ones that the deer didn't eat, and a few other things.
Avatar for RpR
Jul 7, 2021 11:34 AM CST
Name: Dr. Demento Jr.
Minnesota (Zone 3b)
From what the Twin Cities weather talking heads said Susie, you were in the worst drought area.
My North garden got a whole 1/2 inch of rain yesterday but we need more like 21/2 inches; my South garden is even worse and I will know how much it got when I get down there later this week.

I put in three more roses down there so keeping them well watered is very important and I have a huge amount of work down there on the garage so the fact that the heat spell ended yesterday for at least ten days is a vey good thing.

We were up at Detroit Lakes for the 4th of July and it sounded like a war zone on the 3rd and 4th up there, but just looking at the area, it appeared that over in that area it was not as dry as yours or mine.
It is nice not having to mow the lawn every week but that lazy attitude also means the lawn and garden are taking a hit.,
I see it got into the ninties in Grand Marais Minnesota and I remember how hot and miserable it often got when my family used to spend days up at Duluth area; it seemed we picked the days when there was no wind and it seemed with the sun beating off of the lake it was twice as hot, and BRIGHT.
Oh well I wish I were back in that era right now.
I hope you get the rain you need. I tip my hat to you.
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Jul 7, 2021 6:43 PM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
I hope you all get the needed rain soon too! We had a beautiful (and hot) holiday weekend, and then it started raining again (and barely made it up to 60°F today). I really should not need a sweatshirt on July 7th... Sighing!
“The new dawn blooms as we free it, for there is always light –
if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.”
~Amanda Gorman~

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Jul 7, 2021 8:36 PM CST
Name: Susie
Leonard, Minnesota (Zone 3b)
Annuals Herbs Heucheras Canning and food preservation Irises Lilies
Region: Minnesota Native Plants and Wildflowers Peonies Sedums Seed Starter Vegetable Grower
We are in a very bad drought area but I shouldn't complain about my sad garden because I know a number of ranchers that have had to start selling cows and goats because there just isn't enough feed to keep them. The normal grazing land is dried up and not much hay so there isn't food for them. My living doesn't depend on my garden like their's does.

I am watering my vegetables by hand and some watering of flowers but I don't want to run my well dry so I'm trying to give them enough to keep the plants alive even if they aren't at their best. It seems like every time they forecast rain and I get my hopes up, it goes around us and we get a sprinkle, not even enough to show up in the rain gauge. It helped that we are having about three days of cool weather, I started out the day with a warm shirt too, Sandy. It's suppose to be back up in the 90's again by the weekend though. This is the first year that my garden has seemed more like work then something enjoyable. Sad
Avatar for RpR
Jul 8, 2021 9:56 PM CST
Name: Dr. Demento Jr.
Minnesota (Zone 3b)
We (appear) to have a Badger hole (Fett) in the Northern boulevard garden.
I noticed some thing was digging large holes, and quitting, in various areas of the yard; I thought large dog or humungous cat.
Well today the other half asked if I had dumped a pile of dirt in her Mums garden, so I went over and looked.
There was a large hole near twelve inches in diameter that burrowed straight into the side of the hill which is mostly near sugar sand with a little clay mixed in.

Do not know how to approach this, cannot shoot it, and I would not sit up at night with a rifle if I could, Sharon wants to poison it, which I do not.
I will remove the five gallons, or so, of dirt outside the hole and fix the garden (it needed a redo any way) but I am not sure just what to do. Shrug! Blinking
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Jul 9, 2021 7:33 AM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Well, I was going to suggest checking with the DNR - but then I found this article https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/li... - so apparently that would be completely useless! I wonder if throwing some mothballs into the hole would work - that always seems to be the recommended solution here for getting rid of skunks that are burrowing under sheds and such. (Assuming you can still buy mothballs - do people still use those things?)

Maybe a live trap? but then, of course, there's the problem of what to do with a badger in a trap... Blinking
“The new dawn blooms as we free it, for there is always light –
if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.”
~Amanda Gorman~

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Jul 14, 2021 2:26 PM CST
Name: Dr. Demento Jr.
Minnesota (Zone 3b)
DID YOU KNOW ! ! !
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & Sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor"
But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot......they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the low
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell . ...... . Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting Married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof... Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old. Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would Sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
The country is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive... So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.
And that's the truth....Now, whoever said History was boring?
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Jul 14, 2021 2:36 PM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
RpR - you are a veritable fountain of information!

It is a little shocking to think how much different our lives are now Blinking
“The new dawn blooms as we free it, for there is always light –
if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.”
~Amanda Gorman~

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Jul 26, 2021 11:58 AM CST
Name: Dr. Demento Jr.
Minnesota (Zone 3b)
Hot and dry; small streams have stopped running and you can walk across the Mississippi river.

Badger may have left the building as I see no new foot prints.

Heavy wind knocked over one half of my Norther Corn and I have stood it up as well as possible but looks nasty and will probably lose half of the yield.
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Jul 26, 2021 4:29 PM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Good about the badger apparently leaving - not so good about the wind and the hot and dry!

We're having pretty close to an ideal summer here - the rain has been coming at decent intervals (more predicted for tonight), the high temps have been mid 80s at most, and the garden is happy! The Colorado potato beetles are a new nuisance for me, but hubs has taken picking them off as a challenge of some sort Hilarious! . So far the zucchini have been untouched by the squash vine borers, so that's another plus. Cucumbers are producing like crazy (someone may have gotten a little carried away on how many plants she put in Rolling my eyes. ) - and I actually picked the first ripe tomatoes today (Juliet, 4th of July, and a few Mexico Midgets).

Thumb of 2021-07-26/Weedwhacker/523a31
“The new dawn blooms as we free it, for there is always light –
if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.”
~Amanda Gorman~

C/F temp conversion
Avatar for RpR
Jul 29, 2021 11:55 AM CST
Name: Dr. Demento Jr.
Minnesota (Zone 3b)
Smoke out side today is very heavy; Whistling kind of reminds me when I used to burn during weather inversion and the smoke would flow down into the intersection which is about 15 feet lower than the house.

When cars drive through it , it swirls.

77 right now 64 percent humidity.
I opened the door to let the cats out and I can smell the smoke in here. Thumbs down

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