Missing Pictures

In 2012 I reached my photo upload limit for Blogger.  This affected both of my Blogger sites.  So, I found Flickr and started to upload my pictures there.  Recently, Flickr had been sold.  Now, starting next year free accounts have a limit of 1000 photographs, and I had 1385.  Rather than pay (forever) to keep all my pictures I went back and deleted almost 400 to get below the limit.  If I hadn't, after a certain date they would start deleting my pictures, starting with the oldest.

I didn't want to lose any of my pictures, but if I had to then the garden blog would be sacrificed.  I deleted pictures from Flickr that were posted on https://scoakatsgarden.blogspot.com starting from August 13, 2012 to May 14, 2017.  I lost over 4 years of pictures on the garden blog to save all pictures uploaded to my regular blog.  I feel a bit sad and sick about it.

I still have all my old original photos, but at this time I will not be re-uploading to correct all the missing pictures.

As for the future of this site?  I do not know what will happen right now.

Fall Cleanup 2018

This is possibly the last yard tour post here for the year.  Everything is done growing, and the recent frosts have leaves looking like they are melting, so it is time to clean it all up for the year.  The burning bush, however, is peaking red before all the leaves fall.



Kate took care of the garden, bringing in a few onions, some oregano and a few catnip leaves.  She tilled the compost soil into the east garden and used hay to mulch the raspberries and strawberries.  We also added mulch to some of the flowerbeds.  With the wet fall, the late date and all the garlic we got from the last batch Kate decided against planting it this fall.


I emptied the right side of the compost bin into the garden and filled the left side with plants I cut down.  All the hostas and the lily of the valley by the garage had the string trimmer taken to them, just to help them break down back into the soil for next year.

Yard tour after the break:

Late September, First Frost

We got our first frost last night.  Today I brought in garage stuff that should winter in the basement and spent a lot of time doing yard cleanup.  I got rid of a few stump plants and cleaned up the pots, adding the dirt to the side of the house where it was getting low.  And I weeded the flowerbeds and garden quite a bit, and more than my back liked.  Everything is looking like summer is over, ragged and dying slowly, and it is.  No yard tour this time, just a quick update.

Summer Winding Down

It's been over a month yet I still keep this going for some reason.  Here's a birthday yard tour as summer winds down.  Keep in mind, we only want to be gardeners and have not proclaimed that we are, and time to devote to gardening has been an issue.  Still, I'll keep the diary going....

Early August

Garlic Time!

Happy July

Of course, the sun came out shortly after I took these.  Just updated pictures this time, and a first look at the wood rack.

Early June Yard Tour

It's been less than a month but I missed the peony by the air conditioner blooming.  It bloomed, got scorched by the sun, then beaten down by the rains.  Kate clipped off the tattered, dying blooms before they made too much of a mess dropping all those petals.  The smaller, white ones on each side of the gardens are now blooming.













Other notes:  The solar lights are out so I can see what works and what I can get to work well.  The rest will be tossed and I don't think I'll be getting any more.  Strawberries are starting to ripen, we've had a handful this past week already.  And we still have to get something for the corner out front.



You'll see what I'm speaking of after the break!

Plant Day Yard Tour

A couple hours after I posted about plant day over at the regular blog the sun came out, so I took some pics for this site.  New to the garden is oregano, thyme and catnip.

Spring Has Sprung

Edit 5/7:  Kate planted green onion, lettuce, radishes and dill on the bottom of the east garden last night.

Late Spring

Hard to believe that one week ago we got 7.2 inches of snow.  Here's a quick tour of the flora happenings (or not happenings yet) around the homestead.

Full tour after the break:

Still Early

Not a lot happening yet, still too cold.  I took this yesterday, last night it snowed again.  Hopefully we should start warming up by the end of the week.

First Look Around, 2018

Too early to do anything yet.  Even the compost is too frozen to turn.  Back later.

Last Look Around, 2017

We had unseasonably mild weather yesterday, the day after Thanksgiving, and I took advantage of it to get some outside chores completed.  Cleaning out the gutters, mulching leaves, run the lawn mower out of gas, test out the snow thrower, vacuum and put winter mats in the car, you get the idea.  This may be a last look at the yard and gardens for 2017.  I took these pictures before noon and you can see by the shadows how low the sun gets at its highest this time of year.  The wood has been scavenged from the roadside over the last few weeks for next year's fires.  More after the break.

Late October Cleanup

It is late October, almost Halloween.  We've cleaned up the yard some, and the gardens, but we're still waiting on the leaves left to fall.  Everything is on time, I'm just anxious to get everything set for winter since I know it is inevitable.  The hanging plants, front and back, have been tossed as well as some of the potted plants.  And I've mulched many of the poor looking hostas so far, frosts will kill the rest and the lily of the valley greens along the garage and I will mulch them with my string trimmer, too.  Leaves will be added eventually.

Kate got the west garden strawberries and herbs laid out with straw for the winter yesterday.






And in the east garden she got the garlic planted and covered with straw and a screen last weekend.  Also the other day she mulched plants and replanted some stump flowers to the garden for winter.  If they make it then they get replanted in spring.

Another look around the back after the break.

Fall Update

Last weekend Kate replanted the plants in the corner of the porch area.  They should now fit the space better, especially if we can keep the nibblers away.  The weekend prior she cleaned up the gardens.









The plants that are left here on the stump will be either replanted into the ground somewhere or end up in the compost bin.  I'd like to keep the purple grassy one but I'm not bringing it in over winter again.

Also last weekend, I emptied the left side of the compost bin into the east garden.  The soil needs the nutrients badly.  Very soon the garlic will be planted here.

Late September

I know I haven't been posting regularly over here this year, but I have been posting so that's good!  Today I did a lot of work outside before taking these pictures shortly after midday.  I trimmed the arborvitae out front and power washed the front of the house.  We get a lot of insects and spiders on the front of the house, and their excrement and webs really make it look dirty so I wanted to clean it again before it got too cool out and before winter.  Not ideal sun angles for pictures, but it's when I had the time so that's when it happened.

We really haven't paid a lot of attention to the gardens lately.  It seems to be managing just fine for now.  The strawberry plants are all still alive in the east garden, and I noticed a random tomato plant growing in there, too.  It's in the top left of the picture.


The west garden is, well, just is.  The onions are from a poor batch of seeds and the herbs are all alive still.  Before long it will be time to add the soil from the compost bin and clean them up for winter.


After the break is another yard tour.  It is autumn now and the plants are showing the wear of a long summer and recent dry spells.  This tour has commentary added to the pictures for context.  Come along, let's take a look at our yard and garden as it is now!

It's all after the break, go on, click it!

Late August

As we get toward late August, I noticed I hadn't posted here in a while.  Here's the gardens now, yard tour after the break.  No writing, just pictures.

Garlic, Plus More

In the past couple days we harvested the Dill, Garlic, Lettuce and Radishes.

On Thursday I harvested the dill plants that had popped up all over the east garden, and got all the weeds out from around the garlic.

Yesterday, Kate harvested that garlic and it was a rather good crop.  Still not enough to last until next year's harvest, she said.








In the west garden she also got the radishes.  She may try planting again for a third harvest of them this year.  I'm not a fan but she likes them and she also gives some to her dad.


She also brought in the romaine lettuce, but the leaf lettuce was very overgrown so most if not all went into the compost bin.  A shame, but lack of time and growing hordes of mosquitoes have kept us away from the garden.

Late July

Even though I'm posting this first, this yard and garden tour is from after my bike ride this afternoon.  When I got home I first put my bike up, and by this time the yard was dry enough to mow so mow I did, then I took these pictures.

We've had a very wet spring and summer so far, in fact we had a some little lakes again in the back yard last night.  Something to remember for when I install a permanent fire pit in the yard.









And there's usually a few slugs every year, but more so this year with all the wetness.  Maybe not quite the damage my blogger friend Blue Witch has described to me, but you can see their damage on some hostas and the lettuce in the garden if you look close.

Otherwise, it has been a fine year for the yard and garden for us.

After the break is the full picture tour.