Claude Clemmons Online » Yard and Garden

Spring Raking and Pruning

Claude — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:02:32 +0000

Today was a good one for working outside. I have so much yard work to do, but it is hard to get motivated sometimes. Especially with all the rain we’ve been having. The wet leaves and mud are not conducive ro yard work, and the very few days we’ve had with no rain are days that need to be spent doing other things.

I had an extra hour this morning, so I grabbed my jacket and rake and headed out. The front yard didn’t need much attention – just a few odd burr balls and small twigs. But the back yard is a mess of burr balls, a layer of leaves and lots of twigs and branches that have fallen over the winter months.

Some of the bushes need pruning but I can’t find my pruning shears anywhere. I wasted a good 20 minutes looking through boxes in the garage for those things. Looks like I need a quick trip to Lowe’s to buy another pair of pruning shears and maybe a couple bags of weed and feed for the lawn.

Mud Season

Claude — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:45:53 +0000

The good people up North, like in Maine and New Hampshire, are used to a wet Spring. In fact they brag about having 5 seasons up there, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Mud season.

We have had so much rain here that we are having a Mud Season. I haven’t heard anyone else call it that – maybe I should drop a note to the weatherman on TV and suggest it? I want credit for the phrase, of course. And let’s hope it is over soon so we can move forward to a proper Spring.

No Snow Yet

Claude — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:10:42 +0000

Here we are into January and we have not had “winter” yet. There has not been any snow and it is not cold – knock on wood. Not just here in Tennessee – but most of the country is having unusually warm temperatures. This morning I saw a news report that a lot of ski resorts are having trouble keeping snow on the slopes – it is not cold enough for man made snow. I find this a little troubling. Not that I can do anything about it, but I worry that the lack of snow will mean a drought for many places this spring.

More Cows

Claude — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:30:22 +0000

There is a field just down the road from here that used to have a huge herd of cows in it. Then all of a sudden about 4 years ago the cows all disappeared. I didn’t know if the farmer died, or sold them all, or what?

Turns out the farmer sold the land to a developer and thought he had to get the cows off that piece of land. So he moved them to another field in the back where you can’t see them from the road. He still has the cows. And for some reason, there were cows back in the old field today when I drove by. Now what’s up with that?

Air Traffic

Claude — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:54:01 +0000

Even though I live near the big airport, I don’t feel like I live in the city at all. I live in a quiet neighborhood, except for the occasional days of air traffic that comes across the house and trees. Some days I don’t hear the planes at all – they must be using a different runway on those days. But some days it seems like every 5 minutes there’s another jet taking off and coming right over top of my house.

Old Wood

Claude — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:44:26 +0000

My neighbor to the south has had a crew of guys doing some work on her house this past week. She has a log cabin and it’s obviously all wood and timber, except for the asphalt shingles on the roof So they’ve been pulling off all kinds of boards and planks, then tossing it all up by the road. The only reason this bothers me is because I share the same little hill under the trees with her, and they are tossing her stuff on my part of the hill as well as hers. I sure hope they realize that the County does not come pick up construction waste or building products for free. So who is going to be hauling all this stuff away and when?

Garden Progress

Claude — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 22:56:26 +0000

The garden is doing really well this year. I have had to do a little extra watering this week due to lack of ran, but that’s no bother. I just make sure I do all the weeding and watering early in the day – before the bugs come out. I think I hate swatting bugs worse than pulling weeds.

We should have plenty of tomatoes by the Fourth of July and the squash is almost ready to pick for some tender baby summer squash slices. That reminds me I need to find the summer squash casserole recipe that my telephone guy was bragging about.

Thank Goodness for Nyquil

Claude — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 15:59:46 +0000

Something bad is in the air. I can’t breathe and don’t know if I suddenly have an allergy to ragweed or goldenrod. Those are the two weeds that I see on the side of the road. I tried an over the counter allergy medicine and got no relief at all. So I’m back to my old stand-by, Nyquil. It tastes awful but the stuff lets me breath.

Tale of Two Foxes

Claude — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 17:12:43 +0000

This morning I was retrieving my newspaper from the driveway and met up with a neighbor at the street. He told me about his dog barking at a red fox perched outside their property fence.

The neighbor shooed away the fox, but he came back the next night, and then it was more barking from the dog.

This time the neighbor picked up a dog toy from the yard and heaved it at the fox, and it ran away.

The next night, the fox came back with a female fox and the two foxes tossed the dog toy around, having a grand ole time. Now, at night he hears that dang squeaking dog toy.

heard from a neighbor about his dog barking at a male fox perched outside their property. He shooed the fox away, but it came back, and more barking. This time he picked up a dog toy, heaved it at the fox, and it ran away. Then it came back with the female and they tossed the dog toy all around, having a grand ole time. Often now at night he hears a squeaking dog toy.

Grilling

Claude — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:32:31 +0000

The new gas grills are just too darn expensive for me to consider for just me and a fire for cooking. So I bought a nice little propane camp stove and it works great for grilling just one or two hamburgers or steaks. It does not take up much space and it only uses a little propane each time I use it. In fact, the same little tank of propane has lasted me from Memorial Day and is still going strong tonight.

It was a great deal and it does a great job. What else can you ask for?