Category: Gardening

A Dunk in the Pool Weekend

Posted on by Markman

Saturday we took the oppourtunity to join some freinds for some much needed pool time. My first of this year. I’m sure there’ll be others as the months progress. We also got to watch their cute dog for a while when they had to step out for a bit over an hour. I will say, they got this new pool float which was the balls! So comfy. Here’s some pics of my lounging in it!

Funny thing happened on the way to the pool. LD had a craving for a bagel, so I swung by a shop across town to grab one. While I was waiting, these two women came in and tried to order a baker’s dozen, but they wanted almost all of one flavor. The employee behind the counter actually told them no and insisted they mix it up so there’d be enough for other people later on. They got into a whole back-and-forth about it, and eventually, the women just walked out. Honestly, it was pretty weird—I get wanting to save some for other customers, but why turn away a sale when you’re not even planning on baking more? Seemed like a strange move. What do you think?

Sunday was basically a day of more yard work and getting things ready for a guest coming soon for a visit. I mowed the lawns and LD did some more planting in to the new planter after I measures and cut a liner and some other stuff for the bottom. Always more to do though. Oh and we plan on going to NYC to see Mariska Hargaity on Broadway!

An Afternoon Along the Blackstone River

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Took an afternoon ride out to Lincoln, Rhode Island hyesterday to pick up a raised planter LD found over on the marketplace so she can plant some more things. After getting the pickup we drove over to a nearby state park in the area. Pretty scenic location actually with what looks to be a very nice bike path that parallels the Blackstone River. Then we jaunted over to a nearby restauarant for lunch. Also checked out what apparently used to be a former monastary in the area. You click the pics below if you want more caption details.

Currently Watching: An oldie but a goodie! Homicide: Life on the Streets Seasons 1 and 2

Oh! I almost forgot another thing that happened yesterday1 LD finally sold her old car, to the next door neighbor no less!

Wellesley Hauls & Weekend Lulls

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Laying low a little bit the last few days. Did get a bunch of plants over in Wellesley over the weekend, mostly hanging plants for the patio. Looks nice. I got some really big ones that I was very pleased about. LD is going do finish up a bunch of container potting. Ended up watching THe Crash on Netflix. Interesting story.

Currently Reading: I Don’t Want to Go Home: The Oral History of the Stone Pony

A Blast from the Past: a visit to the Stone Pony (Didn’t see Bruce though!)

Mowing Around the Magic: A Garden Update

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Did a bunch in the lawn and garden today, including moving a bunch of hostas around. Also decided to mow the lawns before the rain tomorrow because the grass was getting a bit long in areas. Naturally I did not mow over the one spot in the lawn where these wild buttercups planted themselves. I let them bloom and when they’re done then I’ll mow over them. It’s kind of funny because it’a patch right in the the center of the lawn, but I don’t care because I’ve come to like them.

In mowing the lawns today I came across some thoughts and things that we need to get, so a trip to the home improvement store is certainly in the future:

  • Gas for the mower
  • New hose and nozzle
  • Cover for the outdoor heater
  • Possible outdoor rug for the patio area (might look nice)
  • possibly more plants/anything else?

Also, how to you freakin solve level 8 ot Klotski?? I’m pulling my hair out over here!

Plants, Puzzles, and a Farewell to S&S Deli

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Started the afternoon off with a little gardening. Got started with a bunch of plants yesterday to be transferred over to some pots over the next couple of days. I also had to pick up a dead bird that was lying on the patio, which is a sad sight to see but had to be dealt with. I also finally took out the table umberealla and set that up outside. I still need to split a bunch of hostas though.

The S&S Deli in Inman Square is closing after 107 years in business! That’s crazy, we’ve been there a bumch of times and I went there as a kid occasionally as I was growing up. They’re closing sometime in June so we’re going to try to get out there and have one last meal at some point before that happens. That was a good place to hit for us after spending time in Cambroidge or Boston.

This guy helped!

Gametime: Klotski – a sliding tile puzzle game – gets hard around level 8 I’m finding!

Sips, Sweets, and Seaside Strolls in Kennebunkport

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Day trip to Kennebunkport! Drover around and visited some sights in Dock Square and Cape Porpoise. Ended up grabbing some sandwiches at Cape Porpoise actually, I bought a little bunny keychain for LD that she had her eyes on. I had to get my drink fix on at Mornings in Paris – a nice café we always visit when we’re in the area. Also spent some time along the beach at Goose Rocks and met two cute little French bulldogs named Leo and Gus. It was just a nice afternoon to stroll around and check out some things. Also visited Stonewall Kitchen and Yummies for our candy fixes. Some places we thought about going to but will have to wait for another time are St. Ann’s Church and On the Maine in Ogunquit.

Doing a quick look at the gardens here I can see that the Clematis, Phlox, Tulips, Hyacinth and Vinca are all starting to bloom. Well, not the clematis but it is starting to climb it’s vine tendrils on things. I do need to cut down some things and we need to purchase some more plants, maybe sometime over the next few days. getting to be that time of year again! Also the grass is starting to grow like nuts! The witch hazel is also starting to finally bud which is good because it was a bit iffy there for a while. I guess I might have somewhat of a green thumb after all!

Fox and Flowers

Posted on by Markman
AI getting better?

You never know what you’re going to see in the back yard here. This morning we witnessed a little red fox in the yard. He quickly scurried out an opening in the fence though but it was still pretty cool to see. I finally got the remainder of the plants in the ground for the fall including a witch hazel that we had sitting around in a pot for a few months. Hopefully with a little TLC it will take and provide a nice addition.

Speaking of plants I think next year I’m going to focus almost exclusively on little flowers. Chamomile (we grew some this year), Alyssum, Lobelia (got some of those this year too), things of that nature. We’ll see!

Hot Afternoon at the Gym Pool

Posted on by Markman

Yesterday was a good afternoon to hang by the pool, even if only to watch LD get some more yards in. What else happened? Not too much, kind of a rest day. Went to the lobster food truck for lunch, watched the Indiana Fever game, did some weeding and cleaning of the back deck, had a pizza for dinner. Pretty chill for a hot day.

Emotional Baggage at a Winery!

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Woke up this morning to some kind of screeching. Couldn’t tell what it was. Eventually we figured out it was a Common Raven! Never encountered one of those before, it’s always been crows.

Checked out the Blueberry Festival this afternoon in Mendon over at the Vandervalk Winery. There was a giant Santa there and we got some really cool stuff from some artisans that had a few tents there. Before that we hit this Hosta place in Mendon that sells very specific varieties of Hosta and Lillies that they grow themselves. Got a few of those. They also do a great job with Lotus plants, but that’s really tricky stuff to grow, plus you need a body of water. I ate some grilled cheese from a food truck that was there as well for a quick bite.

My Princess Cheyanne book arrived just as we were leaving the house. I grabbed it up but LD wants to read it first, so I let her. She actually knows the person, from a different time and career path at the time. Anyways, I’m going to see if I can find the former Princess and see if I can get her to sign the book.

Gametime: Blobun Mini. Get the snake to cover all the squares!

Fire Lily 2025

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Actually it’s a Ruby Spider but I’m still calling them our fire lilies which are starting to pop now!

It’s been a pretty busy week, between walking around the town in over 100 degree F heat, to trying to get my mom set up with a new cell phone, to doing all the other stuff. It’s all good though.

Currently Watching: My Mom Jayne.

More Garden Stuff and Fence Installations

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Been a crazy 48 hours between a work dinner and some other pressing things, but after it was all said and done I decided to do some lawn maintenance before the supposedly rains come again. The fence panels arrived yesterday ready to get in the ground soon, and I noticed some new things while I was out there, including new blooms of blue irises and the rosebushes out front in bloom. They aren’t fancy roses by any means but they are resilient.

Tonight I’ll chill out by getting a massage which is sorely needed and maybe grab some take out tonight as I watch the Suns try to get their first win of the season. Playing Indiana tonight but no Caitlin Clark as she’s injured.

Witch Hazel Appears and Self Driving Cars

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A while back the town had some get a free tree thing to plant. Anyways LD signed up for it and although all the trees we originally wanted were gone, a specimen showed up today unannounced on the doorstep. An American With Hazel, a know that’s more of a shrub but we’ll find a place to plant it at some point and go from there. It’s a pretty good plant to have in the yard for the pollinators and such. We’ll need to consult this guide to get the most out of the plant, hopefully our green thumbs will prevail with this guy.

I forgot to mention this yesterday but as I was going to my dental appt checkup (everything was fine btw!) I happened to notice one of those Waymo cars driving next to me in bumper to bumper traffic down over at the Alewife area. Those are those self driving cars. I remember reading they were going to try them out around the metro area here. There was a guy in the drivers seat. The car itself is pretty unique looking with this big spinning dome thing on the top and spinning things on the four corners of the car, must be sensors of some kind I imagine. Here they come!

Sunday We Do Yard Work

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We were quite busy today getting a bunch of stuff done around the house. But first we saw a promotion from a local floral business that stated if you brought them 2 or more old vases you would get a free floral bouquet. So we looked around, found two old vases that we had no real attraction to keeping anymore and went down and met the folks. And got the free bouquet. Pretty good idea actually.

Then it was on the yard tasks. First before anything else, I put the AC up in the window because it’s going to start to be getting hotter. Then I went ahead and gave the outdoor grill a thorough cleaning, inside and out. I also cleaned down the patio table and LD planted more potter plants. Then we went over to the “prairie area” we have a weeded out there. Now the 100 year old lilies that we planted there a few years back will have more room to grow and prosper. I have to say they look really good and healthy so far, I guess they like the location. I then decided to go ahead and mow the lawns and edge the fences. That took a while since it’s a pretty big yard, but I like the job that I did. I left a spot in the middle of the lawn where some wild buttercups are in bloom for pollinators though. Once they’re done I’ll mow over them.

As a reward LD decided to take me to a place I saw on tv the other night that makes mochi donuts, an Asian specialty that I wanted to try. I got three different kinds but I think my favorite of the ones I got was the taro. Now it’s wind down and relax time as our bodies muscles are hurting! Escpeally mine after all that biking yesterday.

Swinging into the Weekend Like…

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I was able to find a book of some of Edgar Allen Poe’s most famous stories in a little library while I was hanging around, It’s been a while sine I read those. This version looks to be nicely put together, with illustrations and editorial thoughts in the margins. Afterwards we picked up some more plants, which we’ll get into their pots this weekend, along with a stone cat figure that reminds of of Carson. Probably put it near where the bunnies lay their nests in the pot as he is the protector of the baby bunnies!

A Little Back Yard Love going On

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Yesterday was a pretty busy day! In the morning some guys we got to replace some of the falling fence panels in the back yard came by to remove the worst of the offenders. These panels are just so old and waterlogged, one even fell down. Those will be getting replaced piecemeal as time goes on. By the end of a week or two they should be done with the work. Good thing I had finally mowed the lawn a few days ago. We then had our previous massage lady come by and pick up the supplies she had left here, by now a few years ago, like her table and heater and bolster, and it was fun to reconnect. Maybe we’ll do a lunch or something in the future. We then hit the town’s garden flowers sale, something that we do every year. It wasn’t as big this year and it was a bit rainy but we got a few things. LD had a bunch of things to do while caught the Celtics game and then we planted the plants we got earlier, but then the sun had come out and it was a nice day.. We then cooked and baked some things as well, and I ordered a pizza. That’s that, a typical Saturday around here.

I Like Big Mums and I Cannot Lie…

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Today to help LD out from going stir crazy we took a ride to the beach! The weather was pretty nice with only a cool breeze passing through now and again. One thing we noticed was a fishing boat just a few feet out from the beach. After looking it up I discovered it was the Nemesis and discovered this interesting website where you could track all these vessels,. On the way back we ended up at a stand and got some interesting looking gourds and another pumpkin and got a great deal on a pot of some of the biggest mums we’d ever seen! I’ll have to put a pic up of some of the gourds later.

Life’s Pretty Gourd Right Now!

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Three highlights from Saturday. We finally got out to Lexington to check out the annual pumpkin wall over at Wilson Farms (something that I had been wanting to check out for a while) and while there we even purchased some goods, like pumpkins and mums and various treats. Then if was off to Revere Beach where we hung out for a few hours. The beach was warm but there was a constant sea breeze which felt cool. I also had a Kelly’s lunch there. One interesting thing was watching the seagulls get these mollusks and fly up into the air with them to then drop them to let the fall help crack them open. Every now and then a different gull would grab one’s hard work. Finally came home on grilled in the early evening. Burgers and some corn that we got at the farm. Today we’re going to get some friend pool time in before checking out some kitty and goat experience. We’ll see how that all goes!

Taking Down a Ton of Weeds

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I loaded up the lawnmower last night and trudged it over to Earth-1. My mom’s grass had become way overgrown and she only has that old dull pull kind the spins as you push it. It was actually my grandparents and I don’t think it’s ever worked well. Anyways, the mower fit in the back of my car and I got over there and mowed it all down, weeds and all. I was done in about five minutes, it’s not a huge area. Seemed like there were a lot of weeds. My mom was very happy that all the vegetation was now gone. In fact, after you could see the lawn area again I noticed a bunch of Wooly Bear caterpillars! They’re kind of cute. I left them to fend for themselves on the edges of the now shaved lawn area. Afterwards after a day of hanging out, I brought the mower back and got it back in the shed over here. Mission accomplished!

I Like Big Flips and I Cannot Lie!

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Took a quick jaunt today over to Bow Market in Somerville this afternoon. Luckily I was able to get on street parking right across from the place because parking down there is brutal, assuming you can even find a spot. There was a roast beef place I wanted to try called The Hotbox, which I had read about in a magazine that I was perusing whilst waiting for LD at a doctor’s appointment a few weeks ago. It was pretty good – I ended up getting a junior three way. The sauce is a little spicy but not bad at all, perhaps that’s why they chose that name? anyway, the whole area has a bunch of little local shops and a very cute outside seating area, which I partook of. Also while there I saw they what appeared to be a small pinball parlor, so I went and played some of those classics, the machines range from from the 70s through the 90s, and I guess they swap them out with other ones every so often. Pretty cool little place.

Finally, toward the end of the afternoon I had to hit a grocery store and they had these cute little roses on sale. I couldn’t resist and picked up one that had light purple flowers.

And finally, to close out the afternoon I went to see this band play over at the local gazebo playing some pop hits from the 70s and 80s. They sounded really good!

The Good, the Happy and the Sad

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The Good:

The Nubble

The Happy:

Alright, tonight I’m going to attempt to make some linguine with zoodles that I’ll create myself and throw it together with some shrimp. The recipe called for scallops, but we don’t have any, hence the substitution.

Anyone want to guess how this is going to turn out?

I took another picture of the fire lilies out front surrounded by the hydrangeas. What do you think of this version? I played around with the tone I bit more in this one.

and the Sad:

I learned last week that a work colleague of mine passed away. It’s so weird when you hear things like that. That makes three now of people I used to work with for years (well over a decade, almost two), now just gone. We all started at ADL together and worked on projects for a decade until we got bought out by another company and we spent a good decade and a half there – before they laid us off. I lasted at the company a few years longer than he did. The business was changing and we were all aging out I suppose. Apparently it happened over a month ago, but I just found out about this a few days ago. The leukemia finally caught up to him. He beat it once. I wonder if he got it to his being exposed to toxic chemicals during his deployment to Iraq in Gulf War? We’ll never know for sure.

Two of the three—including the one who just passed—and I used to play Quake ][ deathmatches on the company network after hours. It was just the three of us. We logged many hours together playing that game. Sometimes I think back to those times and reminisce. I thought we would get together and play again someday for old times sake, however remote it seemed, but that’s never going to happen now.

Rest in peace, “Helmet.”