MURDER!!!!

I hear them whispering behind my back. Nosy neighbors, witness to crimes unimaginable. And, now they're stirring up trouble:

"It's murder I tell you, murder most foul!"

"This killing spree began early in springtime. We saw with our own eyes how she tortured those little flowers..."

• There was Death by Dehydration. (RIP beloved Canterbury Bells.)
• Death by Shameless Neglect! (I'll never forget you, Lord Baltimore.)
• Death by Strangulation! (Who's got time to pull all those weeds?)
• Death by Scary Critters! (No tippy toeing through the tulips for this little lady.)

 
Death by ignoring which growing zone I actually live in!

Goodbye my little cabbage. The icy fingers of a frosty night squeezed the life right out of you [and the rest of my heirloom veggies.]

++++++++++++

Suddenly, without a sound. Without a warning of any kind...

A crime of passion that should have the neighbors gossiping well into the next decade.

The premeditated murder of every jolly little houseplant that had bugs or refused to bloom... Such senseless brutality!

Whodunnit?
I did it!

I was a lazy, lazy gardener this summer. Forgetting to water, forgetting to weed. I didn't fertilize my flowers even once all summer long. I planted a lot of goodies but my lazy ways upped the body count, big time.

In loving memory of all the little flowers who died waiting for Kate to turn on the sprinklers. I promise to do better next year.

PS: I hope you'z all prepared for a hideous Halloween :)


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Hopes, Fears and A Non Gardening Year

So, this just happened.

Autumn.

Golden leaves, changing of seasons. 

The tick tock of that infernal clock.

I was thinking about that as horse, Sable, and I were trotting along this very pretty path.

Read an article, written by some annoying scientist, who determined that time really does fly by quicker, as we grow older. And, that's because... we're old.

Can't fill you in on the details of that article. Or, why we oldies suffer with that my how time flies attitude. Best use for that magazine was kindling for the fireplace.  [And, that's how I feel about that Mrs. Scientist.]

Hazel and Charlie Waffles goofing off at Antelope Island, in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. 

Which is not so great any more.. most of the water has dried up.

Another sad aspect of this relentless drought.

My oldest and dearest friend came to visit! Feels like she left just yesterday, though ~ as I glance at the calendar ~ I realize another month has gone by.

She was very excited to inspect the gardens but I'm afraid she was sorely disappointed. 

An avid gardener herself.. she keeps everything in tip top shape.. (She even restarts amaryllis bulbs!)

Tip: Photograph close-ups of your favorite flowers. This way, no one spots the weeds!

Meanwhile back in my reality..

I'm a-waitin' and a-wishin' for a brilliant magical cure to the Lazy Gardener Syndrome. Seeing as how I haven't been out there, tugging at those relentless weeds, for the better part of the summer.

Tip: Some flowers thrive on abuse and neglect. (Plant LOTS of those...)

Been busy! Doing all kinds of important stuff!

Like swimming...

Charlie Waffles likes to take a dip on a hot afternoon. (Me, too!)

Busy riding my beloved horse.

Ms. Sable & I took a lotta road trips this summer.

Drooling over wildflowers..

Scheming and dreaming on a grand get away for this coming winter.

And, camping! Super duper civilized camping, in the Wee House.

AKA midlife crisis? I dunno...

Check out those turquoise hubcaps!
Never again, shall I worry about setting up camp, in the pouring rain. 

It happened innocently enough. Having saved my pennies for many a year, I drove up to Tremonton, Utah to purchase a horse trailer. They thought I was financing it so when I got there they had to re-do all of the paper work.

Killing time, I wandered around their RV lot. I like the 'idea' of an RV. But, they are all so boring. Big, beige boxes that cost an arm and a leg.

The dining room...

So, here I am wandering around and..

In the midst of that sea of beige boxes rests the Wee House.

The totally tricked out brand new looks vintage turquoise hell on wheels extravaganza that fits me to a T.

My cutie pie couch.

Couldn't believe my eyes. Or, the low, low, low (I mean really low!) price tag.

I sat in the turquoise kitchen nook with the biggest, dumbest grin on my face.

Well. I do love blue.

An RV can't be that hard to figure out, can it?

Oh, I couldn't.

I couldn't possibly do that.

It's irresponsible!

It's absolutely crazy!

Some days, it's pretty pointless to try to talk myself out of an idea, once I fall in love with it.

So, yep! It is crazy. But, it's also mine, all mine.

Here's hoping y'all enjoyed a delightful summer filled with lots of lazy days and plentiful sunshine.

Thanks for stopping by,
- kate


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Wildfires and Wild Four O'Clocks

A year after she puts down roots, you will never need to water her again.

Hot winds blow, relentlessly. Stirring up trouble across our wild meadows.

No rain in many weeks. All that was green is turning brittle and brown.

The summer drought. Never-ending, blustery winds... Conspire to create these heartbreaking wildfires. Threatening to cancel our grand mountain adventure. And, that will be the second one this year.

I sit here, with the blessed air conditioning cranked to full blast. On call for a week long horse back riding adventure ~ scheduled to depart tomorrow evening.

This was a photo from yesterday's news ~ near where we are planning to ride.

We're waiting to hear if it's safe to head up there ~ into Wyoming, where wildfire season is wreaking havoc.

In the midst of all this weirdness... the 4 O'Clocks are making up for everything!

The heat? The drought? Who cares??

They are lovin' it!

* These beauties got their name (and their hutzpah) from handling extreme high heat by waiting to flower until the end of the day. After the sun dips below the mountains and the air cools, clusters of pretty pink flowers open en masse. Hence the name 4 O'Clock.

Aren't they amazing?

** We all have that one spot in our garden, where nothing grows. If it's a sunny spot, give 4 O'Clocks a try. 
- Plant them in the most inhospitable spot in your garden. And, make sure you're happy with that spot because they cannot be transplanted. They put down long, strong roots ~ to siphon water from wherever they can find it. Once uprooted, they will surely die.



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Space, Relativity, and the Big, Bad Pine

Amazing things began to happen... The very second we dropped the 120 foot tall pine tree ~ that had, long ago, over stayed it's welcome in this tiny yard.

I enjoyed sunlight in my living room, for the first time ever.

I could see the high hills, and mountain tops, off in the distance.

Charlie photo bombs my excellent, new view.

I got a phone call from the neighbors who never talk to me! Because they were mad as hell. The nerve of me, killing a perfectly healthy tree.

The sun shines down on gorgeous Valerian.

It is, I suppose, a horrendous crime to be felling a healthy tree.*

But, if I put my snooty gardening hat on... and climb up on that (even more snooty) gardening soap box...

I should be allowed to scream at the top of my lungs:

It's not my fault!

I wasn't the fool who planted that tree right next to the house, 25 years ago. A tree that will require 200 square feet of space when he's all grow'd up. Which he was.

Mr. Pine had grown so large that he devoted the better of part of each day, scraping siding and shingles off the house.

Sun worshippers rejoice!

During the ice storm, he waved his big arms and broke the picture window. A window that pictured only him, because he was so large, all I could see were pine boughs.

Once the big, bad tree was gone, I realized something marvelous... this is not a tiny yard at all. It just looked that way when one huge tree took up so much space.

More sun = More fun

Turns out this is a huge yard! With all kinds of flower power potential.

Charlie & Pete, observing the destruction from the upper deck. 

I was surprised they weren't bothered by the sounds of the chainsaw.

The big, bad pine will be replaced by pretty in pink Kwanzan Cherry trees, a tiny choice that actually fit within this landscape.

If you're gonna be a tree at my place, you must do more than just stand around and look green. You should provide a flower, or two.

I've already started tossing out seeds! To nurture endless drifts of my most beloved wildflowers.

* I call him the big, bad pine because - in spite of what neighbors claimed - he wasn't all that healthy.

He suffered from needle blight, he was very weak, and that makes him susceptible to the pine beetle that is killing most of the evergreens in our forests.

Take a look around my neighborhood, and you'll see this needle blight everywhere. It's a sad, sad thing. These trees should all be treated. But, that is a very expensive process. And, I'm off my soapbox, now, so I don't think I'll be ranting and raving to my neighbors.

Why Kwanzan Cherry Trees? 
In addition to being absolutely stunning... They are a wee bit drought tolerant (hey!) and, sterile. Which means.. they don't produce fruit that makes a mess in your garden.




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Into the Faerie Forest...

* There is a real, true Fairy Forest in Utah. This path is not it. Scroll to the bottom of this post to find directions to that trail. This location is called the I'll Never Tell Trail. It must remain a deep, dark secret.

Daughter, Lauren, and her adorable pup, Ellie, exploring the most magical of trails.

So, what are YOU doing this 4th of July weekend? We're avoiding public places because our puppy dogs are terrified of fireworks. 

Come along with us, on a virtual hike... through a lush garden -- which is pretty dang hard to find in a high plains desert like Utah!

I call this spot 'magical' because every inch of it is covered
with happily blooming wildflowers. So many that it almost looks 
as if someone planted them! Perhaps those elusive fairies?

True confessions: I am not much of a hiker. To be honest, I never was...

In my early years in the Midwest, I enjoyed hiking in the woodlands of Minnesota because it was... well... flat.

Meaning, it wasn't hard work. It was pure joy.

James Buckwheat [Erigonum jamesii] 

When you got hungry, you'd inevitably find wild raspberries and blackberries growing along the trail.

How sweet is that?

It's awfully hard to find flat, fun, unpopulated trails in Utah. Seems like we're always forced to scale a mountain in search of a pretty view.

Or, fight the crowds who have also discovered this path.

This is my summer to explore the High Uintas on horseback. Where alpine meadows stretch for miles.

To ride off trail ~ to abandon the well-documented paths, in search of unspoiled places most folks will never see.

And, it's smart that you DON'T try to find these trails, because it is remarkably easy to get lost in these dense woods.

Unless you're riding my horse, Sable, who is a homing pigeon to the horse trailer.

Which houses the cookies, that motivate her to enjoy these wildflower expeditions. She never loses sight of our path back to the parking lot... and the yummy treats that beckon.

Wild Onions [Allium canadense] If they smell like onions, eat 'em. If they don't they'll probably poison you.

I, of course, found this trail on my beloved horse.

Came back with my daughter, this 4th of July weekend -- to tackle this trail on foot! Something I haven't done in many years. It's lots easier on a horse. :)

Queen Anne's Lace ~ Wild Carrot ~ Don't eat it! ~ Looks exactly like Hemlock and you know what that is..

So, where are we?

Oh, I'll never tell. Because I'm learning a lot about wildflowers this summer.

I'm learning that these flowers flourish when we leave them alone.

Fireweed [Chamerion Angustifolium] named as such for it's quick propagation after wildfires.

And, in this place ~ that nobody knows ~ they rejoice in ways I'd never imagined.

I hope you've enjoyed this virtual adventure, of the magical place we call the Faerie Forest.

Thanks for coming along!

~ kate

* The more well-known Fairy Forest, along the Mirror Lake Highway, is a delightful little hike to take with your kids. Click here to visit the blog that documents this hike, and gives great directions to get there.

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