Why I Oughta...

Posting this mostly as a reminder to myself here in the [ garden diary ] that I recently put down 80 lbs of pelletized gypsum.  Both on the front lawn and in the beds that I've planted around the foundation.  The instructions recommend applying this stuff at the rate of 40 lbs per 1,000 square feet, but I didn't do that.  I have about 15,000 square feet of landscape and that would require 15 bags.  I bought two and decided to concentrate on the beds and the front sod.  I didn't do the parkway area, but I intend to go back to Menards later this Fall to pick up a few more bags so I can do the parkway and driveway areas. Why? Because of the product benefits that the bag lists is the neutralization of roadway salt. But, why did I put this stuff down in the first place?  Well, the actual science is marginal.  I've read things on the Web that both say:  it helps and it doesn't help any.  But, see the first bullet point on the front of the bag in the photo up top? &

Recently, we made a stop at the Home Depot to pick up some painting supplies for a project and I, as I usually do, wandered out to the garden center.  There....I was confronted with a bunch of small fall-planting-ready trees.  Most of them were fruit trees, but mixed in on the pallets were a few shade trees.  But there was one small tree that caught my eye:  a small (less than 1" caliper) Bald Cypress. Priced at $19, I had a hard time passing it up.  That's it in the photo above and you can see that it is small and...dare I say....scrawny.    But at $19, it isn't all that much different than the Dawn Redwood that I planted as a replacement earlier this Summer . Nat's folks have a couple of Bald Cypresses and there are a few down at Barth Pond (that we use to mark the water level of the pond!) and at Whittier School in our neighborhood.  Each time we walk by them or see them, I remark that I'd like to have one of those trees on Hornbeam Hill. Now?  We have

Yesterday, I posted the first in a series of Lemax Spooky Town buildings that Menards is showing this season.  Today, I'm sharing another non-animated Spooky Town building:  Monster Hunting Supplies.  This one is brand new for this year - as the listing shows a 2018 release date .  Their sign bills them as having "The best bait in town".  Cute, but alas, Mantleburg isn't going this direction according to the cryptic press release from the Mayor. Want to see all the Spooky Town structures from Lemax that I've posted about?  Check out the full Spooky Town archive .

Yesterday, I posted a photo of the three kids at the Bolingbrook Menards taking in the Lemax Spooky Town display .  As part of that display, I picked out a few structures that I'll post over the coming days here on the blog.  I started this tradition of posting photos of Spooky Town structures all the way back in 2012 when I posted this photo of this Tombstone Quarry .  In 2016, I did three posts on Spooky Town Lemax buildings and same in 2017.  The full archive of Spooky Town posts can be found here . This year, the display is noticeably small - at least at the Bolingbrook Menards and has this white sign that says "Halloween Village" on top of it.  There are a few animated structures and some neat little people.  I'll post some images and details of some of the buildings in the coming days.  But, today, we'll start with this one above:  the Black Cauldron Bootique.  You'll notice that it is *already* on sale at $10 off the normal price.  That - at least

Marking the seasonal shift through the introduction of Halloween stuff at our local Menards.  And documenting it with a photo of the kids.  Here's all three of them:  The Babe, the Bird and the King of the Ball Tossers.  Halloween @ Menards photo of two of the kids - 2017 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of two of hte kids - 2016 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of just the Babe - 2015 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of the two girls - 2012 version . Halloween @ Menards photo of just the Babe  - 2011 version . *Blink* They've grown up so fast. 

There I was, perusing the ice cream novelty section over at the Westmont Mariano's when I see a little box on one of the shelves.  It couldn't be?  Could it? It's-it?  For real?  Here in the Midwest?  Sure enough!  I grabbed a box and scurried to the checkout line.  Proud of myself for bringing home this sweet treat.  When I got home, I showed them off to Natalie who wasn't as impressed as I was with myself. These are more than novelties.   To me.  They put me in a specific place.  In a specific time in my life. There's only one place that I have ever had It's-It ice cream sandwiches:  the main Google cafeteria from 2007 to 2013.  Back in the childless days of our lives, Nat came out to Mountain View with me and (apparently) ate at the Google Cafeteria.  Because she remembers having an It's-It then. This box is a three pack and it is outrageously priced.  But, time and place transportation isn't cheap, right? So, am I the last to know that

Just like last year - albeit a month or so later - our Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangeas out front are turning.  Here's a similar photo that I posted during our first Summer in Downers with the blooms of the hydrangeas outside of our front porch .   We have four Vanilla Strawberry plants right in front of the porch.  You can see them all from earlier this Summer in the photo on this post .  What's most striking is that by June these had barely started to leaf out.  And with the red/pink color just emerging in late August/early September, these are a full month behind where they were in 2017.  We initially were going to put Annabelle's here, but after talking with Nat's Mom and our landscape designer, they decided to put these pinkish ones in the same place.  I'm really glad we went that route.  Our Annabelle's are doing way, way better - with HUGE blooms - compared to these Vanilla Strawberry variety.  But, with time and a little bit of attention, I'm thin