Christmas Eve Morn

Jenny, Trevor and Brian by my favorite pine tree on the Middle Earth trail

My first ski of this season was on Christmas Eve morning. I got to take Jenny and Trevor and Brian and we had a lovely time. I forgot my GPS watch so I don't know exactly how far we went but probably around 3 miles. It's so great to get back to skiing!

I pulled up the garden box and pots. It's getting cold and I don't think that the tomatoes are going to ripen on the vine. I started a little late this year, plus transplanted from the topsy turvy planters, so I really didn't have too much in the way of a harvest. But I got my garden box and I'll do better next year.

Strangely, my geraniums and marigolds are still going strong. And I got the pansies planted last week and they look lovely, so I still have some good color in the front yard.

Weeded and Miraclegroed the yard

Today I pulled up the leggy overgrown pansies in the front bed. I was sad to do it because they were still colorful and pretty, but it was garbage day and I knew it was time. Plus, Cook's had a sale on lobelia, buy one flat get one free. Which led to more planting and I still didn't use all of the second flat. Lobelia is my favorite though - it is blue, after all.

Lobelia in place of the pansies

Lobelia by the mailbox

I added lobelia between the white impatiens I planted last week.

I had this blue pot already so I just planted lobelia around the edge and went back to Cook's for the variegated geranium and more bark. You can see I didn't pull up these pansies, they still looked good; I think they get some shade so they haven't burned up in the sun yet.

I went back outside tonight when it was cool and weeded the front beds and planted some lobelia where the pansies have given up in the heat of summer. I also miraclegro-watered all the beds. My neighbor was out in front and we ended up sitting and visiting for a couple of hours. It was nice.

A Failed Experiment

The Topsy Turvy planters are a failed experiment. Once planted they are so heavy there was no place to hang them in the sun. They were fine on the swingset until the gkiddies came to play. After searching for a way to hang them, I gave up and bought a square foot raised garden box. Actually, this is something I've wanted to do for a while, but just saw it when I was searching for a solution to the Topsy Turvy dilemma. I love that the box is on legs so I don't have to bend over or get on the ground. Brian put it together and stained it for me.

I put it at the corner of the court where it gets full sun

My new raised garden box

Herb pots: sweet basil and cilantro ~ and an empty pot for zucchini

New bark in the back bed

I spent two hours in the back yard today:

~ Transferred the plants from the Topsy Turvies to the new planter box. What a mess!
~ Planted cilantro and sweet basil in pots and prepared a pot for a zucchini I will buy soon
~ Swept the patio
~ Scooped dog poop
~ Weeded and barked the back bed
~ Cleaned out the sticks and dead daffodil stems from the hammock bed
~ Watered the hanging pots and garden box and pots

Topsy Turvy

I planted tomatoes and herbs in the topsy turvy planters. It was not an easy task getting the plants in through the holes without breaking the stems and then filling it up with dirt when you can't set it down because of the plant sticking out the bottom. But they are done and we are hopeful for a bountiful tomato harvest.

In the planters are: red beefsteak tomatoes, anaheim peppers, serrano peppers, curly parsley, rosemary, cinnamon basil, and mint.

I bought "shepherd's crooks to hang the topsy turvy planters on, but the planters were too heavy and BENT them. So I hung them on the swingset for now, but that's not a permanent solution. I'm still figuring out how to hang them. All in all, it was quite an experience in frustration. But I hope that it will be worth it in the end.

I also cleaned up the front beds and planted some more blue plants. I just love blue flowers and so when I see some I must add them to my garden. This is the first time I've seen "Lithodora" a perrenial ground cover with blue flowers, so I planted three of them. And I also got and planted two blue and white columbines.

Blue and White columbine and lithodora in the background

I have a love/hate relationship with hanging baskets on the back patio. I love looking at the flowers through the window from the inside, but I tire of going out to water them everyday during the summer.

I love how the clematis is blooming and finally climbing up the mailbox after six years!

My last outside project was touch up paint. When they put in our new windows in December some of the wood trim was wrecked and the porch swing sometimes hits the stucco. So I got out the two colors of outside paint and did some touch up work. I'm always surprised and thrilled at how good a little paint can make things look.

You can't really tell that I painted in this picture, but I'm happy with the front porch

Yesterday I bought flowers at Cook's, but it didn't manage to start planting until 8:30 pm! I did the front yard first and so when I ran out of light I moved to the back where we have flood lights so I could finish.

I planted a flat of Red Patriot geraniums, some lobelia between the pansies and some marigolds. For the first time I bought a flat of primroses; they are a shade plant and I loved the yellow and red color. I planted some in the shade of the tree by the mailbox and in the back yard where I have lots of shade.

I also bought three hanging baskets for the back patio. I have a love/hate relationship with hanging baskets out there. I love the beautiful color when I look out the kitchen and sitting room windows, but by the end of the summer I hate having to go out there and water every morning.

My next step it putting new bark in all the beds and planting tomatoes in the topsy planters we bought online.

Well, I didn't get right back outside like I expected to in the last post, but today I finished cleaning up the backyard. Put down a new layer of the black stuff to prevent weeds and put the rocks back. While I was putting the rocks back I felt in a small way like I was creating my own little spot on the earth. I was thinking about God creating the earth and placing all the rocks. I also cleaned out the hammock bed. Dug all the dead grass out and moved dirt to holes in the grass and then spread Scott's EZSeed hoping that we can get the grass growing in better. And next week I get to plant flowers!

Back to the Garden Journal.

I've started working outside. On April 24th I cleaned out the front beds and the garage. On the 28th Trevor helped me clean out the shed. (so they could store their washer and dryer in there)
Today I spent 3 and a half hours in the backyard. I got most of the yard cleaned up and the back bed cleaned out and spread some dirt from the garden area around in some holes. I pulled all rocks out of the strip behind the cement court and pulled up the old black weed barrier. I'm going to lay down Preen and new black barrier and put the rocks back tomorrow. I still need to clean out the hammock bed and fill in some more holes around the tramp.

It felt good to get out there and get it cleaned up so that next week I can plant some flowers and grass seed in spots that need it.

Last ski of the season at Sundance. Beautiful sunny day, 8 new inches. And hour and 15 minutes of bliss. Pictures on my other blog.

I was determined to get one more ski in so I headed up to Sundance this morning. I knew it would be icy and then slushy. Kathy didn't even bring her skis, but planned to snowshoe. I put my skis on and headed up the trail. It was SO icy. Going up wasn't bad, but there was no way to get a snowplow going down in the ice. So after about 15 minutes I just took my skis off and walked back down to the parking lot and put on my snowshoes. I bought snowshoes at Costco in the fall and never tried them out. I really did enjoy snowshoeing for about an hour in the beautiful sunshine. It's basically hiking in snow. It will never be as fun as skiing, but sure beats being inside!

Slush Skiing

Today we got 6 inches of snow at home. But it turns out none of it fell at the Sundance Nordic Center. Nevertheless, I had a good 1 hour ski for 3 miles and it was beautiful and sunny. It's sad when the spring temperatures make the snow the consistency of a slurpee.

I rented skate skis today and gave it a whirl. My goal was to get all the way up to the "middle earth" trail. And let me tell you, it was tough and I wanted to give up several times, but I knew that I'd never forgive myself if I didn't reach my goal. Skate skiing is much harder than classic and requires so much more effort. I'm not in good enough shape for it. Maybe if I lose weight and get more cardiovascularly fit I'll try again. But for now I'm sticking with classic skating. In spite of how hard it was, I'm glad I did it. I skied for an hour and 15 minutes and went 3.14 miles. I had some crazy weather: sunny, cloudy, and finally snowing. I have a lot more respect for those Olympic skate skiers!

P.S. I hurt my right knee yesterday so I'm mad about that. Just like when I ran on the 4th of July and then my knees hurt for a couple of months when walking. The moral for me: don't do extreme stuff that gets you hurt so you can't do the regular stuff! I need to keep walking and classic skiing and not mess that up by trying harder stuff.

A little under two hours, a little over 5 miles.

It was cloudy, but the 7 new inches of snow made up for the lack of sun.

So glad I went before my week in California and when I get back it's the last month of skiing for nine long months.

One Quick Hour

Busy day, so one quick hour of skiing. 3.3 miles of sunshine on glistening snow and a great workout!

Skate Skiing

Today Kathy and I went to Ladies Day at Sundance Nordic Center. We rented skate skis (we usually do classic cross-country skiing) and took a lesson. Skate skiing is harder to learn so we've never tried it. But we often see skate skiers on the trails and the way they ski looks so graceful and fun, so we thought we'd give it a try.

It was really fun ~ but such a workout! It requires more effort than classic but there's a great "glide factor," which is exhilarating. I just may have to invest in skate skis at some point!

A Sunny Ski

Today was a perfect ski day: blue sky, sunshine and beautiful white snow!

One hour and 46 minutes and 4.61 miles. Awesome!

Two Days in a Row!

Went skiing two days in a row!

Thursday afternoon for 1 hour and 40 minutes. It was a beautiful sunny day in Orem and we were so looking forward to a sunny ski ~ but once we got in the canyon there were low clouds and so we skied with cloudy skies ~ who would've thought? Still, the snow was good and we had a great time. Unfortunately, I skipped lunch and got a little lightheaded so I headed down to the Yurt and got a candy bar and headed back up for a little longer.

Friday night ~ moonlight skiing under the full moon! It was awesome. So beautiful to see the mountain in the moonlight. We skied for about 1 hour and 20 minutes and never even got cold. I did wear warmer clothes than for daytime skiing.

Rich said when I got home from nightskiing my face was all red and chapped, so I snapped this picture of myself. My earmuffs wouldn't stay on well so I was glad I had my hair in braids over my ears to keep me warm.

Today I was heading out to ski on the canal road but our power was off and I couldn't open the garage door. So I shoveled the driveway instead. When I finished shoveling the power was back on so I went to the canal road and just skiied for 30 minutes, but it was good and Annie sure loved getting out there.

Skiing on the Canal Road

After that beautiful snow last night I thought I'd try skiing on the canal road. Annie and I had a delightful time. Someone had been on the canal road with a four-wheeler so there were some nice tracks to ski in. On the way back I had nice grooves - my own tracks! At first it was a littel tough going but then the endorphins kicked in and I didn't want to stop.

These horses all turned as if to greet us when we came by

I had to take my skis off to cross the road

These are all the ice balls I had to cut out of Annie's coat

3rd Ski 2010

We headed up late today and didn't start skiing until 2:47. Ten minutes in it started blowing and snowing a heavy wet snow. It wasn't bad skiing uphill but when I headed down the wet snow was pelting me in the face and it wasn't too fun. Then we took twice as long getting home due to the snowy roads. I'm glad I got 30 minutes and 1.4 miles in. And I'm happy it's snowing; more snow = good!

2nd Ski

I skiied for one hour 45 minutes and it was beautiful. I felt myself getting more confident.