leder legends

The  GR symphony orchestra and symphony chorus are awesome!! The chorus is huge and so talented. The conductor is so good!! But at this concert they had the unfortunate responsibility to perform a newly commissioned piece written for them.   It was so well done but so unpleasant to listen to. My taste in music definitely does not lean toward the contemporary. The second piece on the program was beautiful and beautifully played by the outstanding violinist Sarah Chang. After intermission the orchestra amazed us all. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is amazing but  I've never heard it played like this!  I was blown away even in the nosebleed section!

I COPIED  This is information I would like to save for later.  I am attempting to do a modified version of this. I love the way this enhances and improves the soil.  SHEET OR LASAGNA MULCHING Gather your materials: Depending on the size of the area you want to cover, you’ll need a decent amount of supplies. Soil Amendments  – Green sand, and any other mineral amendments your soil needs Nitrogen rich material – blood meal, fresh manure, Super Hot Compost Starter, fresh food scraps, diluted clean urine Cardboard or newspaper. You’ll want enough to overlap the pieces by about 6”. If you are using newspaper, you’ll want it ½”-1” thick 8”-10” layer of brown material – dried grass (without seed heads), old leaves, straw Compost or quality top soil, enough to cover the area with 2”-3” Mulch- more straw, leaves, Gardener’s Mulch Block The process: 1. Make sure the area to be mulch is decently wet before you start. Rain the night before is good, or water it thoroughly before ...

 Cardboard over grass and covered mulch to make a new flowerbed.  I'm hoping this will be easier than digging up all the sod. So I knew of a place where I could get manure for FREE. FREE is good! I got 9 five gallon buckets. .. some I put in bags. Wearing closed shoes for once! 4 bags filled plus 5 buckets. = The pile is very small this year! I will use that to cover the cardboard. 

 Giving blood is not a lot of fun but so important!  Are you hesitant?           I usually do it with a friend.         We usually have an incentive of some kind.  This time it was an email offering a $15 gift card if we came on Labor Day.            We always do something  afterwards.  This time it did not involve a food reward!  We decided to go to Meijer Gardens where we both have a membership.            There was an interesting sculpture exhibit.  The sculptor used elements that we had never seen before in many different ways. I found this one - FOOD MAN- the most impressive! We headed outdoors to the newly planted English garden full of perennials that are sure to look awesome next year after they grow to fill the beds. I think I might have an “English” garden since I recognized many plants... in my yard I only have one or two of each while he...

This is an uninspiring post about my short bout with covid. I wanted a record! It started on August 16th after a short trip to Ontario where we were tested 3 times!   I have covid and I’m not sure how I feel about that. Tuesday ... cough.. neg for covid. Out for dinner with friends. Wednesday,,, cough... chills... headache.... hmmm not sure  Thursday same symptoms but tomorrow I volunteer...another test... again negative  Still-- cancel volunteering just in case. Friday. Major headache...chills... sore throat...3rd test... very positive  Saturday and Sunday... VERY sore throat... lots of ibuprofen and Tylenol... so who knows if I have a fever.  Hoping Monday was better and it was.  I woke up without any symptoms but I also felt 100% better! negative test Tuesday- stayed home from a social gathering because two of the couples attending had travel plans and they were worried (slightly paranoid perhaps?) Wednesday - another negative test! I'm done!! Thursday- ...

In September the flower garden is full.  All the plants are full grown!! The black eyed susans are huge, as are the phlox, turtlehead and coneflowers.  It’s time to thin them all out.  My dilemma is always the same: give away plants if possible but  the “extras” go in to the recycle.  That hurts me. I don’t understand why garden people don’t accept free plants when the same plants sell for a minimum of $5.99 in the local nurseries.  Even if that all bothers me, the flowerbeds look so much better.  I thinned out the Shasta daisies, the monarda, the phlox,  and put some in pots and some in the plant recycle but I also planted small sections in other flowerbeds for pops of color next summer. This gave me room for three huge unnamed hostas that I received from a hybridizer.  He experiments with a variety of combos and lets them grow 4 or 5 years to see if the plants develop into something new and interesting.  If he doesn’t like the result h...