About The River

Friday, May 29, 2020

Goodbye Little Apartment

Good Bye Little Apartment

Our National Guard son Sam rented a little apartment in Eau Claire for his first year of school at Chippewa Valley Technical College. The lease expired at the end of May. He decided with being deployed to Milwaukee with COVID19 testing and not knowing how school would be looking for the 2020/2021 school year, he would move back home.
Or should I say, we would move him back home. He is currently deployed.
Our conversation went like this..
"Mom, I have decided it best to move home for now, hopefully in August I will find a place to rent."
"So, Mom, the thing is, you will have to move me, with out me."

All was going well, until we got one piece of furniture stuck in the door.
I text message Sam "We need the National Guard, we are stuck."
He messaged back "Ha! Thank you so much for moving me Mom!"
Thank goodness we had Atticus to help us.

We had nice weather and things went smooth.. after getting unstuck. We had to take the door off.

Saying Goodby to the little apartment.




I spoke to Sam's landlord on the phone the day after we finalized the move and cleaned.
We spoke for some time, it is funny how these times bring people together in ways we never would have.


 
Sam sent me this photo, busy with COVID19 testing in Milwaukee. He learned this week his orders have been extended to the end of the June, with possibility of extending into July.



Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Spring Garden Tour

Hello Friends, last week I spent several days in the garden. I still have a few plants and my gladiolus to plant and I will have everything in the ground. Then the love and care will begin. And the weeding and more weeding and more weeding.

We have already had the strangest weather.
Hot and humid for late May. Even as a seasoned gardener I learned a valuable lesson on Saturday.
With the high humidity and our temperatures reaching the high 80's, I was so busy in the garden that I did not take time to rest and drink enough water. By 8:30 Saturday night I was in bed with a terrible headache. Lesson learned! I hope to remind you all as well, not to make the same mistake as I did. Drink your water and take time to rest.

Let us go for a spring garden tour.

I will show you in more detail the garden as it gets growing. I made a collage to share the spring garden. My dad and mom made me my high garden stakes, I love having them to mark rows, especially in the early garden season.  My red, white and blue area on our front deck. And a peek at the greenhouse.


I have a red geranium planted in the pot on top of the milk can. It should be all red, white and blue in the next few weeks. The petunias are wave petunias, they should fill out lovely.



Inside the greenhouse. I just love my greenhouse. The lettuce you see, I planted December 2019. It started to grow in March. What a treat to have fresh lettuce growing when we still have snow on the ground. With COVID19, it was even more of a treat to head out to the greenhouse for lettuce to top off an egg salad sandwich.


I also have cabbage growing in the greenhouse, it is doing very well.


On to the wee little water feature of mine, the whiskey barrel. Well, those three fish that survived all of last summer and have been wintering in the house, they sort have become pets. We like seeing them in the fishbowl in the bathroom. It has added fun to the bathroom and conversation. (Pre-COVID19 .. when we had guests over and they would say "Hey, you have fish in your bathroom."
I have been wondering what to put in the water feature. Because the fish are now indoor pets.

This past Sunday I found some snails.
My friend Judy of Cranberry Morning
gave me the idea in a past blog post she did about her pond.


At this time I have five snails in my wee little water feature.. aka.. the whiskey barrel.


One last look at the greenhouse, oh I just love my little greenhouse.


We will take another garden tour real soon, the peony are starting to bud
and the garden will be full of pinks.

Monday, May 25, 2020

Red, White and Blue

Happy Memorial Day

I have been doing colors of the month posts. January was white. February was red. March was green. April was pink.
I have decided that the month of May will be
Red, White and Blue in honor of our heroes.






Thank you to the fallen heroes who have fought for our freedom.
Remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our American Dreams to live on.








Monday, May 18, 2020

2 #StayatHome Birthday Celebrations

Happy May 18th!
A special day today! Our high school senior son, Atticus is 18 years old today.


Happy Birthday Atticus

18 years old today!
He is excited to graduate at the end of the month.
He has taken on the challenges that COVID19 has brought at his work place.
As well as the disappointments that COVID19 has brought with his senior year and wrapping up his school years.

He loves to fish.
He is a good friend.
He encourages his older brother.
He does his best to help others.


Me with my boys during a hike last Autumn.

We hope to all get together in July to celebrate birthdays and graduations.
Keeping our fingers crossed.



April 7th, our oldest turned 20! He celebrated his birthday with his first COVID19 deployment to Madison, Wisconsin.


How about you? Any #stayathome birthday celebrations in your family?

Friday, May 15, 2020

Opening Day


The long wait is over. The sleeping garden is waking up.
The Flower Shack officially opened on May 7th. This will be my 9th year selling fresh cut flowers at my Flower Stand.
I started in 2012, selling my bouquets on a card table set up in front of my house.
Each year came a few changes and in 2018 The Flower Shack was built.

My tulip crop this year was fantastic. I loved the colors.
I will plant more in the Autumn. Many, many more.

I sanitized The Flower Shack, the vases were handled with gloves.
The Flower Shack is self serve and curbside.
I did not have any complaints or problems during my opening day.

At the end of the day, I found a note left from a customer.

"Thank You!"
"Thank You!"

A great way to start the season.

Happy Weekend my friends.

Carla



Wednesday, May 13, 2020

A Flower Power Hodgepodge

Hello Friends, it is Wednesday, time for the Hodgepodge!
 Joyce asks the questions.
We answer the questions.

 Question #2

 2. What's your favorite thing about your yard or whatever outdoor space you may have?
My garden!!

I jumped ahead.. let us get on with the Hodgepodge!
 
 1. Ever played the game Farkle? Are you a risk taker? In games only or also in life?

I have played Farkle.
I do take risks when playing games.
In life.. I pray about decisions and talk them over with my husband, family and friends.

 2. What's your favorite thing about your yard or whatever outdoor space you may have?

 I love my gardens. I enjoy working in the garden, I actually like to pull weeds!
It is a special place to see butterfly, bees and I once had a huge toad scare me while I was weeding the garden. I did not see him until I reached down by the plant, he jumped and I jumped!
I like looking out at my garden in the winter too, while it is sleeping under the snow.


3. Tell us about the most interesting building you've seen or been in.

 2014 my sister treated me to a weekend in Chicago.
 We stepped out on the ledge..Click here to step out on the deck!
AMAZING!!! 
It was a cloudy day, but it still was amazing.

 4. In this current season of social distancing, what's something you've come to realize you take for granted in more ordinary times? Do you think you'll make a conscious effort to appreciate whatever that 'it' is once normal life resumes?

In the area that I live, we have a shortage of many items.
Not just toilet paper.
Bleach, Vinegar, Dawn Dish Soap.. oh my was I happy to find Dawn Dish Soap again last Wednesday, Palmolive just does not do the trick.
Kleenex, Clorox Wipes and more.
Pasta, hamburger, chicken, pork, eggs, and much more.

I will make a conscious effort to say "Thank You" when I am able to purchase these items again.


 5. Share a favorite song with a springtime flower in the lyrics somewhere.


A Bicycle Built For Two
Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do,
I'm half crazy, All for the love of you,
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I haven't got a carriage,
But you'll look sweet, up on the seat
Of a bicycle built for two!
 
 6. Insert your own random thought here. 
 
Our National Guard son, Sam, is one of the below.
He is currently deployed in Milwaukee helping with COVID19 testing.
His first day was Monday. He messaged us on Tuesday that it was a long day, 14 hours his team put in. They were gearing up for another long day. Cars start to line up at the testing site at 6am.
Testing starts at 8am.
 
Stay Safe my friends and have a great week. 
 
 
 

Monday, May 11, 2020

Heritage Flower Farm


Heritage Flower Farm

I was so excited when my aunt Sharon shared a recent newspaper article with me about one of my mentors, Betty Adelman of Heritage Flower Farm.
You may remember some of the posts I did about her flower farm back in 2016.
Click on the link above to read about my first visit to the farm.
In the post I shared about Betty when I toured her farm and she shared how her dream of Heritage Flower Farm started and how she got to where she is today.

My Flower Shack.. a self serve Flower Shop. Never give up on your dreams!


My second trip to Heritage Flower Farm.. click on the below link to learn more.

During my second trip to Heritage Flower Farm in 2016 Betty and her dear friend Gail, my aunts Sally and Sharon all toured the garden, enjoyed a lovely lunch and discussed ideas for my business.

Gail is the owner operator of Yerke Greenhouses and she sells Cottage Garden Bouquets at the Milwaukee market.
Betty thought Gail would be able to help me with ideas, share her tricks of the trade and talk bouquets. It was a great help to me as I got started in 2016.



Time continues to go on.. it is 2020 and I have accomplished so much since meeting Betty in 2016.
It was fun to read the article about Betty in the April 16-17 2020 issue of the Southern Lakes Newspaper.
It was a highlight for me to read all that Betty has accomplished since opening Heritage Flower Farm in 1998.



Betty has been growing heirloom plants for more than three decades.
Betty's interest in heirlooms began three decades ago, when then 93-year-old window Anne Patterson placed the future flower farm property for sale.
"She took me around and told me all about her plants, which was something a Realtor would likely not have been able to do." she said. "Fern-leaved bleeding hearts under the Bur oaks, a patch of pink lily-of-the-valley, purple bearded iris and her lemon lilies. That's what got me interested in old flowering plants and we continue to grow Anne's plants today."

"Heirloom plants are either just plain old, or have cultural and ethnic significance that make them unique."
One of Betty's favorite anecdotal stories to tell in her garden is about the Rattlesnake Master, a native plant to Wisconsin that the Potawatomi used for good luck gambling. "They would pick the seed head, a thistle, and put it in their pockets. And today, of course, they own the casino."



Monday, May 4, 2020

Hosting a Summer Outdoor Dinner and Garden Tour

 August 2019 we hosted an outdoor dinner and garden tour for a group of friends.

Drinks
Infused Lemon Mint Water
Raspberry Mint Ice Tea

Appetizers
Toasted French Bread 
Herb Butters 
Rosemary 
and 
Dill

Main Course
Pasta Salads
Chicken Pasta Salad
Pepporoni Pasta Salad
 
Fruit Salads
Honey Fruit Salad

 Dessert
 S'more Bar

Create your own S'more

Marshmallow
Graham cracker

Hershey Chocolate Bar
or
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
or 
York Peppermint Patty


It was a lovely evening.

 

The garden showed off.. but this flower won all attention..


Hello Friends,
I have started to work in the garden. I have my garden area ready for planting. 
I received notice my onions shipped today.
My seedlings are growing. 
Most of my seeds shipped. A few packages were on back-order and I did receive notice they will not ship for this growing season.
I am going to check out a few local nurseries and greenhouses this week. They are open, they are considered an essential business. Some are doing curb side pick up.

How about your neck of the woods? Are greenhouses open for business?