Blue perennial geranium.

   

  Wednesday I had a doctor's appointment so I didn't want to start the day working up a sweat. My big accomplishment was cleaning off the dining room table, once again, of all my card-making supplies. It is nice to have a clear working area for crafting, and even though I have a perfectly fine craft room that overlooks my back garden, I love that I am able to spread out in the dining room and still feel like I am part of the action (the dining room is the centre of the downstairs with all rooms leading off of it). But that also means that I can't close a door and hide the mess, so every once in a while I need to clean it out. It also clears my mind.

     Yesterday morning I doused myself with DEET and headed back in the yard to do some serious weeding in the shade garden under the maple. I have been "promising" my neighbour for weeks now that I would go in and clear the area of the gout weed and another invasive weed that has overtaken the garden. Because it is in the shade and the weeds were so thick, it was a breeding ground for mosquitoes (hence the need to clean it up). It has choked out my blood-root, ferns, lady's mantle and Pulmonaria. After several wheel barrow loads of pulled weeds were taken back to the compost pile, I then decided to prune back the suckers growing from the base of the tree. That area looks so much brighter now, and I discovered that the ferns did not die out completely. Although I will still need to get in there again throughout the summer to keep it up, this will at least give my real flowers a fighting chance to survive. 

     I came inside, ate lunch, and slept on the couch. I was bitten and exhausted. But before I started supper, I went out and cut most of the grass in the backyard. I will have to finish today. There are no signs of growing yet from those seeds I planted in my veggie garden. I think maybe the seeds were too old. I may have to break down and spend some money on some good seed if I expect to have beans to harvest this year. They don't take long to grow, so I still have a chance. I received a sample pack from P&G in the mail yesterday....freebies. There were samples of Tide Pods, Downy liquid, Cascade Platinum  and Vidal Sassoon's  pro series shampoo and conditioner, along with $1 off coupons for each of those samples. I am sure that I have mentioned before that I have not needed to buy shampoo or conditioner for years, because of samples. And sample sizes are terrific for taking with you while travelling. Talk later.