Fire!

June 24, 2012

The year of the fires -

I left home at 6:00 a.m on Thursday, June 14th and could see a plume of smoke off to the southwest. Hmmm.... Upon arrival at my conference, I am informed that there is a fire in Lake George! A stressful few days and then it seems the risk is reduced. I'm heading home on Sunday, June 17th (in a tow truck...another story) to arrive in Lake George to a new fire - the Springer Fire. A MUCH bigger threat, much closer and raging. Sunday night I didn't sleep well, kept getting up to check on the fire as the picture below is what it looked like off the back deck at 4:00 pm. It started at noon on Sunday - and burned 1,200 acres before they could get it contained. The house smelled of the acrid smoke Sunday night and by Monday evacuation was looking emanate. 

I had to go back to work on Monday morning, and Jim stayed home to keep a watchful eye.It wasn't until Thursday that we clearly felt that we were not at risk.

It's a week later now...Sunday, June 24th and a fire broke out today in Waldo  Canyon, causing the evacuation of Manitou Springs and 11,000 people and already burned 2,000 acres with 0% containment. The house once again smells like a campfire as the skies are thick with smoke.

The fire High Park fire continues to burn west of Fort Collins, and a fire is 75% contained in Estes Park that burned over 20 homes this weekend.

This is nuts! It is SOOO dry and it is suspect that there is an arsonist involved in the Teller County fires. Jim is keeping vigil and making a round of the neighborhood on his 4-wheeler looking for an suspicious behaviors or visitors!

It's been a stressful few weeks. My heart breaks for those who have lost their homes in fires. It felt surreal when having to face the moment of what to pack and what to leave behind. While our momentos of precious times and people are important, the realization that we could lose our property was just heart breaking.

I feel such gratitude and am so thankful that we were spared that reality.

Springer Fire
Lake George, Colorado
June 2012
Photo taken from our deck

Garden Progress

'Hadley's Patch'
Happy and thriving in spite of the harshest dry conditions.

Delphinium 

Iris

Bleeding Heart from bottom bed looking towards rock wall

Delphinium gearing up to bloom big time!

A Sunday visitor

Snow-on-the-mountain blooms

Butterflies are everywhere in the garden

Everything is hovering...just about to bloom...

The Peony bud just opening today!
My Peony is actually going to bloom after 3 years!!!

Add caption

Birthday Treat

My mother and father-in-law sent me some money for my birthday and I wanted to get something really special for myself...so here's what I got!

A chaise lounge (Walmart on-line and less than $100 and included the cushions! It's so comfy!)

And I also ordered a porch swing!!! See photos below. Just LOVE it! The sign, my dear friend Diana made for me. She is so talented!! I think it is perfect!

Chaise-lounge before the high-altitude sun
bleaches the cushions...

'Porch Rules' sign made by Diana

Log swing...had to wait weeks for it to arrive, but it did!
Thank you, husband of mine, for hanging it for me ASAP.
(Okay, so patience isn't a strength...)

Day on the Dream Stream

Jim and I spent a good part of today over on the Dream Stream by Spinney Reservoir. We were SO surprised when we arrived to only one (yes, you read that right) car was in the parking area. 

Jim caught two fish, which isn't easy in this stream and I caught a lot of moss. 

By the time we left, the skies were flooded with smoke.

My wonderful husband, and angler.

Birthday Boy turns Two

This last week we also celebrated Koby's 2nd birthday! 

Koby loved the frosting! He was a bit timid about the rest.

Check out Koby's expression as his parents try to
coach him to blow out his candle.
(What a beautiful couple!)

Hadley...almost 2 months old.

The perfect picture to go with 
'Hadley's Patch'....




Fingers crossed that rains will come...
and lots of them.

Summer Begins...

* Disclaimer:
My husband has been telling people about my garden blog. I'm touched that he would do that and also a bit intimidated! I created this blog with the purpose of journaling my garden progress, mishaps, discoveries, and to document my journey. I never post with the thought of an audience other than myself. So if you are reading and wondering where the 'good stuff' is for the reader...it's probably not here! I don't have any tutorials about how I did anything, and don't get very detailed. I guess if I ever acquire followers, I'll rethink what and how I write this blog. For now...I'm just talking to myself, for myself. 

Summer Begins...

Ah... June! School's out! I'll miss the kids and staff, but am SO excited to have some time in my garden! I had the last week to play (have to return to work for the next two weeks... but I'll be back!)


Here's how the garden is looking on June 10th.

I headed home on Friday, June 1st and was very excited that I would be able to stop at 'Diggin In the Dirt' in Woodland Park on my way home. Tina, owner of 'Diggin in the Dirt' is going out of business (sniff, sniff) and afforded me the luxury and opportunity to stop and shop before her official sale. As you can see in the pictures below...I got a little carried away! I couldn't fit much in the VW bug, so went back Saturday morning to pick up my loot.

I purchased a variety of goodies...and 48 plants! Gasp...I know...very decadent...but I won't be able to go again! 

Cone Flower, Snow-on-the mountain, Joe Pye Weed, Lilac, Peony, Crane's Bill, Lupine, Veronica, Maltese Cross, Gayfeather, Poppy Mallow, Echinops, Tanacetum, Black Eyed Susan, Potentilla, Sedum, Helenium, Hens & Chicks, Monard, Stone Crop, Foxglove Penstemon

I cannot adequately express my joy and excitement with the task ahead to plant and play!


I had plans... I had a flower bed that was nothing but grass and was just plain ugly. The weekend before, I hauled eight wheelbarrow loads of dirt from my raised beds that I had been in the fenced vegetable garden (now gone), so I was so relieved to know I had dirt! I worked this up in preparation, so I got busy planting.

Here's how it looked after I got the plants in their new home. This new garden bed will be christened 'Koby's Korner' after my grandson.  Since I had created 'Hadley's Patch' I had to provide equity!

Next task...I hunted our property for rocks to create a border...and placed some of the items I got from Tina (watering can and dutch oven). I also moved a dead stump from another area to the back of this bed. I had to dig a deep hole for the post (a broken piece from the garden we took down) and treat it with sealer to hang the sign.

Here are a few other views of 'Koby's Korner', though I admit, my photography skills really need some work!

What's planted in Koby's Korner:
(1) Cornflower, (1) Lilac, (2) Lower Walker Catmint, (1) Russian Sage, (3) Cashmere, (1) Gayfeather, (1) Snow-on-the-mountain, (1) Poppy Mallow, (3) Lilies, (1) bunch of Maximillian Sunflowers transplanted, (3) Campanula, (3) Veronia, (3) Maltese Cross, (3) Echinops, (1) Verbascum, (2) Joe Pye Weed, (1) Liatris, (1) Peony

Why does the blue flax insist on growing only in areas outside of the flower beds? Guess it hates water. Go figure...

The sign I created to name this bed. I have a couple of buckets of rusty junk I keep 'just in case'... finally a purpose for it! Thank goodness for E600 Glue! I tried a variety of ways to secure the rusty metal and in the end, the glue did the trick. Thanks Danneen for steering me onto this solution!




'Koby's Korner' didn't require all 48 new plants. Where did the rest go? They are tucked in a variety of other spots within established beds.

This is the list of plants that have successfully come back for me at 9,200 feet:
*Delphinium, Siberian Catmint, Lower Walker Catmint, Cone Flower, Lovage, Columbine, Snow-On-The-Mountain, Jacob's Ladder, Joe Pye Weed, Hops Vine, Silver Lace Vine, Clematis, Lilac, Poppy, Phlox, Bleeding Heart, Yarrow, Peony, Lupine, Crane's Bill (Johnson's Blue Geranium), Veronica, Lilies, Blue Flax, Cashmere, Maximillian Sunflower, Maltese Cross, Echinops, Obedient Plant, Campanula, Tanacetum, Potentilla, Sedum, Cornflower, Iris, Rhubarb, Helenium, Penstemon, Monard, Lady's Mantle, Stone Crop, Russian Sage.
*Bulbs: Allium, Tulips


That's 44 different kinds of plants that are happy at 9,200 feet!


* New for me this year so we shall see:
Liatris, Black Eyed Susan, Hens & Chicks, Poppy Mallow, Gayfeather, Geum (Lady Stratheden), Gaura, Foxglove Penstemon

I'm starting to have a 'crowding' problem. I have plants I need to mark and then transplant next spring. The delphiniums have grown so large they are crowding out other plants and smothering them...we can't allow that!

Update on 'Hadley's Patch'...
Here it was a month ago in May freshly planted...

Here it is in June! You'll also see a few more of the goodies I got from Tina...the dutch shoe and the cement bird bath...Tina made that!

What's planted in Hadley's Garden:
(8) Delphinium, (3) Columbine,  (3) Creeping Phlox, (3) Phlox, (3) Lupine, (3) Jacob's Ladder, Poppies, (3) Beard-tongue Penstemon, (3) Shasta Daisies, (these don't always come back for me)
 (3) Geum, (3) Gaura, (1) Bleeding Heart, Hops Vine at each end.

What's blooming in June -

Low Walker Catmint

Poppies...yeah!

Allium

Delphinium, which seem to thrive here...
I'm considering myself extremely lucky because these are one of my favorite flowers!

Lilies

A bulb I planted in the fall and can't remember the name....help!

Penstemon

Columbine

Daisies

Bleeding Heart...
this plant is waist high!

Blue Flax...in the morning.

Fixin' to bloom

A plethora of different plants, the largest being
the delphinium.

One of the lilac bushes might actually
do it this year!
(They were very tiny babies a year ago)

Peony???
This will be it's third year...so maybe it will!
It's looked like this before and never opened.

Iris

Giant allium

Here's the giant allium and
the hops vine which is making rapid growth
up the arch.

My Garden Partner:

Before I can move on, I have to include a note of appreciation for my husband.

He has been INCREDIBLY supportive, encouraging, helpful and indispensable. 

He is such a good sport: he 'ohhs and ahh's'

He has put up the deer fence for me.

He just smiled when I showed up with 48 new plants.

He keeps things watered for me when I am gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He may not be comfortable with it yet, but he is allowing me to use his power tools.

He hugs me when I am covered in garden dirt.

He buys me work gloves.

He rigged up a hose system for me.

He goes fly-fishing and leaves me alone to putter.

He loves me.

Projects 

Here is the view from our property (in May) looking east and you can see the neighbors house.
This has always really bugged us and was the sole reason we decided to try a privacy fence along
the property line.

A view a bit further back, but you can see that the privacy fence has done the trick!
We love it!

Here is the fence before I stained it.

Stained in cedar.
Took me 10 hours to stain both sides.
Whew...glad that chore is done!
In the foreground you can see the raised beds left
from taking down the vegetable garden. Once
I used up all the dirt, I'll get rid of the boxes.

Bottle tree I created using one of the left over poles from the vegetable garden fence.
I made two of these.
Thanks Danneed for the inspiration!
I see myself figuring out a way to rig this with lights!

Another recycled bottle idea...
stole this from Pinterest!

Outdoor Room

Unfortunately, Jaime Durham from HGTV's show, The Outdoor Room, did not select my entry, I submitted last summer, as a winner. Darn. 

So, I'm taking baby steps to create a sense of that on my own.

Started with the purchase of a large picnic table and some adirondack chairs. Still beginning, but off to a start!

I'm open to suggestions! 

That's all for this post. I won't be able to play outside for several weeks, but looking forward to getting back to it. Looking forward to lots of company and lots of outdoor time! I'm working on my porch next, so will feature some photos of the porch on my next post.