Friday, July 2, 2010

Oh Those SKEE-TOES! A Sad Tale of Gardening Woes...

I love to putter in my little flower gardens. It's so relaxing to me, and on days when the sun is shining, it's a little bit of heaven on earth. I have a hummingbird feeder hanging above my 'circle garden' and sometimes I'll get "buzzed" by one of those little fellers when I wear a bright colored shirt! So funny!

There's one garden spot I absolutely DREAD to go near, and I've put it off long enough this season. It's the one area I can see from my large picture windows....MOSQUITO CENTRAL - a place NO one should tread unless there's a mobile blood transfusion center somewhere near by!
We planted a couple of small bushes there, thinking it would be nice to see that when we looked out that picture window at the bird feeders and the woods down below. But - we never thought of how miserable it would be to tend that area - weeding takes a little while to accomplish, and even to spread mulch is painfully itchy for a few days afterward, even using repellents, which do little to deter OUR skeeters!

So, I was chatting with Angela of West Virginia Treasures this week, commiserating over how much needed to be done around our homesteads, trying to get over feeling lazy and uninspired, and wanting to make our little pieces of heaven-on-earth more appealing. We've both been pelted by rainstorms, which has made gardening difficult, but has done wonders for weed growth! We decided to create our own "Gardening Challenge" and finally "GIT R DONE"! For me, this has meant making a decision to go out and face the music, to beautify that little area way down in the "SKEETER Holler". Silly me.

The GREEN blobs above are my BEFORE pictures. It's just a small area, as you will notice. Angela is picking a small area too. But we hope to make a difference in the appearance of a small section of our yards. After all, Baby Steps is the way to accomplish most tasks like these. And hopefully, one week from today, we'll be "sitting pretty"!

DON'T "bite me" -

12 comments:

Troy said...

Holy Moley! Mosquitos in Michigan are worse than ever this year. I think maybe they organized, formed a union, and brought in busloads of outside helpers. Perhaps they brought in workers from Canada as well.

They have a sophisticated system of advance warning and readiness, so by the time I get back to the vegetable garden, there are multiple crews of front line mosquitoes in place and waiting for me.

I have never seen so many mosquitoes all in one place, and using repellant seems as effective as rolling in honey before I go sit by the anthill.

Good luck with your foray deep into their territory.

If we dont hear from you in a week or so, we'll send out a Corgi or two, with a little barrel of rum tied under their chins.

Carmen S. said...

Skeeter holler looks so beautiful, one would never guess, LOL! Out back of our house, the closer you get to the woods the worse the biting horse-flys are, I always hate mowing back there, once they find you, it's all over:(

Angela said...

Hey Monica!

I hope you don't get bit too much by those skitters! There is a Benadryl spray that you can use to help keep the itching at a minimum.

Looks like we both have our work cut out for us this week! Can't wait to see your project finished and mine also! hehehe

Hugs,
Angela

Love Of Quilts said...

Mosquitos are not something I want to get bit by either.....with what all they can carry is it really worth it...is there water standing close by. Trish

^..^Corgidogmama said...

You really do live in such pretty surroundings, skeeters or not! Ours are horrid as well. I'm gonna tell them that the bloodmobile will be in town next Thurs., thinking they'll leave our yard long enough for Emmy Lulu and her mama/dad to get in the door without getting nibbled or attacked. I hate it when they get all around your ears, don't you??

Diann said...

Oh Monica, it is so bad here too! Troy is ussally the one that gets attacked and I just get a few bites here and there.But nope I am getting hit just as had as Ttoy this year. It is insane!

Ignore what Troy said about if we don't hear from you in a week or so he will send in a Corgi. I wouldn't do that to the poor dog! LOL We will come up in hazmat gear and drag you away from the mosquitos!!

Chatty Crone said...

That is kind of a big project you and Angela are doing. I wish I did have time to join.

We have a lot of mosquitos here too - my GS blows up with them when he gets bit - the size of an egg.

Love,
sandie

Ann in the UP said...

Ohhh, it's hard to make yourself get out there when you have to face the biting hordes of mosquitoes. We didn't have many at the lake last week, but deerflies followed us on every walk. It's like they adopt you and pester you for the day!

Debba said...

Having left MN about 15 years ago, where skeeters were nearly the "state bird", I do NOT miss them at all. I wish you all the best in tidying up the "green blob" area, and hope you survive the resultant ichies. Oh, just to mention, when I lived in MN, I made a point of growing a lot of lemon scented herbs in pots on the deck of the townhouse I lived in. I honestly think it helped to keep skeeters away. So, maybe consider planting stuff like lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemon scented thyme, etc. in the area where they seem to be the worst. Love the pretty mallow type flowers in the picture at the top.

ocmist said...

To me, that area looks BEAUTIFUL! I was going to suggest finding some of the mosquito repelling plants and planting them there, too, but someone beat me to it!

It's been pretty dry around here and we've been careful to empty out anything that holds water, so our skeeters aren't so bad, but the biting flies are pretty nasty. Have you tried using Avon Skin so Soft?

I probably should join you guys in yard cleaning, but my cleaning would be the things the corgi pups have drug out and chewed up... :(

Rose said...

unfortunately i don't garden due to sinus problems. i hate bug bites scratch too much have a good day

Chatty Crone said...

Good luck - can't wait to see the end results.

sandie