Aster

Fall is almost upon us here. The dogs are faring quite well as are we. This summer has been rather hectic, but then it has been a good spring and summer. Tomorrow it is time to finish processing the corn from the garden. Soon as well time to get the birdfeeders ready.

A new PC for me as well… time to learn the nuisances of Vista …

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Soon perchance time to Blog a bit more on a regular basis…

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The name Aster comes from the Ancient Greek word astron, meaning "star", arriving through the Latin word astrum with the same meaning, referring to the shape of the flower head. Many species and a variety of hybrids and varieties are popular as garden plants because of their attractive and colorful flowers.

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"Wild Asters"

By: Sara Teasdale

In the spring I asked the daisies

If his words were true,

And the clever little daisies

Always knew.

Now the fields are brown and barren,

Bitter autumn blows,

And of all the stupid asters

Not one knows.

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Asters are great for late summer and fall bloom. Its bright 1 1/2 inch flowers bloom prolifically from August through October atop a two to four foot plant.

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The Aster produces large clusters of delicate daisy-like flowers in white, purple, lavender, pink or red. They are hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9, depending on the variety.Asters should be planted in moist well-drained soil in full sun, but they will tolerate light shading. The plants form broad bushy clumps, so plant them at least 18 inches apart. Mature clumps will need to be divided every 3 - 4 years in the early spring, or late fall after the flowering has finished. Pinch back the tops by 6-8 inches at least once during the summer, to create a bushier plant and to prolong the fall bloom. This pinching MUST be done prior to mid July, or it will have an opposite effect, and blooming will be reduced. Asters may be propagated by dividing or grown from seed sown indoors at about 70 degrees F. or may be sown directly into the garden after all frost danger has passed. Germination takes anywhere from 15 to 30 days, depending on the temperature.

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Annual varieties of Asters require the same basic care, but should not be planted in the same spot the following year, to prevent plant diseases such as Aster wilt. Sow seeds directly into the garden in early spring, when all frost danger has passed. Barely cover the seeds with 1/8 inch of fine soil. Thin the young plants to 12 to 15 inches apart when they are three inches tall. Successive plantings will ensure a longer blooming season. Promptly remove any spent flowers to help ensure blooming throughout the summer.

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Zones

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Calendar of Monthly Gardening Tasks etc…

Poppy

The VFW conducted its FIRST POPPY distribution before MEMORIAL DAY in 1922, becoming the first veterans' organization to organize a nationwide distribution. The poppy soon was adopted as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.

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Among all the flowers that evoke the memories and emotions of war is the red poppy, which became associated with war after the publication of a poem written by Col. John McCrae of Canada. The poem, "In Flander's Field," describes blowing red fields among the battleground of the fallen.

“In Flander’s Field”

by John McCrae

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky,

The larks, still bravely singing, fly,

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead.

Short days ago,

We lived,

felt dawn,

saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved and now we lie,

In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you, from failing hands, we throw,

The torch, be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us, who die,

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,

In Flanders Fields.

A poppy is any of a number of showy flowers, typically with one per stem, belonging to the poppy family. They include a number of attractive wildflower species with showy flowers found growing singularly or in large groups; many species are also grown in gardens. Those that are grown in gardens include large plants used in a mixed herbaceous boarder and small plants that are grown in rock or alpine gardens.

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The flower color of poppy species include: white, pink, yellow, orange, red and blue; some have dark center markings. The species that have been cultivated for many years also include many other colors ranging from dark solid colors to soft pastel shades. The center of the flower has a whorl of stamens surrounded by a cup- or bowl-shaped collection of four to six petals. Prior to blooming, the petals are crumpled in bud, and as blooming finishes, the petals often lie flat before falling away

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Our first Poppy of this season!

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Memorial Day History 2008 Actual Memorial Day:

May 30 Friday

Memorial Day Observed: May 26 Monday

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Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

Today’s Question for Tomorrow is!

If April Showers bring May flowers….

** What do May flowers bring?

"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year."

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- Mark Twain ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All Fools' Day as it was called years ago was, is observed in many countries around the world.

England ~~ In the Lake District, an April Fool is a - 'April noddy'. ~~ April noddy's past and gone,You're the fool an' I'm none.

APRIL FOOL SMILE :-))

~~ Q: Why are people so tired on April 1st? ~~ A: Because they just finished a 31-day March :-)

April Fool Fun Ideas

1957: BBC fools the nation

Watch the video on the above link Now read what SNOPES has to say!

It will QUACK you UP ;)

A delightful SITE!

Al Jolson Lyrics

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April Showers Lyrics

Life is not a highway strewn with flowers,

Still it holds a goodly share of bliss,

When the sun gives way to April showers,

Here's a thought that we should never miss:

Though April showers May come your way, T

hey bring the flowers That bloom in May;

And if it's raining, Have no regrets;

Because, it isn't raining rain, you know,

It's raining violets.

And when you see clouds Upon the hill, You soon will see crowds Of daffodils;

So keep on looking for the bluebird,

And listening for his song,

Whenever April showers come along.

Though April showers May come your way,

They bring the flowers That bloom in May;

And if it's raining, Have no regrets;

Because, it isn't raining rain, you know, It's raining violets.

And when you see clouds Upon the hill, You soon will see crowds Of daffodils;

So keep on looking for the bluebird, And listening for his song,

Whenever April showers come along

A Plethora of events coming up just around the corner

Super Bowl XLII between the New England Patriots and New York The ADS are Usually really good; February 3 Super Bowl & Super Tuesday • Super Bowl XLII: From Tom Brady's "zen-like approach to life" to Eli Manning's bond with his mother, get the inside story on the stars of this Sunday's Super Bowl. Then see why one Phoenix monastery is opening its doors to Super Bowl fans. Get the complete play-by-play from Phoenix on The New York Times N.F.L. blog "The Fifth Down."

• Election Package: Super Tuesday is coming! The Presidential candidates are prepared, their schedules are booked solid and fundraising is at an all-time high. More than 20 states are lined up to vote on Feb. 5 and over 40 percent of the delegates from each party will be chosen on this date (California and New York have the most at stake). Election news hounds: follow the candidates on the trail with the NYTimes.com political blog The Caucus and metro blog City Room. have the most at stake). Election news hounds: follow the candidates on the trail with the NYTimes.com political blog The Caucus and metro blog City Room. February 5 Super Tuesday In the United States, Super Tuesday commonly refers to the Tuesday in early February or March of a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to national conventions at which each party's presidential candidates are officially nominated. More delegates can be won on Super Tuesday than on any other single day of the primary calendar, and accordingly, candidates seeking the presidency traditionally must do well on this day to secure their party's nomination. In 2008, Super Tuesday is February 5; 24 states will hold primaries or caucuses on this date, with 52 percent of all pledged Democratic Party delegates and 41 percent of the total Republican Party delegates at stake.[1]

Also on February 5 Pancake Day is celebrated on Shrove Tuesday, which is the day before Lent In the United Kingdom of Great Britian, Northern Ireland and several other countries around the world, Pancake Day is celebrated with fun, games, and of course a lot of eating. However, the most well known activity on this day is the Pancake Day race at Olney in Buckinghamshire, England which has been held since 1445. It all began when a woman was cooking pancakes on Shrove Tuesday to use up all of her perishables before Lent. While she was still cooking she heard the chiming of the bells summoning her to church. Not wanting to be late, the woman ran to church with her apron on and the frying pan still in her hand. Little did she know that this would start a tradition that would be around for over 500 years! To get started you can begin with our basic Buttermilk Pancake Recipe and add whatever you want to it or on top of it.pancake pancakes pancake recipes pancakes recipes pancake recipe pancakes recipe recipe recipes food cooking pancake day Shrove Tuesday Tuesday Shrove tradition traditions Lent Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday The dates of Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday 2008 Feb 6 Mar 23Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965) his poem: Ash Wednesday

Chinese New Year/ Lunar New Year February 7, 2008. Lets Party 4706 Year of the Rat Always FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Groundhog Day February 2 Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just impostors Looking for answers to your Groundhog Day questions? You've come to the right spot! Click here to learn about various aspects of the Groundhog Day holiday, and how we've been celebrating it in Punxsutawney since 1886.

In the United States the tradition derives from a Scottish poem: As the light grows longer The cold grows stronger If Candlemas be fair and bright Winter will have another flight If Candlemas be cloud and snow Winter will be gone and not come again A farmer should on Candlemas day Have half his corn and half his hay On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop You can be sure of a good pea crop This tradition also stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day[3] and Groundhog Day. Candlemas, also known as the Purification of the Virgin or the Presentation, coincides with the earlier pagan observance Imbolc.

The name Punxsutawney comes from the Indian name for the location"ponksad-uteney" which means "the town of the sandflies."The name woodchuck comes from the Indian legend of "Wojak,the groundhog" considered by them to be their ancestral grandfather.

How Did the Groundhog Get a Day of His Own?

Thirty days hath September,

April, June, and November;

All the rest have thirty-one,

Excepting February alone

Which hath but twenty-eight, in fine,

Till leap year gives it twenty-nine.

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Leap year 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year Leap years are needed so that the calendar is in alignment with the earth's motion around the sun. Leap Year 2008: History & Facts ~~~~~~~

How to know if a year will be a Leap Year: Leap Years are any year that can be evenly divide by 4 (such as 2004, 2008, etc) except if it can be evenly divide by 100, then it won't be (such as 2100, 2200, etc) except if it can be evenly divide by 400, then it will be (such as 2000, 2400) WHY??????????????????????????????

Frost nucleates ~

As the sun heats the flowers it smells like someone is canning green beans.

~~~~~~~~~~~What a neat word… rolls off the tongue well…

************ Last night I “tucked” the remaining plants with old fitted bottom sheets, I find the gathering of the corners makes it easier to not only cover the plants but it tends to keep the wind from blowing the sheet away before the frost hits the sheet.

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What comes to your mind when you see this word? There is of course Robert Frost ["Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper."--Robert Frost]…his poem Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening immediately popped to my mind.

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ummm even David Frost [Sir David Paradine Frost, KBE (born 7 April 1939) is an English television presenter, famed as both a pioneer of TV satire and for a series of legendary political interviews]

*********** … Even Jack Frost [Jack Frost is an elfish creature who personifies crisp, cold, winter weather; a variant of Father Winter (AKA Old Man Winter). He is a figure some believe to have originated in Viking folklore.]

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Cecily Pike wrote a children's nursery song describing Jack Frost as a "gay little sprite" and beginning with the words "Look out! Look out! Jack Frost is about! He's after your fingers and toes!"

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Then lastly there is James Whitcomb Riley. 1853–1916 and “When the Frost is on the Punkin”…

*********************** WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock, And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock, And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens, And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence; O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best, With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest, As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock…

********************** Then there is this time of year you associate with this word as well.

********************** Of course I am referring to frost as: Frost is a solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. Then I chuckle and think Politicians… but that is another story. For sure the temperatures would be VERY different… ;)

************************* My Sweetie noted on the skylights a “fuzziness” … he was unable to see the moon clearly last night due to: Window frost (also called fern frost) forms when a glass pane is exposed to very cold air on the outside and moderately moist air on the inside. If the pane is not a good insulator (such as a single pane window), water vapour condenses on the glass forming patterns. The glass surface influences the shape of crystals, so imperfections, scratches or dust can modify the way ice nucleates. If, otherwise, indoor is very humid water would first condense in small droplets and then freeze into clear ice.

Soon

What is soon? Is it always linear? Soon is a measurement of time. What time? What measurement? Whose time and measurement? Why is it that soon seems like folded fingers…as in they all fit neatly in most instances. If that is true then when does soon get to be later? Is later a fracture waiting to heal? Is it like this? “The little reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over. “Aesop Possibly so and quite possibly this is the stress I have allowed myself to be caught up in. At any Hoot, I have re taken control. We have been under construction since the end of May. The roofer should be gone TOTALLY by Friday. Remember the light wells have to be finished. The painters have begun their cosmetic reconstruction of the house. First the Astringent ~ Then the facial masque possibly a facial nip and tuck here and there. Then the magic begins, the reclaiming of the guts. Yup guts, as clean your fingers to the bone, have that vacuum suck every last bit of plaster dust, debris and other icky stuff. I think I will so enjoy, and so NEED the re painting of our bedroom and bathroom. I feel quite sure once the workers are outta here I will flourish in my quest. I have a secret bottle of special perfume… 15-30 percent essential oil, [In my case since there has been only one female here since the end of May, I need estrogen oils. Might have to up it to 40%] See a totally on any given day here 8 men. Weekends two to three! 70-85 percent alcohol, and the remainder or at least 5 percent water. [Well this is not a party, so why not rubbing alcohol.[ Drop that down to 15% add 40% of water, good for you] the remaining 5%? My creativity? Or is that BS, as in Be Specific? HA! I am finally seeing the trees in the forest. That’s a good thing Right? Does this relate to? Can’t see the forest for the trees? An expression used of someone who is too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole: “The congressman became so involved in the wording of his bill that he couldn’t see the forest for the trees; he did not realize that the bill could never pass.” So it is and so it will be, I am already contemplating the Canada project…and that is for September. HA

Rain Glorious RAIN

Yesterday we almost got the Surprise THING up for my Sweetie BUT. We were under a tornado watch. The work halted for good reason. Today it has continued to rain, which we sorely need. The roofers were not here and it was wonderfully quiet. A much needed respite for me. As for the SURPRISE for my Sweetie, ha ha now it is too wet…maybe this weekend. Indiscriminate thoughts as the earth drinks in the sweetness…

Singing in the Rain I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain

What a glorious feeling I'm happy again

thumbs up...thumbs up (do the motion)

Creedence Clearwater Revival Have You Ever Seen The Rain? Someone told me long ago there’s a calm before the storm… Rain I opened my eyes

And looked up at the rain,

And it dripped in my head

And flowed into my brain,

And all that I hear as I lie in my bed

Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,

I walk very slow,

I can't do a handstand--

I might overflow,

So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--

I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.

Shel Silverstein