May 12, 2013 - Well, Blow Me Down!

Here we go again!


Local Radar Map
Updated May 12, 2013, 7:30pm PDT

... WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM TO 11 PM PDT MONDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PENDLETON HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM TO 11 PM PDT MONDAY.

* TIMING: THE WINDS WILL INCREASE MONDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO MONDAY EVENING.

* WINDS: WEST WINDS 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS NEARING 50 MPH.


Really?  Really?  Don't you think we've had enough?  I can't remember ever having so many severe wind storms as we've had in the past 6 months.  I've been out tying exposed tomato plants to bamboo stakes, and ran some twine around the snap peas to hold them close to the fence.  I hope the high wind gusts don't snap off my peppers!  I'll move the potted plants up close to the house.  And I'll prepare myself to deal with the pine tree mess in the front yard.....again!


Blossoms

Raspberry blossoms at dusk

Bee on raspberry blossom

Potato blossoms

Tomato blossoms

 Jalapeno pepper blossoms

Bell pepper blossom and baby pepper

Sweet Williams

Rhododendrons

Chive blossoms


Happy birthday to our son, Scott!

25 comments:

  1. Your rhodies are STUNNING......gosh, those are a beautiful color. And the sweet Williams sure are purty!!
    Sorry about all your wind. I've noticed a LOT more wind as well. We always loved it here because of the lack of wind--now it's more like Hellinois --always blowing.
    We had snow all weekend. I wasn't able to get out and do a thing. I'm glad I am able to come to your blog and see some spring.

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    1. Sue, the hot weather really took a toll on the rhodies, lilacs and chive blossoms. Usually they are all still vibrant this time of the year, but most are really fading already....the lilacs are completely finished. Those Sweet Williams are the ones I neglected to cut back this spring, so they aren't as pretty as usual. I do have one area that got done, so at least I extended the SW blooming season!

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  2. Yes I think you have had enough for a while. My chives are in bud but haven't started blooming yet.

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    1. Daphne, we usually get two or three strong windstorms a year. We've had more than that in the past 5 months.

      My chive blossoms didn't stay purple very long. They were just in full bud last week, then the temps hit the mid to high 90s and they blossomed and faded almost overnight.

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  3. We will get your hot temp from last week here on Tuesday. We're expecting 95+ degrees! This weather is weird.

    Happy birthday Scott. You need to help Granny more so you can have an entire post about you rather than just a footnote. :)

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    1. Langela, we're supposed to get your cool weather when you get our heat. It's supposed to drop to the 70s, but it was supposed to be 86 yesterday and it beat that temp by 10 degrees.

      We took Scott (and his family) to dinner last night, for his birthday. He's a better eater than he is a worker, LOL!

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  4. Hopefully you don't get too much damage from the wind. We have winds today and frost tonight here in New Hampshire...not too great for the apple blossoms.

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    1. Karen, I saw the winter freeze warning for the NE. It seems as though we just can't get the weird weather under control this year. Our frost worries are past, but we've lost a lot of big trees in our area with our recent high winds, so when we're expecting those 50-60 MPH gusts I worry about our three tall pines. If they ever go down, it will be on our house! Our next door neighbor lost all three of hers in December. Luckily they missed houses and only demolished fences. We lost our huge maple tree, in July 2008, in a 60 MPH gust of wind. We also lost the shade it provided, but I gained a garden spot!

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  5. Never an end to the weird weather this Spring! Hang on tight!

    One thing I miss from the Northwest are rhodys and azaleas. They don't grow much around here. We are getting 4 days this week of sun and mid to upper 80s, then back to cooler and wetter again.

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    1. Ray, these rhodies grow like gangbusters on the north side of our house. I try to keep them pruned down to a manageable size (meaning not completely covering up the windows behind them). The darker pink one, on the left, always has dark green leaves and looks so healthy, the lighter pink has sickly leaves, even though it gets rhodie fertilizer, but the blossoms are still always spectacular. Our forecast is for 70s for the next ten days! Sounds good to me, as long as the wind doesn't blow.

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  6. Keep everything (and everyone) firmly anchored! I am off from work today and am hoping to get some chores done in the garden before this system rolls through.

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    1. Kitsap, we actually have a 60% chance of getting some of your rain today! I'm sure the farmers would love it, as we've only had 1.26" since Jan. 1.

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  7. We get a lot of wind out here too - especially the hot dry wind that the plants just hate. I've spend many a night at 3 am woken by the crash of pots or a greenhouse shelf out there in my robe trying to keep plants from tumbleweeding down the street LOL

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  8. PS i just ordered sweet william online and if it is half as pretty as yours I will be a happy camper

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    1. Copper Diem, my Sweet Williams came from a 20-cent packet of American seeds that I started back in the spring of 2010. They usually don't bloom until late May or early June, and they are really pretty if I cut them back nearly to the ground in early to mid March. Those I cut back this spring are just now putting out their flower stalks, and the leaves are shorter, thicker and green all the way to the ground. Those in the picture didn't get cut back, and the bottom leaves are kind of brown and not pretty, but it sure didn't hurt the flowers themselves.

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  9. I hear you about the wind. I cannot remember having a windy May like this in a very long time!! Love your pictures everything looks great!!

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    1. Mrs. P, at least I didn't have snow on the ground in May! Are you getting close to being able to plant your seedlings out? Oh, I see you just posted about them. It's good Mr. P. got them put back into their cells, and the really look pretty good considering what they went through! I just planted out some tiny broccoli and cabbages that didn't even have their true leaves, as I wanted to take advantage of the cooler, cloudy weather we're supposed to have for the next few days. There were some HUGE pill bugs in the garden though, so I suppose they'll eat the baby plants.

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  10. I have so missed reading my garden blogs especially yours!!

    We have had lots of wind and rain in our area and roller coaster temperatures!

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    1. Debbie, oit's so nice to see you back! I was surprised when your blog post popped up a few minutes ago, you've been gone way too long.

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  11. I just discovered your blog and am glad to hear I am not the only gardener dealing with some crazy weather... in Northeast Ohio we are under a frost warning tonight! All of your blossom pictures are so pretty - looking forward to having my own soon! - Jennifer

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    1. Jennifer, good luck with your garden tonight! Your peas will be fine, but cover those cucumbers! Where did you get my garden owl, LOL! Does yours say "Hooo-hoooo" when it detects motion? I had to turn mine off, it was driving me crazy :-)

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    2. Oh my gosh, I've never even seen a talking one! Our owl is silent but seems to do a great job just the same :)

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    3. My owl would hoo-hooo every time the wind blew, so this year he was extremely annoying! I am thankful he has an on/off switch :-) He hangs from a shepherd's hook and guards my peas, doing a good job of keeping the sparrows from decapitating them.

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  12. Things are coming along nicely in your garden. I planted onions this year, and they're getting lonely since they're the only veggies in the garden. We had our last frost last week, so I hope to spend this week-end planting out.

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    1. Rhonda, I keep thinking my garden is behind previous years, then I look back and it really isn't. Some things are (carrots, onions, raspberries), but some things are way ahead (strawberries, potatoes). I'm spending most of my garden time re-planting, thanks to the insect damage this year.

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