Words from a Wise Old Owl, but not a Garden Owl Today.

All that to say that I am way Off Topic today. I just re-read a note written to me by my Dad some time in the 1980's when I was struggling to get on my feet financially and otherwise. This is 2011 and my situation has changed....how????  So this morning I visited the Basement Archive of Very Important Stuff  ("VIS") that resides in my allegedly fireproof, waterproof & burglar-proof box.  I was in search of - something -  can't remember what because I got sidetracked by Dad's note lying on top of the VIS.  Every time I come across this note I remind myself that this may be a good day for a Reset or at least a Reaffirmation (not the kind one enters into following a personal bankruptcy) of my so-called business plan. I tend to get off course.  

Leonard E. White, my father, was a lot smarter than I, despite having  completed only an elementary school education in a 1-room country school and to the best of my knowledge, only a couple years of high school at Leadwood, Missouri, some distance from his home town.  The need to go out into the world and make a living has wreaked havoc on the higher education of many generations of  our nation's young people, has it not?  So off to the big city he moved and found work, then attended evening classes at  McKinley High School in South St. Louis. Somewhere along the way he completed a course in Penmanship.  That is something that would have benefitted the rest of his family, and I am not talking about only the older generations. Having taught myself to type while in 3rd grade, by the time I began my Freshman year at Cleveland High School a teacher threatened to flunk me if I ever had the nerve to submit anything other than typewritten work in her class.  Oh dear, did I digress again? 

Although part of the note refers to a job I never got, despite having worked at the same company in the 1960's,  I feel that Dad really didn't want me back at that place anyway.  Reading between the lines is one of my skills!  Nevertheless, he spoke encouragingly, regardless of how misplaced my aspirations may have been...were.

OK, here it is:

     “Suggest you work on the theory of seeing the Bear Thing
       all the way through. Let come what may. 
       Expect things to Work Out and they will.    

       Don’t push for the Laclede Job. I feel that they will
       take more time. Why I don’t know.
       You will probably get it.

       Keep eggs in more than one basket and Prosper. ”


Now I am off to plan my future Marilin's Bears, make a few Bags and keep the faith that Spring 2001   2011 WILL ARRIVE and produce more Blooms...and  maybe I shall have some lunch.  Talk to you Next Time.

1974 Garden Notes – May 2 through May 12

Note:  Upon the advice of my daughter, Dyeabolical Rachel, I have decided to limit my garden posts to a week per post – after this one– I can’t go cold turkey.  I am beginning where I left off and ending at the natural stopping point – May 12, 1974 - where Mary Bollman wrote: “this book is now caught up….” I admit I don’t understand the rest of that sentence, but it does confirm that there were more notebooks than the one I have.

 To borrow a phrase from Mrs. Bollman, today is a “lovely cool day”. Temp presently 23° at 2:00 on a Sunday afternoon, snow off and on all day and nowhere I absolutely must go. so by me this is automatically a lovely cool day.  Way cool.

We re-join Mary and Otto Bollman on May 2, 1974.  Still not a huge amount of gardening going on, but things are starting to stir. I am more than a little envious that they have already eaten their first strawberries and I am remembering the homegrown s’berries I got from a local farmer’s market last Spring.  Best berries by far that I have ever tasted.  However, they were fully ripe and I had to eat them all before they got squishy, darn it. And go back for more.

On the May 4 entry, do I detect a “Finally things are back to normal” note in Mrs. Bollman’s voice as she writes “so thankfully they [the 3^rd floor dormer windows] are fixed”.  At a total cost of $36.41, window replacement falls into the same category as homegrown strawberries – I am now beyond envious.

You may have already noticed that most of the Bollmans’ friends and associates have the same first names – “Mr.” or “Mrs.”  You can be sure that when someone is referred to in the notebook by first name, that person is (a) a family member or (b) a very very close friend, most likely someone from church.

So that brings me to one of my personal pet peeves.  Those of you who know me personally are aware than I seldom keep those to myself. Therefore, feel free to skip ahead to the garden notes because I am about to express my opinion of the modern method of addressing every stranger – and the stranger the better - by first name - or worse. 

For instance, let us consider the hospital recovery room.  It seems to me that recovery room personnel have been trained to awaken a patient by screaming in his/her face, like so: “MARILIN, ARE YOU AWAKE?”  If this happens to you, bear in mind that the only way you could articulate an answer is if the drugs they administered during surgery did not work. But silently, inside your head you will be saying "I came in here for a tonsillectomy and now I'm having a heart attack". One notable exception was a recovery room of a hospital that, subsequent to my surgery, shut down, relocated and re-named itself . Not My Fault, by the way.  I awoke from surgery to a scene so peaceful, so quiet, the lighting so subdued, that I knew I was not in a hospital, knew I was not at home (too clean) and when I was finally approached by an angelic person speaking my name in hushed tones I figured oh well, I must have had a peaceful passing.  It did throw me a little that the angel was offering me morphine and I was – audibly - telling her don’t forget the anti-nausea stuff on the side, as the doc promised.  I’m not a recovery room frequent flier, but I believe this scenario is rare.

For now I will spare you [the entirety of] my thoughts on the sales and checkout clerks – I mean associates – at my local branch of a large pet food chain.The Dumb Pets Store let’s call it.  "How are you today, HON? Did you find everything you were looking for SWEETIE?  “How many cats do you have? What are their names? How old are they?” Who are these people, undercover Animal Control agents or something?

Well, I digress.  Let The Good Compost Roll ……which reminds me…did you know that those empty plastic kitty litter containers will carry just enough compost from the free compost heap at the park?  Just enough that your back doesn’t actually break, as you think it will when you lift it, I mean.  And yet, not enough that you won’t return with more buckets. Well, it is free!  Probably just a freak occurrence that after many such return trips last Spring I needed surgery to repair torn cartilage in my knee.

Thursday, May 2^nd  - Temp 55 - 61

Cloudy and rainy all day.  Started out at 9:00 AM to get estimate on car but it rained before we got to Grand Ave. so we came home. Cleaned windows in bedroom and put up clean curtains. Packed away some winter things & wool comfort. Otto cleaned some onions and set out some Mums.  Phil called about 7:30 p.m. They arrived from Texas on Tues., April 30, 1974.

Friday, May 3rd  - Temp 45 – 69

Lovely cool day. Mr. Len Stocker came to measure window panes for 3^rd floor. Went shopping and Phil & Bill came while gone. Bro’t us real grapefruit & Mexican cookies. Mr. Scholz came after dinner for mums. We washed front room windows and put up summer curtains.

Saturday, May 4^th – Temp 42 – 68

Mowed the lawn.  Mr. Stocker came and put in window panes in dormer 3^rd floor & inspected them, so thankfully they are fixed.  Cost: $36.41. Went shopping, cut up pork butt and peeled apples A lovely day.

Sunday, May 5^th – Temp 51 - 73

Ideal day. Shirley, Anna & Adele took Otto and me to Edwardsville, Illinois to attend Ella’s funeral. We were invited to come back to church to eat because the ladies had all the food fixed. We were thankful we could be there with our friends. Got back around 4:30.  Shirley’s a very good driver. 

Monday, May 6^th – Temp 44 – 61

Went to Sunset Hills to get our damage estimated. Settled right away. On way home we stopped at Liberty and at Tom Pigg for potatoes, 10 for $1.70. Came home tired.

Tuesday, May 7th – Temp 39 – 68

Lovely day. Worked outside all day.  Planted cabbage, dahlia roots and tube roses. We had our first strawberries & picked a few more. Otto cleaned the Salvia bed under Mimosa tree and it rained softly after dark.

Wednesday, May 8^th – Temp 57 – 71

A lovely cool day and windy. Otto set out 5 Salvia plants on compost pile and plowed the onions. I dug up a lot of day lilies and planted Begonias. Otto dug and pulled weeks out of Black Raspberries and we picked flowers for Association luncheon.  They thanked us for them.

Thursday, May 9^th – Temp 46 – 59

Otto took me to Association luncheon with the flowers. Otto finished Salvia bed and daisy bed., lots of things around beds. A lovely cool day to work and cloudy.

Friday, May 10^th – Temp 43 – 69

A little shower this a.m. Went shopping at Schnucks & Fairlane. Betty & Jennifer came over for awhile.  Later, cleaned house.

Saturday, May 11^th – Temp 61 – 70

Rained most of the day. Otto set out a few yellow mums. Got lettuce [seed? Illegible].  Baked bread, Cake and fixed a pie to bake early Sunday morning before breakfast.

Sunday, May 12^th Mother’s Day – Temp 49 – 72

A breezy day. Phil & Bill & Ruth were here for dinner. Hadn’t seen each other for a long time as they first came back from Texas. Enjoyed the day. We attended church and took some pictures, or Bill did on their camera. This book is now caught up with all the weather that was started in new book.

1974 Garden Notes, March 23 - May 2

And so we begin…the year was 1974 and we join Mary and Otto Bollman on March 23.  Not much gardening going on until April, but there is a little prep work and a big storm on April 3.  And on THAT subject,  conservative, understated Mary has this to say "What a Day!"  


I will post the garden notes in dribs and drabs, some probably more dribbly and drab than others - as I get them done.  I have said it before and I will say it again - Stay Tuned.

Saturday, March 23rd – Temp 12° – High 32°
A very cold, snowy day. 6" by 5 PM. Shoveled a path all around and cleaned off the car. The 3rd day of spring. Otto picked pecan goodies(?). Mary cleaned. Started snowing 10 AM, still snowing at 7PM after it stopped for awhile. Temp above 32° after midnite and 12° at 10 PM. 16° & 18° most of day. Lovely day of snow and think everything is frozen is the worst, but God knows what is good for us. Let's be content.

Sunday, March 24th – Temp 3°◦above, High 24°.
Sunny A.M. Didn't go to church. Otto shoveled some snow. Watered flowers and keeping warm.

Monday, March 25th – Temp 12°, High 42°
Mostly sunny and chilly. Seems pears and peaches are all frozen. Otto shoveled snow off bricks. We both feel badly about fruit being frozen.

Tuesday, March 26th – Temp 33° - 63°
Bright and sunny. Otto cut off hydrangeas and inspected the fruit and mostly frozen.. Mary dusted the walls, fixed chicken for freezer and other things around the house.

Wednesday, March 27th – Temp 38° - 71°
Nice day. Cut down tree in hedge on wall. Trimmed Black Raspberry. Mostly froze.

Thursday, March 28 - Temp 53° - High 78°
Went shopping after onion plants. Came home & planted the onions, carrots and beets. Baked coffee cake and it rained hard after our evening snack.


Thursday, March 29 –Temp 54° and 72°
….clouded up and rained and hailed a little. Rained hard at 6:45 pm. Blowing hard at times with the sun shining.

Saturday March 29 – Temp 41° - 63°
Otto tied up scarecrow as the wind blew so hard. Otto replanted the peas and hoed the onions from Holland.

Sunday, March 31st – Temp 38° - 69°
Wind was pretty strong. Went to church. Stayed for coffee hour. Mrs. Stewart at the corner store died last night. We stayed in the rest of the day.

Monday, April 1st – Temp 56° - 79°
Partly cloudy. We washed and hung outside and it rained about 1:30 PM. Otto dug weeds out of lettuce and I hoed. He and I cleaned our bed. Turned mattress. Got cooler by evening, down to 52◦. I patched a little and we were glad to put the wool comfort on again.

Tuesday, April 2nd – Temp [missing]
Sunny and Windy. Otto and I were outside all day. I took out for awhile and Mrs. White & I went to Kutis Undertaking Parlor to pay respects to the Stewarts. Came home, ate lunch and out again cleaning and trimming. Otto mowed the lawn for the first time and I helped a little. Used the new lawn mower for the first time. Worked OK.
Saw first Martin.

Wednesday, April 3rd – Temp 54° - 78° to 22° at 6 PM
What a Day! Rained around 5AM. After breakfast Otto & I got out cleaning and put up long flower box. After dinner had warning of thundershowers, and we really had it. Largest hail we ever seen. Strong winds broke 7 storm windows, 6 panes of glass on 3rd floor dormer window, cut a screen, ruined awning. The glass sounded terrible. Then earthquake sighted at 6:30 pm while eating. Sun is shining.

Thursday, April 5th – Temp 38° High 55°midnite
A.M. we picked up glass partly. Talked to insurance about damage. Roofing man from Nationwide came out. Was cold and windy around 40° all day. Bud Wilson came as emergency patch up on roof. Put $10.00 down.

Friday, April 5th – Temp 34° - 48°
Chilly all day. Men came and put on emergency patch on the roof at noon.

Saturday, April 6th – Temp 30° - 63°
Mostly sunny. We raked & cleaned this PM and Otto did this AM. Cut up peach branches, pulled up old turnips and cut off dead Red Rasp. Baked bread, etc.

Sunday, April 7th – Palm Sunday – Temp 47° - 57°
Went to church. It rained lightly most of day. We stayed home. Enjoyed it. Went upstairs to see Mrs. White. Ruth was there.

Monday, April 8th – Temp 35° - 47°
Rained lightly most of night and this AM went after bread in the rain. Came home and looked around and a lot of emergency patch on roof fell off during the nite. Kept us busy calling here & there to Ins. Co. etc. Sun came out in evening and got warmer but may frost. Made cushion. Otto fixed my heels.

Tuesday, April 9th – Temp 27° - 60°
Lovely day & sunny. Otto trimmed a lot over the hill & corner. I went down PM and mowed at the curb. Travelers came to look over roof.


Wednesday, April 10th - Temp 41° - 70°
Windy in spurts. Cleaned alley and Otto hoed weeds out of rasp. 6PM looks like rain again. Went to 3rd floor, nailed more over broken panes.

Thursday, April 11th - Temp 54° - 70°
Quite windy all day. Got out and hoed weeds, onions, etc. Cleaned ice box, waited for Ins. Man didn't come from construction co. Came in early. Rained after 6:30 PM.

Friday, April 12th – Good Friday – Temp 60° to 79°
Sunny & Windy. Took pictures of our amaryllis. [insurance man, roofer, painter came for estimate] Went to church at 7:30.

Saturday, April 13th - Temp 57° - 80°
Windy & Sunny. Otto sawed the peach limb off of south tree. Baked a cake, cleaned things in ice box and around house. Otto and I were outside PM, trimmed berries and hoed. Had tornado warnings & thundershowers until 10 PM.

Sunday, April 14th - Easter - Temp 68° midnite – High 45
Went to Easter services. Good music and sermon. Breezy and quite cool all day. Went up to 3rd floor to check on covering for broken panes.

Monday, April 15th - Temp 43° - 62°
Mostly sunny. Lovely. We washed and hung outside, planted Canna roots, hoed weeds. The roofer called and said they would be here. Nobody showed up.

Tuesday, April 16th - Temp 35° - 57°
Rained most of day. After the rain we got outside, put up Birdhouses with Mr. Hardy's help. Dug up peach trees for Mr. Walker. Cleaned alley. Looked around in the wet grass.

Wednesday, April 17th - Temp 35° - 66°
Beautiful sunny day. Mary went to Holy Cross luncheon, Otto planted beans in S.W. corner. We mowed the lawn. Looks really nice after taking the grass off. Heard from Nationwide Roof Co. We will have a new roof soon we hope.

Thursday, April 18 – Temp 49° - 74°
Mostly sunny. Mowed all around outside and trimmed dead rose limbs. Cut saplings. Otto hoed peas and onions. Came in 5 PM, called it a day.

Friday, April 19 – Temp 52° - 83°
Lovely day. Otto hoed and I washed bathroom windows, let in a little fresh air.

Saturday, April 20 – Temp 54° - 83°
Sunny & warm. We did this and that around the house. Margaret Olliger came while I was baking a coffee cake. We had coffee & cake. Enjoyed her visit.


Sunday April 21 – Temp 57° - 69°
Lovely & a little cool. Otto and I set out geranium plants from coal chute. Set out a few begonias in box under plum tree. Otto staked the peas. Went shopping for bread, ice cream & cake.
Ate first radishes.

Tuesday, April 23 – Temp 43° - 57°
Lovely cool sunny day. Otto dug a lot of dirt for Salvia bed A.M. After dinner mowed lawn & all around outside. Brought up all the geraniums to get used to outside. Also took the plants out of windows to get used to outside so they could be set in ground or window boxes.

Wednesday, April 24th – Temp 35° - 60°at 5:30 PM
Quite cool all day. Set out cabbage, geraniums. Cut dead wood from raspberries and hoed around. Washed windows, fixed leak in upstairs bathroom. Kids got into our yard.


Thursday, April 25th - Temp 40° - 75°
Lovely cool day mostly. Took down scarecrow, planted parsley the kids upset. Otto changed snow tires, cleaned rose bed. Trimmed dead limbs out of honeysuckle. Set a few hen and chicks into container, etc.

Friday, April 25th - Temp 54° - 84°
Lovely day. Picked and washed lettuce, onions and radishes. Otto took me to Circle #4 chicken supper and parish picnic by Helen Becker. Otto came after me at 9 o'clock.

Saturday, April 27th - Temp 54° - 87°
Otto set out tomato plants and did things inside. PM put out Peruvian Daffodils N.W. corner of yard. Had a fire at Old Carrothers house about 7:30. House condemned. No one at home.

Sunday, April 28th – Temp 66° - 83°
Raining as we awoke and quit before we went to church. Nice all day. Sat outside and enjoyed the fresh air.

Monday, April 29th - Temp 66° - 74°
Mostly cloudy. Washed and hung inside AM. Otto hoed a lot of weeds. I planted a lot of Peruvian daffodils in round beds. Washed the car to get ready for estimate on car for hail damage April 30th at 9 AM. Otto cleaned around geraniums and Red Raspberries. I spaded a bit in Red Raspberries.

Tuesday, April 30th – Temp 59 – 65
Rained AM. Otto planted yellow and Italian tomatoes, also sweet peppers. Also planted Dahlia and Aramanthus seed.
Picked our first Strawberries. Bird picked. Ha!
Charlyne called and told Otto that she is getting married May 3. Wasn't surprised.

Wednesday, May 1st - Temp 45 – 72
Lovely, partly cloudy. Otto planted more tomatoes, pole beans, cucumbers and corn. Mowed around outside.
Cultivated carrots & beets.
Good Day.

A New Year, A New Blog

BEAR in mind that this is above all a WIP - for the dinosaurs amongst you, of which I am one - that is a Work In Progress, not a character on one of the two remaining CBS Soaps. I will not promise a post-a day, but I do promise to begin this WIP with Notes from the Bollmans' Garden.  Mary and Otto were my parents' landlords for many years. Although city dwellers, they managed to create a lush, thriving, productive thing of beauty out of city dirt. When/If I get a scanner I will upload the few surviving photos.These are  funky 70's photos - that means the colors don't look so good - but you can still appreciate the labor of love that was the Bollmans' Garden. The Bollmans passed away leaving no  heirs and their estate was administered by a bank executive who was kind enough to pass a few of their personal items on to my parents. Among their possessions was a handwritten spiral-bound notebook that doubled as a diary/gardening journal covering the period  March 4, 1974 through March 5, 1979.

Regrettably, this is the only notebook I have, but I suspect that there were many such journals kept throughout their lifetimes. Some of the entries, some entire pages, were written in red or green ink, and all the pages are 2-sided. The handwriting is small-ish and fills up every line.These were frugal people, nothing wasted, not even a half-line of a notebook.  I originally intended to photocopy the whole thing or have it scanned but decided it would be time and money wasted due to all of the above. Or perhaps frugality is  running rampant around here. 

 I will give you a break and exclude (most) mundane things such as"Bernice called this evening and we talked awhile".  And yet...the farther I got into this notebook, the more relevant, interesting, even charming the mundane became. For example, while typing the  notes immediately following The Big Storm of April 3, 1974, most of which were about repairmen and insurance, I  found myself reading ahead and muttering "well, what about that 3rd floor dormer window?" and "did that roofer ever show up or what?"  So you are getting a bit of Way Off Topic stuff here.  No reason, other than I like it, so humor me.

I have kept the notes in the chronological order in which they were written . It may be have been easier for you to follow had I sorted them  into a format that would include all the years for each month. Nevertheless, I decided to keep it as written and preserve the integrity of the journal.  That's Antiques Roadshow talk for "it's easier to leave it alone". Anyway, I figure that if on January 8, 1976, when the temperature ranged from 7 below to 7 above zero, Mary could manage to "set out quite a few begonias & some purple leafy plants" you guys can figure out how to follow this blog. 

  Mr. and Mrs. Bollman were elderly at the time of this journal and it may have been their final one, but in any event it is the only one I have. When it turned up after 14 years of having been - not lost but misplaced in a desk drawer – stupid place to put it,  I was elated. 

I hope my readers will find some of this useful, particularly those who live and garden in and around St. Louis, Missouri. As a gardening WIP myself, I plan to follow the Bollmans' planting and harvesting timeline because I know it was created by people who knew what they were doing. Mrs. Bollman recorded every day's high and low temperatures and weather conditions. In St. Louis there are no guarantees that similar weather conditions will ever prevail on the same date, or the same month, of any given year.  Nevertheless, it cannot hurt to learn what a couple of seasoned, and did I mention frugal, city gardeners did with their city dirt.

As for Bears and Bags, I am getting to that.  Stay tuned.  Meanwhile, you can see my Murray Bear and a few of my sock bags at  Dyeabolical Yarns