Category: Trella Diaries

Thursday, July 30, 2009
Dow Jones 9154
70 sunny
Seepage from refrigerator prompted a house cleaning of it involving Royce. Jim Carpenter & me for almost 2 hrs. Got reid of of outdated and spoiled food & a good washing.
Jim set out plants from Gale along top of new timber wall – monkey flower and cardinal flower – and the coleus that rooted in water by the patio. Paid Royce $60 & Jim $50.
Computer screen full of Facebook messages. I prefer email.
Jim & I rested in gazebo and he said “If I lived here this is where I would sleep.”

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
.3” rain
New grass germinated all green since yesterday.
Gale left hearty plants of monkey flower & red lobelias.
Housekeeping all morning anticipating David’s arrival – email about 4:00 – not coming – maybe Friday.
Email from Dave Matyac – Major repair to their Victorian house – roof – eaves – carriage house. Sent me Dispatch column by Switzer & Fry.
Bill Russell of Johnson Property Services came about 6:00 to evaluate lawn – Will do a fertilizing & seeding now $40 for upper lawns – 19-6-2 – high nitrogen. Is analyzing dead grass areas. Told him about Marion Landscaping.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009
85 sunny
Couldn’t sleep until 5:00 AM so slept until 10:30.
Wrote letter to Tommy Hemmerly about color of the flowers of Echinacea Tennesseensis- saw deep pink ones at Guy Denny’s but I thought Tommy showed me greenish white ones in Cedar Glades (no – it was pink!)
Wrote to Gary Iams explaining my involvement in saving the campus prairie from being plowed to plant corn (Dean Hazard’s plan) by giving $5,000 to establish fund to preserve prairie. Also sent him the one I had started for Karen Ream.
Email from Dave Decker with many photos of International Caving Convention in Texas.
No pep to go to Friends of Prairie Parks meeting or meeting of Garden Club – Speaker – O’Donnel on Honey Bees disappearance in Ohio – And what about mosiquitos, butterflies and lightning bugs? I’m concerned. Did see a red spotted purple butterfly & a yellow billed cuckoo at Terradise today.

Monday, July 27, 2009
Dow Jones 9108
82
.6’ rain last night
Tracy of Johnson Property Services came at 1:00 with statement for work. Paid $13,338 (the estimate was $14,580!) She made sure everything was ok’d by me. I took her on the promised golf cart ride into the woods & across road.
She is the ‘Project Manager’ – has her BS degree in Landscape Management from Purdue and a Masters in Financial Management. Eric & Sharon Johnson are retired. Told Tracy to tell Sharon that Dianne is interested in the business network.
Long email from Laurie Haldeman about a son of Henry Haldeman not otherwise documented.

Sunday, July 26, 2009
83 sunny
Gale & her new husband Dan Grau, came about 1:30 with their big red pickup truck – Loaded the Johnson Property Services timbers and also the ones across the road left from raised beds (dismantled) – also cleaned out pots from under greenhouse benches.
Started mowing along road after they left and got tractor stuck in a hole. Hobbled back to the house & later Mike Lyon came to the door and teased me saying ‘I found a John Deere tractor someone abandoned along the road and I brought it here thinking you could use it.’ He and LaDonna are hosting a family reunion today – Grandson from England. I spent from 3:00 to 5:00 mowing across road and lower lawn. Leftover supper from Carpenters.
PBS program on disappearance of honey bees world wide. No substitute for bee pollination. IAPV virus may be culprit in Australian bees. But a combination of factors – 20 or 30 year problem. ? of food pollinated by honey bees. If continued, no bees by 2033.

Saturday, July 25, 2009
.3” rain
Send Karen’s Card
At 9:15 to Guy Denny’s 20 acres of planted prairie on SR 95 at the Morrow-Knox Co. line. Gale met me at my car & to the tent for the catered bfst served on China plates – Omelets made to order & flipped by the chefs. Guy so welcoming and Keith Dimhoff Ohio Environmental Council director (sponsor of the event) sat with us to eat. When the tour started I opted to drive the perimeter – amazingly few weeds! Gale showed me an electric pink (red echinacea that she identified as Tennesseeensis, but when Tommy Hemmerly showed me his specimens they were a greenish white (His doctoral dissertation).
Stopped to check in on the Moshers – Had heard Ruth was in rest Home – house for sale, etc. But Charlie was eating on the deck and greeted me with a hug – unshaven and had lost weight. Ruth with Andrea in Ky visiting their grandson! Told me of his foot injury – stepped on prongs of a fence post – blood poisoning – 2 weeks in hosp. We reminisced & exchanged compliments. Told me how much my visit meant. Tried to take a short cut back to Rt. 95 but missed a turn & drove an extra 20 miles.
At Resource Center at 1:30 & Jim Carpenter waiting for me. Wrote “Interview with Charles Mosher”* & then couldn’t print it! So Jim will put on flash drive & email me. Invited to Carpenters for supper of fresh corn off the cob, green beans & red potatoes, slices of ham & ice cream. Home at 6:00.

[* https://terradisebooks.com/wp-content/uploads/Interview-with-Charles-Mosher-final.pdf ]

 

Friday, July 24, 2009
.2” rain
Perm at La Salon of Styling at 9:30 – Drove by Fairgrounds prairie – no weeds! Gray-headed Coneflower – Purple Coneflower, Cassia. Stopped at Hemmerly’s & told Dianne of the network of 35 business owners in Marion that Johns Property Services women will call on her – She seemed open to it. Cashed check for $200 for current expenses. To Meijer – Paid bill $336. Grocery shopped for sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes and bananas. Took a nap – call from Tracy at Johnson’s – will come to Terradise Monday with bill. Leftovers for supper.

Thursday, July 23, 2009
Bfst with David. Gave him a check for $1,000. Says it will pay half of Susannah’s second half tuition.
Cleaned areas around greenhouse door. He put barrel cactus carcass in trash barrel. Mixed pitting souil. He filled a plasic tray with boxwood cuttings dipped in Rootone up from lower lawn & piled them by driveway wall for Gale & Dan to pick up. Relaid t he stone walk under the star magnolia. Mulched with Johnson Property Services top soil. Used Roundup on patio.
Crew used a truckload of top soil to fill in over gravel behind walls & patio timbers. Cut bricks to finish top walk to river & tie it into steps to gazebo deck. Blew dirt from driveway & swept patio – Penn Mulch on top of topsoil and grass seed on all areas torn up by Bobcat. Asked for my OK to sign. Left at 5:30 – David left about 2:30.
Call from David saying Susannah will not come to Terradise tonight. Good thing I hadn’t made a special dinner – For me I had leftovers.
Left message for Gale telling her to pick up timbers.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Slow rain all day .6″
Workers came with 2 trucks but wet day so they left.
I sorted my material on prairie conferences & started writing article for Gary Iams of OSUM on my $5,000 contribution for the campus prairie.
David arrived about 4:30. Took a golf cart ride over all 6 acres & 2 acres across road. Found a pink Royal Catchfly in the Gale prairie across road. Burr Oak is about 4 ft. hight but not healthy. Kensel Clutter planted 6 about 6 years ago, but only one survived. Cup plant is spreading from one first spotted along river about 5 yrs ago.
Drive to TNP & David estimated hackberry tree is 90 yrs old. Picked up pizza for supper. Made a salad of lettuce from alopng patio & first tomato [sic]
To attic to get some old magazines to read – David brought down 1950’s Amazing Stories.
Update on TerraPro – no sales from this year’s convention but lots of prospective buyers waiting.
The Cactus Pear Octet [actually the Bone Voyage Jazz Band Sextet] pays each member $50 a week ‘grocery money he says. Using home equity! – He will start Social Security next month – age 64. $1500 a month.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Big Shots from Johnson Property Services – Eric? – to inspect work – Jim Carpenter persuaded them to cover gravel – I had picked him up at his mother’s house at 1:00 – All timbers laid along patio & backed by gravel to push against bricks.
Jim dug Variegated Solomon’s Seal from around Queen Elizabeth Rose bush & dug shredded banana peel around it. He hung all the aerial views of Terradise in the guest bedroom. He weeded he mailbox bed. Too hot – offered him supper – ‘not hungry’. To Meijer for him to grocery shop & get bananas for me. He pumped gas for Prius $2.35 gal & filled his gas can on my Meijer credit card. Took him home by 6:30 & to HH. So tired I couldn’t participate and couldn’t hear. Picked up 2 bricks to take to Glen Gery to match to complete wall buy east door. Home by 8:15 & Susannah was eating the left over lasagna by the computer.
Gas smell very noticeable – Meant to call company but forgot it. Grass is grown around the hole they marked with yellow flag.