First Interior Installation

I will be installing my first interior plants tomorrow (Friday) at a restaurant here in Bloomington. It took a little longer than expected to get all the plants potted up tonight... and of course there were a couple little "problems" (Isn't there always?). My containers and sub-irrigation kits came in yesterday and I failed to verify every little piece that should have been included... five of my sub-irrigation kits were missing pieces:( I called a friend who also has an interiorscape business and he is checking first thing in the morning to see if he has the pieces that I need.

But, aside from the little issues to be worked out... I'm pleased with the plants and containers. I purchased several new containers and will be using a few of theirs. I'll hopefully convince them to replace the remaining containers over the next couple of months.

Exterior work will start to really pick up next week... I got rained out Wednesday, but hopefully will be able to make up the time on Saturday. I'm going to be making a bid in the next week on a renovation of a small in-home atrium. It's something out of the ordinary, which is why I'm attracted to it. The home was built about 25-years ago and the atrium was original with the house... it's kind of the centerpiece of the home, I guess you could say. The current homeowners purchased the house about 6-months ago... they've put some work into other areas of the home and now want to restore the atrium to more of a lush tropical look it probably once had.

TAXES ARE DUE IN TWO WEEKS!! Guess I should finish them up and see how bad it looks for us :( I'll probably work on them this weekend. HOW FUN!!

Chickadees Nesting!!

All winter we've had a Chickadee "couple" that would come and go in our backyard. I had heard them in the past in some bushes along a neighbor's yard, but had rarely seen them. They're probably my favorite bird, reminding me of the house I grew up in that was built next to a wooded area. I remember seeing them a lot and always loved hearing them and seeing how they were always in pairs.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I was looking out our kitchen window and I saw them around the pond again, which is where they are usually. I saw a clump of debris in the beak of one of them, then he worked his way up our lilac like he was hopping up stairs then leaped into a wren box that I made about 3 years ago. We've never had an "occupant" in that house and I'm THRILLED that Chickadees are getting use out of it.

I quickly went and got Savannah because that house was made for her. Andrew's house, on the other side of the backyard, has had house wrens nesting in it each year since I put it out three years ago. However, last year they didn't choose it as their summer home. The male put a lot of work into preparing the house, but the female chose another location instead.

As I'm typing this post the male chickadee has started working again... the female sits in the lilac bush watching as he makes several trips in and out with nesting material. Every once in awhile I'll see her dart into the house to check out his progress.

I just looked out and now I have a thrush working around under the lilac... good year for birding in our backyard so far!! Warblers will be arriving soon :) I've promised Andrew and Savannah that I would take each of them (separately) bird watching with me this spring... I've shown them pictures of the more common migrating birds I've seen in years past and they're excited about maybe seeing them.

The other night, on my nightly walk with Bella, we were walking through Illinois Wesleyan's campus and I saw something in a tree just over where we were walking... as I focused in I realized it was a brown screech owl (much smaller than I was expecting). It was no more than 4 to 5-feet from me staring at Bella and I. He seemed satisfied to just sit and watch us. I was hoping to get another look at him when we came back around the quad, but he was gone.

I did some pond work on Tuesday... I installed a skimmer to house the pump/filter. I had been wanting to get it out of the pond to allow for better water circulation and give the fish more room in the deep end of the pond where the waterfall is. However, in the process of this I lost my larger fish... I had to reduce the pond level down quite low and I stirred up the "yuck" at the bottom of the pond. I'm sure the oxygen level dropped considerably... I saw the fish surfacing quite often to "grab" some good air. I lost two of my larger ones that night and three more Wednesday (plus a couple of small ones). The water has now cleared and appears to have stabilized. We had several fish, so it's not a great loss, but I just hate to be the cause of their fatality.

We already had sitings of our frog this week, too. He appeared on Monday (I think). With the warmer weather we've been having I assumed he would appear soon. He's probably not very happy with me, though. In moving the waterfall pump I had to take apart some of the waterfall... his "hiding place" was behind the rocks of the waterfall. I put it back together, but there isn't a hiding place anymore since the pump/tubing is gone. Hopefully he won't go to our neighbor's pond in disgust.

Sick Doggie

Bella had her first visit to see Dr Torry today (our vet). It all seemed to be going well, until the blood test was taken... Bella has heartworm. Torry was honest about everything with Laurie, explaining the stages she could be in, the treatments, the cost (VERY expensive) and the possible results.

Laurie sent me a text message to tell me and my heart just sank. After I called her I called the rescue shelter that we adopted Bella from. She immediately assured me that they would cover everything, but that they would have to do all of the treatments. The cost to have a vet do it would be too much for them to reimburse, so they (with a vet at their rescue) would do the testing to see what stage she is at, give her the first medicine (an injection) that is very strong and will kill the worms in her heart. They will be keeping her for a couple of days to observe her... she has to be kept calm (as calm as a beagle can be!!) The worms will begin to pass through her arteries and that's when problems can arise... if the worms are too big they can cause blood clots and she could die. If she can make it past all that... 30-days after the injection she is given an oral medication. Then, all we can do is wait and hope. She'd be checked again in a few months.

The rescue shelter didn't do a heartworm test because the shelter in Georgia said they had completed one it was negative. However, it's obvious that she probably had it/got it in GA... so... did they really complete a test or not? Makes you wonder...

I asked the owner of the rescue shelter if they would be reimbursed by the shelter in GA and she said no, it's not even worth attempting. That's so sad.... considering they went down to GA to rescue her or she would have been put down. And this is the result. She also said that had the shelter in GA known she had heartworm they would have put her down.

Everything was explained to the kids this afternoon. Andrew was very emotional about it... Savannah was being very positive.

I told Laurie that I finally came to the acceptance of it all while eating my lunch in the parking lot at Lowes in the rain (no, I don't make it practice to eat my lunch there, but... it was a convenient location today [img]http://mazeguy.net/basic/biggrin.gif[/img] )... if we were meant to see Bella through this and give her last days happy ones... OK. I'm still hoping for the best, but have accepted otherwise.

We've only had Bella just over a month... but she has really become a big part of our lives. It would be difficult to lose her so quickly and in such a terrible way. But... we'll just hope for the best and pray.

Rain Rain Rain

I could complain that the rain is keeping me from working, but... how can I? After so many times of wishing for rain the last two to three years it's nice to see it. And besides... I've been taking advantage of my rain-time by planning for my customer's containers and annual/tropical plantings.

Laurie and the kids started their spring breaks today... I hope they get some sun next week to enjoy their time off.

BRACKET WOES..... My picks aren't doing too well in the NCAA Men's Tournament. In one Pick'em... I only have one final four pick left. The good thing is that it is Florida, who I also chose to win it all. In the other Pick'em, same thing. Only one left, and it's Florida. They are literally my only hope. The best I can do in the "Family Pick'em" is 3rd (which is highly unlikely) and the best I can do in the "Friend Pick'em" is 2nd (also highly unlikely). So much for another losing Pick'em contest. Fantasy Baseball is next... I'm sure I'll do as well as I always do with that, too.

I've forgotten a few things about "Why it's nice not to have a dog":
#1) No wet dog smell in your house when it's raining
(Got to love that smell of your dog after you get back from a long walk in the rain)
#2) No juggling acts while on a casual walk in the rain
(Have you ever tried to carefully pick up poop using a plastic bag in one hand and in the other hand trying to hold the largest golfing umbrella ever made and a leash then feeling the sharp excited tug of a beagle that's just caught the scent of a rabbit... all in a down pour??? Let me tell you, it's a lot of fun...)
#3) Silent nights (Nothing like hearing the sad lonely whines, cries and barks of a beagle thinking it's been left all alone in the world at 2 in the morning)

Yes, we're on a learning curve... but we've been thru learning curves before (marriage, job changes, moves, baby, another baby, more job changes...). Isn't life just one learning curve after another anyway?

Adopting an 18-month beagle isn't for everyone (and sometimes I'm wondering what we were thinking), but I wouldn't give her up for anything. We are finding that she doesn't like to be disturbed when she's resting... by Savannah and Andrew, that is. They're usually the ones that try to pet her when she's just layed down on her pillow (her 5-foot long body pillow that she quickly claimed as hers and seems to think is her "queen bed") from a walk or play time. Tonight Savannah walked over to get a Bible from their book basket and Bella must have thought she was reaching for her.... she growled and snipped at her. It scared Savannah, but she didn't get her. New dog rule #3,573... don't bother Bella when she's on her "throne."

I have a feeling blogging will become less frequent as I get busier. I'll probably be making additions by phone or email more. I'll be sure to begin sharing containers/annual beds as I complete them this spring.

GO GATORS!!

Tournament Time (Woo Hoo!!)

It's always a fun time of year... NCAA basketball tournament. Three consecutive weekends that are completely focused on college basketball. Every year our families compete in a Tournament Pick'em contest and I always stink at my picks, but it's always fun to participate, make jabs at other's picks and ESPECIALLY make fun of how bad Illinois always does (ok, except for recently). Of course I was wrong on the very first game that finished... Boston College beat Texas Tech (my pick). And the only reason I chose Texas Tech was because Laurie is a big Bobby Knight fan... Grrrr... And we all know the number of times Bobby's teams have gotten booted first round.

And of course I'm cheering for my Gators

AWESOME weather the last couple of days. Luckily I got to be out in it yesterday morning, but had to sit at my computer all afternoon. Got to love 70-degree-plus days in March!! But, we're back to reality again today.. 45-degrees, and that's about as warm as it's suppose to get for the next few days.

A friend and I went to Chicago (actually Rosemont) on Monday to the Chicago Flower & Garden Show. I wasn't as impressed with it this year, but it's always nice to see blooms & green foliage when all you've seen are dead-looking things outside. My friends got a few good ideas, but... not much for me. But, it was just nice to get away for a day. If you want any ideas for some small little table arrangements here are some examples... HA HA HA!!! Are these over the top or what? I love them!!

Getting LOTS of birds at the feeders the last couple of days - gold finches, cardinals, and our happy little Carolina Wren who made himself very much at home in and around our pond and waterfall all winter. He's pretty much claimed it as his own the last couple of days... he likes to hop around on the rocks on the ledge of the pond and then hide in the ivy under a lilac bush right near the pond. Yesterday I had the windows open so I could hear him and the gold finches all afternoon.

My gorgeous orchid is starting to lose it's flowers... I enjoyed it while I could. At least they all were in full bloom for a few days.

I think this is the first winter I've had complete success with all plants that I brought inside my home. Of course, I'm still not sure about the bananas resting in the basement... I know I'm going to have to cut them back further than before. But, I think the made corum/tuber is still good on most of them - at least the larger ones. We'll know in a few weeks when I plant them. I'll keep everyone informed on progress of my gardens all spring/summer/fall. I'm hoping for a good year with my own gardens... it will help that I won't be gone for almost 3-weeks late June / early July.

The palms that I took to the church this winter have done a little better than last year (four triangle palms, a foxtail palm and a spindle palm, all belonging to a customer)... of course I won't REALLY know until I get them back outside and see how they re-adapt. The palms I assumed would die are starting to... Majesty palms HATE it indoors. But, I can't get myself to just throw them away at the end of the outdoor growing season. I also had several variegated gingers and they REALLY hate it indoors, especially after they've been growing outside in the ground all spring/summer/fall. In Florida vari. gingers are more of a shrub, but when grown in containers or in the grounds up north as an annual they are much smaller. Also, we don't get to enjoy their flower

Bella's training is coming along. The above picture is cute of her, but SO deceiving!! It's amazing how much energy a beagle can have!! Last Saturday she went on a power walk with Laurie in the early morning, a couple mile run with me late morning, a long walk with Laurie and the kids in the afternoon, and a long walk with me in the evening. What's really amazing is that she has her nose down and sniffing to WHOLE TIME!! You can definitely tell beagles are hunting dogs!! She scented an opossum in the back yard the other night when her and I were in the front getting back from a walk... she almost literally drug me to the back and then took off after the little creature. Luckily she couldn't get close to it because of the leash. I have a feeling we won't have as much of a problem with raccoons from now on. (See blog dated 10/28/06 for a complete history... and for a good laugh!!)

First accepted bid!!

I got word today that the bid I made for an interiorscape job at a local restaurant has been accepted... WOO HOO!!
This is my first accepted bid and seemed like the perfect first opportunity as I take my business into the interior market. I meet with the GM on Thursday morning to discuss plants, containers, setup and maintenance contract. A week ago I wasn't sure that I would win the bid... sounded like I was too high and he was fishing for more bids.
Hopefully this is the first of many to come...

Fire hazard or normal?

Do you use CFL's? (That's "compact fluorescent lights")

We've been using them for about 3-4 years now in our house. Each bulb is to have a five-year life and can save you between $45 to $75 over the life of the bulb. (That might be a stretch according to many... that's assuming an average use of 4-hours a day)

HOWEVER... we had something strange happen to one of ours last night in the basement. Laurie went down to work on laundry and smelled something strange... she quickly realized it was coming from one of the CFL bulbs in the basement. The smell is difficult to describe, but was somewhat of an acidic/plastic smell. As I researched this online last night others have described it as an "acrid" smell (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/acrid).

When we looked more closely at the bulb it was obvious there was a problem...

But, our CFL bulb wasn't near what some others have looked like, and as far as we know didn't give the flames/sparks/smoke that others have reported. It caused a lot of concern for Laurie and I last night because of how many we have in our house. We're definitely going to start watching them more closely, and will not leave any lights on using those bulbs while we're out of the house or during the night.

The bulb of ours that malfunctioned is as follows...

Here is a link that reported others who had problems:
http://www.execulink.com/~impact/globe13watt.htm

And here is a link that might explain it all... http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=ask&s=cfl. Well, sort of... They say, in so many words, what happened to our bulb is normal. If that's normal, to give an "acrid" smell and discolor the base as if it was burning, that concerns me.

Like I said earlier... I guess we'll just pay more attention to use, especially while we're gone or at night.

Dog Training Woes

Well... "it" finally happened... Yeah, you already guessed it. We've had a few accidents (Why do they really call it that anyway? They're not accidents... Bella is just getting us back for leaving her in a little crate while we're gone!!) We've gotten a little frustrated with her at times, but... that's to be expected, right?

But... isn't she cute???

No further nap-times with Amy Baby (Savannah's baby doll... see picture in previous blog entry) have been allowed. In fact, Savannah's princess couch was put into her bedroom. However, Bella has made claim to a body pillow that we've been keeping under the couch and the kids pull out sometimes to lay on (or use as their gymnastics pad). Savannah and Andrew are also learning that they do have to keep their things (little and big) off the floor. Savannah also learned today that her "secret hiding place" for her pack of gum wasn't that secret for Bella... she sniffed it out and had quite the fun time with it in her bed. Luckily it didn't stick to anything.

We need to really think about sending Savannah to make-up school... and I don't mean like a Mary Kay camp... I mean makeup school for like aspiring makeup artists for movies. Checkout the job she did on herself to make us think someone beat her up!!

Orchid update... check this out now...

You can't really see it too well, but the flowers form a perfect spiral up the main stem. It's brightened up our blah winter days.

My jasmine plant has stopped it's blooming :( So, back to using scented candles in the house again.

It's already started in our house... a few years before I thought it really would... Savannah made this sign today (remember, she's only 4) and had me tape it at the top of her bedroom doorway...

When Andrew got home from school and saw Savannah's sign, he decided to make his own and taped it on the wall beside his bedroom door...

Andrew also has entered the "kissing is so gross" stage. If he sees any kissing at all on TV he immediately covers his eyes and groans. Many times if he sees it coming you'll hear an, "Oh no" right before. He's told Laurie and I that he really doesn't want us to kiss him anymore, that it's just too yucky. He's also announced to us that he can't ever get married because girls are just too yucky. We'll see how long THAT lasts!!

Website for my business is up and going... it's all text right now, though... I'm hoping to get several pictures up on the site this weekend or by Monday at the latest. Website address is www.tropical-touch.com. It gets across the basic info about my business, and that is what's important right now. I also delivered display signs with business cards to two garden centers in Bloomington today. That's where I've received most of my business in the past, so I hope and pray that it continues. However, if I want "business from businsses" it'll take more work and better preparation... I'll have to start making contacts, calling, visiting and selling myself and my business. It'll be much different than working solely with residential customers as I did previously.

I'm much more anxious (in and good way) and excited about getting back into the swing of things this year compared to last year. Last year at this time I was very frustrated and I was dreading spring and summer. But, this year is much different.