Author Archives: Lorraine Frantz Edwards
“Bottle Tree” delivered…
…for my next door neighbor.
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Postscript, 6:00 PM: While I was in the CARE dining room, for supper, my neighbor placed bottles on the “tree.” Color of bottles difficult to appreciate in this flash photo.
Click to enlarge for better view.
Postscript, Thursday, December 15, 2016, 12 noon: Picture of “tree” in sunshine.
Lots of “oops” !!
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Because I had two bricks–and two sections–to support the center, I failed to notice (yesterday) not enough cement in the center. “Oops!!”
Four holes drilled… for drainage. Clear Rust-Oleum sprayed to prevent rust. I was amazed to see rust after (only) a few hours of rain and moisture.
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“Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy!!” I hoped to “wiggle” the planter with “Bottle Tree” across the ground into position on the south side of my trailer home. I didn’t have Wheaties for breakfast; I had slow-cooked steel-cut oats! Planter just too heavy; I’ll have to recruit a man to move it.
Something to think about: A gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds. I’m told I probably used three gallons of water when I mixed eighty pounds of Quikrete. Hence, the planter had/has (more or less) an additional twenty-five pounds. Let’s not forget the weight of the cement block I added in the center.
“A picture is worth a thousand words” but thousands of pictures are overwhelming !?
Remember my blog message This is Us?
My blog is my journal; I love to document my activities with pictures. This is my venue; I’m not a fan of FaceBook.
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Today, yesterday, and two day’s ago. Yo-yo weather!!
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Cement mixer !!
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It was a reasonably nice morning (a reasonably nice day)!! Yours truly was very anxious to prepare a cement base for another Bottle Tree (it’s a gift). The thermometer was “deceiving” because a rather cold wind blowing, and occasionally fifteen or twenty sprinkles of rain. It’s weird (I know) but I enjoy the strenuous task of stirring the concrete.
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When the concrete hardens, I’ll spread the branches slightly and spray on a clear protective coat of Rust-Oleum. When third section is added, total height of Bottle Tree will be over six feet. Sadly, only twelve “branches” for twelve bottles.
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I said “sadly” because forty “branches” on my Christmas Bottle Tree. (The $5.00 “display rack” converted to a Bottle Tree.)
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I’ll “rob” the other Bottle Tree of the third section so I can add fourth section to enlarge this “tree.”
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If you are considering a unique purchase for your garden, check the large variety at Hopfrog Market. I’m impressed with the quality of the products–and (imho) they are less expensive than other vendor websites I’ve visited. Tell Mr. Dave that Lorraine sent you?!
Saturday info
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“Concern” about temperature(s), and plants, makes me exhausted!! I went back to bed and, gratefully, slept until 8:45. ~~ Hard to believe, we’ll see seventy degrees before the weekend is over!!
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In preparation for the next freezing weather, I’ll buy a heater for the tarp shelter. I’ve now documented numbers indicating under the tarp shelter is as cold as outdoors. Furthermore, actually colder when the sun is shining.
Today, I’m questioning my sanity: “Why am I involved in so many physical and mental projects?”
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Postscript, Saturday afternoon: Lowe’s was one, of several, stops during a few hours away from home. This heater was inexpensive but appears very durable.
No frost, no freeze !!
Yours truly is so grateful to report no freeze so no damage to my plants.
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Now, this is very confusing!! Is it actually eighty degrees inside the greenhouse?? It is in full sunshine so **possible** but looks strange to me!!
Likewise, confusing: Why are my numbers different from AccuWeather’s numbers for Livingston??
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“Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back.” For comparison, I put another thermometer in the greenhouse and expected identical numbers.
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Watching the temperature plummet
Today, I repeatedly checked temperatures and documented the drop in temperature. At 6:40, the meteorologist said “Freezing from midnight ’til nine.”
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Just before eleven, I walked outdoors, into the woods, to take several pictures of the porch and ramp in their “final resting place.”
I was wearing a coat and hat but got chilled to the bone!! I checked the covers–over the plants–and many need more clothes pins to hold the sheet (or tablecloth) in place.

AccuWeather says “Real Feel” is thirty-eight degrees.
Even indoors, with the thermometer reading seventy-five degrees, I’m COLD!!
Covering the large plants…
…prior to freezing temperatures.
YESTERDAY, before the “colder” temperatures, I covered the large plants. I’m so “wimpy,” I didn’t want to approach the task with the temperature in the forties!! (Forty-three degrees outdoors, at 8:30 AM, as I prepare this message but “Real Feel” is thirty-seven.)
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Jim & Roger at work !!
YESTERDAY, I took pictures while the guys dismantled the porch and ramp, and hauled it to the “graveyard” of old porches and ramps. I paid for the remodel, in September 2015, so felt like “my” porch and ramp was going “bye bye.” (These are barely a few of the dozens of pictures taken.) This explains why I was too tired to prepare this blog yesterday. Not that “picture taking” is so strenuous but time-consuming– plus the task of covering the plants.







































































































