Cleaning Up The Trumpet Vines

Last summer I wrote about how our Trumpet Vine had taken over the yard.  It is a beautiful plant if it is confined, but it can be very invasive if let to grow uncontrolled.  The Invasive Trumpet Vine

As part of our Spring cleanup, we dug out many many trumpet vine plants from our perennial flower garden.  It was easier to do it now rather than during the active growing season.  After we burned off the garden, it was easy to see the trumpet plants.  The burned off area charred the plants, but the fire wasn't hot enough to eliminate the plants.

The plants had gotten quite large.

You can see how these plants can take over.  These are the roots.  They are very large and strong.

Now that we have eliminated all the trumpet shoots, we will be able to control their growth this summer.  Hopefully that will give the other plants more room to grow.

Beautiful Trumpet Vine

*Update:  It's been two years since we did this cleanup.  Digging out the roots does not work.  The Trumpet plants continued to grow and have almost taken over.  They are beautiful plants and the hummingbirds love the flowers, but I suggest planting them alone in an open area.  This way the new shoots can be mowed off and kept under control. 

Great Day To Clean Up The Sunflower Seed Hulls

The Pussy willows at my daughter's house.

Today was the warmest day since I don't remember when.  I imagine it was some time last November.  Being a person who likes cooler weather, it wouldn't have to get much warmer for me to be content.  Because it was so nice and here in Wisconsin you never know what the next day will bring, we decided to continue with some more yard cleanup projects.  For anyone who reads this blog, you know we feed the birds an unbelievable amount of seed.  We feed all year long, but over the winter months the shells from the sunflower seeds accumulate.

The ground under the bird feeders are solid shells from the eaten sunflower seeds.

Today they were all thawed out and dry, so it was time to remove them.  Usually my husband just takes a rake and a shovel to get the job done.  This year he had a bright idea.  Why not take the shop vacuum and vacuum them up.  So he did.

He started out raking.

Then out came the shop vac.

Now lets make it even easier, why not sit down and vacuum.

Was it working?

Dad the supervisor had to come over to check if there was a problem.

A wheelbarrow full of hulls.

The vacuum had to be emptied quite often and was taking quite a while.  Finally my husband got up off his chair, put away the vacuum and finished the job the normal way.  He used a snow shovel and a rake. When the snow is gone, the snow shovel is still useful to use as a dust pan.  It works great.

A snow shovel and a rake makes the job go fast.

Now the only thing left is to dump the pile of sunflower hulls in the woods.  There is still some good eating in there for the birds and the squirrels.  Nothing goes to waste.  Then it will slowly compost into some nice soil.

Big pile of sunflower hulls sitting in the woods.

April 6, 2014, it is 63 degrees at 2:00pm.

Migratory Buffleheads and American Coots

From the weather reports, it appears that we dodged a big snow event.  We live in Princeton which is in Central Wisconsin, but some places in Northern Wisconsin have received almost a foot of fresh snow today.  We had some rain and a few flurries, but overall just clouds and cool temperatures in the mid thirties.  It's a mixed blessing.  A big snowstorm would add some much needed water to our lakes, but not getting the precipitation helped our mental health. 

This time of year is exciting because we see birds and ducks passing through the area that we don't usually see any other time of the year.  Many of the migratory ducks I can't identify, and I can't get a clear picture to research.  The last couple days I was able to get a picture of some American Coots and a pair of Buffleheads.

The American Coot has a gray body, a black head and a white bill.

A pair of Bufflehead ducks.

The buffleheads are really fun to watch.  They just float around.  Suddenly they dive completely under the water for 15 seconds or so, and then they pop up like a fish bobber.  They do this over and over again.  They must be a very high energy duck.

Last year we had a Loon stop by for a few days.  With the ice and snow in the north, we may see them again.  They only stay until the Northern lakes open up.  Everyday is an adventure to see what new wildlife will appear and to watch the species that migrate here and stay for the summer.  It keeps me busy.

The Common Loon

This Great Blue Heron thinks he is hiding from me. 

Himalayan Salt Crystal Lamps

The nice day we had yesterday is only a memory.  It is windy and chilly again today.  At least we don't have any snow left.  The counties to the north of us are going to receive a bunch of snow again.  They have been hit very hard this winter.  My major problem at this time of year is dead stagnant air in the house.  After the long winter all the dust, dirt and cooking odors have accumulated.  I noticed that walking into the house doesn't smell very fresh.  In fact, I can't wait to open up the windows and doors and let the fresh air blow through.  Until that happens, I bought a large air purifier.  It was a brand recommended by my brother-in-law.  It works pretty well.  The unit on high could blow a cat across the room.  The house does smell better.  In addition to the air purifier, I purchased a Salt Crystal Lamp.

Himalayan Ionic Salt Crystal Lamp

My friend Wendy told me about these lamps.  They are supposedly a way to freshen the air naturally.  The lamp comes in many styles.  I chose this basket.  It has a small light bulb in the middle.  When the bulb is lit, the heat causes the salt crystals to give off negative ions.  Negative ions are oxygen atoms with an extra electron.  It's complicated unless you are a physicist or chemist.  All I know is
 that it is proven that when you have pollution in your home from smoke, odors or mold, the particles in the air clump together and cause allergies, respiratory problems, headaches and infections.  Negative ions create an antidote to these.  That is why a lot of air purifiers have an ionic feature.  This lamp creates negative ions in a natural way. 

Salt Lamp makes a nice night light.

I think it's pretty too.  This one has a dimmer switch and makes a great night light.  I think it would be great in a bathroom or a bedroom.  I put it by the front door, and I have noticed that I can't smell any unpleasant odors when I come into the house.   I will ask my daughters about it when they come to visit.  Hopefully they will tell me the truth.  If my house still stinks, then I don't know what more I can do short of bringing out the caustic chemical air fresheners.  

The Start of our Spring Cleanup

Today, April 2, 2014, turned out to be a lovely sunny day.  It is a little cool, but we still got a lot done.  The wood ducks are back in many numbers, so we got the wood duck houses cleaned out and repositioned.  We have three boxes now, so I hope to see the wood duck babies again this year.

The next big job we accomplished was burning off the flower garden.  It doesn't hurt the perennials and lets the new emerging plants come up without any competition.

The first thing is to knock down last years dried plants with the weed wacker.

Dad is serving as the fire inspector to make sure we do it right.

There are a lot of plants coming up even though the temperatures have been on the cold side.  I hope nature knows what it's doing.  The irises, poppies, mums and many others are doing fine so far.

We did have some plant damage from the bitter cold temperatures we had this past winter.   Some will recover and others are lost.  This is just the beginning of our spring cleanup, but it was a really good start.

This is one of our holly bushes.  The top is dead and needs to be cut down.

Sunday Brunch Eggs and Cinnamon Rolls

The previous weekend was very busy.  We had the play on Friday and Saturday that our grandson Dylan was in.  Dylan plays Oliver Twist  Then on Sunday we celebrated his brother Ewan's birthday.  Ewan's Birthday Party  My daughter had a brunch for the family on Sunday morning.  I wanted to bring something but I ran out of time.  I had to come up with something quick and easy to make.  On Sunday morning I got up and made these two recipes.  I had made the egg dish before, but not the cinnamon roll casserole.  I had them both in the oven at the same time and in 1 1/2 hours we were out the door.

Sunday Brunch Egg Dish

1/2 pound bacon cooked until crisp
12 eggs
1 cup milk
1 large package O'Brien frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Cook the bacon until crisp.  Crumble and set aside.

Beat eggs and milk.  Stir in the hash browns, cheese, salt, pepper, and bacon.

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until the eggs are set.  Cut into squares.

 Cinnamon Roll Casserole

2 cans of refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
4 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 t. ground cinnamon
2 t. vanilla  (by the way, my homemade vanilla turned out awesome) Make Your Own Vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup maple syrup (optional)

Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
Separate both cans of dough.  You should have 16 rolls.  Place them side by side in the pan.
In a bowl beat the eggs, cream, cinnamon and vanilla until well blended.
Pour liquid over the rolls.  Sprinkle with pecans.  If you like, you can drizzle some maple syrup over the dough as well.  I didn't have any so I left it out.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until brown.  Let cool for 15 minutes and drizzle the icing over the top.