Photos: House Yard and South Lot
Feb. 3rd, 2025 02:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThese pictures are from Sunday, February 2 but I didn't get them posted until after midnight. I took some of the house yard and south lot, mostly focused on planting projects.
Looking east across the house yard, the grass still shows a bit of green.
Looking southeast across the house yard, you can see the picnic table and garden shed. This is in the early afternoon before I set up the seed pots on the picnic table.
Around the base of the maple tree, some flowers are sprouting.
These are probably daffodils.
The purple-and-white garden also has flowers sprouting.
This iris is putting up lots of leaves. Most of them never really went dormant this winter.
Looking west along the south lot, you can see the picnic table and septic garden.
Here's a closer view of the picnic table with the septic garden beyond it.
These are the plant labels that I made at the beginning of January, so they've been outdoors for about a month.
For comparison, here is a picture from that January set.
Today, the old Sharpie is still legible, but notably faded. Where the pen stopped, dots of thicker ink take longer to fade.
The Sharpie oil paint is just as dark and crisp as ever. This is the clear winner. If you need to make plant labels for outdoor, use, this is what I recommend.
The Craft Smart label doesn't seem to be fading quickly, but was the only one that smeared in the smear test.
Looking east across the house yard, the grass still shows a bit of green.
Looking southeast across the house yard, you can see the picnic table and garden shed. This is in the early afternoon before I set up the seed pots on the picnic table.
Around the base of the maple tree, some flowers are sprouting.
These are probably daffodils.
The purple-and-white garden also has flowers sprouting.
This iris is putting up lots of leaves. Most of them never really went dormant this winter.
Looking west along the south lot, you can see the picnic table and septic garden.
Here's a closer view of the picnic table with the septic garden beyond it.
These are the plant labels that I made at the beginning of January, so they've been outdoors for about a month.
For comparison, here is a picture from that January set.
Today, the old Sharpie is still legible, but notably faded. Where the pen stopped, dots of thicker ink take longer to fade.
The Sharpie oil paint is just as dark and crisp as ever. This is the clear winner. If you need to make plant labels for outdoor, use, this is what I recommend.
The Craft Smart label doesn't seem to be fading quickly, but was the only one that smeared in the smear test.
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These pictures are from Sunday, February 2 but I didn't get them posted until after midnight. I took some of the house yard and south lot, mostly focused on planting projects.
<cut text="Walk with me ...">
Looking east across the house yard, the grass still shows a bit of green.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273155/1273155_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Looking east across the house yard, the grass still shows a bit of green." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273155/1273155_600.jpg" title="House Yard Looking East" /></a>
Looking southeast across the house yard, you can see the picnic table and garden shed. This is in the early afternoon before I set up the seed pots on the picnic table.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273394/1273394_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Looking southeast across the house yard, you can see the picnic table and garden shed." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273394/1273394_600.jpg" title="House Yard Looking Southeast" /></a>
Around the base of the maple tree, some flowers are sprouting.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273777/1273777_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Around the base of the maple tree, some flowers are sprouting." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273777/1273777_600.jpg" title="Maple Tree" /></a>
These are probably daffodils.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273984/1273984_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="These are probably daffodils." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273984/1273984_600.jpg" title="Daffodil Shoots" /></a>
The purple-and-white garden also has flowers sprouting.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274191/1274191_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="The purple-and-white garden also has flowers sprouting." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274191/1274191_600.jpg" title="Purple-and-White Garden" /></a>
This iris is putting up lots of leaves. Most of them never really went dormant this winter.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274435/1274435_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="This iris is putting up lots of leaves." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274435/1274435_600.jpg" title="Iris in Purple-and-White Garden" /></a>
Looking west along the south lot, you can see the picnic table and septic garden.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274795/1274795_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Looking west along the south lot, you can see the picnic table and septic garden." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274795/1274795_600.jpg" title="South Lot Looking West" /></a>
Here's a closer view of the picnic table with the septic garden beyond it.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274945/1274945_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Here's a closer view of the picnic table." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274945/1274945_600.jpg" title="Picnic Table" /></a>
These are the plant labels that I <a href="https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/14735631.html">made at the beginning of January</a>, so they've been outdoors for about a month.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275391/1275391_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="These are the plant labels that I made at the beginning of January, so they've been outdoors for about a month." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275391/1275391_600.jpg" title="Plant Labels" /></a>
For comparison, here is a picture from that January set.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1227512/1227512_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="In this closeup view, you can see the writing on the labels better. Again, the Sharpie permanent marker is the flimsiest, the Sharpie oil paint pen is the most opaque, and the Craft Smart paint pen is in between." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1227512/1227512_600.jpg" title="Labels in Pot Closeup" /></a>
Today, the old Sharpie is still legible, but notably faded. Where the pen stopped, dots of thicker ink take longer to fade.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275555/1275555_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="The old Sharpie is still legible, but notably faded." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275555/1275555_600.jpg" title="Label with Old Sharpie" /></a>
The Sharpie oil paint is just as dark and crisp as ever. This is the clear winner. If you need to make plant labels for outdoor, use, this is what I recommend.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275703/1275703_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="The Sharpie oil paint is just as dark and crisp as ever. This is the clear winner." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275703/1275703_600.jpg" title="Label with Sharpie Oil Paint" /></a>
The Craft Smart label doesn't seem to be fading quickly, but was the only one that smeared in the smear test.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276046/1276046_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="The Craft Smart label doesn't seem to be fading quickly, but was the only one that smeared in <a href="https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/14767365.html">the smear test</a>." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276046/1276046_600.jpg" title="Label with Craft Smart" /></a>
For comparison, here is a closeup of the smear.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1267004/1267004_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Here is a closeup of the smear." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1267004/1267004_600.jpg" title="Craft Smart Label Closeup of Smear" /></a>
This is a wide view of the septic garden looking south.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276234/1276234_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="This is a wide view of the septic garden looking south." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276234/1276234_600.jpg" title="Septic Garden" /></a>
This is some sort of sedum, but I'm not sure why it's growing in that spot.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276439/1276439_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="This is some sort of sedum, but I'm not sure why it's growing in that spot." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276439/1276439_600.jpg" title="Sedum Sprouting" /></a>
This is a big patch of yarrow.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276706/1276706_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="This is a big patch of yarrow." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276706/1276706_600.jpg" title="Yarrow" /></a>
This is the sedum patch in the middle of the septic garden. I'm not sure why it looks like it's glowing. Though for all I know, it could have been glowing; weird things happen a lot.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277051/1277051_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="This is the sedum patch in the middle of the septic garden. I'm not sure why it looks like it's glowing. Though for all I know, it could have been glowing; weird things happen a lot." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277051/1277051_600.jpg" title="Sedum Patch" /></a>
Later in the day, I set up two flats of seed pots and planted them with wildflowers, so there are several pictures of this project.
Here's one of my upcycling projects. The coffee cup has a big chip above the handle (not visible from this angle) so I used it to corral a bunch of blank labels that I cut down from water jugs. Waste not, want not.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277282/1277282_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Here's one of my upcycling projects. The coffee cup has a big chip above the handle (not visible from this angle) so I used it to corral a bunch of blank labels that I cut down from water jugs. Waste not, want not." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277282/1277282_600.jpg" title="Coffee Cup with Blank Labels" /></a>
The two flats of seed pots are sitting on the end of the picnic table.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277529/1277529_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="The two flats of seed pots are sitting on the end of the picnic table." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277529/1277529_600.jpg" title="Picnic Table with Seed Pots" /></a>
Here's a closeup of the seed pots. In front, the flat of 12 has 6 each of <a href="https://www.thespruce.com/growing-butterfly-weed-in-your-garden-2539531">orange butterfly weed</a> and '<a href="https://www.americanmeadows.com/product/perennials/butterfly-weed-hello-yellow">Hello Yellow</a>' butterfly weed. The back flat of 10 has <a href="https://www.thespruce.com/milkweed-plants-monarch-butterfly-host-2132954">common milkweed</a>. Note that two of these are species plants and one is a named cultivar developed from wild butterfly weed. Insects tend to prefer wild-type plants over cultivars, sometimes by a very large margin. Really I'm just doing what I usually do: some for myself, some for <i>mitakuye oyasin</i> (all my relatives). So far, I've only found monarch caterpillars on the common milkweed in the prairie garden.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277833/1277833_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Here's a closeup of the seed pots. In front, the flat of 12 has 6 each of orange butterfly weed and 'Hello Yellow' butterfly weed. The back flat of 10 has common milkweed." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277833/1277833_600.jpg" title="Closeup of Seed Pots" /></a>
</cut>
<cut text="Walk with me ...">
Looking east across the house yard, the grass still shows a bit of green.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273155/1273155_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Looking east across the house yard, the grass still shows a bit of green." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273155/1273155_600.jpg" title="House Yard Looking East" /></a>
Looking southeast across the house yard, you can see the picnic table and garden shed. This is in the early afternoon before I set up the seed pots on the picnic table.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273394/1273394_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Looking southeast across the house yard, you can see the picnic table and garden shed." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273394/1273394_600.jpg" title="House Yard Looking Southeast" /></a>
Around the base of the maple tree, some flowers are sprouting.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273777/1273777_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Around the base of the maple tree, some flowers are sprouting." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273777/1273777_600.jpg" title="Maple Tree" /></a>
These are probably daffodils.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273984/1273984_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="These are probably daffodils." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1273984/1273984_600.jpg" title="Daffodil Shoots" /></a>
The purple-and-white garden also has flowers sprouting.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274191/1274191_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="The purple-and-white garden also has flowers sprouting." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274191/1274191_600.jpg" title="Purple-and-White Garden" /></a>
This iris is putting up lots of leaves. Most of them never really went dormant this winter.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274435/1274435_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="This iris is putting up lots of leaves." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274435/1274435_600.jpg" title="Iris in Purple-and-White Garden" /></a>
Looking west along the south lot, you can see the picnic table and septic garden.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274795/1274795_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Looking west along the south lot, you can see the picnic table and septic garden." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274795/1274795_600.jpg" title="South Lot Looking West" /></a>
Here's a closer view of the picnic table with the septic garden beyond it.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274945/1274945_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Here's a closer view of the picnic table." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1274945/1274945_600.jpg" title="Picnic Table" /></a>
These are the plant labels that I <a href="https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/14735631.html">made at the beginning of January</a>, so they've been outdoors for about a month.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275391/1275391_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="These are the plant labels that I made at the beginning of January, so they've been outdoors for about a month." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275391/1275391_600.jpg" title="Plant Labels" /></a>
For comparison, here is a picture from that January set.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1227512/1227512_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="In this closeup view, you can see the writing on the labels better. Again, the Sharpie permanent marker is the flimsiest, the Sharpie oil paint pen is the most opaque, and the Craft Smart paint pen is in between." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1227512/1227512_600.jpg" title="Labels in Pot Closeup" /></a>
Today, the old Sharpie is still legible, but notably faded. Where the pen stopped, dots of thicker ink take longer to fade.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275555/1275555_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="The old Sharpie is still legible, but notably faded." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275555/1275555_600.jpg" title="Label with Old Sharpie" /></a>
The Sharpie oil paint is just as dark and crisp as ever. This is the clear winner. If you need to make plant labels for outdoor, use, this is what I recommend.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275703/1275703_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="The Sharpie oil paint is just as dark and crisp as ever. This is the clear winner." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1275703/1275703_600.jpg" title="Label with Sharpie Oil Paint" /></a>
The Craft Smart label doesn't seem to be fading quickly, but was the only one that smeared in the smear test.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276046/1276046_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="The Craft Smart label doesn't seem to be fading quickly, but was the only one that smeared in <a href="https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/14767365.html">the smear test</a>." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276046/1276046_600.jpg" title="Label with Craft Smart" /></a>
For comparison, here is a closeup of the smear.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1267004/1267004_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Here is a closeup of the smear." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1267004/1267004_600.jpg" title="Craft Smart Label Closeup of Smear" /></a>
This is a wide view of the septic garden looking south.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276234/1276234_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="This is a wide view of the septic garden looking south." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276234/1276234_600.jpg" title="Septic Garden" /></a>
This is some sort of sedum, but I'm not sure why it's growing in that spot.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276439/1276439_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="This is some sort of sedum, but I'm not sure why it's growing in that spot." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276439/1276439_600.jpg" title="Sedum Sprouting" /></a>
This is a big patch of yarrow.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276706/1276706_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="This is a big patch of yarrow." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1276706/1276706_600.jpg" title="Yarrow" /></a>
This is the sedum patch in the middle of the septic garden. I'm not sure why it looks like it's glowing. Though for all I know, it could have been glowing; weird things happen a lot.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277051/1277051_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="This is the sedum patch in the middle of the septic garden. I'm not sure why it looks like it's glowing. Though for all I know, it could have been glowing; weird things happen a lot." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277051/1277051_600.jpg" title="Sedum Patch" /></a>
Later in the day, I set up two flats of seed pots and planted them with wildflowers, so there are several pictures of this project.
Here's one of my upcycling projects. The coffee cup has a big chip above the handle (not visible from this angle) so I used it to corral a bunch of blank labels that I cut down from water jugs. Waste not, want not.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277282/1277282_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Here's one of my upcycling projects. The coffee cup has a big chip above the handle (not visible from this angle) so I used it to corral a bunch of blank labels that I cut down from water jugs. Waste not, want not." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277282/1277282_600.jpg" title="Coffee Cup with Blank Labels" /></a>
The two flats of seed pots are sitting on the end of the picnic table.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277529/1277529_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="The two flats of seed pots are sitting on the end of the picnic table." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277529/1277529_600.jpg" title="Picnic Table with Seed Pots" /></a>
Here's a closeup of the seed pots. In front, the flat of 12 has 6 each of <a href="https://www.thespruce.com/growing-butterfly-weed-in-your-garden-2539531">orange butterfly weed</a> and '<a href="https://www.americanmeadows.com/product/perennials/butterfly-weed-hello-yellow">Hello Yellow</a>' butterfly weed. The back flat of 10 has <a href="https://www.thespruce.com/milkweed-plants-monarch-butterfly-host-2132954">common milkweed</a>. Note that two of these are species plants and one is a named cultivar developed from wild butterfly weed. Insects tend to prefer wild-type plants over cultivars, sometimes by a very large margin. Really I'm just doing what I usually do: some for myself, some for <i>mitakuye oyasin</i> (all my relatives). So far, I've only found monarch caterpillars on the common milkweed in the prairie garden.
<a href="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277833/1277833_original.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Here's a closeup of the seed pots. In front, the flat of 12 has 6 each of orange butterfly weed and 'Hello Yellow' butterfly weed. The back flat of 10 has common milkweed." src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ysabetwordsmith/12884746/1277833/1277833_600.jpg" title="Closeup of Seed Pots" /></a>
</cut>
(no subject)
Date: 2025-02-03 11:29 am (UTC)I also reuse coffee cups that get chips or cracks in them for things like that, too. They are still useful - just not to put liquids in!
Thank you!
Date: 2025-02-03 07:14 pm (UTC)We got a couple snows last month, but that's it. I think everything has melted off except the snow mountains in some parking lots. Yesterday was almost 60F. I got too hot in my jacket while I was outside working, so I took it off.
>> I also reuse coffee cups that get chips or cracks in them for things like that, too. They are still useful - just not to put liquids in!<<
Yeah, I have several more around the house for holding pens and such.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2025-02-05 10:12 pm (UTC)Re: Thank you!
Date: 2025-02-05 10:55 pm (UTC)Re: Thank you!
Date: 2025-02-13 10:33 am (UTC)Out here in North east Ohio it's gotten wetter. But I haven't looked at how the zones have changed in awhile. I should look into it.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2025-02-13 10:53 am (UTC)There are animated maps that will show the shift. It's jarring to watch, so make sure you do it when you're calm and don't have obligations shortly.
This page will let you search by zip code or zoom in on your state:
https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2025-02-19 01:31 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-02-04 03:45 am (UTC)Well ...
Date: 2025-02-04 03:52 am (UTC)