Snakes- How to keep snakes out of the yard

I was at a garden party last week when a woman asked me if I knew how to keep snakes out of her yard. She lives next to a national battle field and finds them around all the time. Now some snakes are beneficial because they eat rodents and bugs and are harmless. Some are not.
First you have to clean up your property. Move wood piles or rock piles toward the edge of your property.



Those cold blooded creatures love to hide in cool places. Make sure your grass is cut, leafs are raked and bushes are trimmed away from the ground. They won’t go were they can’t hide or find a nesting place.
Dogs are great. The scent of dogs will keep the snakes at bay.


Your bird feeder attracts squirrels and other rodents. It may also attract snakes. Any time you have a food source for wildlife you are asking snakes to dinner. Bird feeders are fine as long as you don’t have a snake problem.



This one was found in a ladder that had been stored near a dumpster then loaded onto the top of a van. They drove all the way home before they realized they had a snake on board.

Snakes are beneficial because they eat all those small critters that nibble on your garden. Bugs, grubs and whatever else is eating your vegetables and flowers.
What is a snakes favorite flower? Coily-flowers or course! :)

Just another Saturday- Marietta Farmers Market, Boxing Azaleas, Separating Hostas

We had a busy Saturday. First I took the dogs for a walk to the square. The farmers market is still there as in the You Tube video I did a couple of years ago.



Now across the street they have an artist market! Even more reason to visit!




On the way home we saw some azaleas at the Marlow House that had been trimmed into hedges. Now that they have bloomed they look so cool I had to take a photo.



So here is what we tackled today. I wanted to put separators between the Mondo grass and our lawn. In order to do that you have to dig down in between the two so the Mondo root won’t creep into the lawn.



We dug up the Dwarf Japanese maple tree and built up the base then planted it right back where it was. I wanted it to be higher so it could be seen over the other plants on the ground.



Next it was on to separating the Hostas. The ideal time to do this is before they leaf out.
I wanted to plant this Red Astilbe. I have Red, White, Pink and Purple planted in the bed out in the front yard and since this guy isn’t doing much in this little planter I decided it was time for a move to the front.



We also planted a red encore azalea, two Blue Mirror Delphinium and some more Bugleweed.
Now for an Epsom Salt bath, Deep Blue for my muscle pain (settersrun360@gmail.com for more information) and a glass of wine. Have a happy weekend!
P.S. My husband just tried Deep Blue on his lower back and had wonderful results.

Farmers Market Baskets-Classic and Organic baskets

I first heard of Farmers Market Baskets from my niece Meghan who is the owner of Merge Health, Fitness and Nutrition. You can fine her web site at http://www.MergeIntoHealth.com. She had “Liked” the Farmers Market Baskets page on Facebook so I looked into it and “Liked” them too. I figured I’d try it at some point just to see why people were gravitating toward businesses like this one. Farmers Market Baskets is a family run (Tom and Kristina Plauche’) and volunteer run fruit and vegetable co-op service. There is a one time membership fee of $10 but you don’t have to do that. If you decide not to join you’ll be charged a $1 fee to help cover the cost of running the place. You can also choose to buy a Classic basket (traditionally grown food) or Organic basket.
Well I ordered my first basket (1 Large Organic) for $32.64. (Baskets run anywhere from $10 to $33.) Luckily for me they have several locations for pick up and one of them was my gym. I came with basket in hand. Next time I’ll use a box because as romantic as a basket of fruits and vegetables is while walking home on a spring afternoon, it gets very heavy. I ended up calling my husband to drive around to pick me up. I guess I’ll have to step up my workouts.




I walked up to the front door and there on the Health Place porch (my gym) was Amanda. She was friendly and helpful. She loaded up my basket and suggested I fill up a box instead of my basket but I knew I could make it home, so I declined. Note to self ~ next time listen to Amanda.
I got my goodies home and took notes on what I got for my $32.64. Here is the list and it’s pretty impressive and all organic - 1 bunch of Kale, 2 live root Bibb lettuce, 1 bunch of bananas, 5 ears of corn, 1 cucumber, 2 zucchini squash, 2 tomatoes, 4 sweet potatoes, 2 onions, 1 orange pepper, 1 cantaloup, 4 pears, 6 apples and 4 oranges. Not a bad run. I was very happy with my loot.
Now let me tell you a little about this business and how to get to it and order from it. You go to http://farmersmarketbaskets.com/ and click on the order now icon. You can place a one time order (which is what I did just because I wanted to try it out) or you can repeat your orders every week or every other week. They have add on specials if you’d like. Fuji apples and Wheat Bread were the extras this week.



It was convenient for me to go to the gym but there are other locations and you can even go to their warehouse if you wish. For a $3 charge a co-op members can even drive your basket to your home (as long as you live within the designated area) so there really isn’t any excuse not to try it.
Wondering what to do with all you’ve just bought? Go to the web site for lots of yummy recipes. If you go to the bottom of the page there are icons for volunteering, starting your own group or to set up group deliveries. It’s a healthy and affordable alternative to running to the grocery store or packing a lunch to find a Whole Foods.
Was it worth it? I say yes. Will I do it again. I say Yes.