Could it be - Breaking News?????

Comment by Bill left in regard to the latest Husky embarrassment - could it be that you heard it here first?

Bill said...
One of my neighbors told me his boss (who he says is "in the know") said that Paint Dry Ty will be gone by Monday. We shall see.
October 4, 2008 11:05 PM

Even Harry has jumped on the bandwagon - he was recently quoted as saying "It's time to can Willingham's ass"! This was after leading the fans in a chant of "bye- bye -Ty - bye- bye- Ty". You go Harry!

I got to thinking about it and although Woodard (the new athletic director at the UW) has said he did not believe in mid season changes - he was at the game in Tucson. I am not sure if the athletic director goes to all away games but I have to believe he was there in part to "see" for himself. Fans are tired of this and know it's coming and he might just make the move. He just fired Marie Tuite from her positions as senior associate athletic director for sports programs and senior women's administrator. She's been with Washington for 14 years! Could this truly be - Willingham's Last Stand?

Later -

Jim

Huskies 0-5 after rout by Arizona, 48-14

After a 48-14 rout to Arizona, in which the Huskies looked tired and out skilled from the beginning of the game, I have to wonder how much longer Willingham has as head coach. If it were up to me he would be fired mid season. I know, I know, there are a hundred reasons not to fire him mid season but there are just as many reasons to get it over with.


It's not likely to happen as the new athletic director at the UW has stated:
"I just don't believe in mid season changes," The Huskies own the nation's longest losing streak at seven. They are 0-5 on the season and stand alone with North Texas as the lone Football Bowl Subdivision teams without a win.

But that isn't even the most embarrassing part - the most humiliating factor of Saturday night's debacle in the desert was the overall superiority of Arizona -- a team considered as down-and-out two seasons ago as Washington was then. They have gotten better and we have floundered.

Another bye next week -

Later -

Jim

Fall Container for the Front Porch

Fall is one of my favorite times of year! It's the time of year when I put together the planters on the front porch for the fall season. Assuming we don't get a hard freeze between now and Thanksgiving these will take me to the holiday season when I replant. We are lucky to live in the Northwest where the weather is very mild. Many of the plants that I use here in the Northwest simply would not work in other parts of the country. Let's get started!

I start with an existing pot that I use on the front porch. This year I had to take a little steel wool to it and give it a fresh coat of paint. A little spray paint can go a long way to making a project like this look great. There is nothing worse than putting the time and money into a project like this and ending up with a plant combination that looks great and a container that looks like crap. Take the time to find the right container.

First I plant the the Monterey Cypress. I got mine for $20 each - they will last for years. They are not supposed to be hardy around here but I have had really good luck with them lasting outdoors in pots for years. The great thing about using this as the anchor is that when I change out the plants for the holiday season, this one will stay and I'll have a great starting point.

Next I add the bright orange begonias to the pot. These were $5 each. These are not hardy so a hard frost will kill them. Luckily these are right up against the house so they can tolerate colder weather - remember they only have to last two months and then we replant for the holidays!

Next we add the bright red Kalanchoe. I paid $6 for this plant. This is a great plant that I love. It too is often sold as a house plant but does fine for a few months outside in a container on the porch. Advance tip - kalanchoe's come in many colors. At Christmas the white ones look fantastic planted in a basket with miniature red poinsettias! You can bet that you will see some posted on the site at the holidays!

Next comes the ornamental pepper plant. The pepper plant cost $5 each. I love the contract of the dark green leaves and the bright yellow peppers. This to is not hardy but should do fine for this purpose for a couple of months.

Lastly, I tuck in a small winter kale ($1.49) for added texture and color.

I add a few small pots of mums and a little Halloween lantern and I'm all set.

I put one on each side of the porch for a welcoming fall look. Each pot cost less than $38 to put together. That includes the Cypress which will be used as an anchor plant for several years. Well worth the investment!

This weekend I'll go out and pick up some pumpkin's and a few stalks of corn to finish off the looks of the front porch. As Halloween gets closer we add a few orange light and some blinking eyeballs as the finishing touch!

Have a good one -

Jim

I've birthed another one......

Blog that is! Check it out at:

http://kcmgplantsale.blogspot.com/

My friend Jennifer helped design it - it's for the purpose of planning and communication for the King County Master Gardener Plant Sale. I got to thinking it would be a great way to keep committee chairs and other volunteers up to date on the planning process and help keep us organized. We had our first meeting last night. It's a great group of people - I'm lucky to be involved with them!

Have a good one -

Jim

Container Gardening

I have been working on the fall containers for the front porch and will be posting a blog in the next day or so with the outcome. If I must say so myself - they are looking pretty good!

In the mean time I took some photographs of some of the containers that I have in my yard right now and wanted to share then before the frost comes and they are done for the year.

I put together one of these on each side of the garage. I planted them back in June and they really took off. I love the combination and texture of the foliage. I remember the day that I purchased the plants for these containers. I had a meeting out on Vashon Island and stopped in at Dig Floral and Garden and made my plant selection. Funny what you remember - I can't remember what I was doing yesterday but I can remember buying these plants!

This is actually a combination of a couple of containers. The grass is a perennial one that I put together several years ago. It''s really beautiful and makes a relaxing sound as it catches a breeze. The one in the background is a simple annual one container with variegated geranium and fountain grass.

I've got this one hanging on the fence to the left of the gate going into the backyard. I love how the evergreen clematis has made it's way around the plant.

I love the color of this Calibrachoa (miniature petunia). It looks great hanging along the fence in the backyard. This is a great plant that requires little care and just grows and grows!

This is one of my all time favorites! I planted this oak tree in a pot and have had it on the back patio for years now. Each fall the colors get more vibrant. In a few more days it will be completely red!

Remember this one? This is the one that I used in an earlier post on container gardening. I put this pot together for less than $10!

Last one is this Fountain Grass in a container on the back deck. It looks great all summer and then looks especially nice in the fall.

I hope you enjoy these pictures and that it tides you over before I post the new containers on the front porch!

Later -

Jim

Tom and Mary

Tom and Mary are two friends that I wanted to share a couple of things about. First - this seems like the year when all my friends or family have sent kids to college. It started with our niece Kara going off to Whitworth in Spokane.

I have my friends Loretta and Skip who sent their son Brody off to WSU and finally my friends Mary and Tom who just took their son John down to University of Oregon last week! Congratulations John!

I love this picture that Mary sent me taken of her and John on a trip to Cabo. Very sweet!

Mary's husband Tom recently had a letter to the editor published in the Seattle paper that I wanted to pass along also. Tom and I have very similar political opinions! Enjoy!

U.S. economy -

Big deficit for next president

The U.S. Treasury Department has had to raise more than $200 billion through the sale of bonds in just the last week alone, according to The New York Times. It appears certain that Congress and the Treasury Department will have to come up with hundreds of billions more to try and contain the losses — just what the country needs.
After seven years of President Bush's stewardship of the economy, how can we possibly afford it? We'll just have to add it on to all the other woes this administration has brought us.
Maybe there'll be some kind of maneuver that puts the expenditures "off budget" in the same way a good part of our war costs are. But the debt will be real, and billions in interest payments on the deficit, of course, increases just as dramatically as the deficit itself.
President Bush will likely try some variation of "There's plenty of blame to go around — Republicans and Democrats." Sorry, George, the buck stops at the office of president. You've had the reins for more than seven years — six of them with Republican majorities in Congress — and the economy you'll leave your successor will be in tatters, burdened by a national debt that even the most pessimistic could not have imagined when you took office.
The failures of this administration are breathtaking. Jan. 20 can't come soon enough.

— Tom Taylor, Seattle

Great job Tom - keep the letter's flowing! Mary, I know you are off to Italy - send me a postcard so I can blog it!

Later -

Jim