Look before you Dig

By Skeeter Such a bare spot in my Georgia Yard! (garden hose is stretched out to water sod in the front yard) This side of the house is a normal route for deer so we don't have much growing in the form of gardens in this area. The Saints parents gave us a Flag Pole (Thanks Mom and Dad B) and we decided this would be a good spot to install it with a small planter added at the base in time.
Normal procedure, is for me to pick the spot and the Saint digs the hole. This time however, he chose to argue my spot and move a bit forward. Okay, whatever, just dig the hole and lets get this chore knocked off the "To Do" list will ya!
Ah, the trusty Post Hole diggers are a perfect tool to dig a hole to install a tall pole.
As you can see, my soil has Georgia Red Clay in this spot of the yard. Another reason why there are not more flowers planted on this side of the house!
The Saint was having a tough time getting through the Clay but managing until he hit this root. Argggg, not a root but rather the Cable TV to the house! Oh no, we forgot to seek out where the cable could be running through the yard. We had to laugh at the fact that we have 2.5 acres of land but hit the cable with a 6 inch hole! The Saint made a quick supply trip to town for a temp repair so we had TV for the evening. The cable repair people came to the rescue in a timely manner with the final repairs. Now the trusty Pick Ax and Flat Shovel came into play to cover the cable. With all the clay in the area, the Saint had a time getting the cable buried into the ground.

The rains started to fall since this incident thus, not allowing for the Flag Pole to be installed as of yet. Stay tuned for more on this saga.

Hum, if only someone had kept to his job of digging holes while letting someone else pick the perfect spot for a hole to go, then maybe, just maybe..... Well, honey, that's okay, you can dig a mean hole and cut through anything with your strength!

Moral to the story: Listen to your wife? Na, LOOK BEFORE YOU DIG, In the Garden...

Why Do You Suppose It Is Called 'The Devil's Walking Stick'?

From In the Garden

Aralia spinosa, aka Devil's Walking Stick, is an understory tree of disturbed areas in forested regions and is quite common in my area, including Land Between the Lakes. It is also quite common in my neighbor's yard; which has been severely disturbed when the previous neighbor's made a dirt bike trail. (No more dirt bikes-now sweet and quiet horses-with the new neighbor's-a good thing!)

From In the Garden

I find the berries are most attractive and quite prolific. They look good enough to eat but no thanks since they are reputed to be mildly toxic when picked fresh. Interesting enough though the berries and other parts of this American native have medicinal properties when properly prepared.

What I'd really like to know is why do you suppose it is called the Devil's Walking Stick? Could it be because of all those spines along the straight and smooth trunk? Do spikey things fit the devil and does he suffer discomfort? If so, the Devil using this stick to walk must have mighty tough hands to handle those spikes; which fits! Could there be another reason for the common name of Devil's Walking Stick? Anyone know?

in the garden....