Troy-Bilt Snow Thrower Giveaway

In honor of Chicago's first real stick-to-the-ground snow of 2011 and in general holiday merriment, I'm giving away a snow thrower courtesy of Troy-Bilt.  This is the Troy-Bilt Storm 2410, a two-stage snow thrower with an electric push-button start.  It will clear snow drifts up to 21 inches high at a width of 24 inches at a time.

I don't own this or any other snow thrower so I can't comment on its performance but I did find this cute video of a guy clearing his driveway using this model.  It looks like it works well.  But, now I can't get this song out of my head!



To enter the contest post your worst snow-shoveling experience and I'll pick a winner at random.  The contest is open to people living in the contiguous United States only.

This contest will close on Friday December 16th at 7:00 pm CST.  I will contact the winner directly so please make sure I have a way to reach you.  If I cannot contact you within 24 hours I will select another winner.  The snow thrower will be shipped to you directly from Troy-Bilt so you will need to share your address with them after I notify you that you have won.

Good Luck!

Update: Congrats Benjamin Vogt, winner of the Troy-Bilt Storm 2410 snow thrower!  Check out Benjamin's blog The Deep Middle.

Dwarf Zebra Grass in the Snow

According to the time stamps on my most recent photos, I haven't had my camera out since late August when I took pictures at the tomato contest. Wow. Over four months have slipped by me.

My motivation today came while I was catching up with some of my favorite garden blogs. Over at Gardening Gone Wild, they're hosting a monthly photo contest called Picture This, just for us bloggers.

I sure wish I'd taken some photos a few weeks ago when all the trees were covered and glistening with ice. It was really beautiful. Still, I found this Dwarf Zebra Grass looked kind of cool against the snowy backdrop today.

Roses Being Scared By The Snow

More snow in Chicago last night.

Reading garden blogs has taught me about micro climates and the picture below is the most obvious one in my yard.

This snow will likely remain on these roses until next spring. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it won't melt nearly as fast as other areas. The fence provides too much shade.

Temporary compost bins are covered in snow.

The rabbit has been spotted! I repeat - the rabbit has been spotted! It's big and probably pregnant. Somebody get the lawn mower! I'M KIDDING! I'M KIDDING! Jeez - relax people!

What am I suppose to do????

Everything is covered in snow! I haven't left the house today because I nearly killed myself last night on the ice. It's a death trap out there! The funniest site I've seen in a long time was watching my Mr. W last night while he was trying to walk up the handicap ramp onto the sidewalk. He was plastered to the side of the building like Spider man. It was so hilarious! He was really having a hard time - his feet are size 14's! It's hard for him. But alas we made it home safe.

I don't know what to write about - there's no gardening ....

I thought about writing about how my spirea was being squashed by the snow but I was too cold and lazy to go out and take a picture.

I was going to write about the Cocoa Cocoa Hull Pellets I purchased to start my seeds in but they have not arrived yet. I read about them on a blog that I keep forgetting to save the link to and so I'm at the mercy of OldRoses and when she reblogs the site.

I think my Red Twig Dogwood must look really cool in the snow right now, but again that requires a picture.

I hope you are gardening more than me.

Bad Gardener!!

I can hear my mother now. "Why don't you pick up after yourself? You're always leaving your toys laying all over the place it's no wonder you lose keep losing stuff!" It snowed yesterday. One of the things I love about Chicago is that it always seems to snow on Thanksgiving. I left these outside after cutting back my shrub roses the other night. At this rate, all my tools will be rusty next year. Mom is right - I should be more careful with my toys.

GB gave me some of her excess mulch and I almost had enough for every rose to have it's own bag. This was Monday evening and I was working feverishly to cut back the roses and get the mulch on them before it started raining.

I don't know if I did it right but I cut back the roses and piled the mulch around the bottom. I thought I might have done this too early but today it's freezing outside!
Regarding dirt:
I went to buy dirt today and was amazed that Menards had already gotten rid of their topsoil. No more till spring. Home Depot had it but it was frozen solid! I got discouraged and went home. I'll just suck it up and have it delivered.

I still have bulbs to plant! I'm thinking big patio pots at this point.