Welcome Back?

It's been too long...

This years garden has been horrible compared to other years.  Each crop has been short lived and the squirrels are eating my ripe tomatoes and that's never happened before in the 17 years I have been gardening at this home.

I did finally get a leaf vacuum last fall from a family friend whose husband had passed away.  It works nicely as if the leaves were run over twice by a mower.  It's composted leaves are much cleaner (very few weeds in the mulch).

I still have tomato plants and carrots planted.  I'm not counting much on the carrots.  I haven't been tending them much as I probably should have. 

I conducted a potato experiment this past spring by putting potatoes in a large flower pot and keep burying the plant as it grows. I had three pots and we got one meal of small roasted potatoes.  Very tasty though.  I used Yukon Gold and was pleased.

The Golden Retriever in the photo alongside my profile was 14 years old when we said goodbye at Christmas two years ago.  But there are four other furry friends that are residents in my home.  Maybe one day I will share their photos.

I have two birdhouses in my back yard.  One is under the roof I put out over the back door and the other is on the back fence. My wife built it when she was a kid (her dad was going to throw it out).  I put it up and each house had at least two broods of House Wrens.