Notes For Sunday July 26, 2009

Yesterday the family schedule allowed me to work in the yard and I was able to take advantage of it and still catch up to the family. And at bedtime I was feeling it.

First, I picked two gallons of green beans. I probably should have picked last week because I realized I really need to spread the planting from three weeks apart to four weeks apart. The row of Lima Beans I planted last week is sprouting now. Then I tied and trimmed the tomato plants. I found two cherry tomatoes that were ripe. Actually they were more like a grape tomato. This year I am trying Juliet (an elongated grape tomato) because I was tired of losing so many cherry tomatoes because they have a tendency to split. And of course they never made it out of the garden and I ate them right there. They aren't as sweet or as juicy as a cherry tomato but they were surprisingly very meaty and very good. I also picked 6 cukes.

Then I finally finished mulching my flower beds and transplanted a few marigolds and cosmos left. I still would like to mulch the front of the house and will probably will do that next.

After mulching, I cut the grass. With the dry weather we've had, I grass didn't need cutting. While cutting the grass I avoided running over a toad. This must have father or mother toad. He was a good size one.

Notes for June 14, 2009

I emptied 0.3" from the rain gauge this morning and in the next town over they got 2.5" early Saturday afternoon in about an hour and half.

I did end up cutting the grass in the afternoon but when it drizzled in the AM I wasn't sure if it would be dry by the afternoon. Fortunately or unfortunately, I didn't get home from church until later than normal and it was dry by that time. But my window of opportunity was limited since I had to take my daughter some where later in the afternoon before dinner. I did guilt my son into helping me but he didn't come out until I was more than half done.

While I was cutting the grass I did come across a toad. I once read that the leading killer of suburban toads is the lawn mower. So I stopped the mower and tried to corner him so I could pick him up and put him in my veggie patch. But he did a circle on me and went for cover in a hole in a stump of a tree I had cut down last spring. What a perfect place, especially since there was a piece of a brick partially covering the hole giving him shade.

I did take a walk through the veggie garden to check things out. The cukes are about 18" tall now so I made sure they knew where the fence is. I grow a vine type of cuke (not a bush variety). It also looks like all the sunflowers I planted last week have been dug up. Looks like I will have to start them somewhere else and transplant them in future. The first green beans planted are about to flower.

The tiger lillies in my yard have started to bloom. The blooms aren't as tall this year. Last year some of the blooms were 6 foot tall.

After I cut the grass I did my customary cooling down while replenishing fluids and sitting on the back patio. There was a nice breeze and sitting in the shade and it felt wonderful. As I was listening to the birds, it sounded as if they were telling each other "there fresh cut grass here!" Not that they are eating the grass but can now walk in the grass (because its shorter) to get at the bugs in the grass.

I am hoping the weather cooperates this evening to do some more transplanting and mulching.

Notes for June 30, 2008

Here is a picture of Salvia I purchased a few weeks ago and planted in a garden I just started this year.

It rained last night. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to wet the ground under the trees.

Saturday afternoon, after working at the office for 7 hours, I got a chance to cut my grass, tie up and trim my tomato plants and pick some green beans. Nearly ran over a toad with the mower but I saw him just in time. After I finished, I took my customary 10 minute rest sitting on the back patio to enjoy my backyard. I have about 12 Bee Balm flowers in bloom and it was just buzzing with hummingbirds (ok it was just one at a time, but it was there quite often).

Notes for May 26, 2008

What a beautiful weekend!

Saturday...

I went and got some manure, didn't have use of any family owned trucks, so I ended up using my car and five gallon buckets. Cleaned out my trunk (been wanting to do that for three years) and fit seven buckets in the truck and 8 inside my car. I made two trips.

Picked some radishes and spinach. Had cooked spinach with dinner, delicious!

Dug a trench under the cucumber fences and filled it with manure and placed soil back over top and planted cucumber seeds.

Transplanted marigolds. I started mixed marigold seeds in my veggie garden to transplant throughout the yard and transplanted about six. I have a fair amount of freelancing marigolds coming up in my veggie garden and since I have planted only yellow in my veggie garden, I suspect they are yellow.

Planted two rows of tomato plants (about 14 total plants). For each tomato plant, I dug a hole and filled it with the aged manure along with a pinch of Epsom salts and a sprinkle of wood ashes and then added in half of the excavated soil and mixed it all by hand. The rest of the soil I used to build a bowl around the plant to channel water to the plant when I water (since my soil is sand).

This morning (Monday, Memorial Day) I was awakened by a Robin attacking our front window and my wife's car at 7 AM this morning and so I got up. I continued planting my tomato plants and then my pepper plants. I have room to plant about a dozen more tomato plants and the are more than enough freelancing volunteers to transplant. I hope to transplant them during the week or by the weekend. Then I cut the grass and after a shower it was off to the family picnic.

During this weekend, I noticed that my tiger lillies are starting to bud, the rhododendrons are in full bloom, my yard has chipmunks and today I saw a toad in my yard.

Next week I hope to plant some more green beans (the next wave) and mulch, mulch, mulch.