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 April 20, 2009

Well, I finally got the veggie garden tilled. I added finely ground up leaves, wood ashes and bone meal. then I planted two rows of radishes and four rows of spinach (to use up old seeds).

I then raked up the back yard of all the little branches that had fallen over the winter. I decided I needed to do that now because it looks like I will need to cut the grass next week and I didn't want to be attacked by flying wood chips.

I also planted two Hosta and Ostrich Ferns (both bare root) and a red iris.

Notes for March 23, 2009

All right! Things have started! I finally got out in the yard yesterday and did something. I planted onions (yellow and purple). To prepare the onion bed, I added leaf mulch, bone meal and wood ashes and then turned the soil. After leveling it off, I added a little more wood ash and bone meal and then scratched it in before planting the onions.

Then I started working on the wind blown leaf piles in my yard. The first one I took care of was the one against the house by the back door. Since our back door is two steps below grade, the door well gets leaves and then the leaves get tracked into the house. Then I cleaned out the leaves along the back fence where the daffodils are coming up .

Not bad for two hours of work.