Mulching Prophecy Holds True

This morning I went and got 5 bags of cedar mulch then came home and started laying out the weed guard. So far it looks like I'm about halfway done and it looks and smells good too.
Right now I'm taking a little break before I go back to the store. This time I'm going to try and fit eight bags of mulch in my Civic. Two of them will probably have to ride shotgun. Does that all sound like great fun? I'm also thinking about eating sometime today.
The pictures are before during and after the mulch. Big improvement aye?
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I See More Mulching In My Near Future

Today I bought a big roll of lanscaping weed guard and a bunch of stakes. Four years ago I got 20 very small Blue Spruce and Cedar trees and although they've grown some, I think they'd do much better if they didn't have all the crabgrass and blackberry bush wannabees to contend with. I had in mind to make some sort of privacy hedge with them and want to see if they'll be a bit happier with a little blanketing. At any rate they'll certainly look a lot neater and be easier to mow around. I've also been so impressed with what a difference the mulching made for the other gardens so...
It's been sort of a long week, made longer by having to close up at work which made for a twelve hour day. Sure am glad to be home with the kitties and a baseball game on the radio. Really, Friday night is my favorite.

Butterflies, Bees and the Like

I had some luck with my camera this weekend since I managed to get a couple good shots of a swallowtail butterfly in the lilies. All the flowers are attracting lots of bees and butterflies and moths.

The Honeysuckle has bloomed again and drawing in the hummingbirds more than the feeder is right now. The problem with the feeders is that all the hornets have also found out there's sugar in there and are probably keeping the hummingbirds away - at least from the larger feeder. The large feeder is also right at face level when I hang out the laundry on the line and the squealing of the pulleys seems to annoy the bees.....probably would be better to move the feeder aye? Right now though, there's plenty of flowering plants for the birds and bees alike.

With August right around the corner I was thinking there wouldn't be that much in bloom, but as I walked around Sunday, I saw that at least the Mums and Sunflowers would be coming around. Maybe there will be more surprises, but more likely I'll have to think about late summer blooming things for next year.

Morning Coffee With Moo

Here's a shot of how the world is here this morning. It's cloudy here and comfortable on the screen porch with coffee #2. Moomoo has parked herself on my outstretched legs without a care.
After browsing the headlines this morning I'm reminded again of what a turbulent world we live in. If I was to dwell on that - life would be a fearsome ordeal.
For those who don't relate to the value of having animals - it is (at least for me) - that they show us we have only the present time. Try and relax, take care of ourselves and enjoy the moments. When times aren't as agreeable as we'd wish they were - with any luck we remember that everything passes and that helps carry us through....For the kitties - even the vacuum shuts off after a while and peace resumes
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Sarah's visit

Sarah is visiting me since she has an exhibit at the Lake side Living Expo at Gunstock Recreation area nearby.
Last night I made Thai chicken with coconut rice, and

Cucumber & tomato salad. With that we had beer and wine.
Sarah is picured having coffee on the North-side porch and admiring the wasp nests and gardens.
Also pictured is Sarah with my gigantic Mullien plant and me too just for a size comparison. Sarah is 5'9" and clearly I am not.
Tonight we are having chicken livers and an assortment of olives and other antipasto type things. We're repeating the beverage selection since that was perfect.
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Globe Thistle, Delphinium & Civic Coupe

It's not the most artistic composition but all have been a part of my day. Sarah was saying on her blog that she was a little discouraged with her delphiniums but I would say that there is a marked improvement with mine this year that I can mostly attribute to mulch and moo-doo. So - don't lose hope Sarah! The globe thistle is looking pretty spikey and ready to attack any accidental leaners too.
My car got a lot of my attention today too since she got new shoes, oil and an allignment....and a lot of money....I just introduced a third variable in the mileage equation for next report. She no longer sounds like a freight train going down the road - was badly in need of tires and allignment....and now? BUTTER! Wah! I could have heard the radio had it been on!
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STELLAAAAAH!

Stella can't run but she's pretty.

Trumpet vine, also loved by humming birds.

Broccoli, loved by me, leaves and all.

I waited and waited to catch a shot of the humming birds at the feeders but wasn't quick enough. Then, after snapping a couple defenseless plants, the mosquitos and some bees that are trying to make a home of my unscreened porch came and drove me indoors to the screenporch and the ballgame on the radio. Poor Stella couldn't fly so I snapped her. But heck....she's beautiful too...
I was wondering if broccoli leaves were edible and sure enough they are hardly distinguishable from kale or collards, but more bitter as they grow larger, and as an added bonus have more beta carotene than the fleurets. I had two big bowls of salad with mixed greens to try to make up for the effects of the antibiotics taken for the upcoming root canal. There's nothing quite like fresh greens from your own little garden....except maybe getting a good picture of the humming birds at your own feeder perhaps?

The broccoli will be ready to pick soon if it isn't already, and peas too. Small comforts are sometimes just enough when things don't exactly go your way aren't they? Humming birds will have to wait another day I 'spose.

Week #7 Porch Shot

It's a little damp out there but there's still a porch shot...the bee balm is getting in the way of the full view but - in a good way. Herbs seem quite content with the moisture and the peas are happily pea-ing away....ah so satisfying to be a very small farmer....heh heh heh.

Done Priming - Long List

It's 10:30 am and I've already gone to the recycling center, Lowe's for paint and screening. Now the lawn, more painting, and maybe some weedwacking. Tomorrow will be an inside day since there's rain on the way....I hope it all works out.
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Week 6 Porch Shot

Well, here it is....already week #6. I spent all of Saturday working on scraping and priming the screen porch on the other side of the house....it was very pealy...seems as though the previous owner painted it without priming it first. I got most of the priming done, but as you can see there's some left to do. The weather was not good for painting on Sunday so other projects called. I hope to finish it up sometime this week and perhaps put actual paint on it next weekend, replace the screens and perhaps replace the rotton step that I removed.

Before......

Post Scraping.....










As far as I got....

Painted Hallway by Louise

OK here it is - The hallway with paint and virtuallly no damage to surrounding areas. Hannah describes my usual painting skills as like giving paintbrush to a seizure victim. Ah, to know one's limitations and still keep trying.

Salad Eaters

Here is my daughter Hannah and Lola Tobitah in the foreground here doing her favorite helpful thing - crossword puzzle holding down.

Well, we finally had some salad from the garden last night. There was lots of Rocket(Arugula) in the mix, which always seems sort of Peanutty to me so I made a little peanutty dressing to go with.

I wished and hoped for rain really hard the last couple weeks and it continues to rain.....but that's still a good thing.

June 4th

Today was a pretty good day - busy, yet without crisis...except maybe for getting the Oompa Loompa song stuck in my head...It's usually not so much the song as not knowing the words and having to say in my head "Oompa Loompa doom-pe-de-doo, I've got another puzzle for you etc...then getting to the next line to the parts where you don't know the words. I'm always tempted to look up the words...I think it's a little compulsive since it bothers me until I do, but I haven't as yet...Sometimes I feel as though knowing will make it worse.

In other news - the water collection system has been replenished! I have two 55 gallon barrels that are now full AND 2 other 55 gallon barrels that aren't yet connected for lack of effort in hunting down spigots and the like to connect them. That would make two sets of 110 gallons...one from the shed gutter and one from the porch gutter - both visable from the shed shot and porch shot. Aah, but that's sort of boring isn't it? But it's like having water in the bank! Didn't we all laugh at the suggestion that we'd pay money for bottled water about 15 years ago?