June 16, 2020

The garden is all planted.  The corn, especially those first two rows, aren't making a good stand.  Jim had to replant the okra, none came up.  He also replanted cucumbers, zucchini and yellow summer squash, because only half the hills came up.  The spinach did badly.  I only have one plant.  I have four heads of lettuce coming on.  I wish there was more.  Our beets are doing excellently well, having been eaten off by rabbits, the last two years.  Our potatoes and tomatoes are both doing well, as well as the beans, which will as usual, prove too many.  I still have two gallons of frozen beans left. I think the cold weather we had in the middle of April may have been the reason for non-productive seeds.

We've been having a spell of very windy weather.  This is really a more normal weather pattern for us. A few years ago, we had three summers without much wind.  It felt strange at first, but it was a very pleasant change.  We seem to be back the way we were, and are as aggravated as ever with so many days of 30 mph wind.  I think it's windier than usual.  I say that we don't consider it a windy day around here until the wind reaches 25 mph. 

Jim bought me a water hyacinth the other day.  I want to take pictures as it grows.  It grows fast and and enjoy watching it. It's that tiny plant in the smaller area in the pond.

April 25, 2020

We bought a yellow tomato plant, some red and white petunias, and some snapdragons.  I intended to plant them today, but after we spent all morning cleaning out the garage, I was too tired. 

Jim has to switch the tires on the tractor so the wheel track is wider when he plants sweet corn with his cute little 2-row planter.  He planted 2 short rows of sweet corn today, below the asparagus bed.

April 18,, 2020

We had our freeze and then a warm-up.

I worked in the flower garden and wore myself out.

My scillas looked pretty bad after the freeze, but they perked up a little after it warmed up.

More snow -- April 16

It snowed ALL day. Quite a bit melted as it came.

The morning after.

April 13, 2020

Saturday the 11th, was a beautiful, sunny, non-windy, almost hot day.  

Jim worked in the garden all day planting early vegetables, 

carrots, beets, peas, lettuce, spinach and potatoes. 

We need to remember it takes 5# of seed potatoes for one row.

We didn't get some of the varieties of seed we usually get, the seeds were well picked over by the time we bought ours. 

I spent my almost hour cleaning up and weeding my flower beds.  I work until I start getting tired and then take my cart full of vegetation to the compost pile. 

I also picked a lot of daffodils since a freezing cold snap was expected.

Today we woke up to a 17 degree morning.  

I haven't looked out to see what has survived.  

Here are some before photos.

My pile of daffys

And in pint jars.  My favorite flowers.

April 6, 2020

Today was a the first really nice day in April.  It was especially so, because of the lack of wind.  

It's the first time I was out cleaning the flower gardens in April.  I picked all the daffodils that were out.  They seem late, but we had a hard freeze that did the hyacinths in.  

My scillas are blooming as well as the creeping charlie and hen bit.  I'm hoping to be out early enough to curb some of those. (not the scillas)  I take boiling water and scald the ones in the brick garden walk.

Jim planted onions this weekend, and mowed for the first time today. He also extended our sidewalk with rock.  

April 3

March 24, 2020

Every year I know I need to get out and start cleaning my flower beds early in March, because we generally have some nice days then.  

But, I don't do it.  

This year March came in like a lamb with sunny days and temperatures in the 50s-70s.  

(We also had some really nice days in February, but I refuse to work outside in February.)

This winter wasn't as cold or snowy as the last two years.  We had our biggest snow in last December,

almost 11 inches.

Dec 29

This is still the same snow. 

January 25

Windy days and bag kites

March 5

March 9

March 13 

March 19  --- Hail

I got out March 21st and cleaned out flower beds to the tune of two garden cart loads and two more loads today.  

Jim is outside planting rhubarb, which we have never had any luck with since it needs acidic soil and we don't have any, and asparagus to add to our current patch.  

After that, he's building rafters for our new chicken house/garden shed.

This project will take awhile, because even though he got most of the wood free as leftovers from some of the Costco chicken house projects, (we put the gas in), there will be a lot of other expenses and we pay as we build. 

March 23, 2020

March 23 -- Sunny at last

These weeds have a pretty flower, but are annoying the rest of the year.