The Birds and the Bees

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We got most everything done on our list last week, but for spraying, again. That will be this morning. Coming back up from picking cherries I chanced upon a VERY busy bumblebee and spent several minutes trying desperately to get him in focus before he zipped off. However, he barely stayed in one spot longer than 2 or 3 seconds, so I was sorely disappointed.





And we found a nest in the kiwi arbor of robins' eggs. I looked at a chart one time of how long it takes bird eggs to hatch and leave the nest. I was amazed. Some are out of the nest in only 3 days! I just tried to find the link but was unable to.





Cherry picking was fun. These are only bush cherries. They are like a mild sour cherry. They did not ripen all at once, so we are going to go pick more today. We also got rained out and had to hide under the bushes for a while, picking the inside.





















Here is the fungus that gets the cherries; Brown Rot. I had to rip out all the sand cherries I had put in years ago. They were so susceptible to brown rot that the entire bushes were a pile of mold. These are not so bad. We just lose a small percentage.





The grapes we will not be able to eat this year, due to spraying. But they sure LOOK great! LOL





The van before:





And getting clean. The car was almost unrecognizable afterwards. LOL





And the exterior windows sure look a lot better! They were pretty gross.





The potatoes are out of control! I've not been getting boards up, and the straw is barely hanging on. One of them has started to flower. I think the rest of the potatoes will go in the ground. I just need a bigger garden plot.





I like to keep my salad fixings all made up. We came up and put together salads worthy of the finest restaurants!









The asparagus forest. You can't see the forest for the spears?









If you've never smelled fig leaves, they are so uniquely scented. I visited my folks and their fig tree yesterday. It too had not fared well this winter. Just one of those years...





Laying out the string to mark where the new locations for the posts on the greenhouse will be.





I am really not looking forward to digging those out and moving them. One of those chores that I'll have to force myself to do.

Oh, yes. Our list for today:

DONE - Finish mowing goat pen
DONE - Mow around compost bins
DONE - One hour work on rocks
DONE - Pick more cherries
DONE - Pick more peas
DONE - Pick more strawberries
DONE - Pinch runners
DONE - Clean off patio
DONE - Put away sprouting stuff
DONE - Water lettuce
DONE - Plant more lettuce
DONE - Cover lettuce box with wire
- Re-pot houseplants
DONE - Prune/Tie grapes
DONE - Spray grapes
DONE - Tie up blackberries
DONE - Spray fence lines


~Faith

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Sea Monkeys!

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Michael has been sick since Thursday. Yesterday, being our usual sabbath day of rest anyhow got him to thinking about our tradition of pulling out a craft or activity from the studio on Saturday afternoon. His choice was to grow another batch of troips, or what I used to know as Sea Monkeys, from the backs of comic books as a child. They should be hatching by Monday if they work. I'll post pics. Try not to fall off the edge of your lawn chair in suspense. LOL

I have figured out how to drag and drop pictures in a larger format here, using my Flock browser. I do like this browser, though I've heard that Firefox has an extension that is almost the same. I don't want to try another extension. My computer has about (__) this much room left...

Gardening successes and failures are coming to the forefront.

We started the last herbs we had in seed last week and these little guys are coming up. Aren't these German Chamomiles cute?




I did do a quick deadheading on my one fragrance-free peony by the studio.




Thanks to Tracy at Peaceful Acres We are trying to save a little money by finishing out our potato bins in straw. I'd heard of growing in straw but didn't think of applying it to potato bins. The bins are new to me, so it's an interesting experiment.




Blackberries and grapes are all pruned and tied up.




Flowers on the wild blackberries are white, these Doyle's are very light lavender.








The sunflower cutting garden. We're succession planting.




Not confident in our first pumpkin planting, in which we followed instructions for a 12" high hill in the garden, we dug a spot in a well fertilized area of the pasture and replanted. The stakes are high now in our competition. If we win, the other family has to dress up for the Christmas Ball.




An overview of the garden. Really a slow start this year.




Our first flush of Sugar Snap Peas.




Our second and third plantings.




We put in new melon seed one week ago. They are actually coming up this time. I think our spring was just too cool and moist for them. I'm so glad we are getting melons!




The summer squash are not doing well at all. The weather kept us from planting and I've read that if they stay in the pots too long before transplanting they will bloom far too early for their size. Just like this.




Michael gets 30 minutes a day for computer games. He doesn't use them up sometimes as we are so busy, but he got to use some saved minutes while sick on Saturday.




Where we went outside to enjoy perfect weather and work on our seasonal to-do list.
You can see, the front yard has had nothing done to it. The soil is awful. Some day! :)




Me, sporting that bruise from falling down while chasing the filly.




Seth, the Faithful Doggy.




Our initial lists, to be added to as we find the need. Don't know if you can read them. I'd like to put a list at the side of my blog that I can cross off here, if anyone can tell me how to do that.










Now that my list is done, I'm a lot happier!

Faith

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Did You See That? Me Either!

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Whoosh! That was life, speeding by, leaving me spinning like those old cartoons.

We spent a half day today cleaning a large house for extra money. The owners are arriving in town today and wanted it ready for them. That will be helpful!

I did not pick up my camera and document much. We have been busy, but nothing seemed noteworthy, really. I suspect because I've about hit burnout from spring gardening madness and now it's getting a little tedious. I'm ready to move on now... THANKS!

There were a few things we took pics of. Here we are continuing to add on to the potato boxes. A lovely evening provided the backdrop, though I do wish we'd have been gnat free.





Ta-DAAaaaaa!





And Michael came back down from his project on the hill. He is not only clearing the hillside, but has decided to liven up the tree house by building another platform on a tree some distance away and creating a cable for a zip line.

Michael is currently over at the potato boxes when I snapped this picture of the tools of his trade.





So, we were replanting the corn. AGAIN! Michael was working on another hill for our Giant Pumpkin project, and he says, "Do you hear those bees?"

"No." Me standing to ease my aching back and swish the gnats away from my face.

"Do you hear the sound like wind down in the trees in the horse pasture?"

"No," says his rapidly-going-deaf mother.

After a few more exchanges we decide this could be a cool picture taking event, so off we scamper.

We found the swarm behind the blackberry pit near the round pen and took a lot of fun shots. Michael took most of the cool ones. He likes to play with the camera settings, I've just gotten to busy to care beyond point and shoot lately.

Here's where they were at...













It was at this point that I hoped beyond all reason I could get our old hive out and coax this new hive in, but upon running to the feed and tack room, I realized fully what I already knew. It needs work first. Another thing on our list...





Here they are clustering around the newly crowned queen.





Yes, I'm on my third planting of corn. I have one hill that behaved itself. Only one sprout didn't come up.





But most look more like this one. Only one sprout DID come up.





We have spent a couple of days in the vineyard. Pruning, tying up, and spraying with the most obnoxious chemical I have ever used. We have used Sevin for the bugs that are coming, and a fungicide for the Black Rot that has begun already. Needless to say, we won't be eating any grapes this year, but I hope to get the black rot under control enough to use a milder fungicide next year.





Here is the beginning of Black Rot, otherwise known as Mummy Berry.





More problems. Cane borers, or girdlers. Judicious pruning and hopefully Sevin will take care of that.





Honestly, grapes have taken up a lot of our last few days. We had to burn all the trimmings. That took gas to get the greenery up in flames.

I talked with a vineyard owner today. He invited us to come and see his operation and learn from him, so I hope we can do that in the next couple of weeks.

I know we've done other things, but my brain is currently going into shut down. So here is where I'll quit.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Faith

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