“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” ― Laura Ingalls Wilder
Adrian wanted some new "Sun's out, guns out" shirts. He specifically requested for me to get John Deere ones. At $20/a shirt, I'm not buying new sleeveless John Deere shirts. A $10 pack of three plain shirts, cutting up old John Deere/farming shirts and appliquing the designs? I can do that. He is thrilled.
Somehow it is June and I haven't posted a single garden pic. Not even my seedlings. I added a heat mat to my grow lights. It was great for peppers but I will not do that again for tomatoes. They almost grew too fast! Last fall I brought in compost to use in lieu of buying potting soil. I've always had compost, but when it is planting time, it's frozen. I scooped it into feed bags and stored it in the garage last fall. I brought it in a day before spring starter planting and it worked wonderfully. I had plenty of seedlings and shared a bunch too. I hosted another plant swap too that was a great success. I sold a bunch of raspberry suckers this year. I planted a bunch more strawberries I got from a new gardening friend. I got another load of woodchips from our arborist friend that has kept me busy. I keep expanding. Adrian is concerned that I will eventually make our whole yard a garden. My hands are definitely working hands. There is plenty of dirt below my fingers. But things are growing. Almost this entire garden is free or almost free thanks to friends and saving seeds. The only thing in this whole area when we moved in was rhubarb. Otherwise, it was a hayfield.
This is the main garden
This is the blueberry patch, that I finally covered with woodchips. I have been wanting to do this for a few years. No more mowing the blueberries, YES!
I have scars to prove that this was an entire hedge of barberry...up to the windows...that I removed. I've started new plantings here.
A couple of girls enjoying hanging around, beating the heat of last week, in their favorite tree. It's the same tree that I loved, tended, fertilized and encouraged for the last 8 years. It is already a big part of this summer's memories.
Today was a marvelous day for a homemade slingshot (sticks with rubber bands) tournament. They found bottles from the recycling and hit them over with the sling shots. Watch out Goliath, their aim is improving.
This photo taken at 7am, of the girls playing in one of their favorite flower patches, prompted me to grab my camera.
I asked for them to take me on a little tour of the three best current flower patches.
1)
June is a great time of year for barefoot girls fueled by an imagination to play.
We (finally) took our walls and windows down on our old 1880 house's three season porch and put up the floor to ceiling screens. Washed the walls and floors too. (View from outside looking in from last year's shots here.)
