House and Garden, May-June 2009
This is as far as I have gotten scrubbing the mildew off of our siding. About 80% done with the back.
Gopher wars (May 1). I dug a moat around the garlic to find the tunnel...
...and after five unsuccessful days, eight lost garlic bulbs, and many plugged traps finally caught it.
The west plots, just planted (May 1)
June 9 - our "big chickens"
Buff Orpington pullet
Cuckoo Marans pullet
Cuckoo Marans cockerel. Sadly, this bird was mortally wounded by our rooster a few weeks later, and he became part of a Southwestern soup.(As of June 28, our other two Marans cockerels are confined in the barn, putting on a few more pounds before we eat them.)
Black Star pullet
Recently mowed chicken yard (~1/2 of it)
Plums are coming!
Semi-wild irises dot our property and bloom in late May-early June
Long-neglected shrub rose in our front yard
One of our Marans pullets laid a tiny egg! (Ameraucana and Rhode Island eggs for comparison) We haven't had any more pullet eggs in the three weeks since.
Firepit! This has been a long time in planning, with varying opinions on where it should go. This spot has the advantage of being level, thistle-free, somewhat wind-protected, and close to our scrap wood stash in the barn.
Fire - 6-16-09.
The most beautiful birthday cake I have ever had - a lemon-crust cream cheese fruit tart courtesy of Ebba! Many folks were out of town, so I had a mellow birthday and a solo fire. I played/sang some of Ed's original songs and a few of my favorites and mused over my past 24 years.
Ebba made a second cake - an incredible rum cheesecake, for my party celebration on the 27th, and we had a potluck, homebrewed mead, sparklers, fire songs, etc.
The west plots - June 28. L-R Onions (~1/8 of our total), cucumbers, center two beds are brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale of many varieties), right bed is beets, turnips, parsnips, lilies at far end. Front bed has eggplants, peppers, lupines, and many squash out of frame to the right.
Peas! And arugula, cauliflower, and the edge of our main onion bed.
The northeast plots. Tomatoes, winter squash, horseradish, and the equivalent of two Ed-plots of potatoes (mostly out of frame to the right)
Delphinium (larkspur). I bought it at farmers' market last week. The flowers are actually a deep violet - not sure why the camera is making them blue.
The circle plot. Pansies, lettuce, spinach, and green beans (behind).