Summertime

Middle of June! How can it be?

I haven't even taken any pictures lately. We went to the car show and and Jr. got that nice shot of the Corvette and Mustang.

The weather has been alternating between very warm, and nice and cool with thunderstorms. We actually got a couple of brief downpours. Puddle making rain, it's a blessing here. Very pretty outside, green and lush, flowers blooming, but the mosquitoes are driving me nuts.

Garden update:

We had frost this month. The beans I planted out in the fenced garden got burned, even though they were covered with the blanket. Everything in the greenhouse is fine.

Potatoes are coming up out there, I thought I had dug them all up last year, but nope. I transplanted strawberries from Aunt J's garden and planted lettuce and flowers out there which are coming up slowly.

I've been harvesting radishes, bok choy, and lettuce from the box, and had the first greenhouse peas on Saturday.

Peas, zucchini, bush beans, onions, tomatoes, kohlrabi, carrots, radishes, spinach and a few flowers are in the greenhouse now. I put a tarp over part of it for shade on hot days, and that keeps the temperature down.

Animal news:

We have more birds this year, I'm sure, because there is a lot of lovely music outside, night and day. Well, it seems like night when they're singing, but the sun rises at four thirty so to them it might be morning at three.

Research on goats has made me think twice. Apparently they don't like grass and clover much, but they love trees, roses, tender tips of shrubs and pretty much everything I want to protect. They do eat some weeds, but not enough to make up for the damage they do to other stuff. Then, they turn out to be great escape artists and can undo latches and jump over fences and push through them and---what a headache!

I'd actually rather have a donkey, because they'll eat grass, and they're way cuter. But he'll need a friend, so maybe a little pygmy goat would be ok. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn't it? The goat will be the instigator and mastermind, and the donkey will carry out his evil plans. Good luck catching them once they break out.

Rusty is behaving very badly, I don't know if he's jealous or has indigestion or if he's just a brat cat. J took down the swing support so he can't climb on the roof anymore and wake everyone up three times a night. Snoodly is behaving angelically, he's turning out to be a great cat. He's happy living out in his garage, never grumbles or demands more attention. When I pick him up he's a little rag doll, relaxing into my arms with total trust and purring up a storm. No wonder Rusty is jealous!

The fish are multiplying like mad, pretty soon the tank will be a sea of orange, as the huge school of Platy swim by, and Sharky and the bottom feeders will just be flashes of silver and brown.

It's 61 degrees, sunny at 8:30 am.

The Goat House

Many thanks to my sister and brother-in-law, and to J, for turning the old coop de chicken into this beautiful new goat house. Everything used was recycled from the old coop and from other materials lying around the place. Staggering ingenuity went into building it, and the whole project only took about an hour! The eyesore full of junk has become a sweet little shed, where the goats will look out at us and say "feeeeeeeeeed meeeeeeee!" We'll probably put up a fence for an outside yard too, with a wee mountain for them to climb on.

Now, what kind of goats? Pygmies? Milkers? Cashmere? Time for some research...

The weather has been warm and sunny and summery this week. The mosquitos are biting, the crickets are chirping and the butterflies are flying around. I've seen two garter snakes in the garden. A couple of deer have been visiting at night, eating clover and birdseed. One nest box is occupied by western bluebirds, down by the garden.

The chives are blooming, and the blue flax, which only opens in the morning.

It's about 70 degrees, sunny and breezy at 10:30 am.

Knock knock!

Anybody home?  

I had a visitor on Friday.  We've been having a little heat wave, and I guess I'm not the only one who isn't ready for it.  She was panting and very thirsty and tired.  But also curious.

She checked out the pool.
The garage.

She found the water.

And drank it all.
Then she had a little rest in the shade.

Her feet were dainty.

Her tail too.

She headed off into the forest,  and I told her she was welcome to come back...as long as she didn't eat my plants.
She gave me a sly grin, and said, but of course.

Koo Koo Ka Choo

May flower

Arrowleaf Balsamroot

Yesterday I built a little fence to block the view of the electrical box.  (Looking at this box from the kitchen window has been such a thorn in my side, there are so many things to consider when building a house!  I didn't even realize our view was being spoiled until it was too late).

Now, you may laugh at the crudity of this effort.  I'm not in the habit of building stuff.  This is a big step for me.  It's held together with twine.  Very low tech.  But J will make it sturdier with his power tool expertise.  Then I will try and grow something on it, that the deer don't like of course. This is on their smorgasbord route, and I'm sure they'd love it if I planted beans or sunflowers here.  They'd eat everything then knock down the fence to spite me.  What's that poisonous climbing bean called?  Castor?  I need some of those seeds.

I'm still trying to figure out where to plant some sunflowers.  Without a fence they'll get chomped for sure.  Maybe I should prepare a little field of them with an electric fence around it.  I've got electricity right there at the box...Heh heh, heh heh, zap!

It's warm today!  I prepared the fenced garden for planting raspberries and ?.  The race is on for growing as much as we can as quickly as possible before the end of the season come September. Or we could just lounge around in lawn chairs and go shop at the Farmer's Market... 

Lunch

Oh yum, I love lunch.  My favorite kind is a bunch of stuff on a plate with salad dressing.  Here's what I had today (I know, this is a cliche to write about my lunch):

Baby greens

Baguette slices

Hummus

Raspberries and Blackberries

Cheddar Cheese

and The Dressing--Australian Olive Oil (first time I've tried it, it is good!) Rice Vinegar, Water, Chopped garlic, Salt and Pepper.

...and an organic beverage.

I started this plate of random stuff habit many years ago at my sister's house, and she thought I was a loon.  I would get kippers, salad vegetables, cheese, french bread and oil and vinegar dressing.  Oh my gooness, it was good.

I went shopping today, that's why we have yummy food.  It should last about 4 days,  if we're lucky.  I think if people had yummy food all the time they'd be happier.  Eating should always be a pleasure, not a bore or a chore.  It is a chore when you're eating low quality, processed foods. Whenever I feel down, I go back to the garlic, olive oil and fresh fruits and vegies and it really helps.  I think fresh garlic may be nature's anti-depressent.  You won't win many friends or influence people, but you'll be happy about it.

It's May!

Happy May everyone!  A busy time of year, too busy to keep up on the blog.  It's so nice to be outside again.  In comparison, it seems like a chore to sit at the computer desk.  But I need to keep track of all the progress that's been going on out there.  It's raining  today, so it's a good time to get up to date.

Early May was pretty windy.  We had a frightening thunder storm, it seemed to be sitting right over the house one night.  We've had very cold windy days, and some warmer sunny periods.  The clouds are always up there, puffy and white and so perfect in the blue sky.  When they cover the sun, the temperature goes down dramatically.

The grass likes this weather, I've already mowed a few times.  I just got some grass shears, so I can do the edging around the garden without a weed whacker.  Not that I ever used a weed whacker myself.  I use a manual push mower and grass shears and it's so much nicer than using those loud, dangerous machines.

The peas, radishes, and other stuff came up in the greenhouse.  I made a little climbing structure for the peas with twigs and twine.  I (bravely) planted the tomatoes out there about a week ago, and planted zucchini and bean seeds on Saturday May 9.  Ooooo, that's early.  I set out some flower transplants outside in the garden, most of them are perishing from the cold.  Better wait till June.

  I had to refill this birdfeeder once so far.  The bags are working, I'm glad to know.  Except, look who found it.  I don't mind, I like watching squirrels as much as birds.  There's also a nestbox in this tree and he was sitting by it while a bluebird and some other birds drove him off.

Rusty was looking with us out the window, making those weird noises and licking his chops.
The wildflowers are starting to bloom, here's the Arrowhead Balsamroot, nearly ready.  It's blooming around the neighborhood already.  It is colder here at our house, I knew it.

Here's one I don't know the name of, I'll have to get a library book.

This one has a hitchhiker.

The violets and some willows are also blooming.

Birds are waiting for better weather, I think, to start nesting.  We now have five boxes up but no takers.  Bluebirds and Tree Swallows come to look sometimes.  I hope Rusty hasn't scared them off.  The hummingbirds are back and they are at the feeder a lot, since there aren't many flowers out there.  We have some Towhee visitors frequently, I'm still trying to get a good picture.  The crows are coming around more, making their strange noises.  I don't know what they're after, though Snoodly thinks it's him.  A foggy morning and two crows on a branch outside your bedroom window is pretty spooky.  And noisy.  

It's raining and 49 degrees at 12:00 pm.

Don't count on it...

The weather was (is) warm.  It is (was) cold.  It is (was) snowing.  It was (is) dry and windy.  A sprinkle of rain fell (falls).  A  warm sun shone (shines).

  

The daffodils are blooming.

And the Avalanche Lilies.
Snowberry is leafing out.
The new improved greenhouse! A few things have sprouted.  Mostly maple tree seedlings from all the leaves we put on last fall.  The greenhouse doesn't hold heat at night, but as soon as the sun rises, it heats up fast.  On warmer days I have to open the doors and lift all the flaps. 
Snowy daffodils

The flower starts are ready to be transplanted, but it's too early.  

It's 34 degrees and snowing at 9:30 am; 43 degrees in the greenhouse.