August 3, 2009

Still working on getting the garden in shape for fall. Dug up two paths and laid down cardboard under the weedblock and mulch.
T/P: rosemary in Bed A, as a pollinator attractor.
Tomato, in Bed B
P: zinnia, sunflower and cosmos in back fence bed. Sunflowers in side fence bed. Bush beans and cowpeas in Bed A. Waiting on my Burpee's seed order for some plants. I have never tried growing annuals in the fall, and look forward to the results.

Turned compost heap, which is still heating up wonderfully. Every two-three days seems to work better than daily. I will 'un-sew' the leaf heap by the front gate from its wild morning glory vines and use them to replenish the paths and mulch. Any leaf mold will go onto the beds and the leftovers will go into the new heap.

Finished laying out the soaker hose system. Now to figure out a watering schedule for the beds in the evenings. Going in and out several times under the geckos lurking over the back door is not a pleasant vision. Maybe I can get it all done before it gets really dark and they come out.

I scavenged some nice rocks from a parkway and am looking for a place to sink my little plastic pond, so I can use them around the edges. It won't be a proper pond with water circulation, etc., but just a watering hole for, hopefully, frogs and toads.
Unless Evil White Cat gets them.

Journal May 4

Ow, Ow, Ow. Stepped in a mess of fire ants today. Time to buy bait.
Picked up four bags of clippings on a swing through the neighborhood. It was slim pickins' as the weather pre-empted a lot of mowing, so if it clears up this week, next Monday should be great.
I love my rain gauge- according to it, we've had 5 1/2" inches since last Thursday.
Today- mulched with the grass, weeded. Finished de-sodding the new bed area in the NP,
added grass. Intend to add compost and dirt, once the dirt dries out.
Bagged up the weeds.
Fed the birds. V. pointed out a dead one under the feeder, so I buried it under the Althea bush.
Picked peas.
To do: finish bed in NP. Mulch flower beds. Repair statue niche. Hand new bird bath from NP fence.
Squash is up, and there are blossoms on the TP's.
Trying to come up with a format for these posts, so they're not a hodge-podge.

Reading "Flee to the Fields", papers from the Catholic Land Movement, which was active in England between the late '20's and the beginning of WWII. Interesting.

Journal April 15

After the cold killed so many seedlings, I determined not to re-plant 'til after Easter.
It has gotten warm enough for various flower seeds, the pumpkins and the cowpeas to sprout.
Today is the first day in almost two weeks that there was anything really to do, or nice enough weather to work in.
Weeded beds, re-set pavers in Bird Area, which will be known as the Nature Preserve (NP) from now on, weeded in NP. Harvested lettuce.
V. has almost completed the tool rack- I assured him I could finish it while he was at the coast. I'm thinking of staining it a rust color, to blend in with the house brick.
Leaves are so compacted in the compost bins that it may be a good idea to turn them. A two-person job that might need a captive daughter.
To do:
Buy, TP peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, basil.
Re-plant squash, beans, cukes
Buy 1x2's to brace tool rack. Finish rack. Stain?
Mulch weeded areas in NP
Move dirt, plant sunflowers in NP.
Birdola, suet, seeds.

First!

This little narcissus claims the honor. To me, the scents of spring bulbs and new grass are some of the most evocative. They are the fragrance of re-generation.