Wildflowers! Diary 5/31/15

In the span of just a few yards, I found all these wildflowers today!

I always called this "Soapwort", might be Sandwort?

Henderson Stars

Arnica

Iris

Twin Flowers

Diary 5/30/15

The peonies are putting on their annual show. It is a hedge of blossoms. Often we have a thunderstorm this time of year which can obliterate their beauty quickly. Such storms have been predicted for days, but nothing here yet. I did see verga , the rain that doesn't make it to the ground, this evening, but no drops anywhere. So dry~

Deer and Gopher Wars: Diary 5/28/15

I did build fence the night before last to keep the deer out of the end of the greenhouse, but she slipped under it when I went out this afternoon. So I added another bottom rung. She will not be going in that way, anymore. I also put the black plastic deer fence up along the sides I needed to open to vent. Here's hoping she doesn't force her way through. Just one deer, I think. Very pesky. I am defending against gophers using castor oil and Neem. The castor oil mix is 1 1/2 tsp. and 1 tsp mild dish soap to a gallon of water. Then using that mix adding a TBS. to a watering can and sprinkling it, I have had some success keeping the critters away. Neem may work, too, so I am trying that, also. I have never used it as a mammal deterrent, only for insects.I am hoping to stave the gophers off by adding some compost to the beds as I did last year. Seems they don't like the fresher materials. I will mulch the edges of the tomato beds and see if it makes any difference. Meanwhile I have a crazy snapdragon show going on in the other greenhouse. I think I may have to get some stakes in there to hold things up~

Diary 5/27/15

Back from Portland. It was so lush there as the pictures point out. It was pretty lush here, too. The inch of rain we received in about a hour on Thursday brought the grasses up to my chin. Mowing and weed eating are in our future! Deer broke into the greenhouse while gone and ate a couple squash and topped a couple tomatoes. More fencing going up today. Grrrr!

Diary 5/21/15

The greenhouse is slowly coming together. This is the one I am turning into more of a come and hang out and enjoy greenhouse rather than just for food. I have a table at one end with double shade cloth over it. I am working on a water feature at that end, also. I planted one rose bush and it is doing great, so I may add another. Meanwhile the more productive greenhouse is almost planted and 2/3s weeded. I hope everyone has a safe weekend and at some point in the few days thinks of those who gave their lives for virtues they believed in. I just wish we didn't have to have wars~

Diary 5/21/15

We actually received some real rain yesterday, but the morning was still dry. We have some worked up dirt by the chicken pen and they made themselves a wonderful dust bath area . As the rooster stood guard, the girls flung dirt all over themselves and between their feathers. They stand up, shake it all off, and go on with their day~

Diary 5/19/15

We have zoomed past the middle of May. Memorial Day weekend is coming up, the official start of summer, and I am just getting the garden in. No one told me this is how it would be in older age. Time will speed up! I try to figure out if I am wasting time, or using my time less efficiently. Maybe the hour on the internet cuts in, but I don't watch much TV, so that swaps out in my mind. I get up early. Before I have coffee, I have fed the animals. 15 minutes later and most of a cup of coffee, I am doing any dishes from the night before, starting a load of laundry and maybe sweeping a floor. I make lists I can't possibly accomplish, and I see the edges closing in, needing attention. The yard is a wreck; the mower is broken. The garden is coming along, but I spend 2 to 3 hours a day just weeding to get 1 hour of planting and pruning in. I am sore all the time, and I am exhausted and thinking about bed at 8:30! I want to be a dog...

or maybe a cat...