Spent all day in my yard, but once again I am caught up and hoping for some rain. The yard service that does my fertilizing and weed treatment treated my yard this week and said it must be watered in within one week. Crap...I'm not ready to set up sprinklers!
Yet another tomato plant lying dead on the ground this morning. Looks like something is just cutting it off......and not even eating it! Damn, bugs, if you are going to cut down my plant, at least eat it! 5 of the eight Better Boy plants are gone. I guess I will replace them tomorrow with some bigger plants. Today I got another sprinkler system hooked up and have one going on the corn rows. Also, got Dad's drip system he set up on a fence above his berries going again. It's a rather unique system consisting of a soaker hose snaked through a fence so that it drips from the top on the berry plants. It's way cool! It stayed just like he had it all during the harsh winter, but was unhooked from the water source. I was doubtful that it would still work since those soaker hoses are rather fragile, but it did. Dad was very proud of his row of different kinds of berries....blackberries, boysen berries and some others that I don't recall. What didn't survive were his little markers where he had labeled his plants, so we are clueless as to what they are. The very last place Dad ever worked was from a little stool he sat on to clean weeds out of his berries. It was very hard for me to move that stool, but I finally did move it because I had to clean out from under his berries and put new pine straw around them.
I spent 5 hours working in the garden today. All I can say is it better produce some groceries. Part of the time I was trying to rig up some sprinkler systems in the garden because it is getting really dry. I planted some bell peppers, eggplants and more tomatoes. Something has destroyed two of my original tomato plants. I put pine straw around the new plants that I planted today to help with moisture and weeds. My mom even came out looking for me because I had not come inside at all and she was afraid I was passed out somewhere in the garden. Not out of the realm of possibility....I was very tired when I left. I called my brother and asked him to go over at some point tonight and turn off the sprinkler. Our garden water comes from a well and not from the village water system, so we don't have to be as frugal.
It's no secret that I love my home and I derive great pleasure from keeping it looking nice, especially the outside. Today was one of those days that I never left the house, but took care of a lot of things around home. What a project it was to remove the pollen from the indoor/outdoor carpet that is on the patio! It required my high power hose attachment sweeper and then a squeegy. The furniture is still sitting out in the yard hoping for the sun to dry the cushions out tomorrow. I guess I will be back in the garden tomorrow.
Was in the garden by 8:30 this morning and worked there until 1:30. That's just more than this old body can take. That's without taking a break for lunch. Planted some bush beans and cucumbers while my brother planted 5 more rows of corn. That's the easy part. Getting the soil ready to plant is the hard part along with hoeing the weeds out of the potatoes and other stuff. I am determined not to let the weeds win this year. They won all previous years, but not this one if I can stay ahead of them.
I put stuff for beef stew in the crock pot before I left this morning. I think it's good, but I am too tired to eat!!
Another day of gardening chalked up with success! My brother and I both worked at Mom's today. He was clearing a place by a fence, so I could plant some climbing green beans. I cleared another place to plant some bush green beans tomorrow. We both successfully used the Mantis tiller and our garden is looking good. Almost everything has come up....even the sunflowers that I planted only a week ago are coming up. I am so excited at how nice our garden looks. I will post pictures when things come up a little more. I planted more tomatoes today. We swore we were not going to plant enough stuff to feed the village like our dad did, but it looks more and more like that is the case.
Fortunately, it's work I enjoy. Spent all day Monday in the yard and garden again. Got my yard all mowed and pristine, then went to finish mowing Mom's yard. We have groceries coming up all over the place. It's so much fun to watch and it makes me miss my dad so much. This is the time of year that he just loved. I must have got his genes on this because I love to garden and work in the yard. It's so satisfying to have a beautiful yard and a lovely vegetable garden. It's certainly not easy on this old body, but it is very gratifying. Hoping for some rain today because our garden really needs it.
Spent all day in the garden and Mom's yard without even stopping for any lunch or drinks. When I get going, eating is not on my mind. Of course, when I get home, I am starved so I have already grabbed a wiener and malted milk eggs! How's that for a meal!!! I rock!
Planted some more potatoes because so many of ours have not come up. If they do eventually all come up, everyone will need to come get some potatoes....just sayin'! Also planted some pole beans...AKA Christmas butter beans because it seems like they don't get ready until Christmas....80 to 90 days to fruit, but someone gave them to me a couple of years ago and I am finally getting around to planting them. Brother wanted to plant some more radishes, so I bought more and planted them. After I finished up in the garden, I got on the lawn mower and mowed and mowed and mowed and mowed.....still didn't finish, but I will next week. I was tired! I am exhausted, but it is a good kind of exhaustion because I know I accomplished a lot while I was getting exhausted!!! A cold beer and a nap will make it all better!
Spent a good part of the day working in the garden. Got some tomatoes planted, and some cucumbers, squash and zucchini. Also, planted Dad's two rows of sunflowers. He always loved the big showy sunflowers because he could actually see them in his last years when he was nearly blind from macular degeneration.
Went to a beautiful outdoor lunch at my neighbor's house, then went to Wal Mart on the first day of the month and EASTER! CRAP...after that I had to come home and take a NAP!
I was in overdrive today at Mom's. Cooked a pork loin for her before I ever went there, stopped to pick up Hawaiian rolls to have with the pork loin and went and bought squash plants, cucumbers, and tomatoes to plant.
Brother and I hoed around the few little potatoes that have come up. The weeds have no problem coming up, so why are the potatoes struggling! We also planted a few more potatoes, a row of pinto beans and 2 more rows of corn.
After that I finished cloroxing and power washing in her garage and around her entrance to the house. I went crazy with the power washer because it opened cans of worms all over the place. Every place I cleaned showed me another place that needed it. I am worn out after 5 hours of working at her house. OUCH!
Ok, full speed for me is barely moving, but even at that speed, I have accomplished my goals already today.
