Garden stuff
The garden has been as full of joy as it has work lately. I love how the oranges of the pumpkin blossoms are running right through the oranges and yellows of the nasturtium flowers. The tomatoes are turning yellow and orange and red, all hiding in the dark green of the tomato leaves. It's almost impossible to spot the green peppers as they're the same color as their leaves. Some of the glads are still upright while the earlier ones have given up the ghost. We have a small stand of rainbow chard steadily churning out leaves and I spotted a lone ripe strawberry in the patch. The potatoes are gaining on it - maybe another month till the first baby taters. I definitely need to cut all the herbs back. The catnip and fennel and marjoram are getting quite weedy. The onions either need to get used or covered back over for next year. I watched a bee dancing over the creeping raspberry leaves while I watered. As long as I didn't actually spray onto the bee, he didn't seem to mind the mist. I also discovered the one asparagus plant that the yard guys haven't torn out by accident now has a little wispy asparagus stem. It's over near the yellow-turning-orange lemon cucumbers hiding in all the cucumber and grape greenery. The yellow snapdragons are almost consumed by the purple-green sage monster now. Speaking of hidden, I think we're up to five pumpkins started now, but it's hard to tell under all the pumpkin vines, sage, and everything else in that box.
While watering today I saw no fewer than eight bees all on the fennel flowers. The artichoke blooms are just about done, save for the one hold out with a few bees in it this morning. The birds were at the bird baths before I'd even gotten the yard half done. Over by the grapes & cucumbers, I spotted a butterfly I don't think I've seen in the yard before - kind of like a monarch, in the oranges and yellows and I think dark outline, but much smaller and different wing shape. I couldn't get very close, and it was gone before I even thought about going for the camera. And the fledgling blue jay, well, I think he's always going to look like a teenager. He's still pretty easy to spot.
I'm looking forward to getting more done on the south side of the house. After the chili party we're going to smother the weeds, fill in some of the holes and the slope, and plant a few things on purpose. This should help with the transition from bright and open and busy front yard to quieter, calmer and private-r backyard. It'll be just as awesome, but in a different way.
While watering today I saw no fewer than eight bees all on the fennel flowers. The artichoke blooms are just about done, save for the one hold out with a few bees in it this morning. The birds were at the bird baths before I'd even gotten the yard half done. Over by the grapes & cucumbers, I spotted a butterfly I don't think I've seen in the yard before - kind of like a monarch, in the oranges and yellows and I think dark outline, but much smaller and different wing shape. I couldn't get very close, and it was gone before I even thought about going for the camera. And the fledgling blue jay, well, I think he's always going to look like a teenager. He's still pretty easy to spot.
I'm looking forward to getting more done on the south side of the house. After the chili party we're going to smother the weeds, fill in some of the holes and the slope, and plant a few things on purpose. This should help with the transition from bright and open and busy front yard to quieter, calmer and private-r backyard. It'll be just as awesome, but in a different way.