Don't Tell Lily

Happy Independence Day. Our celebration will be quiet, listening to the neighbors' fireworks explode all around us, as they have been for the last week.


We have had a busy week. The skies have been blue with lots of sunshine, cooled by late afternoon thunderstorms that rush over us, building steam and power as they head east. Our friends in the eastern part of the state don't need hail or heavy rain since wheat harvest is just days away. Nor do we need hail here, though the possibility is quite likely. The garden has just begun to take off with Roma tomatoes now taking shape, the peppers are flowering, and my zinnias are looking great. Best of all the peach trees are loaded with baby peaches. I am not holding my breath, for I know that all can be wiped out with rough weather.

The raspberry bushes, too, are loaded with fruit for the first time. They were the first to go into the new garden and it has taken years for them produce with any abundance. I never remember if they fruit on new growth or old growth branches, so I leave them alone. Please don't tell little Lily that we have raspberries, for she will pick them clean, eating every last one.

The peas have been harvested. This is my second basket.

This is one batch of peas that won't be recalled. I don't know about you, but I have had two recalls on bad food this last month. One was frozen foods; the other Gold Medal flour. I was surprised (don't why I should have been) when the clerk at the super market pointed out on my sales slip that I had a recall on the frozen vegetables that I had purchased. I had heard about the both recalls on the news, but paid little attention. I did return the vegetables. Next I received an automated phone call from General Mills informing me of the recall on flour. 

Thee peas are as fresh and pure as they can be: no fertilizers, no pesticides, or herbicides. Just sunshine, water, and marginal soil.

                 

Battling weeds here at the Garden Spot most often seems like an endless battle. One troublesome spot  lies between the corral and the chicken coop. When I had to move my day lily collection, we decided to put them in this spare space, but weeds lack total respect of land use and continued to take control. I don't like weeds. The  tank that stores the well water for the irrigation system lies beneath the sparse lawn that others planted. So we decided to turn it all to grass with the thought that grass is easier to mow than weeds are to pull.

This is just a small amount of the 100 rolls of sod that the Head Gardener has laid this week not only by the barn, but covering other bare spots in the lawn around the yard, too. 

I warned the HG that the horses would nibble on the newly placed sod, and indeed they did, pulling one of the pieces out into the corral, he told me. Easily replaced. We want everything to look clean and neat. Perhaps we going to an extreme, but with all of this new grass on well water with an semi automatic watering system, it beats weeds any day.

The holly hock forest blooms rampantly. I have a love/hate relationship with these botanical creatures. They pop up every where, are hard to get rid of, and make a mess. On the other hand, they are so pretty, add a lot of color, take up space, and provide for the bees and butterflies.

 (There is a car hidden there somewhere)

With pink as my favorite color, I do enjoy the hollyhocks in their full bloom.

There are two nice clumps by the barn door, making for pretty, country photos. The ones that grow close to the corral fence don't last because Sundance has developed a taste for hollyhock buds. 

Look as these lovely ladies. It is hard to image that these were the Easter Chicks. Now adult hens, they should start laying eggs soon. This was their first time to roam free. Of course they loved it. I snapped a lot of photos of them. These six get along so well, are friendly, and have maintained beautiful feathers. The older hens on the other side of the hen house don't take as good a care of themselves and pick on each other. Of the 7 seven hens only 4 of them are laying. The rooster, Chanticleer only looks pretty and makes a lot of noise.

I leave you with my Face Book photo that I posted this week. I tell you, there is so much political stuff, satire, editorial, and mean stuff, that I refuse to participate, so I post silly things. This photo I titled "Free Range Sunflower." We left the sunflowers have their way in the garden. I couldn't believe the attention that this photo got. And would you look at those potatoes! There won't be a recall on them either.

Have a wonderful 4th of July celebration. 

God Bless America