Weekend recap
We had a good weekend: some work, some chores, some walks, some play, some smoke, some gardening and some ice cream!!
A smoky, hazy sunrise. There are no fires close to me, but the valley was smoke filled this morning from Western fires. Every day, I pray for the fire fighters who work in crazy heat and dangerous conditions to control the fires.
It is scary dry and the woods is starting to reflect that…
Although the lupins turn to seed pods normally and dry a bit, you can see that the foliage is also drying out.
The woods grasses and bushes are starting to dry and die also. Typically, we do not get much, if any rain from now until mid-late August or early September.
On a somewhat brighter note …
I made another trip to the nursery. My local nursery issues “Swan Bucks” (Swan River Gardens is the nursery) that are redeemable as the season goes on. July 1-15 the “bucks” can be used for vegetables and annuals. I am feeling all (mostly) green-thumbed with the tomatoes doing well in their cloth containers … in the wheel barrow … so I bought 2 pepper plants: sweet bell and a jalapeno. Both have several peppers already! Hopefully they and the tomatoes get along in the wheel barrow. I had enough Swan Bucks to kind of make the veg plants free!
The spinach has been struggling and kind of looking like it was not going to make it so I bought some herbs: thai basil and tarragon, an impatiens that likes a bit of sun and some autumnal fuchsia (no blooms, but gorgeous leaves) … to fill in the rolling planter.
I had enough potting mix to move the spinach to what is actually a disposable cat litter box, but I thought would be ok as a planter vs completely giving up on the spinach.
So … some replanting, some shuffling of position in the tiered planter and we will see how it goes. Note to self: the tiered planter seems best for herbs and flowers vs vegetables. The spinach container is maybe not that aesthetically pleasing, but if it grows food, I am good with that!
It is a bit hard to see, but there are 3 tomato and 2 pepper plants in the wheel barrow. When Emmett and I go out, I move the wheel barrow into the sun, if needed so it gets full sun all day long. So far, so good!!
Bonus: I am having so much fun planting and watering and keeping an eye on things … plus enjoying the front porch. Some years, it has felt like a chore. I am not sure what is different … maybe it is the new (and RED!!) front door :)
I made strawberry ice cream on Saturday. And ice cream cones were on sale this week so HOO RAH and YUM!
Emmett gets a “puppy cone”!
You can see that he is still a bit damp from the latest play in the sprinkler outing … and ice cream!!
We had a good weekend.
4 Responses to “Weekend recap”
I really like all of your planters— especially when they are repurposed. The wheelbarrow is brilliant!
We are frighteningly dry here as well. Here’s hoping for early rains for all who need it.
It is REALLY scary to think that your area is dry … holy cow!
Ha, well, the wheelbarrow was an accidental thing. Originally, I thought to put the containers on “boot trays” and hand carry everything into the sun. But, I use the wheelbarrow to plant in and contain the mess and then thought … well, might as well leave all there. Anyway, it is working and less spendy than a wheeled trug plus easier to move around!
Ultimately, this is an experimental year to see how things go. I have learned a lot about where the best sun is since I’ve been “chasing” it. SO … if I am still here (at this house) next year, I might do some raised planters in the areas I know get good sun. Who knows, though ???
Your plants are looking great! I hope you enjoy some juicy red tomatoes and tasty peppers this summer….and the ice-cream. My mouth is watering just looking at it.
We have had two afternoon thunderstorms this week but the second one yesterday brought very little rain. It is dry here, too. On Saturday it rained and blew and thundered and the temperature went from 33C to 21C in an hour!
It’s back up to 35C this week.
I planted some petunias in my pots yesterday. It’s very late for them but I hope they’ll be OK.
Oh! I hope your petunias do well … so nice to have some color around. It has been 90-93F (33C I think) here most days. BUT, very low humidity and very cool at night so it takes all day to get to 90 and starts cooling quickly. At least it has since the first VERY hot heat wave. So, hotter than I like but manageable. With the low humidity, it is not too bad walking if we stay in shade.
Still, I WILL be ready for Autumn :)
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