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| A corner of my herb bed |
Ready for another visit to Thistledown? The solstice is just past and tonight's full moon brings our month of Flowering Time/Bright Time to a close.
We've had a mix of warm and cool, wet and dry weather this month.
Most of what's happening in the garden right now can be summed up in one word...greens.
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| Freezing herbs |
We began with harvesting herbs. I've gotten an assortment in the freezer so far: lovage, sorrel and chives mix, parsley and cilantro.
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| Garlic scapes |
The garlic scapes have been harvested...
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| Pesto ready to freeze |
... and made into pesto. This I freeze to use later.
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| Lettuce plants |
We've been eating lots of lettuce! A big
salad everyday.
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| An assortment of greens |
Our chard, kale and Asian greens are also producing very well. Most of these are going into the freezer right now, because we're too busy eating lettuce.
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| First strawberries |
Our strawberry bed produced a modest amount. Considering we just reset the bed last autumn, I think the yield was reasonable. Hoping for more next year.
Our raspberries, currants and blueberries look like they'll produce a good crop. Those will come along during the next month.
With the exception of beets and carrots, all of the rest of the garden has been planted. I've also gotten a good, thick layer of mulch on all of the beds. That will keep the plants cool and moist, and keep the weeds under control. We've moved away from the plastic mulches because we didn't like the petro chemical inputs involved. They just helped us get the worst of the weed issues under control for the couple of years that we used them.
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| Mulched bed |
Bob's foundation project is nearly finished! Since our foundation is so old, a lime mortar had to be used to make the necessary repairs. The modern stuff wouldn't work. It would be like patching a thin garment with a heavy fabric. The old and new would work against each other. Bottom line: "no good".
We had or order the mortar from Pennsylvania, but it arrived quickly. Bob has found it very easy to work with.
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| Prepared section |
First he cleaned out all of the loose mortar, one section at a time.
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| Filling in spaces |
He then worked the mortar into the empty spaces, adding small stones as needed.
That's another skill learned!
His next project will probably be to repair the deck. The structure is sound, but some of the decking boards have gone wonky.
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| Another year together |
During June, we celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary. On that day we went for a nice walk. Later in the week we went to the Genesee Country Village and Museum. It's a living history site, like a smaller version of Michigan's Greenfield Village. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. We roamed around, in and out of buildings for five hours and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
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| Some sedum pots on my deck |
As I write this, I'm sitting on my back deck. The sun is shining, but there is a healthy breeze making it very pleasant. I'm listening to one of our House Wrens (we have four) chattering away.
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| Fragrant roses draping my deck |
Let me encourage you to take time to enjoy the simple things. All it needs to cost is a bit of time.
Certainly a refreshed soul is worth 15 minutes of time a day.
Till next time, absorb some of the season with all of your senses.
Kathleen and Bob
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| Apricots forming on the tree |
