The day started out well. I slept until I woke up, and when I managed to get my body to move out of bed there was fresh coffee awaiting me.
Getting my body moving was a little challenging, being that we have been whipping the yard into shape this week. There is a certain amount of pressure on us because there is rain in the forecast. Right now the grass all around the place is in seventh heaven, and if we don’t get it mowed while it is dry enough to do it, by the time the next batch of rain rolls through and dries off, we will have to hire a haying crew to do it for us. Well, I suppose that is probably an exaggeration, but it will definitely be tall and thick.
Anyway, we have been doing team mowing, where Jim and I go out together with our matching push mowers and mow huge swaths of lawn in quite a respectable amount of time. It goes more than twice as fast with two people, because someone can keep mowing while the other one is pushing a wheelbarrow full of clippings to the mulch pile. However, this morning Jim did the mowing alone because I have a bunch of stuff on my “To Do” list that must be get done. Today was a perfect day for setting the rock edging around the new flower bed by the sauna. So that is what I did.
Those stones are set flush with the ground level and flat enough that you can put the wheel of your lawn mower on them and trim the grass off evenly.
This is the other end of the same garden, I haven’t gotten the stones set yet, but there are baby day lilies and the piece of driftwood I found on the Niangua River last fall. Well, Jeri found it, but we both agreed that it had to come here due to its amazing dragon quality.
I also picked a bunch of asparagus and blanched it. It is now on a tray in the freezer, and as soon as it has frozen I will pack it in a bag. Don’t worry, there is plenty more out there for dinner tonight.
Out in front the wood hyacinths are blooming. I love the way they are setting off my Front Door dragon.
Just to the west of him the poppies are getting ready to bloom. You can just see the flash of orange that proclaims there will be a bloom open tomorrow.
Out in the vegetable garden, things are looking very good. This first picture was taken from the garden gate. Right in front of you is the pea patch, where the peas are starting to climb in earnest. They had better get busy making peas because it will soon be way too warm for them. Just to their left is my carrot bed. The little carrots are just now starting to peek out of the soil. In a couple of days, there will be a mist of green on that bed, but right now they are invisible. Behind the peas is my broccoli, safe from the cabbage looper butterflies under the row cover. Behind all that are the cold frames.
Now, this is why I put row covers over my broccoli. In addition to the protection from insects, the plants seem to enjoy the modicum of shade the row cover provides. I also use row covers over peas and beans when they first sprout, and over kale and arugula.
The following illustrates why I use cold frames all winter. I come into spring with ready made salads. I find it interesting that the radicchio is winter hardy. Note how happy it is in the second picture. It was out in the open all winter, and resprouted from the roots.
Now, while I was taking these pictures, I noticed a beautiful red wasp on the leg of the cold frame. She is gathering fibers to use to make a nest somewhere. You can just see the freshly rasped wood in front of her. This reminds me that I must start ringing my bell on the back porch every day. The wasps do not like the vibrations, and ringing it daily keeps them from building a nest up in the top of it.
While I was zeroing in on that photo, there was a lot of racket going on behind me. The Garden house wrens are building their nest in the nest box, and they were telling Ruby off. She was over under the grape arbor chewing on a stick, and they thought it was an unconscionable trespass upon their property.
Even though there is only one bird in this picture, they were both very much in evidence. I wandered over to take a picture of my “To Do” list, being thoroughly scolded the whole time.
Well, my massage client is here now, so I’d better get to work. I only have two massages to do this afternoon, thank heavens. I am already “worked” pretty well.
