The week started out chilly. I was beginning to despair that we would go all summer without any hot days. But by the end of the week it warmed up a bit. We had good rain and even a few storms during the week. And now it’s July. July already?! I think June is the shortest month of the year. At least it seems that way to me. That’s probably because I look forward to it so much. July is a great month too. It’s a little warmer than June (at least I hope it will be since June wasn’t all that warm), and it’s not a hot as August. In July the garden shifts into high gear. We get to start eating more things like green beans, beets, chard, strawberries, and raspberries. There will be ripe currants and gooseberries. There will be tomatoes and pepper in July, but they won’t be ripe yet. Apples, pears, and grapes will increase in size quickly.
Now is the time for poppies. My garden is bursting with dozens of the huge pom poms of the opium poppies. I look forward to poppy time all year and this year is the best we’ve ever had.
Now is the time for poppies. My garden is bursting with dozens of the huge pom poms of the opium poppies. I look forward to poppy time all year and this year is the best we’ve ever had.
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| Poppy. |
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| Single flowered poppy. |
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| Another poppy. |
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| More poppies. |
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| Can you tell I love poppies? |
During the week I installed our new screen door on the front door. I’m not a handy person. I had trouble painting the door. I used newspaper to mask the screen parts of the door and the paper stuck to the paint in some places and wouldn’t come off. Also figuring out how and where to put the hinges turned out to be more of a challenge than you’d think. Anyway, the door is there now. Just don’t look too closely at it.
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| The new screen door. |
We enjoyed one of the little treats of the early summer garden last week – garlic scapes. Scapes are the flower stems of the garlic. The type of garlic I grow, rocambole, has scapes that come up curly and then straighten as they mature. In order for larger bulbs to grow below the soil, the scapes must be removed before they uncurl. We eat them. They have a delicious, mild garlic taste. Stacey roasted a chicken (not one of ours) in the crock pot and covered it with a handful of chopped scapes. It was excellent. The garlic bulbs will be ready to dig up sometime in late July.
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| Garlic scapes. |
We’re eating some lovely lettuces now. I think these are the nicest lettuces I’ve ever grown. Unfortunately, I was ambitious when I planted the seeds and we have a lot of lettuce. More than we’ll be able to eat before it bolts.
Down at the barn (my main social interaction seems to be with chickens these days – and I like that), my war with the sparrows goes on. My reflective CD barrier worked for a few days, but it seems the sparrows got used to it and now they are back in the barn as usual, eating the chickens’ food and pooping on everything. I’m going to have to escalate my war tactics. I’m thinking the pellet gun may be my only alternative.
On a less violent note, the milkweed that grows around the barn is in bloom now. I encourage it to grow there. It is a beautiful plant with odd and stunning flowers whose strong vanilla fragrance fills the air. The flowers attract a lot insects – flies and butterflies – and also the spiders that prey on them. I always look for monarch butterflies on the milkweed plants. Milkweed is vital to their life cycle. They lay their eggs on it, and their caterpillars feed on the leaves. But I haven’t seen monarchs on my milkweeds in many years. I used to see them all the time. I see very few adult monarchs and never their caterpillars.
Down at the barn (my main social interaction seems to be with chickens these days – and I like that), my war with the sparrows goes on. My reflective CD barrier worked for a few days, but it seems the sparrows got used to it and now they are back in the barn as usual, eating the chickens’ food and pooping on everything. I’m going to have to escalate my war tactics. I’m thinking the pellet gun may be my only alternative.
On a less violent note, the milkweed that grows around the barn is in bloom now. I encourage it to grow there. It is a beautiful plant with odd and stunning flowers whose strong vanilla fragrance fills the air. The flowers attract a lot insects – flies and butterflies – and also the spiders that prey on them. I always look for monarch butterflies on the milkweed plants. Milkweed is vital to their life cycle. They lay their eggs on it, and their caterpillars feed on the leaves. But I haven’t seen monarchs on my milkweeds in many years. I used to see them all the time. I see very few adult monarchs and never their caterpillars.
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| Milkweed flower - look closely and there is a spider hiding. |
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| Swallow-tailed butterfly on a milkweed flower. |
Friday evening, Hannah was in a concert at BYU-Idaho and we got to watch it via the internet. It was a great concert called “Patriots and Pioneers.” The special guests were Jenny Oaks Baker and her children who played violins, cello, piano and guitar. Hannah was in the choir. They performed some beautiful numbers. I’m so glad Hannah has the opportunity to participate in events like that.
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| Hannah is in the top row, fourth from the right. |
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| The choir, orchestra, and the Baker family. |
We have company this weekend. Our grand-niece Hailey Shillig Clark and her husband Ben are here. They got here last night. They live down in Dover, Delaware. They went to church with us today and then drove up to the Church Historical sights in Palmyra. They’ll be back this evening. Tomorrow they are going up to Niagara Falls for the day. They will leave to go back to Delaware on Tuesday morning. It is fun having them here.
We got some good news from the Thayn family – another surprise. They live in the Nashville area in Tennessee right now, but were going to move to Knoxville in August. Tabor is expanding his business into new areas. On Tuesday they Skyped with us to tell us that instead, they are moving to the Pittsburgh area! They will probably move in September. We are so excited! That means they will only be four hours away instead of twelve hours!
This July is also going be great month because we have a family reunion later in the month. I love reunions. We have ours every three years and it’s the only time I get to see most of my Rathfon cousins. Our reunion this year will take place down in the Perry and Juniata county area where our ancestors settled. This reunion will be extra great because all of our children, except Elder Howe, will be there with their families. After the reunion, all my children and my parents are coming up here to our house for a few days. It’s going to be wonderful!
We had a terrific storm yesterday evening. Just at sunset the clouds grew dark. The sky turned an eerie orange. There was lightning and thunder and then it poured rain for half an hour. Three quarters of an inch of rain in half an hour! This morning it was beautiful. The sun rose in blue sky full of fluffy clouds. The world was washed clean and sparkling from the night’s rain. It was a perfect summer Sabbath morning.
We got some good news from the Thayn family – another surprise. They live in the Nashville area in Tennessee right now, but were going to move to Knoxville in August. Tabor is expanding his business into new areas. On Tuesday they Skyped with us to tell us that instead, they are moving to the Pittsburgh area! They will probably move in September. We are so excited! That means they will only be four hours away instead of twelve hours!
This July is also going be great month because we have a family reunion later in the month. I love reunions. We have ours every three years and it’s the only time I get to see most of my Rathfon cousins. Our reunion this year will take place down in the Perry and Juniata county area where our ancestors settled. This reunion will be extra great because all of our children, except Elder Howe, will be there with their families. After the reunion, all my children and my parents are coming up here to our house for a few days. It’s going to be wonderful!
We had a terrific storm yesterday evening. Just at sunset the clouds grew dark. The sky turned an eerie orange. There was lightning and thunder and then it poured rain for half an hour. Three quarters of an inch of rain in half an hour! This morning it was beautiful. The sun rose in blue sky full of fluffy clouds. The world was washed clean and sparkling from the night’s rain. It was a perfect summer Sabbath morning.
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| The storm at sunset. |
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| Sparkling Sabbath morning. |
We celebrate Independence Day this week. Some of the celebrations have already begun. A few communities had their fireworks show last night. Many of our neighbors have their own fireworks shows that will go on for days. I’m thankful for this great country and the freedom we enjoy. I’m thankful for those pilgrim feet and patriot dreams that gave their all to create this great nation. We will always need pilgrims and patriots ever striving for and vigilant in defending our freedom. Happy Independence Day! God bless America!
