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| Sunset on July 3rd. |
There are certain things I expect in July – heat and thunderstorms are two of them. We had a bit of both last week and it was great while it lasted. By the end of the week things had cooled off again.
We had hot weather at the beginning of the week with temperatures in the 90's. We had rain alternating every other day all week. A terrific storm came through on the 4th of July. I was up before the sun and there was already distant thunder. The storm arrived around 8:00 a.m. There was thunder and lightning and pouring rain. It got almost as dark as night and the garden lights came on. It went on like that until noon. I went out at noon and checked my rain gauge – three and a half inches had fallen in four hours. The creek rose over its banks and our dirt road looked like a muddy river. There were huge puddles everywhere. It was very dramatic. I’m sure it put a damper (pun intended) on lots of Independence Day plans, but I didn’t mind. We didn’t have any plans until the evening anyway. The storm cleared in the late afternoon and the sun came out. At 5:00 p.m. we went to Shillig’s house for dinner. Our friends Bob and Nancy Jones were with us. Kurt grilled bratwurst and hot dogs. Julie had ham salad sandwiches, baked beans, and several salads. Nancy Jones brought a salad and strawberry shortcake. Miriam made strawberry ice cream. It was all so good. After dinner we sat around and chatted. We didn’t do any fireworks. We’re waiting to do that later in the month when there’s lots of family here.
With all this rain, things get interesting in our old house. The high humidity makes the wooden floors expand. The doors swell and stick when you try to open and close them. Outdoors, the rain brought up mushrooms. The garden is loving the rain, the chickens not so much. They stay in the coop when it’s raining and it makes them grouchy. They quarrel and pick on each other when they’re cooped up. They're a lot like people.
We had hot weather at the beginning of the week with temperatures in the 90's. We had rain alternating every other day all week. A terrific storm came through on the 4th of July. I was up before the sun and there was already distant thunder. The storm arrived around 8:00 a.m. There was thunder and lightning and pouring rain. It got almost as dark as night and the garden lights came on. It went on like that until noon. I went out at noon and checked my rain gauge – three and a half inches had fallen in four hours. The creek rose over its banks and our dirt road looked like a muddy river. There were huge puddles everywhere. It was very dramatic. I’m sure it put a damper (pun intended) on lots of Independence Day plans, but I didn’t mind. We didn’t have any plans until the evening anyway. The storm cleared in the late afternoon and the sun came out. At 5:00 p.m. we went to Shillig’s house for dinner. Our friends Bob and Nancy Jones were with us. Kurt grilled bratwurst and hot dogs. Julie had ham salad sandwiches, baked beans, and several salads. Nancy Jones brought a salad and strawberry shortcake. Miriam made strawberry ice cream. It was all so good. After dinner we sat around and chatted. We didn’t do any fireworks. We’re waiting to do that later in the month when there’s lots of family here.
With all this rain, things get interesting in our old house. The high humidity makes the wooden floors expand. The doors swell and stick when you try to open and close them. Outdoors, the rain brought up mushrooms. The garden is loving the rain, the chickens not so much. They stay in the coop when it’s raining and it makes them grouchy. They quarrel and pick on each other when they’re cooped up. They're a lot like people.
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| The same mushroom on Monday evening and Tuesday morning. |
Since the last time a bear destroyed my bird feeders, I’ve been bringing them in every night. On Monday night I forgot to do that and, sure enough, a bear came by. It knocked down two of the feeders, but didn’t damage them. I won’t forget to bring them in again. Living in a rural area, we expect to have interactions with wildlife. I love seeing deer and the occasional bear out in the fields away from the house. I like to hear coyotes yipping at the moon. Foxes and stoats are lovely creatures. I love all of them – as long as they all stay out of my garden, my orchard, and my chicken coop.
On Saturday I finally had a chance to spray the orchard. There is no sense in spraying when the forecast calls for rain within 24 hours – and that’s been the case here lately. Saturday morning it was cool, sunny, and calm – perfect weather for spraying. The spray I use at this time of year is a brew of my own making. Weeks ago I cut comfrey and nettles and stuffed them into five-gallon buckets that I then filled with water and covered. Those buckets have been stewing on the back porch steps since then. The comfrey and nettles rot and the water becomes a rich fertilizer. It’s a bit stinky, but the trees love it. I strained that rot water, added some Epsom salts and a shot of liquid kelp, and it was ready to spray. It took me about an hour to spray all the trees. While I was spraying, I inspected the trees. The apples and pears are coming along beautifully. It looks like we will have a good harvest this year.
The orchard grass is tall now – some of it four and five feet high. The grass is blooming and now that the fruit trees have been sprayed, my next task is to cut the grass. To do that I use a scythe. I cut the grass and let it lie to rot and enrich the orchard soil. Scything is a vigorous activity. It’s great exercise. I do it in the mornings when the dew has dried but it’s still cool. I can only do about a fourth of the orchard in one morning before I’m bushed. The weather for the first part of the week looks good, so I will try to do it all then.
On Saturday I finally had a chance to spray the orchard. There is no sense in spraying when the forecast calls for rain within 24 hours – and that’s been the case here lately. Saturday morning it was cool, sunny, and calm – perfect weather for spraying. The spray I use at this time of year is a brew of my own making. Weeks ago I cut comfrey and nettles and stuffed them into five-gallon buckets that I then filled with water and covered. Those buckets have been stewing on the back porch steps since then. The comfrey and nettles rot and the water becomes a rich fertilizer. It’s a bit stinky, but the trees love it. I strained that rot water, added some Epsom salts and a shot of liquid kelp, and it was ready to spray. It took me about an hour to spray all the trees. While I was spraying, I inspected the trees. The apples and pears are coming along beautifully. It looks like we will have a good harvest this year.
The orchard grass is tall now – some of it four and five feet high. The grass is blooming and now that the fruit trees have been sprayed, my next task is to cut the grass. To do that I use a scythe. I cut the grass and let it lie to rot and enrich the orchard soil. Scything is a vigorous activity. It’s great exercise. I do it in the mornings when the dew has dried but it’s still cool. I can only do about a fourth of the orchard in one morning before I’m bushed. The weather for the first part of the week looks good, so I will try to do it all then.
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| Tall grass in the orchard. |
A few weeks ago I reported that a bumblebee had moved into a birdhouse I had stored on the back porch. She’s still there and now she has a bunch of smaller workers. They buzz in and out of the porch all day. I like to watch them.
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| Our back porch bumblebee. |
Out in the vegetable garden things are growing fast. The cucumber, squash, and pumpkins are spreading. Some of them have started to bloom. The cabbages are heading up. The runner beans have their first flowers. And there are lots of green tomatoes on the vines. The dill has shot up to five feet tall and is starting to bloom.
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| Cabbages, dill, runner beans, squash. |
In the flower garden the somniferum poppies are the prominent flower right now. There are other flowers blooming too – marigolds, cornflowers, cleome, and yarrow. The first hollyhock flowers have opened. Along the side of the house I have a row of Japanese spirea bushes. They are blooming right now and are very pretty, but I call them County Fair Flowers because they smell faintly like stale beer and old fried food, odors I associate with the county fair.
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| Poppies. |
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| In the flower garden. |
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| Hollyhocks and yarrow. |
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| Japanese spirea - County Fair Flowers. |
Down by the barn, in the meadow, and along the wild edges of the yard there are lovely flowers – St. John’s Wort, mullein six feet tall, and my favorite summer wildflower, milkweed. The roadsides are bedecked with Queen Anne’s lace, chicory, daisies, and trefoil – all lovely flowers. Unfortunately there is also a lot of wild parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) – more than I’ve ever seen. Wild parsnip is not a beautiful flower. They are a sort of chartreuse green. But they are a bad plant. If you get the juice of a wild parsnip on your skin, it reacts with sunlight and forms dark blisters. I know that from experience. Several years ago I wasn’t careful when I was removing some from the bank of my yard and ended up with painful blisters on my hands. The scars persisted for months. I destroy any wild parsnips that try to grow on my property – and I’m very careful now.
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| Milkweed and mullein. |
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| Wild parsnips. |
The mornings have been chilly the last few days – this morning it was 40° – but the days warm up nicely. Today is no exception. It is sunny and mild out. The drive to and from church was beautiful. I love to gaze out the car window as we go, drinking in all the scenery – the deep green of the forest, the wild flowers blooming everywhere. Now we are home and, after a quick lunch, I’m headed down to do the afternoon chores. The week ahead looks good. The weather will be perfect if the forecast holds true. I have plans – projects to begin, work to do indoors and out. And I will enjoy every minute of it.
