So far June has been cooler than May – much cooler. Too much cooler. April was colder than usual, then May was warmer than usual. Now June has swung back the other way again. Last Thursday morning I woke to find the thermometer at 37°! If the temperature had dipped another five degrees, we would have had frost. That would have made me very sad. To have frost now would be devastating. Toward the end of the week it began warming again. I’m hoping we’ll soon hit 80° and stay there the rest of the summer – that would be perfect.
Despite this spell of chilly weather, my gardens are doing great. I think I’ve got everything planted that’s going to be planted this year. Now it’s just nurturing, watching, waiting, and enjoying the journey. And fighting the weeds. I spend most of my garden time doing weed control. We have some pretty nasty weeds here – sour grass (oxalis stricta), cleavers (galium aparine), galinsoga (galinsoga parviflora), quack grass (elymus repens), purslane (portulaca oleracea), chickweed (stellaria media), speedwell (veronica arvensis), creeping charlie (glechoma hederacea), mouse-eared chickweed (cerastium vulgatum), bull thistle (cirsium vulgare) – just to name a few of the worst ones. They have interesting names and some of them are even pretty plants, but they are my enemies in the garden. They don’t behave well. They are aggressive. They go where they are not wanted and take over. And they don’t leave without serious coercion.
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| The vegetable garden. |
This is the time of year, these few brief weeks, when the world is lush. The grasses in the fields are green and tall and in bloom and have not begun to turn brown yet. I love to see the tall grass move when it’s breezy. Along the roads the wild phlox are still beautiful and now there are daisies and, in some choice spots, daylilies. Daylilies, wild phlox, and ox-eye daisies are not native to North America, they are garden plants that have escaped from gardens into the wild, but unlike other non-native weedy wild flowers, I think their beauty justifies their existence.
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| Daylilies along the Pusher Siding Road. |
Last year Daniel and I used some old windows we got from the people Stacey works for to make a hot box. Some vegetables like a little more warmth and a longer growing season than we normally get here – for me that’s peppers and eggplants. They do better under glass. I had hot boxes before made from the old windows of this house, but they decayed years ago. This new hot box is big and very sturdy. I didn’t use it last year because we built it after the garden was done. It’s terrific. It has hinged lids that I open and close to adjust the temperature. My peppers and eggplants love it.
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| My hot box planted with peppers, eggplant, and basil. |
This is poppy time for us. I love poppies. Their blooming season isn’t long, so I take every opportunity to enjoy them while they last. I go out every morning to see what new flowers have opened. I let my poppies reseed themselves so I never know where they will pop up and what colors will appear.
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| Pink double poppy. |
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| Pink single poppy. |
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| Bright red poppy. |
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| Pure white poppy. |
Other early summer flowers are blooming now. The first peony opened yesterday. The sweet Williams are blooming. The irises, lupines, and columbines are still going strong.
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| The first peony. |
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| Sweet Williams. |
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| Lupines and irises. |
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| Columbines. |
I spent several days last week edging my flowerbeds. The lawn tends to creep into the beds over time, so I have to redefine the edges. I use a flat spade and slice away the edge of all the beds then remove the strip of sod and cart it away. It’s a hard job and it takes a lot of time, but I only do it once at the beginning of summer. The beds look so tidy when I’m finished.
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| Freshly edged peony bed. |
Last week I moved some things around on the back porch. I brought more of my houseplants out to spend the summer there. I moved some baskets and flower pots that I store on some shelves by the back door. There was a birdhouse on the shelves too. I don’t put it up for the birds because it’s not really functional. There’s no way to clean it out without tearing it apart. Arbitrarily, I moved the birdhouse to a different spot. I’d seen a big bumble bee buzzing around the birdhouse a few times, but hadn’t given it much thought. After I moved the birdhouse the bee flew into the porch and was confused that the birdhouse wasn’t where it used to be. It flew around and around searching for it. I put the birdhouse back in it’s old spot and the bee flew right in. Apparently it has a nest in there. I always thought bumble bees nested in the ground, but this one has taken up residence in my birdhouse. I don’t mind. I like bumble bees. They are big and gentle and good pollinators.
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| The house where the bumble bee lives (I wasn't fast enough to get the bee). |
On Friday evening we went to an Amish auction. There is a big Amish auction house over in North Bingham. They hold auctions there every other Friday during the spring, summer, and fall. I’d never been to one before. This was a special auction to benefit the local Amish schools. I couldn’t believe how many people were there – Amish and English. It was fun to watch people bid on the items. They also had chicken dinners to buy so we ate dinner there. We couldn’t really take pictures because the Amish don’t like it, but we got one quick shot of the quilts that were up for auction. The auction was fun. I think we’ll go to a few more over the summer.
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| Quilts at the Amish Auction. |
For the last week in the evenings we have been watching the old Perry Mason show. It ran from 1957 to 1966 and then in reruns after that. I remember watching it as a child. I have especially happy memories of watching it with my Grandmother Howe, Nana, when she lived upstairs from us on Bridge Street in New Cumberland. She loved to watch Perry Mason. It’s been many years since I watched the show and it’s been fun watching it again. It’s a great show. Perhaps nostalgia is a factor in my feelings, but I think television hasn’t gotten any better than that over the years. When Stacey was a teenager she read many of the Perry Mason novels while her family was living in Mexico. In fact, Stacey’s nickname among her siblings and most of her Shillig nieces and nephews is Della because of Della Street, Perry Mason’s secretary. So we have fond memories of Perry Mason going back on both sides of the family.
We’re having a rather gloomy, rainy Sabbath. This being a day of rest, I welcome the rain. I don’t have anything to do outdoors except the barn chores. It’s a bit chilly. In fact I have the electric heater on beside me as I sit here. The rest of the week looks better – sunny, warmer, perfect weather for all the things I hope to do in the days ahead. I’m just glad I don’t live in parts of Montana and Idaho where the national weather map shows they are under a winter weather advisory. No thank you. Please stay west of the Rockies.
