Getting Back In the Groove

Rhododendrons next door.

I just wrote a Journal on Thursday, the day after we returned from our adventure in France, so my brain is telling me it’s too soon to write again, but here I go. That Journal I wrote on Thursday was riddled with errors – spelling and grammatical – and was rather sloppy. I blame jet lag, plus, I sent it out before letting my proofreader, Hannah, look at it. I’ve revised it, so if you want a more correct and coherent account of our adventure, you can read it again.

Thursday, the day after our return, we had company arrive. Our niece Audrey, her husband Trevor, and their four children arrived in the afternoon, and the Thayns arrived that evening. So our house was immediately full of people, fun, and food.

I had a list of things I wanted to do as soon as we got back, but I was overly ambitious. Traveling takes a lot out of me and it has taken me longer to get back to normal than I anticipated. I’ve been too tired to do much and the cough I’ve had for several weeks that was finally going away returned with a vengeance, probably due to travel stress, which has also limited what I can do. But we did accomplish one of the most important jobs on my list on Friday. I had mostly a supervisor role, but with the help of Tabor and Trevor, with shovels and younger muscles than mine, and Kurt with his tractor, we got the middle pen in the barn cleaned out and we moved the chicks from the back porch to the barn. The chicks were way too big for their box and were fully fledged and they were very stinky, so it was time.

The chicks in their new pen.

The weather was cool for the first days after our return. It finally rained a little on Thursday and a little more on Friday. It was enough to tamp down the dust and refresh the parched lawn and garden a bit. We need more and it looks like it might come tonight and tomorrow.

Yesterday was a good day. The weather warmed a little and it was sunny. Stacey made cinnamon rolls in the morning for our breakfast – always a fine way to start the day. I spent the morning weeding and planned to keep at it all day, but I only made it to noon. Then I came in and took a nap. After my nap, I went out to the big garden where Kurt had a crew working and joined in. Tabor and Trevor were sifting rocks out of the last garden row. Some of the children were picking rocks from other rows – our soil here is very stony. I helped plant the last of the tomatoes. Kurt planted four kinds of beans – green, red, black, and garbanzo. Then we watered. Our planting is almost done now. The corn and potatoes are up. The onions and garlic are growing. The brassicas – broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower – are in. Peppers, and now tomatoes, are planted, The strawberries are in bloom. Tomorrow I will plant squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers and that will be the end of planting. Then comes all the weeks of weeding, watering, tending, and praying for a good harvest.

Out in the big garden.

The brassica patch.

The potato patch.

The fruitless orchard.

At the end of the day yesterday, we had our first cookout of the season. We roasted hot dogs at the fire pit and had fruit salad, chips, and lemonade. It was a perfect summer evening eleven days before summer officially arrives.

Our first cookout.

Enjoying a nice evening.

Today at church, with our visiting families here, we had higher than usual attendance – 38 people. And because we had children there – which we don’t usually – we had Primary taught by Miriam and Audrey. Now we are home, waiting for lunch, playing games, chatting. This evening the Shilligs are hosting a Sabbath Soiree. Our company will be here one more night and then tomorrow all of them will go down to the Thayn’s house.

Some of the lupines blooming in the garden now.

Cornflowers.

Euphorbia.

Dame's Rocket.

Dame's Rocket up close.

The first of many poppies to come.

I have a week of garden work planned and I’m looking forward to it. Despite a lack of rain, an abundance of smoke from Canada, and erratic temperatures flipping from hot to cold, the world is starting to look summer lovely. In the flower garden, the lupines are blooming and the first of the poppies has opened. There are cornflowers and violas and bright chartreuse euphorbias flowering. Along the roads and in the wild edges of my yard one of my favorite wild flowers, Dame’s Rocket, is in bloom. Yes, I know that Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) is a non-native species and some consider it an invasive, noxious weed. In fact, five U.S. states have placed legal restrictions on it: Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Wisconsin. Pennsylvania doesn’t restrict it and it is abundant here and it is beautiful. All day long it is visited by butterflies and in the evening it gives off a wonderful fragrance. It behaves itself in my yard and so I let it grow and enjoy its late spring loveliness. These soft June days are the finest in all the year and I intend to enjoy them to their fullest.