Heather's Garden

OH HAPPY DAY

Stuck in your head?  It is in mine.  Anyhoo...look at what I've got (you're not drunk, it's a little out of focus...well maybe you are drunk, but I had a martini tonight, so I'm a little drunk...it's still out of focus):

So you know your eyes are working correctly I present the other zucchini quickly reaching mammoth proportions: 

And this is all in spite of the cucumber beetles chewing the bejesus out of the leaves (you know I smashed it to bits after taking the photo): 

The eggplants are disturbingly phallic: 

Wait, so are the Royal Purple Bush beans: 

Swiftly changing topics...we harvested all the sugar snap peas tonight:

And some of the carrots: 

And VPH cooked up this Chinese salmon with veggies over rice -- you have no idea how delicious it was:

The zinnias are starting to bloom, but I'm a little disappointed by how small the flowers are:

I was distracted by these two grackles foraging in the lawn: 

But then I quickly refocused and took a photo of the rapidly improving wildflower patch: 

While I was doing that, this little guy visited the birdbath: 

And then rested on the hook holding a wind chime in the upper left side of the photo to dry off:

The moral of this story, don't have a martini before trying to write a post -- it's so much more difficult.

 

THAT GOOD KIND OF TIRED

I got so much accomplished over the past 2 days.  Marked off of the To Do List:

• Plant astible in container and find a shady home for it

• Transplant the Red Peter peppers, chives, basils, and one lonely cucumber seedling into larger containers

First up the astible's new home:

Can you see it just in front of the large blue stone in the middle of the photo?

Think it's time for me to get this cucumber seedling planted?

It, the chives, and the sweet basil found a home in this container:

So you can see how big that freaking pot is (I almost fell over when I tried to lift it and carry it over to this spot): 

The Brandywine Pink tomatoes -- one in its new home so you can see the difference (I tore off the bottom few sets of leaves and buried more of the stalk in the new pot):

BTW, those "decorative" containers didn't have drainage holes, so I used a pair of scissors to put 4 drainage holes in each one.  I'm calling this my wall o' plants:

Remember the dahlia man, Dave?  He gave me a call and said he had several live dahlias (not roots waiting to sprout) that he wasn't going to be using and it wasn't too late to plant them.  So my friend Mary and I headed over to his beautiful garden.  He's just the most generous man...my share of the bounty:

My very first dahlia bud (on the plant in back of the row of Dave's latest gifts above): 

Only one of the passalong dahlia roots from Mary had thrived here and the little rose plant was a goner, so 4 of Dave's dahlias went into pots in the wildflower patch:

One replaced a rotten one in the row next to the cellar stairs (not pictured).  And the last one went into the other pretty container I brought home this week next to its larger twin:

Had I mentioned that my cherry tomato plants are covered in bird shit?  The guilty party:

The first cucumber male and female blossoms -- I can already taste cucumber! 

The eggplant blossoms are just so pretty: 

I gave the eggplant a small tomato cage for support:

If I were naming my photos I would call this one anticipation.  Look at all those buds on the zucchini.  They better hurry up because I killed my first cucumber beetle on this plant yesterday so I'm afraid its days are numbered: 

I got the Red Peter pepper seedlings into the hanging baskets:

But I forgot that I still had to install the hanger for the 4th one on the post above the zucchini.  I better go plug in my cordless drill battery charger now while I'm thinking of it: 

If you look closely at the base of the fence post in the photo above, you may notice that when VPH and I were cleaning up the garden this spring we left an interesting looking seedling to grow in the mulch because we both wanted to see what it was.  I didn't know until it flowered, but I'm pretty sure it's self-seeded chamomile from the hanging herb basket that hung from this post for a month or so last summer:  

Chigiy, would you like to identify this flower in the wildflower patch for me too?  It's a showstopper: 

Oh, and in case you're a really observant reader and wondered where the cinnamon basil seedlings went...I stuck them in with the purple hyacinth beans, which would grow up this trellis leaving the container looking kind of bare if I didn't put something else in there:  

Now VPH and I are going to laze around on the patio today since there's really not that much left on the to do list...certainly nothing that can't wait a day or two!

AM I REALLY THIS PERSON?

I've been told that I write "older,"  but I'm only 33.  When did I turn into a person who sits and watches birds?  I don't know why, but that has always seemed like a hobby for a much older person.  For that matter, so did gardening before I took it up as a pass-time.

We're finally enjoying some warm weather here this week and I've been home to enjoy it.  Still a few nagging things to cross off the to do list, but I've gotten closer to getting one done:

Yup those are the chairs and footstools from the basement that I need to assemble.  But at least they're on the patio now and I have to maneuver by them to reach the rest of the garden.  Odds are good that I'll get tired of doing that and tear open the boxes in frustration.  And once the boxes are open I will feel compelled to put them together.

I'll save the plant updates for another day (nothing really interesting going on) and instead share some of my birdwatching with you.  If I'm really going to make a habit of photographing birds I'll have to get a decent zoom lens and since our budget is already stretched to its breaking point I don't see that happening.  So for now we'll all have to deal with not so great photos.

This cardinal loving the bird-feeder on Monday:

And today:

This afternoon I decided that I would camp out near the bird feeder and see what I could capture up close.  This little guy is trying to decide if it's safe: 

Still thinking about it:

Okay, she's harmless:

Did you notice that his little beak was open?  I think he was calling his buddy and saying it was safe to come eat: 

I keep seeing these robins hopping around the yard and snacking.  I'm so glad that we're not using chemicals on the grass.  I wonder if the worm poop is making them think there are worms there for the taking:

My plan was to laze around the in the sun tomorrow afternoon trying to tan my legs a little, but I got "bumps" on my arms this evening -- and I was only sitting in dappled sunlight for an hour or two this afternoon.  I figured out that the skin condition that the dermatologist identified for me a few years ago is called Polymorphic Light Eruption.  So I may be huddling under an umbrella for the rest of the week.  I'm so annoyed because I've been outside in the sun for hours at a time in the middle of the day this spring and this is the first time I've gotten the rash.  I guess the sun is just that much stronger this much closer to summer and the temperature is a good 10 degrees warmer than any other day I've spent outside.  But I'm freaking tan already and this shouldn't be happening!!!