Let’s Get Dirty! Garden Time, Unwelcome and Welcome Critters

The Ridge

On Thursday, May 21^st we were awake around 6:30 before dropping off again until 7:30. We got up to greet this glorious day. If you got tired of hearing me complain about the cold, wet and windy stuff, now you’ll get the repetitive joyfulness over warm, sunny, calmness. Today just feels perfect. Inside the Suite it was a cool 14C/58F (which doesn’t sound cool, does it?) but outside it was 11C/52F and it felt warm. The sky was clear blue and the wind minimal so I took myself out for a walk.

Normally this is a good spot to work on my potting

The pond looked pretty this morning

 There is something about the solitude of a country road in the morning. I layered too much right off the bat and on my return trip had to remove my hoody and windbreaker. Duh, so overdressed today but it was a wonderful walk. I came in for a tea and Bill filled me in on his plans for the day. He has been waiting for a guaranteed warm day to empty his cargo trailer so he can work on it. I was going to take my tea outside but remembered I hadn’t posted my blog yet. Oops!

Some 8 year old lost his birthday balloon

It was getting late last night when I finished the write-up and although I’d downloaded the pictures, I was too tired to finish. We sat together and watched some tv together and soon after 10, I had to say goodnight. It felt warm in the bedroom but I must have been comfortable as I didn’t hear Bill come to bed, whenever that was. I slept well. So, this morning, I popped my pictures over and published. With that finished my work day would begin.

I saw a wild turkey across the fields

So, I waited until he opened his magnificent tail feathers

There were 3 geraniums to be potted as well as 12 tomato plants and 8 pepper plants that needed to be planted in the garden. Gosh, it feels good to be out there moving forward. The only downer is the peskiness of the black flies. The unwelcome critters. Wouldn’t it have been nice if the cool weather had killed them all off and we’d not see them this year? No such luck. Bill was trying to work and I could see them flying around his head. He was hoping the stinky OFF that he sprayed on last night would work but it wasn’t.

A female oriole found the other oranges

And these critters came up the hill to check out the bugs
Grass is always greener, don't you know?

Can you believe how big these babies are getting?
Still cute little fluff balls

I set up stuff in my ‘new’ potting area by the Bunky and they were crazy around me too. In the storage shed, I dug out my hat with the netting so I wouldn’t get bitten. Even though I could see them on the outside of the netting, they couldn’t get me. “Nya nya nya nya nya. I’m smarter than you flies”. I didn't have many flowers to pot yet so it didn't take me long. I placed one geranium in the new garden and 2 others in individual pots. 

Bill got it all levelled for me and it's easy to work beside
our hand pump (water comes from the rain barrel)

Tomatoes and peppers are planted leaving
space for some onions and pumpkins

 I obviously need more plants. I want to put together a bigger pot for Bill’s Hangar and one more for the corner of the property oh! Plus, one at the front corner of the corral. There is an old tree stump there that I plant in. Next, I carted my stuff up to the vegetable garden plot and spaced the tomatoes and peppers. Then 8 cages went over top in preparation for their height. I still need to get some Dutch set onions and at least 1 pumpkin plant for Bill. I might need to buy seeds?

then I relaxed

I’m hoping to get a Purolator delivery today with my Alzheimer’s t-shirt and package for the walk. Donna got hers the other day and Cathy just texted that she got hers this morning. I emptied the dishwasher and started my post while drinking a coffee. We had sausages and eggs for lunch and then the rest of my day was low key. My back has had enough for the day and I’ll have to remember to do my yoga stretches tonight before bed.

Forgive the pictures of our tiniest critter visit today
He doesn't even look real!

I sprayed myself liberally and went outside to sit at the patio table and read. The wind dropped off considerably and the flag went from flopping wildly to hanging limply and that is lovely! The sun was hot and I could feel it seeping into my skin so kept switching my position from one chair to the next. Chair hopping, I believe is what Bob calls it. 😊 I took a walk down to check for mail and brought up the flyers. They don’t amount to much these days, so I only read the 2 grocery ads.

He sits in the tree to show me that he is pretty from the back side too

It was after reading through those that I remembered I was going to wash the back and other windows. I’m not sure what I can reach and I know Bill is busy in his trailer so I wasn’t going to bother him for the ladder. The thing is that we won’t know how good a job I did until the sun beats through it tomorrow morning. That’s when the streaks show up but I do have an excuse. I was on a 3-step ladder and could only put so much effort into it while maintaining balance. I’ll let you know!

I was waiting for him to turn his head

I was ready to move inside around 4 and turned NCIS on. Outside I’d been reading this new book by Joan Clark. Gayle recommended it so I wanted to give it a chance. It is way different than any of the latest books I’ve read. It is called An Audience of Chairs and I’ve made it to Chapter 4. They are long chapters so let’s hope I make it to 5! When Bill came in, we sat together for a while as he went through the flyers. The Princess Auto booklet kept him busy for a few minutes. This is his Canadian 'Harbor Freight' fix.

finally, he did

He lit the Weber before 6 and grilled us supper. I didn’t feel like a salad so had 2 hot dogs and he had 2 burgers. They were g-ooo-ood! We did the few dishes and relaxed for the night. It was a busy day and a hot one. We actually have windows open again and both awnings out. What a change! The Suite would need to cool down some before bedtime, it was 28C/84F inside tonight. Shorts tomorrow? Bill has his shirt off and pant legs rolled up. Woohoo! 😊

The flag was just hanging mid afternoon

This was a fun day and we’re glad that Donna and Gerry spent their whole day over at the Acreage as well. It was a good Vitamin D day!

I enjoyed my hot dogs tonight!
One with relish and one with sauerkraut
Good night everyone!

Thank you for your visit.