To The Surbiton Manor Born

Yesterday afternoon, a sudden thunderstorm whipped up, and as the initial blast of wind came through, it snapped this limb off of the neighbor's ash tree, which landed, fortunately I guess, mostly on the strawberry bed. Though it did break the cover. We'll have to have a chat with the neighbors about getting it out of our yard, always awkward. That said, it is literal windfall, and I think we'll saw up and stack the larger pieces for firewood in two years. Summer is short. I'm counting it down this year by my marathon training schedule. In just nine short weeks, it will be Sept. 23, and time to run the Ely Marathon . That'll mark the end of summer. But before then, next week is going to fall on us like the flaming sword of the archangel Gabriel. 90's predicted all week, with just a few bouts of thunderstorms. It's going to be hot, and it is going to be dry. What I've noticed about the storms this year is that they only spit a little bit of water. It isn...

 The strawberries are last week's news. The "dog days of summer" are upon us. They are the very best time of year.  It's difficult to keep up with the garden just now. Squash are extending themselves what seems like feet overnight. Tomatoes are starting to blossom. We will have our first zucchini before the week is out. Early lettuce is going to seed. The snow peas are popping. The marigolds are in bloom. Horrible Japanese beetles have infested one of our apple trees. Just the one tree. After a run of 12 miles on Saturday, and another route 6 miles today, it has become clear to me that it is the only tree in all of our town that is infested. Raspberries are thriving. What I won't be doing this year is rushing out in the heat of a 90 degree day with a spray bottle full of Dawn. This is what burned all the leaves off last year. Instead, I've ordered a supply of neem oil, and if they are present tomorrow morning, I will purchase and wrap the trees in row-cover.  ...

 Summer proper is upon us. Today was absolutely perfect. Sunny with some passing puffy clouds. High '80's & humid.  Celebrating the new Juneteenth holiday by staying at home and basically working on the garden all day. It's work, yes. But it is fun. We're trying various methods to eradicate the creeping Charlie that overran the top of the hill. Now I'm a tolerant fellow. Generally speaking, if it is green and can be cut to 3" or so, I'm on board with it living in the yard. In this case, however, I feel differently. I'm not sure why. Is it the repulsive smell? Is it the sense that the vines are tentacles weaving around and choking out everything in their path like the vile creature in the pool before the gates of Moria in the Lord of the Rings? Is it that it chokes out everything - including my precious clover? Whatever it is, I want it gone.  I believe I've noted already the attempt to burn it out with the propane torch. Satisfying as it was at...

  Summer is here and the garden is producing. It happens fast around here. Just a couple of weeks ago I was deeply worried about tiny plants just starting out. Today, just about everything is up. We've got four different kinds of squash up. We have lettuce that's ready to eat. We had almost no chance to eat the rocket before it bolted. The beets are up. There are onions coming and the garlic needed a rescue as it had all fallen down while seeking the sun. The itsy bitsy tomato & pepper plants are now big enough to ease the worry.  It is dry. We had a nice downpour yesterday that refilled the rain barrels, but we've had to use the hose pipe more than I would like. And it looks like another week without a drop in the forecast as far out as it goes.  We have been engaged in a pogrom against creeping Charlie. The stuff is one green thing in the lawn that I really don't want, because it is totally invasive and wrecks everything else that I do  want in the lawn. We've...

This weekend saw a LOT of work. We re-painted the deck, constructed anti-squirrel fortifications, ripped up a massive patch of creeping Charlie, planted annual flowers in the front, dug out many dandelions, put in more mulch, combined with a 9 mile fast-finish long run (1st week of training for the Ely Marathon in September).  All in all, the manufacturers of acetaminophen and ibuprofen must be pleased.  The photo above pictures the new "lobster trap" seedling protectors, in this case protecting tiny pepper & eggplant seedlings. A new design this year, using hoops, chicken-wire & 2x2's. What can't you solve with 2x2's, chicken-wire and a staple gun. Two are built, but I ran out of chicken-wire and need to make a re-supply run. Now, we like squirrels as much as the next person, but they seem especially aggressive this year. We're using a multi-prong approach. Plastic forks as a palisade (as around these zucchini): Irish Spring soap in pouches and spread...

There's a time for planning, and a time for philosophizing, and a time when you absolutely need to do the things and have little time for recording progress. This is one of the latter. Spring in Minnesota moves swiftly. One minute, there are howling winds, everything is grey, icy, and cold. Then BAM! Everything is green. Trees have leafed out. Lilacs are blooming. Dandelions are bursting forth.  Most importantly, the plans that have been made must be fulfilled. Beds need to be cleaned out and planted.  We've made some good progress. Beets, lettuce, rocket, zucchini, kale, strawberries, raspberries, sunflowers, pumpkins, three kinds of acorn squash, parsnips, nasturtiums (sadly misspelled in the plans), marigolds, and cosmos are planted. Tulips have nearly run their course. Daffodils are about done. Crocus are long gone. Clover has popped out of last year's slag from the stairway excavations.  Sadly, because we were on vacation in Maine over the weekend of the 6th to visit...

45 mile per hour gusts of wind today blew over the empty firewood rack. A grey sky is lowering upon us. The squirrel houses are swaying in the treetops. Wouldn't want to be a squirrel today. Who would you sue if your house got blown down or the tree limb broke?  Will this insufferable winter ever end? 36 degrees tonight.  In spite of the truly wretched weather, we accomplished some things over the past week. On Saturday I uncovered the strawberries. Hopefully this was not premature. I got some sunflowers planted in the squash bed, "Autumn Beauty" variety. I also put a couple in the bed with the peas for some late summer interest. Planted one of the three beds in front of the deck with spinach. Popeye would be happy . I also tossed down another ten pounds of Dutch White Clover seed throughout the yard, and put down some black eyed Susan & milkweed seeds in some spots that are destined not to get mowed this year. Hopefully a nice pollinator spread will work on the hill...