Musings

I’m still enjoying the lupine lusciousness in the orchard…and I’m “sharing” it with you.

Posted at 8:58 PM | Comments Off on Apologies for the repeats

I’ve undertaken a program of frustrating milkweeds that are near the cottage; don’t fuss—plenty to feed the monarchs are untouched in the field. This operation means I’ve been walking in close patterns searching out offenders…and coming across other species mixed into the grass…like this campion.

Meanwhile, in the basil ringfort, despite the chill temps, the basil leaves are getting larger…although they’re still at the two-leaf phase.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Small plants

Let’s stick to a hyper-local news cycle: we got more rain, and it lasted a while, but it was so light I wouldn’t call it a soaking rain. That surprised me; on the other hand: what do I know.

Posted at 8:25 PM | Comments Off on Out the window

I know of Impressionist paintings. This looks like an Impressionist photo…same vibe anyway.

Posted at 8:32 PM | Comments Off on Not my field…oops, my field

The lupines are just so lovely. I like this bicolor specimen, and I’m not a huge fan of pink. It’s okay, even lovely, but not usually a favorite. Perhaps its the pairing with magenta that sparks this for me….

The BBC published this map showing wildfire data from NASA and “firms” data from the first eight days of June. There’re far more fires than I gleaned from news reports…they’re all over…well not ALL, but many scattered places.

Posted at 9:38 PM | Comments Off on Pink/red

Finally, we got morning rain…not much and not a soaker, but more than nothing…enough to cover the bottom of the rain barrel a couple of inches deep.

[Note that the barrel is indeed tilted, so that overflow will be on the side opposite the cottage.]

By afternoon, the “wild”flowers seemed to have renewed energy to push toward more than two leaves.

And the black raspberries are in bloom, and the bees busily visited (not pictured). I admit I’ve been watering these, hoping I’ll get a couple of ripe berries before the birds take them. Time will tell.

Posted at 5:18 PM | Comments Off on I wanted to dance

Yesterday, the Guru captured a drone photo of this year’s version of the basil ringfort. This variation has a “palisade wall” of cardboard, a new development, and an inner ringfort with at least two dozen two-leaf basil plants. Between the ringfort and the wall along the upper edge is another row of germinating seeds, “wildflowers” from a seed packet I was given at the baby shower two weeks ago. [Was it two weeks…?]

In addition, there’s a daisy plant in the lower left, and a line of rhubarb in the lower right.

Lotsa product coming along this year! […enabled by frequent watering in this dry dry dry spring.]

Posted at 8:36 PM | Comments Off on Germination 2023

Grass, lupines, and apple trees—these are obvious. The grass is bent because of wind…which is visible in videos from the same drone expedition, but you have to use your “seeing” brain to find it here.

We’re back in a cool phase again—lovely. I see rain will visit Saturday through Tuesday. We need it badly; I do hope it does arrive, and it gives us a thorough soaking.

Posted at 8:29 PM | Comments Off on Green elements

Chives! And blooming! So…delicate. And once snipped, they are a great contribution to salads…veggie sides…chili…and so many more dishes.

Rhubarb! I transplanted these two autumns ago, and the collective wisdom of the internet indicated that I should wait two years before picking. It is time! And these are exceptionally fine stalks…time to pick a new batch…cautiously, so as not to over-harvest. [Restraint!]

In product-to-come news, these are “wild”flowers from a gift seed packet from the baby shower last month…day three since first observed germination…. Not edible, but beauty and aesthetics are also important…. [The sand grains look huge!]

Posted at 10:19 PM | Comments Off on Growth curves

Nothing looks quite like the swamps (local term; specialists may use another term, I dunno) of these parts. Perhaps no open water, like this example. Cattail swards. Skinny pines etching the sky. Calls of ravens or crows, sometimes both, with small twinkle-toned birds flitting here and there.

Posted at 9:57 PM | Comments Off on Ecotonic