It's so nice not to have to walk around the ugly stump and have a gate to go through rather than hop the fence.
This is one days take of strawberries. We finally have enough to share with neighbors.
Today I made the tomato cages on one row before it was too hot to be outside. I went to the store and found each stick of 2" x 2"x 48"wood for .51 cents. The stainless steel wire I had on a spool down stairs. Hopefully the other row will be done tomorrow.

The stump is finally gone

This past weekend we were finally able to get the stump out and now we have a little garden gate to walk through. We put down some mulch and bricks to enter into the garden. We also installe an automatic watering system. It will come on at 6am and 6pm each day and give the garden a good soaking. This means we can take trips and not have to worry about having someone water for us.

Garden Shots

I wish I had one of those panoramic cameras that would capture the whole width of the garden and show everything.
Here are 4 shots from around the garden instead.

Strawberries are here

This is the second day we could harvest strawberries. We have been getting a couple a day but now they are coming in pretty good.
My bride made breakfast this morning. Real maple syrup, organic blueberries, home made bread turned into french toast, strawberries, organic free trade coffee and a glass of orange juice.

Compost gardening

This past weekend was a maintenance day in the garden so we weeded and things. One thing we did get done as well was this compost garden experiment. We built these beds using chicken wire and a few wheel barrows full of 3/4 done compost. We are going to try our pumpkins, squash & melons in the bins and have them grow up on to the fence. When the fruit forms we will cradle them in nylons. The squash beetle is our enemy when it comes to these plants, so we also purchased a hand vacuum stick to suck them up, which I will then put into a blender with peppers and other bugs to spray on the leaves of our plants. Hopefully they do not like hot sauce and cannibalism.

Iris Surprise

For the last few days I have watched these huge irises grow through the fence from next door. The last two years they did not bloom. This morning I saw that the first of 5 bloomed.
There are many beautiful irises out there but the dark ones are my favorite.

Our irises we enjoy but I look forward to adding many new colors this year as we only have the one kind. Last year I dead headed them all season. I believe we may have come up with more blooms this year and a deeper color too. There is a lot I need to learn about them.

“People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. 1 Peter 1:24

Irises will always be what counts the days for me. They arrive only once a year and a person with a long life will only see the first bloom 80 to 90 times. It's something to be celebrated when they arrive each year.

Picnic Table

Two weeks ago my wife wanted a picnic table for the garden. So I began the plans to build one. That very day we went for a bike ride and someone had a "free" sign on this one. It didn't look like this as the support rods were broke and it was peeling paint pretty bad. So we rode our bikes home, got the Jeep and put this table on top of the Jeep. We then drove two blocks home about 15 mph. I took it all apart and fixed it up. We might have ten dollars into it so it's a pretty good deal. Let us know when you want to come over for a picnic in the garden!

A fence without trees growing through it

Yesterday I had in my head to remove the tree and brush stumps growing in the fence on the west side of the house.
So tools in hand I begun the 14 hour job and installed new chain link by the end of the day.
If you look to the right of this picture you will see a clean fence line as opposed to

this landscape here. When we first came down here we cut all the brush back but two trees remained growing in the fence and up into the power lines. Today I am glad to say that those trees are no longer in there.

May already?

Started the other side of the wall this week. It looks like I will have to dig and make more garden beds if I want more rocks because this left side of the house is going to use up what we have left.
The rain has stopped and today should be nice. I ran out this morning to photograph the Irises with the water droplets.

Here is the garden this morning. The strawberries are just days away from being ready. It looks like we will have a good crop. Beans and peas are up and they should grab the support we made for them this week. This afternoon after church we hope to get the rest of the garden planted.