Covid Journal, Day 120: Garden Talk

68 this morning, cool and perfect for breakfast on the deck. Still no rain, and none in the forecast up through the end of the week. Watering, watering, watering.

Fireweed, dug from a ditch years ago, doesn't seem to be bothered by dry weather.

Gardens seem to be the center of our universe these days. We were out early again this morning to get the watering done, and I hoed and weeded in the walled garden. I'm not happy with the layout this year, and will think about how to do it better next year. The green beans I planted in there are doing well and getting ready to bloom, and the two tomato plants by the gate are thriving. My little herbs are coming along slowly. I think the sprinkler just doesn't give them enough water so I may be carrying water to them again. I harvested more garlic,

and Larry planted the seedheads. I am pretty sure he didn't do it right as he planted the whole scape and didn't separate the bulblets. Oh well, maybe if they come up in clusters we can transplant. I need to learn more about growing garlic--ours have self-seeded for years, and we don't usually worry about them.

Basil, sunflowers, cannas and asparagus. Talk about random planting! The soil is just dry as dust, even though it was watered the day before.

Cannas, dill and wild purslane. I pulled some of the last to cook for greens. Didn't get to it today, but maybe tomorrow.

One of my two tomato plants in this little garden.

He finished digging the potatoes--they did not get very big, I'm sure due to the lack of rain--and the tops died back early. We got a nice lot of them anyway for our 10 pounds of sets. Larry worked up the ground to plant corn, probably tomorrow, and mulched his little pumpkin patch.

We have some netting over the pumpkin patch, held up by stakes, to keep rabbits and deer out of there. I also invested in some row covers and hoops so we could cover the late flat Dutch cabbages since we've been seeing some rabbits near that garden. There's electric fence but rabbits might be able to get under it. I am really trying to protect these plants as they'll be for making kraut, which we really like.

Sometimes it feels like a war, trying to protect and nurture our gardens. With all the rest of our 50 acres to roam, don't you think that the critters and bugs have enough and could leave our little area alone? But no, they want to come here because I guess our plants taste better. We've got a squirrel getting into the apple trees and stealing green apples, chipmunks after the birdseed, the rabbits, deer that will eat pretty much anything and everything--and that's not even mentioning the insects. Somehow we always seem to get enough despite having to share with so many other mouths.

I worked outside until noon, then came in to do some housework and get back to my painting projects. I finished up a sweet sofa or entryway table today, repainted a gossip bench that didn't sell (I'd painted it a dark red with a houndstooth check stencil on top, so this time it's a light aqua), painted a little bench, and started working on this cabinet.

Honestly, I'm not sure it's worth the work, but I started so I'm going to finish it. It has dents and dings and rust and some bent places but the shelves are sturdy and the doors work well. I got it at an auction for little or nothing, and planned to use it for storage in an outbuilding but we really don't need it. The photo above was  taken after I'd just started working on it; I sanded the rust, scrubbed off the dirt, and painted it with primer today, so it looks a lot better now. Next is new paint. It won't sell for much, but at least it won't go to the scrap heap.

Evening was spent on the porch, so restful. From the look of the sky, there will be no rain tomorrow.

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