We got up at 6:00 am to watch the blast-off of Space-X, but the sky was not clear, and the launch was scribbled. We did the next best thing; planned the day! The fire and coffee were warm, so it was a perfect way to start the day!
We had our coffee by the fire pit!
I should tell you that Mary usually wakes me up!
Needless to say, I get up quickly!
We scour the garden for veggies, and we found our secondborn today. We were so excited about the first one we did not take a single picture; we ate it on the spot. We must admit, it was terrific. Doing some math, that 1/4 pound tomato cost us about $200,000 per pound! The cost will indeed go down if we live another 235 years!
Out second born!
The tomatoes are growing so tall we had to go to Home Depot and get some tubing to extend the cages another three feet. After that, they will get a haircut because we would need a ladder to get to them!
What do two tomatoes do after not seeing each other for an extended period? Have a ketchup.
The wind was non-existent, so the whirlygigs just sat there and smiled. Perhaps it would be a good time to oil them?
It was hazy outside (the time-lapse camera is in the window of the shed)
Did we say berries? Our strawberry and blackberry area is going wild with new growth. We get a handful of strawberries every morning and devour them on the spot. The black/Boysen/rasp berries will be a little slow this year as it is their first season.
I often wondered if Noah liked blueberry pies, then realized he preferred pears. Silly me!
Berries are coming soon.
The little green plant to the left of the lava rock will soon be between 6 and 10 feet tall; it is a sunflower.
Last year I got advice from a sunflower: be outstanding in your field. I heard about this old sunflower yesterday. The 70-year-old sunflower refused to go to the doctor. He needed a pollenoscopy.
The sprouts will soon be eight feet tall!
We grow a little bit of everything. The cactus has a friend that comes to visit, and he is in disguise, so look hard. He ios bearly visible!
Do you see the bear?
Carlos came by to do the yard, and with me having to take it easy since the eye surgery, we volunteered to set up a second vegetable bed behind the central veggie garden.
This one will have lentils as well as lettuce. We will need to shade the lettuce, and these beds will be perfect to set up a 50 or 60-percent shade cloth over the top. Too much sun will make the lettuce bolt and not produce the lovely leaves we seek.
Carlos and his nephew put together the second planter and filled it with dirt.!
Mary got a new sign for the vineyard. Well, maybe eight vines are not a vineyard, but we can dream. We have an honest-to-goodness Chardonnay grape, which shakes every time Mary stops by to say hello!
The planters look good, and tomorrow we will post the sign.
Carlos planted the new flowers for us in the front yard. He was amazed that the soil was so soft, so I told him I tilled in about 200 pounds of amendments, including a lot of peat moss.
Carlos will plant the new babies.
Now we have color all over the front yard. The neighbors comment on Mary’s flower garden and often ask questions. Please wait until the mammoth sunflowers get going in about three weeks; they will be ten feet tall!
We are adding a little color.
Amazon made me buy one hundred Hollyhock seeds which we will sprinkle around the hard,
Fun flower facts about the hollyhock:
- Hollyhocks are bland, but they are edible and can be added to salads or used as an edible garnish.
- Hollyhocks are sometimes called outhouse flowers because they were often planted to hide unsightly outhouses.
- Dolls can be fashioned out of the flowers with fully opened flowers as the skirts, half-opened flowers as the torsos, and buds for the heads. The dolls are all held together with a little stick.
- The woody stems can be used as firewood.
- Hollyhock roots have been used in traditional herbal medicine.
- The plant is a food source for some butterflies, worms, and insects.
- Hollyhocks are the 13th wedding anniversary flower.
- In the language of flowers, the hollyhock symbolizes fruitfulness.
- Former American president Thomas Jefferson once bred a variety of dark red hollyhock.
- A lotion made from the flowers can heal sunburn and dry skin.
- The hollyhock is related to the hibiscus.
We are going to plant Hollyhock seeds tomorrow!
It’s 6:00 pm, and that means time for the Elks. Tonight was surf and turf, and Mary did the steak, and I pounced on the crab legs, which were out of the world good.
Marsha got her bib and was ready to attack the legs.
Marsha gets a bib!
These legs had more meat than a good-sized chicken leg. Whoever cut the shell did an excellent job, as they were easy to open. With a little tub, the legs opened up, and the tender and juicy white meat was right there for the taking.
The crab legs were ginormous!
The Elks did it again, simply amazing!
Over the teeth and through the gums, look out tonsils; here it comes!
Mary’s steak was also excellent, and we took some of it home; I emptied my plate, and the only thing remaining was the crab’s carcass!
Mary opted for the steak.
Oh yes, we had a wonderful salad and corn on the cob. Happy Pau, indeed, and it gave me enough energy to dance several times before we headed home.
I worked hard for the meat, and it was worth it.
Our good friend came by to visit.
We got a visitor.
We got home about 9:30 pm and decided to crash as tomorrow is going to be a big day! We have gardening to accomplish, and Saturday is Movie Night with family. We plan to watch “The Sound Of Music,” so Mary and I are going to theme dinner; we are off to the German deli for supplies!
