Monday, July 14, 2008

Finally corraled the little critters!!

The girls were out again this morning so figured I must have done something wrong. My neighbor stopped by to tell me he might have found some stoves, and I shanghaied him to check the fence. His verdict, no juice. He was on his way to a painting job, but came over this evening to double check, still no juice. Charlie and I trekked down to the slightly larger city and bought a new energizer for the fence. Neighbor Dave came over and hooked it up and double checked fence and said we are good to go. The girls were very good, they never roamed far and did quite a bit of eating while they were out. Tomorrow they are going to be surprised to find they can no longer just wander through the fence. The worry of course is that something will scare them, or they will get into farmer's field and tear stuff up. So this will ease my mind. The only thing I can figure is that the lightning that hit our tree also damaged the fence. It just took a while for them to realize there was no shock in the fence.

Pretty warm today, but cooled off tonight which is a good thing. I put some red landscape cloth down around the tomatoes, supposed to reflect red light back at them??? I don't know, it was on sale and should help with the weeds. Something ate the pretty pink daises I planted, phooey on them hope it upset their stomach. Am loving all the hollyhocks and roses that are in bloom as well as other assorted flowers. I have this vision of wandering along paths lined with a huge variety of flowers. Hidden nooks and crannies with benches and fountains, Jim can make sculptures to keep himself busy. Well, it might be a slightly skewed vision, but it's mine.

My summer squash plants have gotten huge, and finally some blossoms. I have been picking lettuce , eating salads 3 times a day and giving it away and still it grows. To the right are all tomato plants, and in the lower left a corner of my strawberry patch. Also somewhere in there are sweet potato plants, they have kinda gotten buried. Also some spinach and garlic, cucumbers and a lonely watermelon plant. Just behind where I am standing is a zucchini plant that has taken over the whole corner. I might just have to try my hand at zucchini bread. I am leaning all kinds of things about vegetable gardens. I need to leave more room between rows, all those seed do really come up. Also I want to do this again next year with more and better. The gourds that I planted have also taken off, hopefully I will get some in the fall. I planted a variety of shapes for fun. Oh, I also actually got started on my birdbath, there is hope.
The big project for tomorrow is to finish the roses I am making for Ellen's cake. Only about 300 of them, yikes! I did get started and have about 50 done, but back said no more, so will hit it again in the morning when I am fresh. Will also take a few Aleve to ward off spasms. I will post some pictures so you can see what you think. A few mentioned they have not tried the decorating, you should give it a try. Like anything it takes practice, but making it pretty is so much fun. Wish we were closer I would be glad to teach you.
My best to you all, Barbara

8 comments:

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Barbara,

I'm glad you have juice in the fence again, so the girls can't get out!

Oh, hope the red landscape cloth work well. Never heard of doing that. I do put mulch around my tomatoes. They are doing well, and I am getting ripe tomatoes galore! Also cucmbers and zucchini. I had wonderful salad for 2 months this spring, but it's just too hot around here for lettuce to keep going, so I will plant another batch in the fall.

I love your plans to have flowers in all the nooks and crannies. Your sure keep busy! My rose bushes are going strong still, and the Rose of Sharon has lots of buds. We had a couple cooler days and really comfy nights, so that was a nice break from the heat.

Looking forward to your picture of the decorated cake. Enjoy the rest of the week on your lovely homestead!

Hugs,

Renie

Mary said...

Barbara,

I'm glad you were able to get the fencing repaired. Your girls will be shocked (pun intended) to learn they can no longer roam where they wish.

My tomato plants are in blossom so I'm hoping to get some nice fresh tomatoes from them in August. Our growing season is later here in Ontario. Some kinds of tomatoes are ripe now, but I like Beefsteak tomatoes and the harvest is in late August.

All of your flowers are beautiful and I hope your vision is realized. It sounds lovely.

Take care, my friend and enjoy all your garden truck.

Blessings,
Mary

Carole Burant said...

Good morning Barbara:-)

Glad you were able to get the fence working again...as you say, the girls will get a "shock" when they try to roam again! lol When we had a thunderstorm last week, lightning hit very close by and it affected the post office as well as a couple of businesses, they had no computers working for a couple of days!

Sounds like your garden is really producing. I've had a veggie garden for over 30 years now and I know all the work that is involved. I have potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peas, string beans, beets, tomatoes and carrots. It was planted late this year, not until the second week in June because of cold and wet weather in May so it's just now starting to grow. Probably won't get any veggies out of it for another couple of weeks or so.

I have the same dream as you, having a path filled with flowers in every nook and cranny:-) How I would love that!!

Please do show us pictures of your cake once it's done!! xoxo

violetlady said...

Barbara,
I have given you an award - check out my blog to see it! Congratulations.

Edie Marie's Attic said...

Hi Barbara!
I'm so glad you got your fence fixed! There's nothing more upsetting than your animals out roaming around. That's scary, whether they're pets or otherwise! Your garden is looking so wonderful. I love it when the little farm markets have their own home grown tomatoes and veggies. We don't have a vegetable garden so we have to search for them!!
Hugs, Sherry

Nancy said...

So glad you got your fence working again!

And my, oh, my!!! Zucchini bread is my very favorite!!!! I wish I had a palce alrge enough to plant some. Here I would be afraid to pick from the vines for fear of a snake!!! They love the heat!

I can't wait to see the cake you're making! I used to make profresional cakes years ago, but haven't made one for about 10 years now!

Have a great weekend!

(((HUGS)))

Unknown said...

Well I am glad to hear that the girls took time to do some eating while they were out roaming around. Do you think they have discovered the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence?

Molly is adorable. I want one just like her. That little puppy face is irresistable.

I love your header. Your porch looks so welcoming and comfortable.

Karen said...

Your veggie garden sounds wonderful. You have such marvelous patience with plants . . . and dogs! I haven't had much luck with vegetables, but am looking forward to planting some rosebushes in my new place. Glad to hear the girls have been contained:)