Missing Pix.

These are some of the pix that I was unable to upload earlier this week.

Bleeding Heart "Hedge"

Baltimore Oriole in Blooming Apple Tree. Can you find the orange plumage?

Mowed Pasture looks like lawn for a few days.

Oriole Sighted in Apple Tree.

5-29-08 VERMONT: Today was like yesterday, except warmer. I watered everything, limed the lawn above the pond, spread MoleMax mole repellent, weeded and did some deck repair work.

The pasture was finally mowed and looks good. Usually it is too wet in the spring to mow, but this May has been extremely dry so it’s mowable.

I saw a Baltimore oriole in the apple tree by the deck this evening and got one fair picture which I will post if it ever gets uploaded. [The upload time is longer than ever and worse every day. Are you paying attention, blogger staff?]

New blooms: may apple.

Too Cold.

5-28-08 VERMONT: Today was cloudless and sunny, with lots of wind, and chilly with temps in the 50’s. I needed a jacket all day. Yesterday and today I repaired the storm door that was blown out during the winter. The door closer pulled out of the door jamb and the wooden jamb was broken. I took down the broken closer, filled the holes in the jamb, cut new wood panels to attach the new closer and spring to the jamb and door, and it took most of the day. I was forced to buy a new power bevel/miter chop saw.

When I did get out of the house, I set up all the deck, lawn and pond furniture, did a bit of weeding and watering, and suddenly it was dinner time.

New blooms: lily-of-the-valley, indian cucumber, foam flower, sweet woodruff.

Tomatoes and Corn are in the Ground.

5-26-08 VERMONT: Actual rain tonight, already for a couple hours, but on and off. The pond level has dropped about an inch. The water is clearer than it has been for several years, probably due to the huge amount of snow this past winter that displaced some, or even most, of the water that was in the pond last summer. That water might have started its journey by evaporating from the Pacific Ocean, then getting carried eastward in some winter storm and precipating here in Thetford. Frogs have appeared in the pond as has a turtle, painted turtle I think, and at least one crayfish.

I planted the tomatoes in the veggie garden from east to west—six Early Girl, 45 days, two Sweet 100, 70 days, two Sun Gold, 57 days, and two Santa Grape, 60 days. Herbs next—two sweet basil, two dill, two rosemary to join the thyme and oregano that over-wintered. Then two pumpkin hills and sweet corn—four rows of 18 plants, double seeded for later thinning.

I filled holes in the flower gardens with a hollyhock, Alcea rosea, a liatris, ‘Floristan Violet’, a cushion spurge, Euphorbia polychroma, a delphinium, ‘Magic Fountains Cherry Blossom’, an ornamental oregano, ‘Hopley’s Purple’, a white Centaurea and a fancy violet.

That’s all the sexy stuff. The rest was weeding, watering, pruning and a few more peony supports.


Apple trees are Memorial Day regulars.

Memorial Day Weekend.

5-23-08 VERMONT: Judy arrived yesterday with Nick and Gus for a happy reunion with all of us. They had a hard trip on Thursday of the holiday weekend. While waiting for them, I got the chain saw started [sorry if that sounds too ominous] and took down a couple small cherry trees that were in the wrong place, pruned an old apple and took a big, dead lower branch off a pine.

Continuing with the gas and oil, I started the trimmer and cleared around the veggie garden and around the roses and whacked several burdock and thistle, well-known criminals of the plant world. Today I finished the veggie garden set-up, repaired the soaker hose under the plastic ground cover, strung the electric fencing and put up tomato trellises. Then I weeded a new flower bed and put up supports for peonies and meadow rue.

We actually had about fifteen minutes of rain today that was enough to wet the bottom of the rain gauge. The day was windy and cool, and it doesn’t feel much like Memorial Day. Or maybe it does. Years ago we sailed in Memorial weekend races on Long Island Sound, usually from Larchmont to Block Island and back. There was always one cold, rainy night.

New blooms: creeping phlox, azalea.


A cloudy sunset.

Hellebore, an early blooming, shade tolerant perennial.

Welcoming the Veggies.

5-21-08 VERMONT: A cool day with a few minor showers, but no significant rain. I started working on the veggie garden. I rolled back the black plastic cover and tested the soaker hose, fertilized, limed lightly because the pH tested a bit acidic at 6.0-6.5, raked the lime and fertilizer in, and replaced the plastic cover. The cover warms the soil and prevents weed growth. I decided to expand the covered area to have a bigger weed-free work area and put down some of that extra cover.

The distressed elm tree is alive, but doesn’t look as good as the other one. In the pond there are fish everywhere, a few newts and no frogs, turtles or crayfish as yet. The pond had brief visits from both a female duck and a Canada goose. The security patrol rousted both trespassers. I heard an owl somewhere on the other side of New Boston Rd.

New blooms: yellow and pink lamium.

More Chores.

5-20-08 VERMONT: It’s nice to get queries. It tells you that someone is actually alive out there. Sam and Chloe, however, have indicated that their brand preferences for coffee and beer are private matters. Neither of them wants to be hounded for public endorsements or dogged by curious voyeurs.

Another pretty nice day, warm, but not hot, sunny and intermittently breezy. Unfortunately, the black flies appeared when the wind was calm. I finished fertilizing the flower beds, dragged out all the hoses and watered everything, weeded and pruned, put up some of the plant supports and planted sunflower seeds.

Tomorrow I start on the veggie garden.

The frog opera has been playing nightly, at dawn the birds take over.

New blooms: purple lamium.