Thursday, July 1, 2010

JULY 1 AND BUSY BUSY BUSY



Here we are at our farm in the hills of north central Idaho and trying to make up for time lost to trips and cool weather. I checked out my collection of seeds and planted my raised bed in carrots, lettuce, beans and a couple of lemon cucumbers.

Speaking of cool weather, it's back again. The overnight low here was 48; the high today was 78. I wore a sweatshirt until late afternoon when I took Nellie for her walk. And I have yet to put away my winter pajamas. But, you know what they say about northern Idaho: you can't depend on summer until after the Fourth of July.



Mike did a lot of yard work and was otherwise industrious. Here he is fixing the closer on the back door. And below he's painting a window facing on the south of the house. He works under two mottos: "It's always something" and "Nothing is ever easy."










Three cherries on the little sour cherry tree look as though they might mature. I actually swathed the fencing in netting until I realized there's really no reason to try to protect three cherries from the birds.


The raspberry patch is more sincere than it has ever been -- loaded with potential berries and also producing canes. Life is good . . .




Farmer Kyle was here yesterday fertilizing with his huge equipment. Mike and I had to chuckle because a previous farmer did the same thing with a 4-wheeler. Sorry I don't have a picture of that for comparison.



The wheat looks so good right now. Rumor has it that an old-time farmer here says he has never seen it looking so good at this time of year.





Lastly -- take a look at this toadstool that I found under a pine tree in the grove. I think this is the spot to build my fairy village. KW

4 comments:

Hallie said...

Looks like a busy day for all. Do you think my weeding helped the raspberries? How long do you think it will be until the cherry tree makes LOTS of cherries?

Kathy said...

Hallie -- The weeding you did was a great boost for the raspberries and if not for the raspberries, then for me! I'm not really sure what we can expect from the cherry tree, but I believe it will produce more cherries each year over the next several years. I'm hoping it will produce a pie within five years.

Chris said...

Great pictures! We're just trying to get our garden in up here, too. Today's high was only about 60, so it's not looking too hopeful yet.

Those cherries are adorable! I do hope you get to eat them and not the birds, though!

We're trying to get some needed chores done, too, but other things keep popping up! I guess the chores will be waiting when we finally get to them.

Happy 4th!

Kathy said...

Happy Fourth of July to everyone!

That's the way I feel about life. Yes, chores have to be done but not at the expense of the things that keep popping up! As you observe, Chris, the chores will wait.

As I looked over my available seeds and read the "days to maturity" section, I was appalled to see how limited my choice of vegetables had become, considering the growing season at the farm ends about Sept. 1. We might have a few more weeks in the valley where it's warmer, BUT I tend to forget that it's not just a matter of temperature but also length of days.