THE GROWING SEASON PROGRESSES

Our time here at the Gilbert homestead has been quiet but productive. When we came on Tuesday we checked Duke out of the boarding facility and brought him with us, as we had agreed to do. (His family is traveling.) He seems quite content just to be here. Nellie, of course, treats him with some disdain.

Mike has finished his horseshoe pits with the exception of hauling in some sand – perhaps some of the sandy soil from the Clarkston house. It's been hard work to hew the pits out of the clay. When I went down yesterday he was muttering to himself and the air looked sorta blue, so I didn't ask him to repeat himself.

The hummingbirds are now here in larger numbers and we have enjoyed watching them argue over the feeders. I was telling Mike when I was growing up we considered it a treat to see a hummingbird. It hardly ever happened. I remember one occasion when I was a teen-ager, we had gone huckleberrying and a hummingbird lit on Mother's shoulder and stayed quite a while – an unexpected delight. If that happened today, I think we would see it as less spectacular because the hummingbirds are really quite tame. I wonder if the popularity of feeding them has served to support and increase their population. We see mainly the black-chinned variety and some calliope. Yesterday we had the opportunity to observe one up close and personal when she flew into the dining room window with a thud three times her size and knocked herself out. We put her on a glove at the edge of the porch out of the wind. Apparently she eventually recovered enough to take off.

The corn in the raised bed is sprouting to my great joy! This afternoon I will cover it with netting. If I don't protect it, it's not if but when the deer will advance to the yard to eat it all gone. As the corn gains size, we will have to put up fencing because the plants won't pollinate under the netting.

I should have a great crop of raspberries this year, but unfortunately I fear that will happen while we're traveling next month. We'll see how we work that out. But I'm so pleased that the plants are now established and propagating their own new canes. I'm negotiating with Mike to clear out more sod and increase the size of the patch. He's willing for it to happen because he can't mow the bank, but it's sure a lot of work for a guy with back and neck pain.

I had hoped to have a nice strawberry patch one day, but -- "so far not so good." I was laboring under the delusion that strawberry plants can be allowed to propagate by runner, but I learned through research that this is not advised. A runner is a clone of the parent plant and as such will result in a weakened strain and poor producer. So you have to keep renewing your plants -- tearing out the old and putting in new grower certified plants in a biennial rotation. No wonder "U pick" strawberry patches have all but disappeared! It's too late this year for me to set out new plants, but I'll give it a try next year.

One thing we have here in abundance is well-mulched pine straw -- so good for so many of the acid-loving berry plants and bushes.

The currant bush has produced a few berries this year. The gooseberry bush is still growing but didn't bloom. The rhubarb plant struggles along, obviously not too happy in its locale on the bank. Maybe I could move it. Mike says the elderberry bushes look good this year – apparently didn't get hit by the spray.

Mike saw a rattler at the barn this morning, but we haven't seen the brown animal in the field.

We do get snail mail in this place but our mailbox is out at the corner of Curfman and Dobson Roads a mile away from our house. Last week I ordered a book, The Sewing Machine Attachment Handbook, by Charlene Phillips, and had it delivered here. It came yesterday and felt like a wonderfully vintage pleasure on account of receiving mail and also the subject matter. It's exactly what I hoped it would be, explaining in detail how to use the attachments with Grandma Ina's treadle machine and providing some history of their development.

Mike's taking it a little easy today since he finished the horseshoe pits and also established his new shooting range. He's just going to ride his bike out to Nezperce, maybe do Lawyer's Canyon, and if he still feels good, he might ride out Craigmont way to Moehler Road or something.