MONDAY / FRIDAY

Afternoon at Gilbert

It seems like life flies by as a series of Mondays and Fridays. I don’t know what happens to the other days.

Bess in one of her favorite places

Well, yesterday was Tuesday, and Mike and I along with our trusty companions, Bess and Nellie, went to the farm. We didn’t even go into the house. The crew wasn’t working, but our contractor called. Long story short, nothing much happened on the farmhouse since we met him there last Tuesday. We are dismayed and hopeful that things will get moving once flood season is over and his workload decreases.

Mike opted not to mow this week. Instead, he spent the morning hours spraying the Canada thistle. I watered plants and trees.

Laurel

·      Hallie’s laurel trees – looking good; signs of new growth

·      Yarrow – It appears something has nibbled it; not as many plants as I set out. Still, I’m hopeful that what's there will take off.

·      Zucchini – Continued growth of three hills. However, the hill I planted last week didn’t sprout or wasn’t there. I re-planted. I also worked the gated raised bed and planted yellow summer squash.

Honeysuckle

Late-blooming lilac

The late-blooming lilac is now at its peak. The rhubarb hasn’t done much since last week. It probably needs fertilizer again, but rhubarb is best in the spring anyway. The honeysuckle has made good progress. I planted it as bare-root stock, and that’s always “iffy.”

Choke cherry

After lunch, we returned to the draw north of the house where Mike cut down a dead choke cherry tree. It wasn’t a big project. He pulled the trunk and usable branches out to the road where he cut it into firewood for town. Then we loaded it into the Dakota. 

Getting ready for winter

Back in town, he unloaded and stacked the wood at the back door. 

It seems tedious – these trips to the farm without amenities – rather like it used to be. It was tedious then, too. KW