Sweet Williams that are growing in the garden

June 23, 2017 - Friday

53 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I slept right up to the alarm and am now rushing around trying to accomplish all my early morning activities before I ride to Iron Mountain with Sargie. Since she had to close two nights in a row, I decided to go over last night, park the Blazer, and give her some company while driving home.

Rain fell for a goodly part of Thursday. Three-tenths of an inch worth, just enough to mess up most outside activities.

There was enough time to finish thinning the beets and rutabagas, Thursday's garden goals. Two beds remain to be weeded before I'm finally caught up.

It appears someone came in and clear cut the rutabaga bed. They grow so large that spacing needs to be at least four to six inches. I'll thin them even more in a few weeks. The plants on the ground are those I pulled to make room for the others.

With all the rain and cold weather, fungus is rampant in the garden. The peppers are most affected.

I've treated them with fungicide, but rain has been falling so often that it's been largely ineffective.

The giant pumpkins aren't immune either.

There's a question as to whether we'll actually have a pumpkin crop this year. It would be the first complete failure I've ever experienced.

Still, some things are flourishing and doing well. The new grapes are growing in leaps and bounds and one small plant even has a couple of bunches forming. I'll pluck those off to give more energy to the plant.

I stood and stared for sometime at the waterfalls, measuring how much and what type of work needs to be done to stop the erosion. I'll begin when it appears we'll get more than two days of dry weather in a row.

The dirt is running out from under the rocks and into the pond.

I headed to the shop once the first drop of rain was felt.

I had an idea for a new bowl and lid with an acorn shape, something that could be used for a fall holiday decoration.

First I had to find the right piece of aged wood from the firewood shed, perhaps a chunk of maple.

I took a while, but finally, a bowl began to emerge. I purposely rounded the bottom and included a large tapered stem and flattened base.

My eyes needed a break, so with rain coming down fast and furious, I sprinted to the house, lay back in the recliner, and took a two-hour nap! I think I'm still trying to catch up from all the activity of the past two months.

Back in the shop with the eyes rested and feeling much better, I fashioned a lid, something I hoped that would look like the top of an acorn.

Looks more like a stunted wine glass.

The most difficult part was to turn the small attached handle from the same piece of wood as the lid.

Though there are eighty or a hundred things I would do different, I'm satisfied with it for my first try at making an acorn bowl and lid.

It was evening before I drove to Iron Mountain. Since Thursday was one of the longest days of the year, getting there before the sun set was not an issue.

The double ruffled petunias I started from seed last February are flourishing with all this rain.

Today... Sargie opens this morning, has tomorrow off, but works again on Sunday. 

I need to till the open area between the giant pumpkin plants. Last week's flood took away much of the top soil and left the area packed with exposed gravel and rocks. It's not pretty, but I'll work up what's there and make plans to begin improving the soil. 

I guess I'd better get around and start the day. 

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

9 PM on the longest day of the year on Pentoga Road