Who is that garden nymph hiding in the greenery?
It's Sargie!

April 8, 2018 - Tuesday evening

56 degrees/clouds/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It's been an outdoors type of day, one where we enjoyed the sunny, warm, temperatures, and managed to accomplish some outside chores.

I began the day by planting this season's onion sets. After, I began working on the beds that were damaged from last season.

The giant sunflowers are generally the culprit. Their roots tend to push out the sides of the raised beds as they mature. I usually put several back together each spring.

We brought the delicate plants upstairs that have been overwintering under grow lights in the basement.

The totes were quite heavy. I'd lug them up the steps then Sargie would drag each across the kitchen door and out to the garage.

Though we lost a couple of spikes, it appears many of the plants not only survived, but thrived.

Neither of us knew that a Dusty Miller had blossoms. 

Even the geraniums had flowers.

A vinca vine was sporting a blue blossom.

One of the biggest surprises was the mosquito plant. It was about a foot tall last fall, but grew to over four feet during the winter months. It too has flower buds on several stems.

Officially, it's called a citronella plant that repels insects in the area. It's so tall that I had to tie it to the porch rail to keep it upright.

We needed a break and decided to take our usual day off ride. The ice is completely gone from all the area lakes.

I'm hoping Sargie and I will be fishing within the next couple of weeks.

We were surprised how green the countryside is from this past week's warm weather. We've gone from black and white to vivid colors in a matter of two weeks.

Sargie began potting plants when we arrived home.

As chairperson of the Make Maple Valley Pretty Committee, she had several suggestions about how I might better landscape the area where the rock garden was. 

I spent more time on the backhoe and later, with rake in hand. The last chore was to spread grass seed.

With Sargie's help, I emptied the trailer of the last of the top soil. Several garden beds needed refreshing so I shoveled the dirt into the wheelbarrow and took it to where it was needed. Sargie used the rake and hoe to level it out.

I don't believe either of us will have any trouble sleeping tonight.

Sargie opens in the morning. If it's cold and rainy, as forecast, I'm planning on spending the day in the shop, putting everything back together and moving into the new addition.

I might even have to try out the old recliner in the afternoon, see if it is still as conducive for an afternoon nap as it was before the addition was built.

My fleet of garden tractors (two) in the storage container

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...