wet weekend

Its been rather wet in Toney this weekend. Thankfully it has all stayed outside if you dont count what we have tracked in on our feet. That is right, it seems that the roof is fixed, not sure where the leak originated or which glob of caulk sealed it but the water is no longer invading the room upstairs- YEAH!!!!

It has been a weekend of rest as the end of the week was a "life is what happens when you make other plans" kind of days. Our dear neighbor had a virus that seems to have caused dehydration that seems to have caused her to pass out that led to broken fingers that caused much pain..... hospital.... doctors office visits....childcare.... Kind of the "if you give the mouse a coookie" (a children's book) scenrio but it was rather the illness gone wrong strain of life. She is now happily braced, drugged and waiting for swelling to go down and surgery to pin her fingers into happy places. short drop makes for big boo boos! We found our life in the midst of theirs as support team. It was fun to be around 1.5, 4, and 6 yr olds. When baby chicks arrived on Friday Paul became chief chick sitter and it was fun to see the cute soft chicks peep their way into our hearts.

The garden is mostly planted. We have begun to harvest broccoli and strawberries- yum!! i need to think of things to eat spring onions with as they are doing great. The spinach is beginning to come up as are the beets so in a few weeks they will be ready to enjoy. I built three new boxes and have planted in two of them. I will be taking the cucumbers and squash verticle this year- no longer allowing them to run rampant over the ground. I am hoping to focus the cuc's energy on fruit and less on vine this year- we'll see how it goes. It looks like the peach tree and grape vines are settling into life in the side yard. I have put in enough flowers that I now need to keep away from Lowe's - my favorite place to go for deep discount, rescue me before I die plants. so cheap its hard to say no, but I will try.

We helped out a co-worker of Paul a few weeks ago. He had surgery and had not gotten to the spring cleanup of the yard. The Team Varian swept in and groomed it into manageable shape. Amidst that morning of activity came the lesson of "dont overplant" - thinking forward to what is truly manageable in terms of flower beds and plant maintance for the golden years of life. I think I am there about where I am at. I have been adding small perrenial beds around bases of foundation and fencing but I think it may be time to stop. There gets to be a point of too much and if I am not careful I may hit it. At present the ivy that swarms the front bed feels like too much, but I have been reluctant to roundup the vines- it may yet occur, just to keep ahead of the growth.

This year is a bit different here, the last two were drought kind of years, this one is not, at all. We shall begin to truly see the growth potential of the land here. My hydrengas may actually bloom and all the small ones i transplanted last year may grown up a bit. Exciting and scary at the same time. Already I am seeing where plants will be a bit crowded, but I am getting less and less leary of being a transplaner. I guess I have begun to "own" my home and gardens. The sage bushes were moved out of the herb garden - I dont like sage- and relegated to ornamental bush. I have moved in some daisies as I love that flower and would like to enjoy some cut flowers among the herbs.

So as the cool weather makes the green vibrant outside I am enjoying a leisurely Sunday. I spent the afternoon out with my daughter- a blessing to enjoy her company and she seems to reflect the same. Now a quiet evening of quiliting and looking forward to the week ahead. I am thankfull for the slower pace that wet weekends bring to us.