[gardeners] Sunday

George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 07 Jun 1998 19:42:36

Woke up this morning to a beautiful cool day. Stayed that way until about 1
pm so Miz Anne and I got a lot of things done. She went off to early Mass
while I read the paper and had my coffee, we then started with weeding the
herb bed and pulling the borer infested squash vines. The vines are in the
big trash can to go to the landfill. Dug around the roots of the vines as I
pulled them and checked for foreign bugjects. All gone now are the
Spaghetti squash, Butternut and Bennings Green Tint. I harvested a few
immature squash and will try them for eats. The cushaw and cucuzzi are
doing well, no signs of infestation.

I mowed the lawn today, surprising myself in that I had no angina pains
while doing so. I took my time and let the self-propelled mower do the
work, rested frequently and drank lots of water. We then proceeded to weed
the new flower and veggie bed down the west fence, about three feet by
ninety feet. The bachelor buttons and the sunflowers are ready to bloom,
should be interesting. There's another flower in there but I forget the name.

We had fresh watermelon, honey dew melon, blueberries, and strawberries for
lunch. Lunch was al fresco under the carport with large glasses of ice
water. Found out Sleepy Dawg will mug you for a ripe strawberry, she really
likes them. The only thing we grew in that lunch was the blueberries but I
had managed to pick out small melons that were dead ripe and ready. I leave
the strawberries to Miz Anne as I don't particularly like them. After lunch
we took about an hour nap, lying about on various pieces of furniture in
the family room with the doors and windows open, really nice.

Back into the yard about 3 pm where Miz Anne proceeded to do the weeding of
her flower beds in front and on the east side of the house. Discovered we
have a yellow jacket nest on the knoll in the front yard. Will get out
there after dark and try to do them in. I haven't found anything German
yellow jackets are good for yet. I harvested and prepared some herbs for
drying. The dehydrator is running now with 8 trays including oregano,
chamomile, feverfew, epazote, Mexican Mint Marigold (strong tarragon
flavor), and two trays of thyme. The thyme I planted from seed this spring
is going great as is the winter savory. Still need to find a place to plant
my lemon grass, the golden oregano, and the self-heal. We started killing
off the grass between two fruit trees by laying down newspaper and covering
it with today's grass clippings. Edges of the paper are held down with some
redwood 2X4's and 4X4's I found in someone's trash pile a few years ago.

It's been a busy day and we're all three tired but happy. Hope you all have
had a good weekend. Life is good.

George, Anne, and Sleepy Dawg Shirley