Evening in the Kitchen Garden

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Borage and oregano

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Boneset, calendula and borage

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Borage, calendula and purple coneflowers

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Borage – the bees love it.

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Elecampane

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Boneset, elecampane and purple coneflower

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Calendula and purple coneflower

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Boneset, elecampane and calendula

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Cucumber trellis on the left and sugar snap pea trellis on the right.

After Day 11

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I like how they placed the boulders at an angle.

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Marly stayed until early evening putting on the finishing touches. She and her crew did a wonderful job.

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Now we are ready for planting on Monday.

Boulders or Just Very Large Rocks

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They brought in what I would call one boulder and two very large rocks. This is how they got them off the truck.

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Kale, herbs and onion. Some for mom and some for us.

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Our neighbors cows.

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The calves look like dogs when they run around.

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The landscaping crew is very meticulous in their work.

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This boulder is large enough for two people to sit on. I foresee it being more of a cat lounge.

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The large rock on the right was already here. They moved it from where the soil is dark on the left side of the photo. The contract says the boulders will be artistically placed. I rather liked where it was before but I’m open to this new arrangement.

 

A Full Crew Today

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This corner will eventually be fenced in for the garbage can.

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There were 5 people working today and they did a lot. Including these swales to help direct the water away from the house.

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The swales and cobblestones were no in the plan but when they saw how the rain last week flooded this area they made adjustments.

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The planting is scheduled to start next Monday.

Weekend Update

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Friday afternoon these big chicks finally let me get close to them.

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They are so goofy looking!

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Emmylou had her little chicks in the barnyard.

Above she scratches and below…

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she pecks. Over and over again. She has her work cut out for her with 10 chicks.

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The pullets and cockerels.

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A candy onion from our barn garden.

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Wednesday, Thursday and Friday all had period of heavy rain. The landscapers were still here when it rained on Friday. They got soaked laying out these tarps. Above you can see the concrete from the old flag pole that they pulled out of the ground.

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The landscapers didn’t come today because they were forecasting more rain. Sure enough it started raining around noon and we had periods of heavy rain during the afternoon.

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Saturday Dave got out his new toy. See the water sitting in among the paw paw trees in the middle of the photo.

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He was hoping to make some progress on removing this willow stump but the ground was too wet. You can see the tracks he is leaving in the grass.

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Late Saturday afternoon we finished cleaning up the mess from the fallen ceiling.

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Now we are looking for a plasterer.

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Sam came over for Father’s day and helped us hang our local artists gallery. We wanted to hang the photos before finishing the paint job in case we wanted to change anything. I love how it turned out.

All before 9:00 am

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The magnolia is blooming but not all over. I’ll have to investigate why this is. An all over bloom would be beautiful.

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I guess we should have repaired this buckled ceiling before now. The only damage it caused was a broken lightbulb in the chandelier. Dave was in the guestroom above it when it happened. He’s blaming it on the humid weather. Is it wrong to be glad the room was already in need of dusting?

PSĀ  The rolled up carpet and wicker chair oddly place in this room were not a design decision. Dave is in the months long process of painting the foyer, stairway and upstairs hall and had moved these things from the foyer for the duration.

Landscaping Progress

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Marly of The Natural Garden cutting the asphalt.

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The path is really taking shape. I love the subtle curve.

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Regrading

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The seven chicks that hatched a couple/few weeks ago. I can’t remember – we’ve had too many hatches!

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It’s hard to get a good photo of them. They always run away from me.

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This is one of the cockerels (young rooster).

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And two of the pullets (young hens).

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I can’t get over Emmylou – supermom!

Later in the Morning

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I headed out to check on the chicks again and to harvest some elderberry flowers. They smell so sweet.

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So many chicks – you can see some, others are under Emmylou and still more are under the brooder. Good thing I went out because they were trapped and I had to lift it so they could escape. We took care of it so they can’t get trapped again this evening.

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This little chick is pecking at Emmylou. It is so cute when they do this. Often they peck at her eyes. She tolerates it well.

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Only one and two days old and Emmylou has them out of the barn and learning to forage.

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A late morning cup of elderberry flower tea.

Early Morning Beauty

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I looked out the front door first thing this morning and noticed the beauty of the fog and snatches of sunlight peaking through.

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I headed to the barn which requires going through the back yard.

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The black raspberries are starting to ripen.

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Looking from the back yard toward Doris and Nelson’s

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The spring house.

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The back yard.

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Heading to the barn.

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My favorite tree.

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Emmylou and her 10! chicks were going after the feed with gusto. Birthing is a lot of work for all!

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On my way back to the house and my cup of green tea.

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I had to stop and take a photo of this hen. I actually took about a dozen. It was like she was posing for me.

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Same hen from the other direction.