Another Tiny Harvest

 It was hard to wake up and every time I sat down today for too long I drifted off.  Now I am preparing to sleep so I can get up in a few hours to go to work.  I had a leisurely day.  I walked the dog-twice, did a load of dishes, and thought about going through a box in my room.  Afternoon, I realized how little I had done and decided that I needed at least one happy thing and I remembered the marigold that is very large and blooming near the strawberry and blueberry plants.  I have been surprised at how big it is and now it is covered in blooms.  

Crawling by to get to the blueberries
 I knocked off a branch.
The branch is now in the house in water.

Other happy things for today:

• When I went for the picture of the marigold the strawberries that I saw coming in a week or so ago were ripe.  

• There were a few blueberries too.

• One of the things that I enjoy about working nights and having a weird eating pattern is the ability to have ice cream after my meal at midday and call it dessert.
• One of the rose bushes has another bloom too.  

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Fruit of Labor

 The garden, as it were, is being used as a fenced area for the dog to be off leash instead of, you know, a garden.  There are still a few things growing there, but most of what I had wanted to grow didn't, or was eaten by other animals once planted.  Unfortunately, I stopped doing much in the way of gardening.  Frustration over the groundhogs and getting a job are my excuses.  Last week I even forgot to water most of the indoor plants.  I noticed that there were still a few blueberries on the bush to be picked so I decided it was time.  The blueberry bush and some of the strawberry plants are not in the main garden, I planted them where there were once flowers by the driveway.  I also covered them with netting and put in drip water irrigation.  They are relatively safe.  Still, I left them alone too.  Today I got out and picked blueberries from my bush for the second time this year. 

Not many, I know.
The bush suffered from the drought last year.
I'm thrilled that it is producing at all. 

Other things I am happy for today:

• I didn't just pick blueberries.  I was going to get under the netting, pick blueberries, and close it back up.  Instead I started pulling weeds.  

This is a mostly before photo of the area.

After.  Outside of the netting still needs a lot of work.

I sat next to this basket to try to get some scale.
It is full of the weeds I pulled.

• In the process of pulling the weeds I uncovered the strawberry plants.  Some of them are trying to produce more fruit!  There are also many runners so I will need to get those planted soon too. 

• I had planted marigolds around the strawberries.  One survived and should bloom soon.

Marigold.

• Someone at work noticed that I have been there for more than thirty days.  When I was hired, my badge was on a red lanyard which was supposed to go away after thirty days.  The hook on the red lanyard gave up a few weeks ago and I have been keeping my badge in my back pocket.  Now I have one that clips onto the vest with a retractable cord.  Snazzy.

Yes, I wear a bright and reflective safety vest.

☮

Currently reading: Backpacking A Hedonist’s Guide, by Rick Greenspan and Hal Kahn.  

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Blueberries

 Yesterday afternoon I didn't sleep well.  I went to bed a little later than I wanted but could have had almost seven hours of sleep.  I had about two, maybe a little more.  I went to work and gave myself a pep talk on the way into the building.  Telling myself that I have often been able to at least function with little sleep and that I have had to act, on a stage, during times much more stressful and made it through.  Thirty minutes or so into the night when they were offering voluntary time off, I went home.  I was doing okay, but I felt like the lack of sleep would become a problem early into the work day.  Apparently they were overstaffed by a few people.  On the way home, I played some Pokemon Go and Harry Potter Wizards Unite.  I wanted to ensure that I would be able to sleep today.  Other happy things:

• I took a nap after getting home, just under two hours.  As I was hitting the snooze on the alarm Keziah knocked and asked if I wanted to go blueberry picking.  I had forgotten about this outing, I wasn't going to be able to go.  I went.  We picked up my aunt and went picking at Turkey Hill Farm.  Keziah and I together picked over eleven pounds from two bushes.  YUM!  I totally forgot to take pictures.
• After lunch at home I mowed a little bit of the yard.  Just enough to finish getting my steps in and a little more.  The lawn mower was broken for a bit and then we had rain.  The grass and weeds are taking over.
• A bright pop of red caught my eye in one of the flower gardens.  According to Lens it is scarlet beebalm.

Scarlet Beebalm.

• I picked the blueberries on our bush in the afternoon.  That this bush is producing anything this summer is huge.  Last year it dried out.
  
  

• Gideon chose a dark green for his hair color.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Self Care

Yesterday was hard.   I may not have realized how hard until this morning when I thought about all the people at the yard sale event that I saw and all the ones that I didn't see.  There were people that I spent time with and some that I wanted to spend time with but just didn't have the opportunity or our paths didn't cross at the right time or... or... or.  We are coming out of a pandemic and being with people is way harder now for me than it was before.  It wasn't easy before.  This morning I spent alone in my room recuperating.  I did pull myself up and start being an active member of the house around noon.  After that, there are a few happy things for my to share:

• After helping Zed move some of his things around I went to the garden.  The woodchuck was in there!  I scared it out and looked at the hole that we have twice filled with cat litter and it was indeed dug out again.  Keziah found some metal screen and Zed and I closed in that hole using dirt, the screen, and a big rock.  This doesn't get rid of the animal, but it is a start, and that is good.
• While Keziah was cleaning the shed she found the can crusher that once belonged to my father.  He had a little man cave in the cellar of his house where he drank beer and his friends would come by and visit.  The can crusher was attached to a bench in the cellar and Keziah remembers visiting with her grandfather and getting to crush the cans.  I think when he knew the grandchildren would be there he would let the cans back up so the grandchildren would have something to do.  She doesn't drink beer and was commenting that the can crusher won't crush the tall iced tea cans that she might drink.  It was a touching memory of my dad.

It was a rusted thing that Keziah cleaned up and
painted last year before mounting it onto her bench.

• The yarrow is blooming.  I feel like there is more this year than last year.  

Bees like the yarrow.

• While going to get the SD card from the wildlife camera I did a quick walk around the property.  I found a plant that looked familiar from last year but I couldn't remember what it was so I took a picture.  A little farther down the path and there were more, but this time with flowers.  

Lens identifies this as whorled loosestrife.
So far in my research this doesn't seem to be invasive.
That said, we have quite a bit on the property.

• Turkeys!  34 second video.
  
  

Gobble, gobble.

• Deer prints.

• Blueberries in the wild.

Lowbush blueberry.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Thank you for reading.  Stay safe.

Dear Universe

 As I rest, trying to take a nap as part of my shifting sleep schedule to prepare to work nights, I question my sanity.  Are nights really going to work for me?  Why did I choose nights anyway?  I have worked nights in the past, I know I can.  I chose a three day work week.  I have wanted a three day work week for years.  A few years ago I wrote this and put it onto my LinkedIn account:

"Dear Universe,

I would like a change in jobs. I'd like to make at least $15 an hour plus benefits. 3 day full-time work week preferred with 12 hour days, no weekends required. Peaceful and happy with a moderate activity level, I like to be walking around. Within 45 minutes of my home and still in NH, although I am willing to travel. Independent work or friendly environment that will fit well with my life. Time off for Vacations, Holidays and Pennsic are a must. Willing to learn while still earning. Suggestions welcome.

PS-Something that might help me to learn or train more for hiking the AT might be nice too. :)"

The shifts are 10 hours long instead of twelve, but there are benefits and it is over $15 an hour.  No weekends, but that could change during busy/overtime periods.  I may have to work on holidays.  They could also decide to just change my hours.  I won't know the answers to some of my requests to the Universe until I have started working.  It seems like I am getting most of what I asked for.  Only time will tell if my request was poor.  All this means is that I am not losing my sanity (or it isn't there to be lost🤪).  Yay!  Other happy things for today:

• Wildflowers.

This is called Fox and Cubs.
I had a different name for it, but
research shows that I am wrong.
Either way, I like it.
Yes, like much on this property,
it is considered invasive.

Lens has told me this is meadow hawkweed.

I didn't need Lens to tell me this is a daisy.

• I climbed into the netting and picked SIX strawberries!  One of them was really tiny.  The netting seems to be helping to keep the animals away from them.  I added some more landscape staples to hold the net down better in a few places.

Photo courtesy of Keziah.

Big basket for a few lovely strawberrries.

• Last year the blueberries were eaten by birds before we had any.  This was followed by the drought and I thought we were going to lose the bush.  It seems to be coming back though.  There won't be too many blueberries, but it looks like we might get some.

Not the clearest picture...
They should be ripe some time in July.

• The roses that are by the shed are opening now too.

Roses.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Thank you for reading!  Stay safe.

Thursday Happy Things

 This is the second day in a row that I have managed to get up and out of the house around eight in the morning, before the heat of the day sets in.  Maybe this will become a habit...just in time for me to get a job.  Other things I am happy about today:

• Keziah surprised me by coming outside and helping me pull up the weeds around the blueberry bush.  A bunch of the cypress spurge got pulled too.
• The burlap is around the strawberries, blueberries, marigolds, and the foxglove that we found growing there.

Looking mostly north.

Looking mostly south.
The blueberry bush casts a nice shadow.

• One of the strawberry plants had a little bud this morning that wasn't quite opened.

Strawberry bud.

    

• While making dinner tonight I heard from a friend that I haven't seen in quite some time.  She and her husband traveled the country performing at libraries and schools for children before the pandemic.  Their travels will be bringing them back to the east coast in the fall.  One of the neat things about Pokemon Go and Harry Potter Wizard's Unite games are that items are shared between players from places that they have been.  So I have had a good idea when they have been near LA or Las Vegas or wherever.

☮

Currently reading: The Burgess Book of Nature Lore, by Thornton W. Burgess.

Stay safe.

New Plants

There are things I should have done outside before the weather got hot.  Now I must work harder at getting up earlier.  Today I did okay with that.  I got up earlier than I have been and was out of the house a little after eight this morning.  My goal for what I wanted to accomplish was not reached, but I am a lot closer.  I also have more ideas that I hope to implement in this area where my strawberry and blueberry plants are.

This picture is my 'before' one.

This is during.
I'm trying to remove as many weeds as 
possible while retaining as much dirt as I can.
Removing grubs is also important.

This is where I ended before having lunch.
The blueberry plant is just about two feet farther I think.
I'm not sure how much more I will do after the blueberry plant.

Getting this far weeding is a happy for today, here are some more:

• Gideon came outside and helped me get to the finish-for-the day spot l decided on for weeding as well as the cutting and placing of the burlap.  He was a great helper!
• Walking around the yard today for measuring purposes Keziah and I noticed some more lilacs.  Looking through the window I wasn't positive that they were white lilacs or maybe some other flowering plant.  This means there are lilacs along the road in the front of the house, between one of the neighbors and us, and behind the house.  No wonder all the yards smell like lilacs!  

• A new to me plant (at least I don't remember it from before) seems to be called naked broomrape (NY Times article).  It is also called cancer root.  The scientific name is Orobanche uniflora.  Whatever it is called it is still a parasitic plant, it eats other plants.  Soon it will be relocated to the Japanese knotweed or some similar area of unwanted plants and away from my blueberry plant.  Learning new things. 👍

Naked broomrape lacks chlorophyll.

• Another plant that I am not sure was there or not last year, Lens identified as a type of sage or a clary.  I need to do more research on it, but I am too tired for that tonight!

Sage?

• Just before dark I went outside to take the finished-for-the-day picture of the strawberry area progress that I hadn't taken earlier.  It was good timing.  I remembered to water the plants, picked up a few things I had forgotten from earlier, and got to enjoy a few moments of the sunset.

☮

Currently reading: The Burgess Book of Nature Lore, by Thornton W. Burgess.

Stay safe!

 Below is the list of YouTube videos from the wildlife camera and when they will be available.  This is likely the last time I will be posting a list like this.  Please subscribe there if you are interested.  Really cool things, I'll post here too.  The links below will only work after the time listed for the video.  Thank you for reading and watching.

Chipmunk public on May 19, 2021 at 8 PM.

Deer drinking public on May 20, 2021 at 8 PM.

Deer eating public on May 21, 2021 at 8 PM.

Maybe two deer public on May 22, 2021 at 8 PM.

Gopher public on May 23, 2021 at 8 PM.

Racoon public on May 24, 2021 at 8 PM.

Blue jay public on May 25, 2021 at 8 PM.

Blue jay public on May 26, 2021 at 8 PM.

Deer at night public on May 27, 2021 at 8 PM.

Glads

 The days are long when I don't sleep well.  I made a point this morning of looking for work, for at least a little while.  I started an account with Kelly Services.  It isn't a job, yet, but it could be a foot in a door.  Putting myself out there for work is hard, but I'll do it.  Other happy things for today:

• When I went into the cellar to check out the plants I was happy to see that all three of the gladioli I planted were sprouted.  I decided that this was the day to plant them.

The three gladioli are in there,
really.

• I also noticed a little sprout that had somehow managed to grow to the side of the container.  I meant to plant that today as well but forgot until I saw the picture.  

This container fell when I planted some seeds.
I'm not sure what this will be, if it makes it.

• In order to plant things I had to wash out the two pots I had set aside for them.  Glads need to be deep and I had one and picked up another in a recycle/reuse bin at a local garden shop.  Instead of just washing the two I needed I looked around and found a bunch more to clean.  Yay, productivity!
• The three sprouts went into one container and I also have some corms, they went into the larger container.  I still have a dozen more corms to plant, but I need to find a container first or plant them in the ground.

One of the seedlings.
There is a root coming out the bottom 
so I am glad I decided to plant them.

The corms are buried deep.

• Keziah made dinner tonight and Zed's mom came by to eat and watch Dr. Who with us.  She was my vaccination buddy.  There are plans for regular nights when she will visit and watch Dr. Who.  😊
• At least one of the strawberry plants is doing well.  None are dead, but there are weeds fighting for nutrients that I need to take care of.

• The blueberry bush is starting to show signs of life too.  I wasn't sure after the drought last year.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Stay safe.