Thistle

 Work this morning was a little stressful.  When they asked if people wanted to volunteer to go home, I jumped at the chance.  I had hoped to get laundry done and pack for the weekend.  I leave Friday morning with two friends for Pennsylvania.  I will be packing in the morning because I needed to do laundry.  I also wanted to mow some of the yard.  It was a very hot day and I didn't mow until late afternoon.  I'll get up early in the morning to get ready.  Happy things for today include:

• Binge watching New Girl on Netflix this morning until the rest of the household woke up.  After breakfast I had a nice nap.
• Running errands with Keziah and helping to choose new toys for the pets.

• Eventually I made it outside to mow some of the yard and to make my way as best I could to the wildlife camera.  I mowed as much of a path to the wildlife camera as I could.  Zed came out and used the weedwacker the remaining way to the camera.  There is so much growth the camera isn't catching as much any more.

It has been a while since I mowed.

After I mowed and cleaned it up a bit.

• I looked closer at the jewelweed today and it is huge.  I'm pretty certain that it has stretched over eight feet to grow taller than the Japanese knotweed and staghorn sumac that are crowding it out.

• There is a milk thistle that is threatening and beautiful all at once.

Thistle.

Thistle seeds.

Milk thistle

More seeds.

☮

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


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

Staghorn

 It was a chill, overcast day with occasional sprinkles.  Most of my day was spent outside working in the yard.  Plants are starting to turn green, daffodils are blooming, and forsythia are bright yellow.  I saw robins, blue jays, mockingbirds, a morning dove, a woodpecker, and sparrows throughout the day.  Other happy things for today:

• Last year I tripped over staghorn sumac stumps in the garden.  Today Zed and I removed many of these stumps and some of the attached roots.  The battle to defeat the unwanted plants in the garden has begun!  But seriously, I made room for the zucchini.  It will be a bit longer before I put the zucchini into the ground that I prepared today.

This is not a gopher problem but a 
staghorn sumac root problem.

These are roots that will no longer
 be a problem in the garden.

• The section next to the garden that we are hoping to make into a pathway with grape arbors is a little bit more cleaned up.  Progress!

Before: The sumac wants to take over.

After: I'm doing what I can to keep it
under control.

• I went for a short walk out back before cleaning up from gardening.  One time around the back of the property is only half a mile.  It was just what my body needed after all the bending in the garden.

• My second vaccination against the Covid 19 virus was administered late this afternoon.  So far, I just have a sore arm at the injection site.  

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan

Stay safe.