and now it's July

Spring, coming as it does with spring flowers, is exhilarating.  That sudden appearance of color -- yellow, pink, blue, the fruit tree blossoms, the lilacs -- it's all brilliant. But the fact is, when I think about my flower fields, when I buy additional perennials, when I strategize on how to fill spaces with blooms, I am really thinking about July. This is the month for my lilies. Yes, I've had some blooming already in June and I will have some more continuing into August, but July offers that potpourri of lily color that I love. And it gets better and better as the month progresses. You'll never get me to leave the farmette for long in mid July.

So here we are: the start of the big flower month. I work so hard for its glory. In these 31 days I reap some of the biggest rewards.

Two good things happened today: the humidity went down and so did the mosquito population -- the latter with a small assist from us. We allowed some areas to be sprayed with the "natural" mosquito deterrent. It's supposed to scare them away and in the past it's been pretty effective, though for a very short period of time. Maybe a handful of days. After that, you either repeat it, or live with whatever bugs stubbornly are still there. Last year two sprays did the trick for the summer: the swarms were dispersed and the stubborn ones that stayed were manageable. We'll see what this year will bring.

Because we were focused on doing bug control, I kept the animals under lock for the first morning hours. I did snip the lilies very early -- maybe around 250 today (I got interrupted in my count), still slapping away at the disgusting blood suckers but by late morning, I could finally do some outdoor work without the constant buzz in my ear of these horrid disease bearing pests. 

 

(day lilies to the left, true lilies to the right)

(it rained again last night)

I've been much more careful with the back ends of the flower beds this year. Weeds removed, new lilies (day and true) and cone flowers planted. I don't think anyone can see these from the walkways, but I know they're there! And when I plunge into a field to do some weeding, I come across these very pretty scenes.

 

(A real peachy pinkie!)

(Meanwhile, plunging into the Big Bed...)

We eat breakfast in the kitchen. Ed claims there is a faint smell to the stuff they used on the mosquitoes. I think he imagines it, but he is convinced that we should wait a good hour before resuming outdoor activities. I tell him that if he's smelling anything, it's my freshly baked granola, which indeed has a strong and very lovely aroma, but once he has the idea that there is a whiff of something out there (think, for example, scented candles), he insists on keeping his distance until things settle down once again.

He asks me what my next project is for the yard. Well now, the fact is that unless the unexpected happens, the heavy work is behind me. Right now it's all about maintenance. I do spot checks and small corrections all day long. It's delightful stuff! Sure, I do sometimes get sucked into heavier work -- today I pulled out roots of saplings that have grown quite high at the base of the crab apples. But for the most part, my work at the moment is easy compared to all that I have done between April 15th and now!

(these are such July colors!)

 

 

In other news, today Ed's new wallet arrived. I mention this because pages of writing would not describe this guy as well as one photo would. I'd been gently suggesting that he get a new wallet for many, many years. His stock answer to this and anything else is -- this one will do. Until this weekend when he reached into what once was a wallet and felt that things were rather loosey goosey in there. Could I get him a nice new one? No indeed. He found one that he likes on Amazon. $9.99. Here's a picture of the old one. I asked if he perhaps would like to put it up on Craigslist. I swear, he hesitated.

Evening. I make chili with fresh tomatoes. We finally finished last year's crop! The freezer box in the basement is waiting for a new harvest. Ed's tomatoes in the newly fenced in area are doing well so far. 

It's a fine year to be growing things in south central Wisconsin!

 

 

 

with love...