When I first began writing on the Other Site, my intent was to write fiction. As time passed, I decided I wasn't into fiction after all, and began writing about my own adventures instead, with only the occasional bit of fiction tucked in now and then. Right now I am too busy living to post about my life very often. One grandbaby arrived a month ago, so I've been spending time with that family at least once a week, mostly doing laundry and dishes and keeping the 5-year-old occupied. Our other daughter just moved to a nearby town, so I helped her with the move and getting settled. She is expecting in August, so we've been gathering up nice used baby clothes and equipment along the way. I've had fun washing all the cute little baby garments for her.
I finally got the beans weeded close to the plants, and my husband ran the tiller between the rows to get the rest of the weeds.
Unfortunately, he forgot about the row of beets I had squeezed in between the beans and the landscaping cloth. They were barely up, and even though I had the row marked, he kinda trampled them while running the tiller. I rescued what I could, and planted more seeds. I don't think he can overlook the way I have them marked now. The dead raspberry canes are there to discourage the cats from digging. I hope it works.
My winter squash seeds were a failure this year. I planted at least 30 of them, and only one germinated. So a good friend of mine picked up some lovely squash plant starts for me at the Farmers' Market on Saturday. I love the "instant garden" they produced! The plants in the foreground are from her; the ones in the background are summer squash and cukes that I started myself. They have been in the garden for two weeks already. Note the companionable dog at the very bottom of the picture. He likes to hang out in the garden with me, and chases the cats if they join us.
I have begun to weed the three rows of gladiolus. (Two lilac bushes and a butterfly bush are in that same area.) I always wait 'til they are big enough to see and identify, same as the plants I start from seeds, and by then the weeds are already getting out of hand. The raspberry canes on the right of the photo are marking a row of carrots, which are only about 1/2" tall at this point. They need to get a bit bigger before I can weed them.
I knew it would be a challenge for me to keep up with the garden this year, but I am plugging away at it.
These pansies were my first plant purchase this spring. They have been very happy with the cooler weather we've had recently. Pansies and daffodils are my favorite flowers, probably because they bloom early and brighten up the end of winter.