Happy Summerween!

I'm not sure exactly why this is an important milestone but it keeps coming up in my searches. Is there an algorithm somewhere that thinks it could be significant to me? It's also a great excuse for a Summerween post, because that keeps showing up, too! 

Out in the weedy, over-grown garden, the wasps are having quite a party in the pumpkin blossoms. It seems the bees weren't the only ones to benefit from the no mow spring. Those guys need to get a move on, that flower only has 100 days to turn into a pumpkin!

Some years, pumpkins can be a challenge to grow and you never know what will come up, especially with the white varieties.

We have one Ghost Pepper plant (Bhut Jolokias) but it already has produced seven good-sized peppers and there are at least that many more forming. Considering they're three times as hot as an habanero, that should be more than enough to keep us in agony for the next year.

There are always a few places in the garden that look autumnal. Actually, these were acquired by mistake and since they're not visible from the house, they got to stay. At least they were handy for adding some seasonal color to a this post.

Each year around the beginning of July, our garden center puts out Halloween-themed chiminea and it's a  struggle not to bringing one home. They always make me smile and even though they're mass produced, no two are alike. Three would look great clustered together, wouldn't that be a blaze, ha! One would look good, too. That said, being chiminea, they weight a TON, so they will probably stay at the store, unless I change my mind.

November used to be the best time to shop for Halloween decorations but that's a thing of the past - just like this plasma orb! His Madness is conjuring up memories of the 1980's . . .  he's at the mall, now he's walking into Sharper Image . . . whoooooo . . . look at that! 

On a more practical note, Ivy just found some spooky fabric and was thinking it would make a snazzy suit for Burt.

Burt liked the fabric but prefers something with more color, so he doesn't look washed out.

Ivy is looking forward to some serious "Halloween Decor Hunting", although technically we started in April. The Toad Witch is still holding court on the piano and is very happy to have gained a posse and a few fancy pumpkins. It's not be too early to start decorating, is it?

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful weekend! 

 

It's Fruit Fly Season!

No, Kibitz is not doing an impersonation of Mike Pence. We have suddenly found ourselves in the midst of a fruit fly infestation. They're not something we have to deal with very often but every once in awhile they just show up and refuse to leave.    

Mostly, the little pests seem to be concentrated in an area of the kitchen where a lot of half-full liquor bottles have ended up. So Ivy has decided the only thing to do is to clear the counters and do a deep clean of the entire room. Burt hasn't noticed the flies and thinks she's being overly dramatic. 

Why do these little buggers appear out of nowhere all of a sudden? They probably catch a ride on garden produce, like this heirloom tomato His Madness bought at the Farmers Market. Who knows what could be hiding out in those deep crevices, ha! Since tomatoes aren't supposed to be refrigerated, in order to preserve their flavor, there's a good chance that whatever is currently residing on them is going to multiply in the summer heat. Basically, these tiny pests get into your house, find somewhere to lay a gazillion eggs and in less than a couple of weeks, they're flying up your nose and floating in the milk.  

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The current situation is all my fault. It's what happens when you set a fresh pineapple out on the counter to ripen and then forgot about it for a couple of weeks. It was probably the best breeding ground ever! 

At least there are plenty of solutions on the internet for getting rid of the tiny pests. What worked best in our kitchen was an open bottle of Prairie Fume with a half an inch or so of wine left in the bottom. It was hands down their preferred mode of demise. Yuck! 

Now that the flies are more or less under control it's time to scrub everything clean so it doesn't happen again. Burt was put in charge of finding somewhere to put all those bottles of booze we have been collecting during the pandemic. About a year ago, HM discovered a series called "Cocktails with a Curator" produced by the Frick Collection in New York. Each week one of the curators would talk about a piece from the gallery and pair it with a cocktail that had some relevance to the artwork. Since there was nothing else to do, we got in the habit of trying out different cocktails when we watched a new episode. They would list the ingredients of the actual drinks on their web site along with a non-alcoholic version but we only tried a couple of them. Eventually, the bottles started to accumulate and not being able to invite anyone over to help us drink it up, the countertop got very cluttered.

Ivy and Kibitz moved everything the fruit flies might like off the counter and into the fridge.

As luck would have it, there was another spot that had turned into covid clutter where Burt could temporarily relocate all the booze. Taking a cue from the millennials (or our grandparents) we set up a "cocktail" area in the living room. The excess of kitty treats and face masks are now cluttering up the bookshelves but that's a problem for another day.   

Everything looks better on a fancy tray. It's also nice to finally have an actual use for the fancy tray. Apparently, that's why I've been hanging onto it for all these years. Who knew one day a place would be needed to corral a hoard of liquor acquired during a pandemic?

Burt was happy to bring out the skull decanter that we got to serve port from at a Halloween dinner party. Since our current bottle of porto is almost empty, the only thing left to fill it with was watered down grenadine. At least it looks pretty and it shows up, though now I'm getting a jello vibe.

The living room is okay for temporary storage but no place for actually mixing a drink. 

With most of the tiny pests dispatched and a some serious decluttered accomplished, it was time to relax and catch the final episode of Cocktails with a Curator. Tonight we had to settle for Dirty Martini's because the fruit flies finished all the wine.

I hope everyone had a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Fireworks & Flowers

Honestly, where does the time go? Now, with most of the planting and garden work done, it's time to get ready to practice some summertime chill. These days that has to take place at night because it's so frigging hot and humid during the day.

It felt strange going to the city fireworks again, although the crowd was only half the usual size. Somehow, our little town always manages to put on a good show.

 

The Skeleton Crew likes to indulge in a few modest sparkly things. Our neighbors make their own very loud and extremely impressive fireworks which is very unfortunate for everyone else and their pets on the block. They started shooting them off before Memorial Day and, if last year is anything to go by, they will keep it up until well into 2022. February, if the Packers make the playoffs.  

Still, the city wins when it comes to blowing things up. Some fireworks are named after flowers, like peony, chrysanthemum and dahlia and I have no idea which one this is. All the photos that came up in my search looked the same but had different names, ha!

If everyone was vaccinated, we would really have something to celebrate!

Now that Summer is in full swing, all I can think about is how much I miss Spring, ha! It's the best time in my garden - not too hot, the bugs aren't overly pesky and all of my favorite plants and shrubs are flowering like crazy. It never lasts long enough but it always puts on a great show.

This year was different. After No Mow May there was a lot of encouragement by environmentalists to keep it up for another month. So in June, I gave the bees the benefit of the doubt and left things in the hands of Mother Nature, once again. What harm could it do, besides driving me crazy? 

Let's just say she got overly ambitious and in a few short days everything was two feet tall. Then all those weeds started to flower and kept on going for the rest of the month! It quickly crossed the line from cottage garden to overgrown abandonment.

Daisies, crab grass and all sort of tall weeds came up everywhere, luckily they were no match for the peonies. So when July finally arrived, it was clearly time for No Mow to go! Who knows if it made any difference to the bees but I HOPE THEY'RE  HAPPY!  

 

 Honestly, it wasn't that bad and it's not like there's a nice lawn underneath it all. It is clover, dandelions, Creeping Charlie, plantain and violets mixed in with some actual grass, nobody's ideal turf but it stays green in the heat and especially during a drought. In any case, a path got trampled down to the raised beds and HM ended up with a daisy or two between his toes. His feet are already pretty ugly but combined with a farmer-tan, they sort of looked like the sandworms from Beetlejuice.

Which, as it turned out, was the perfect movie for a summer evening. How would we find ways to entertain ourselves if we didn't have an overgrown garden for inspiration? If Hallmark is observing Christmas in July, we can celebrate Halloween all year long. Spookiness knows no season! 

Thanks for stopping by! How is your summer going?

Summering

Happy Summer! Hope everyone is staying as cool as possible during this heat wave.

Here's a little reminder that Halloween is only 123 days away!

We never want to wish the summer away even if we do have to spend most of it in the AC! It's always a good plan to embrace the present whether it feels like the frozen arctic or a steamy jungle.

Burt has decided to begin his summer by diving into a book that combines two of his favorite pastimes, apart from eating and napping, that is. Unfortunately, he usually falls asleep after a few pages no matter how good the book is. 

So it looks like it's up to Spenser and Kibitz to act as the mixologists and make some use out of all that recently acquired knowledge.

Ivy looks like she could use a break from her "summer pastime" too.

Not a bad way to spend a summer afternoon. Who knew Spenser and Kibitz could be so proficient? What sort of cocktail they finally came up with is anyone's guess but it's probably a mix of rum and fruit juice with a garnish of fruit flies and candle wax. 

Meanwhile, His Madness and I were beginning the summer with a trip over the Memorial Day weekend. Thanks to everyone being fully vaccinated, we could finally to get together with our son Andy and his wife Kristin - whom we haven't seen in person since Christmas of 2019. Considering how packed the airports were, lots of other people were off to visit family and friends, too. There were lots of stern announcements about the penalties for starting a fight with the crew and luckily our flights were peaceful. Although one pilot did sound a little like a dad on a road trip, he all but threaten to turn the plane around and head back to the airport if the passengers didn't behave.  

Naturally, Mother Nature had her own plans and they weren't particularly sunny, ha! 

 

Oh well, a little wind and rain mixed with a couple of frosty nights never hurt anyone.

  

Not to make this post all about drinking but Massachusetts had just lifted their covid restrictions that weekend so most places were still operating at a limited capacity or simply closed. Fortunately, there were plenty of restaurants and craft breweries to keep us entertained and HM even got to indulge his curiosity about Whole Foods at three different locations! Kristin found this beer, dedicated to the memory of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, at a different grocery store and it was great! Bone Up Brewing should make it part of their permanent line. 

This is Grayson, the newest member of the family. He's part beagle, part everything else, and an absolute force of nature. They adopted him through a rescue program and he has lots of friends in the neighborhood.

I couldn't do a blog post without some flowers! Their neighborhood was in full bloom with loads of spectacular rhododendrons. They aren't hardy where I live and I was consumed with envy. 

It also seems like I can't do a blog post without some sort of cooking event, either. Andy wanted a lefse making lesson and it seemed weird to be making it in the spring, even though it felt like winter! I'm barely competent at it myself, but we muddled through. 

Flying home, I looked out the window and noticed these clouds that looked just like icebergs on Lake Michigan. It was unseasonably chilly but not that bad, ha! Of course a couple of days later it was unbearably hot and humid. It's been a crazy summer so far and we're only getting started.  

As I was finishing up this post I realized it was seven years ago today that I started this blog so my mom could see what was going on in my garden (and let me know what I was doing wrong!) She was never into social media but had moved into an assisted living apartment where there were lots of wonderful volunteers, armed with iPads, who helped us stay in touch. Not sure whether to call it a birthday or an anniversary but as long as there's cake, does it really matter? How about a Pina Colada, too!

Stay cool and thanks for stopping by! 

A Chilly No Mow May

In the early hours of Thursday morning we hopefully experienced the last of the freezing temperatures (in our area) until next fall. A local weather reporter even promised that it is now okay to get out and plant stuff! Poor Stewart will most likely miss snoozing under the pansies that we have been dragging in from the front porch every night for the last two weeks.

It's been a very cold spring here and yet the daffodils have been amazing. Who knew they could survive in snow and icy temperatures for weeks and still look great? 

Even though it's been freezing, we've been stocking up ever since the greenhouses opened.

The skeleton crew is overjoyed to finally be able to get out and do some planting.

 

With proper supervision, naturally.

Last month, our city council approved a resolution to observe No Mow May. It essentially suspends the city ordinance requiring homeowners to maintain their lawns in order to give bees and other pollinators a better chance at surviving. I find it ridiculous that it's perfectly fine to walk into a restaurant with a loaded gun but if you let your grass grow taller than 8" you can be fined up to $500.

We opted to keep our front yard mowed because it's small and one of our next door neighbors is a total ass. I'm all for helping the bees and the other invertebrates save the planet, and have always kept an organic, pesticide and herbicide free lawn and garden. Still, over the last five years I've noticed a definite decline in not only the number of bees and butterflies but the diversity of the insects frequently captured in my photos. 

So it was a no-brainer to jump on the No Mow bandwagon, seriously, how bad could it get? Ha! As is often the case with change, especially those that benefit the environment, it came with a price. Hopefully, the insect population will multiply at the same rate as the weeds! 

The plants surrounding these trilliums are considered to be weeds, even those cute little wood violets. Normally, I would pull out everything but the violets. This year, because I've noticed that the bumble bees really love the Creeping Charlie flowers, that particularly noxious pest gets to stay. Is it really so terrible to look at? That's a personal preference but the sprinkling of pink crabapple petals helps.

Another unforeseen consequence of not mowing is the large number of ferns popping up everywhere. They seem to be nearly as numerous as the dandelions. 

It will probably be quite a few years before there's a significant increase in the diversity and numbers of pollinators. I'm nervous about the weeds winning but if that's all it takes, I can live with it. Besides, it's not all bad, Kibitz found catnip amid the chaos! Who knows what else might sprout up?

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!