Around The Deck...

Every year, a little bird called a phoebe makes a nest up in the eaves of the covered part of the deck. When she is there, we cannot use the deck for two reasons - she gets agitated if we appear in what she considers her space, and...she poops all over the deck as she goes back and forth feeding her babies! We only have to wait a few weeks after the chicks are born to get the use of our deck back for a time...and then she builds another nest later in the year, and starts over with more kids! 

Looks as if there are 4 kids this year - I think the middle head is mama.

It's 83 degrees out there today, I suspect the little ones are getting overheated. For the past few years when it's been hot I go out there with the ladder and a spray bottle of water and soak the babies, the nest, and even the wood above them so they don't die of heat stroke. They look like fledglings, I expect they'll be flying off in the next week or so.

 

I'm trying to outsmart the deer and other wildlife this year.  I did it once before with a few pots, but this time, I've expanded my deck garden. Orange tree, lemon tree, tomatilloes, 3 kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of squash, cucumbers, bell peppers, jalepeno peppers, poblano peppers, strawberries up on the top rail, and 2 watermelon plants. FYI - I grew the lemon tree from the seeds of a lemon I bought at the store two years ago. It's now about 10 inches high.

This is the herb garden.  It grew like mad and I had to give all the herbs a haircut today.  From left to right, cilantro, basil, parsley, and oregano.

I read online that one can preserve both the flavor and freshness of herbs by putting the leaves in olive oil, and then storing them in the fridge. I found some little jars and did just that. Excuse the hillbilly redneck duct tape label, I couldn't find my nice labels.

It's Been Ages!

Yes, Richard and I are still here - so are all the animals.  We went through the winter with bouts of sickness - your basic cold/flu stuff, nothing bad, just annoying. 

The weather has been different this Spring - lots of rain and storms.  Even now, it is hindering our garden building.  We are making raised beds, since we live on a ridge and have no good soil. 

It has taken us nearly 4 weeks to finish the first bed - first, we had to cut down some trees.  Then we had to buy 4 truckloads of cement blocks (they weigh so much Richard could only haul 20 at a time and 2 trips take all day).  Then we got soil.  In between, we got a load of gravel for some places in the driveway.  Then came fertilizer and mulch.  Then we had a clear day to actually build the bed.  That took all day and some of the next day. We finished in the rain.  We waited a few days for the rain to subside, and then we got plants because it's too late to grow some things from seed; they won't mature before fall.   

 

5 tomato plants, 4 watemelon plants. 

 

This is my deck garden.  Last year's was somewhat successful, so I decided to try again.  Some things are to be planted in the ground, but we are waiting or the rain to end so we don't have to get all muddy.  So - left to right - bell peppers, habenero peppers, rocket salad, orange tree, jalepeno peppers, tomato.  On the rail - lemon tree, aloe vera plant, lime tree, winter hibiscus.  The lemon, lime and hibiscus might not make it. They had issues while in the house, I kept watering them, but when I went to re-pot them, I found their soil at the bottom was soaked, and I believe the roots rotted. 

 

No picture - but a few days later, I happened to be in town and got more plants which are on the deck for now - a peach tree, zucchini squash and cucumbers, plus an herb garden with basil, oregano, thyme and parsley.

 

And for the moments of beauty - a pot of purple petunias.  The hummingbirds are already dipping into them.