In the Garden: June 2004 Archives

The LAWN!

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My lawn thinks it's a hay field! It's masquerading as a harvestable crop, and it rained today. I can hear it growing out there!

I've mentioned in a previous entry that I was filling in as the lawn mower of record for DH and managed to do something to the mowing deck. It absolutely SHUDDERS when I try to engage the blades. So, we contacted the dealer to make arrangements for them to come get it for repairs.

It seems that I am not the only person who has run into things, because we had to wait approximately TWO WEEKS for them to pick it up. And, now that they have it in their clutches (no pun intended), I don't expect to see it for a week or more at the very earliest. I think I'm in the wrong business. They charged $40 for pick up and delivery, and another $30 to just look at the darned thing.

The dealer was upfront about the delay, so we bit the bullet and bought a self-propelled walk-behind mower. Unfortunately, we will have to walk behind this thing daily to keep the grass to a level the mower can deal with.

Last Saturday, two of my younger nephews came for the day and gave me some help with the yard. The youngest one, who is ten, helped me dead-head the peonies, and water the container garden. Then he walked part of the lawn, picking up downed branches so that his older brother could mow. Their father took pity on them and brought his mower over to give them a hand.

It is never possible for me to adequately explain how grateful I am to have help in the yard. The boys saved me from disaster. I have a bad back, and I suspect that I don't have enough strength to make the pull start on the mower work. I would have obsessed about that growing grass if they hadn't come to help. Now, we have it down to a level I can manage.

Dear Husband has a summer cold. He came down with a doozey today. So, tomorrow night, when he gets home from work, I'll have him crank up the mower for me, and I'll go mow for an hour or so.

Ah....the joys of summer.

Almost there

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Dear Husband took off for the lake this morning, and I pulled myself together, had a cup of tea, answered a bit of mail, and then headed for the herb garden. So many things have required my attention elsewhere, that the herb garden is the last to be planted. I'm fully a month late getting the herbs into the ground.

Rain, Rain

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We had a quiet Memorial Day. I was rained out of the gardens yesterday, so I needed to get the herb garden cleaned and ready for some herbs that have been sitting in the garage for more than a week. I needed to weed the chat pathway, and parts of the beds, too. I started at the South end and got about an hour's work in before the first downpour hit.

I stopped and had some breakfast while it rained, and then headed back out as soon as the storm had passed. I got in about thirty minutes or so, and was caught in the next downpour. I left everything, and came in for another short stay. BY the end of my final session I managed to get somewhere between a third and a half of the garden weeded.

I still have the rest of the herb garden to do, herbs to plant, herbs to harvest, tomatoes and zucchini to plant, and weed eating to do around the edges of the lawn and gardens. I think this is a labor of love, and a project that is going to be done a little at a time. It's SOooooooo much more satisfying to stay until the job is complete!

Our little area of the world has been in a drought for the past two years. We went almost through the month of April before we had rain the last day or so. By the 15th they were saying it was the driest April on record. One long day of rain gave it the appearance of being almost normal in rainfall. Statistics lie!

On the other hand, May has been soggy in comparison. Each time I plan to get into my gardens, Mother Nature lets loose. We have water standing in the swale near the road and the sump pumps have been working for several days.
Worms and the perennials I've planted have been happy campers, but soon the iris and lavender are going to be dying off from all the rain.

At least I'm not schlepping hoses around and paying a humongous water bill!

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This page is a archive of entries in the In the Garden category from June 2004.

In the Garden: May 2004 is the previous archive.

In the Garden: July 2004 is the next archive.

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