Advance warning

This is an advance warning that lots of garden pictures will be coming your way very soon.

Mid-June is the very nicest time in the garden, I think. The vegetables are all still tiny and manageable and there aren't too many bugs infesting them yet, and the flowers are starting to really pop. Everything's still clean - nothing's gone out of control as of yet, but it's only a matter of time.

Currently, I am enjoying the contrast of my hot red poppies next to my deep purple siberian irises, against the backdrop of the orange marigolds in the veggie garden. My eyeballs aren't big enough.

Today or tomorrow, the yellow iris that I transplanted into my upper perennial bed will bloom for the first time, against the deep purple of the centaurea and, if it sticks around, the hot pink of my gorgeous peonies. Seriously, the camera can't even capture it. I've been taking pictures of nice garden pairings but then when I look at them, they all seem drab on-screen. My brother's girlfriend got a nice digital SLR camera, and takes the most gorgeous flower pictures, so maybe I'll have to hire her out for an evening, ply her with alcohol or something.

In the veggie garden, I am also experiencing moderate success: The garlic's trucking along, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of the neighboring corn yet. Maybe that won't work out, but that's not a tragedy; there's enough corn in the world and I don't even really like eating it that much. The tomatoes are bouncing back, growing themselves some dark green, hardy, outdoor leaves - the nicest ones are the ones I bought off of the little boy at the garage sale.

I think the basil that I transplanted is ok, but it's so tiny still that I can't be sure when looking at it from a distance. I haven't been through the gate since the weekend. 2 of my 3 cucumbers are doing well, the third had it's leaves eaten off by something (sluggy?) but may still bounce back. I had no success with the squash that I started in the grow-op, but stuck the remaining 5 seeds directly into the ground, and they've grown and are happy to be there. The lettuce is coming along, spinach is almost ready to eat, and I have a ton of cilantro. The beans are up, and the beets are doing well, and I may have a nice little crop of strawberries this year as well. My nasturtiums are poking their adorable little leaves out of the ground, and I have mounded up my potatoes already. May have to do it again this weekend, they're growing so fast in this weather. 5 of my 6 pumpkins are doing really well, and even the one that Rosie yanked out of the ground is bouncing back ok. I am considering spreading compost over the rows and then covering them with straw once the plants are a bit bigger - but we'll see. Damn I love the veggie garden in June. August... not so much but in June I am full of enthusiasm.

And the best part is, I've reached the point where there's very little to do aside from management. I've been spending a lot of time in my hammock, just watching the apples grow. Weeding, top-dressing and mounding, staking, bug control, and harvesting, that's about all I have to worry about until fall. I do have to clean up the grow-op though - it's a filthy disaster.

It's been so hot and humid these days (but raining at night - perfect for the garden) that Rosie doesn't know what to do with herself. We've moved her crate into the darker, cooler back room and put a fan on it, so she's ok during the day, but she really doesn't want to play sillybuggers outside much these days in the heat and the bugs. Life's hard for a black dog in summertime. So, we are going to the nearby lake a lot. I got her one of these:

It's called a Wubba and it's a hollow lightweight Kong, covered in neoprene, which floats really well. She LOVES it. I got the bright yellow one, so it's not easy to lose sight of, and the little tassles make it really easy to throw far, even for a klutz like me. She dives in so inelegantly after it, it's worth the $10 I spent on it in laughs alone. I'm an idiot for this dog.

Look at that curly butt! How could you not want to buy toys for it!?

Funny thing: when you get a 9-lb puppy in your arms who's a mix of two breeds, you're never really sure what you're going to end up with. I was convinced she was all lab. Her mum's a golden retriever, and in this shot you can see it. Usually she looks more like a black lab, save for this longer, curly coat. I adore it. I snuggle my face into this coat at least three times a day. I crave the smell of this fur all day when I'm at work. She is so handsome too, just perfectly proportioned, perfectly athletically put together. I would take credit, but I didn't birth this creature - she's someone else's miracle. I just get to watch her grow, which is pure pleasure. Bittersweet though, I do miss that tiny 9 lb pup. She was so damn cute.

I'll post pictures tomorrow... someone has to do some work around here.