Monday, July 02, 2012

I Have Plans

For this pile of crop cover fabric.  There is some on sale at work and more being transferred, but I went searching and found this much already in my possession.  I have plans, ahem, to make pillowcases of protection for my roses.  The Japanese beetles are coming.  The sun and rain can still get in, but the beetles won't be able to.  Last summer my roses were chewed and covered in what, to me, was a writhing mass of metallic bugs. UGH

In other garden news, the deer have come, in the night, and chewed off all the "about to flower" parts of my sweet little perennial garden next to the back door deck.  Now, I can sit and stare at a beautifully weeded and mulched bed of nothing.  My Endless Summer hydrangea is, once again, nothing but a few inches of bare stalks.  No leaves and certainly no flowers this year.  I now have it covered in chicken wire.  G thought his deer repellent spraying would do the trick.  No.

I tied my small tomato plants to their very tall (perhaps I bought them too tall?) stakes.  I am trying this method this year and not the tomato cages I spent good money on last summer.  They tipped over.  I used bright orange plastic tape to tie the tomatoes.  And I removed all the suckers.  On the way out of the garden, I picked a handful of very peppery arugula to eat with a few hard cooked eggs and mayo.  I bought a dozen eggs and cooked them (brought water to simmer, simmered one minute, covered and let sit off the heat for 15 minutes).  Slight tinge of green around the yolk but no sulfur smell.

I don't like eating hot food in the morning.  So I have been eating my egg omelets at room temp, I have the HB eggs now and the deli ham and cheese rolls.  Those will be my breakfasts this week.  Today's omelet has two kinds of sausage, onions, peppers, cheese and "cooking greens" which I am buying by the box.  Looks like beet, collard, kale and spinach with some curly stuff.  I will add some of the arugula.  I let the plants from last year go to seed.  Now I have arugula.  It didn't work for last year's fennel.  I was waiting to collect the seeds and the birds got there first.  Not a seed left.  Timing is everything in a garden.  Which is why gardeners have to be out there all the time.

I didn't get much sleep on Saturday night.  I think I finally slept well after 3 am.  Then G got home and I was awake again.  So, going to work Sunday morning wasn't pleasant and then it was so hot.  I must have looked miserable (and bored) because the co worker in charge asked if I wanted to go home early.  I guess the boss suggested she send people home after all the watering and lunches were done.  So, I went home at 1.  And sat out on the back lawn with G and the dog.  Then we went to the river side restaurant and sat out on the deck and ate a very late lunch.  G had a 20 ounce beer and I had a $3 margarita.  I need to figure out how to make a carb free one.  It was wonderful.

I finished book number five.  That Tudor mystery I wasn't so keen to read turned out to be just the thing.  I had opened the book to the ONLY place the author had written "haunches" and "by the rood". I knew all the players as this book takes place just as Edward VI is dying and Jane Grey is set up for the throne (and then dies, I guess?)  I'm thinking I might re read the Nevada Barr books, from the beginning, as I have now read the prequel.  The first books were the best.  The newest ones--not so great.  Perhaps the author shouldn't have let Anna get old?

Anyway, I plan on going to the bank, the post office (I really need to pay the bills), and then the library as soon as I get dressed, finish my breakfast , etc.

And then I have those pillowcases to make for the roses.  I was going to use netting but I seem to have made myself a huge, puffy, ankle length tutu out of the pink netting.  So I could be a Princess.  I don't remember doing it.  And, the white netting is missing.  I may venture into the attic to see if it is up there.

Dinner tonight will be fried yellow squash (from the supermarket but cooked here at home), tomatoes (also purchased) and fried chicken (also purchased).  It's July.

I have to cover the blackberry thicket or else the deer will eat them also.  So many flowers.  So much potential for berries.

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