Sunny Day

It's shaping up to be a warm day today.  We've had about ten days of chilly, overcast skies, but today started out sunny.  I took the opportunity to go out and feed the starving birds and to walk around and take a look at what's going on in the garden.  

This is the last image I showed you of the tomatoes growing in the greenhouse.  That was about ten days ago.

Here's how they look today.  Amazing growth, huh?  I love walking out into the greenhouse.  It's hard to see in this image, but the light in the greenhouse has a green cast to it.  The tomatoes have taken over the space and called it their own . . . which is exactly what I wanted them to do.  I can't even describe what a pleasure it is to be growing tomatoes without biting my nails to the quick wondering if they will ripen before the rains come.  No worries this year.  I've traded biting my nails for chomping at the bit while I wait for them to ripen.

We've left the window and the door open to assist them in pollinating themselves, but we're leaving nothing to chance.  About once per week, we take this soft-bristled make-up brush and go around tickling all the flowers . . . just to give them a little nudge.

And it has paid off!  Just look at these!  

How are you today, my pretties?

Imagine how fulfilled you'll feel when you are packed into jars as tomato sauce.  Really, you're going to love being poured over pasta and eaten.  It is your destiny.

I don't talk to the lettuce with the same affection I do the tomatoes, but its time will come too.  This is the newly-sprouted second batch for the season.  Red leaf on the right, green leaf on the left.

You thought the sign was a joke, didn't you?  There are no vegetables growing in the garden, but the weeds are doing great!  Maybe the sign is the problem.  What do you think?

And you . . . you, my darlings.  You are going to make some perfectly pleasing plum chutney.  Just you wait.  And please.  Turn purple, will you?  Sometime today would be good.

The raccoons have beaten us to most of the cherries.  It seems they would enjoy them more if they would just give the fruit a chance to ripen.  They can't steal the shade from us, however.  These trees were little saplings when we planted them, and now they are turning into nice shade trees.  This side of the house gets very warm in the afternoon . . . when the sun shines, that is.  I think by next year, these will really be making some nice shade for us.

There are a few cherries left.  I sort of wish we had planted a pie cherry tree.  I guess there's still time to do that.  (Pausing here to put it on my Honey-do list.)

These  above are bings.

And these are black tartarians.  I read that most cherry trees are self-pollinating, but the black tartarians require a tree of a different variety to pollinate.  Thus, the bings.  The first one of these we planted died, sadly.  And so this is our second attempt with this tree.  This one is doing well, and it has almost caught up to the bing in size.

My biggest garden sin of the season is forgetting about the raspberries.  The bushes are loaded, and I have not picked any.  That is on today's to-do list.

Our wisteria is blooming for the second time, much to the envy of our neighbor.  He has the most beautiful wisteria vines growing along the railing of his deck, but they have never bloomed.  We have no idea what the difference is between the two, and believe me, we have hashed it out over many a glass of wine in the evening.

The hydrangeas are blooming profusely this year, in contrast to last year when they bloomed almost not at all.

This next one is the bluest blue I've ever seen in a hydrangea.  This image really doesn't do it justice.  It is so blue that it is almost purple.  I thought I would help it along a few years back by cutting the branches from the fir tree that grows above it.  Almost as soon as I stopped clipping, I recalled that hydrangeas are shade lovers.  It seems as if it's finally recovered after almost three years of pitiful blossoms.

So I have lots on my agenda today.  I need to do laundry, and I want to bake some zucchini bread.  As I said earlier, I need to go out and pick some raspberries to keep them producing, and I'd like to get some sewing in too.  We have a pest control guy coming out because we've seen a few carpenter ants roaming around outside . . . and we even saw one inside, although I think it rode in on someone's shoe.

Next week, I'm going down to see my friend Lisa in California.  We're going to give the five doll quilts I made for her granddaughters to the girls while I'm there.  (You can see them at the link I've provided.)  I haven't seen the girls since they were much younger, and so we're going to have a good time.  Lisa also has a brand new grandson, just about two weeks old.  It's been a long time since I've been around such a tiny baby.  (Have I mentioned that I seriously need a grandchild?)

So with that, I'd better get going.  I have miles to go before I sleep.