Still hanging on

I planted the garden this past weekend. It always feels good to get it "in" and check on it daily to see if 1) it's still there, and 2) it needs any TLC.

I have a little ritual for planting the tomato seedlings. The ritual starts in January when I begin saving banana peels. I use my kitchen scissors to cut them into small pieces, then I put them into large plastic bags and store them in the freezer.

When it's time to plant the tomatoes, I dig a deep  hole, drop in a handful of banana peel, then add some compost from my compost bin (see brown pail), add some soil, then add the tomato plant.

I became a believer in the banana peel/tomato plant "marriage" and few years ago and haven't looked back. My plants produce lots o' tomatoes, and I give the banana peels (and compost) the credit.

I don't worry about getting my hands dirty when I garden. Hands are washable, after all.

Ken says an abundance of earthworms is an indication of good, healthy soil. That must mean my garden's soil is in top condition, because the place is crawling, literally, with earthworms.

This little fella at 5 o'clock to the pepper plant is probably the only earthworm for miles around to have his picture taken.

 I plant the lettuce on the back side of each tomato stake. This works well, because the lettuce has outlived its usefulness by the time the tomato plants take off and demand more space.

I also planted summer squash, cucumbers, zucchini, and beets. I'll add radishes and Swiss chard as soon as I remember to buy seeds.








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Meanwhile, this is the current state of my kitchen. The sink used to be under the window; cupboards used to rest comfortably on either side of the window and under the now non-existent counters, and the fridge used to NOT reside in the dining room.

It's all coming together well, though, and I'm remaining optimistic. Ken says the kitchen will be done within two weeks. We shall see.

This little bird family (four in all) resides under the floor in a corner of our back deck. Last year their parents built a nest in another corner, a back corner, of the deck, so Ken destroyed the nest this spring, thinking the birds would take the hint and move elsewhere.

They did: to a front corner. They're darned cute though, aren't they?