In and out of my garden

I hope that you and/or the mothers in your life have celebrated a wonderful day today, as I have.  Gifts and long phone calls, less humid weather with a nice breeze, clothes freshly washed and hung on the line, and several hours spent puttering in my new garden.

The last three weekends I have been quite busy outside in my vegetable garden, and I believe I have finally finished getting it in shape and completely planted, except for some of the white cotton seeds that will go in large pots out front away from the dark green that I planted in with the veggies.  After all this hard work, I can say that I am tired, but very happy about the results!

IN THE GARDEN

The patty pan (button) squash planted in one of the raised
bed containers after the black mulch cover was removed.

I must give an update on my findings with the use of the Patio Pickers Raised Garden Kit system that I reviewed a couple of posts ago (click here to view).  I kept noticing that quite a few of the squash plants in each of the three containers were wilting and looking quite sad.  Eventually, some had to be pulled.  Then yesterday I decided that maybe it had something to do with the black plastic mulch cover, because the potting soil around the plants seemed to be wet, not moist.  Maybe it was holding too much moisture in and causing the plants to literally "drown?!"  So, yesterday I removed the covers on each, and this morning and throughout the day as I checked on them, the little squash plants seemed to be recovering their strength.  In fact, I noticed several blooms on the zucchini this afternoon on my last jaunt through my garden.  I am encouraged.

I turned this old, unused Rubbermaid water trough into a raised 

bed for the muskmelons.

One of quite a few eggplants I am growing in containers this year.

Icicle radishes looking good in an old plastic window box, 

complete with a lizard!

And the "corn salad" is also doing well in a matching window box.

Tomatoes, marigolds and basil all in rows!  Okra and cucumbers are 

sprouting in the rows beyond, and soon the green cotton I planted today. 

One of my two old raised beds.

The other old raised bed.  This one has the winter crop of chard, garlic,

the Brussels sprout, rosemary and oregano .... with the new plantings of

marigold, cilantro, basil, frying peppers, pimento, lemon cucumbers, 

parsnips, and salsify.  

The parsnips are on the left and the salsify on the left.  I plan to plant

 more in mid to late summer.

Common Basil

Purple Leaf Basil, very similar to the common variety only with

lovely purple leaves.

Greek Basil, leaves a bit firmer and pointed.

Thai Basil, which has tiny pointed leaves and purple

flower spikes that remind me of salvia.  The fragrance 

is deliciously peppery!

Here is the "front garden" which consists of the original two raised beds and the bed with the fava beans of 

the winter garden.

And here is the new "back garden" which, up until two weeks ago, was Jagger's pasture.  Now it contains one raised bed up against the fence for the asparagus beans and new crop of chard, as well as a number of containers planted with the melons, more squash, and the eggplants.  Today, I planted some of the seeds for the dark bluish green cotton seeds at the left end of the raised bed.

OUT OF THE GARDEN
During the week, I noticed a new hawk on the telephone poles along the highway I travel regularly, to and from town.  I have come to believe that it is a broad winged hawk.  My first sighting was one afternoon, as I drove up to my mailbox on the south side of the highway, and a hawk was across the road and down just a bit.  I carefully walked step by step along the paved shoulder until I was directly across from it and took mental notes of the markings.  It was not one of my red-shouldered hawks as I had first thought!  It's head and beak were different (I'd say smaller), and there was no red on the shoulders, just shades of brown and golden brown.

It let me observe it for about 10 minutes, then one of those gargantuan chicken trucks passed by and the hawk flew to another pole down the road.  In flight, I could see the tail feathers, black and white banded, and once I was inside, I grabbed my Peterson's Field Guide and decided it was a broad winged hawk that I had seen. For a hawk lover like me, this was quite an exciting event! I have since seen it one other time, in the morning on a pole not far from its position on my first sighting.  

As I have reported before, there are two red shouldered hawks that have returned to the area of my farm for several years now.  I have christened them Token and Charm.  (What?! Why of course, I named them! They are magnificent!)  There is also a pair of red tailed hawks that I have been following for almost 8 years that I have named Aegis and Aurora.  Their territory is about one and half miles from the outskirts of town, about two and half miles to the west of the farm, and I see them quite frequently on my way to and from work, either perched atop a pole or hovering and diving for a catch.

If this new hawk stays around and then returns next year, it will earn a name as well!  Any ideas?!

I was happy to see that several scissor-tail flycatchers have recently returned for the summer here in my small part of the world.  I really enjoy watching their ballet-like movements in the air as they select their mates, and, later in the summer, as they spot insects high above the open areas of my pastures. Truly an amazing site to behold!

And, yesterday afternoon I caught sight of a very new feathered visitor to HeartSong Farm, and a quick look at my field guide confirmed my first impression that it was either a warbler or vireo of some kind. I am 95% positive that it is a vireo of the yellow-throated persuasion.  A few more sightings and I should be able to confirm this.  I know that I have heard a distinct new song in the front yard the past week, so hopefully we have a new resident among us!

AND FINALLY.....

In the afternoon, Godfrey confiscated the box that held my Mothers Day gifts.

And that is how it went this week on HeartSong Farm!