2024

*deep breath* Yesterday I found out the garden plot was not in compliance and I've got until Jun20 to fix the problem.

So I ordered a stirrup hoe, it will be here on Wed afternoon.

So let's discuss the fact that I have to buy a hoe. *grr!*

The Community Garden should be providing everything gardeners need to succeed... with your plot rental you get access to the garden, your plot has a water faucet, and you get access to the tool shed which has wheel barrows, shovels, rakes, hoes, and various other garden tools, like the lawn mower and a post driver.

Except someone got into the garden over the winter, removed the gate padlocks and stole a bunch of stuff from our tool shed. The wheel barrows were replaced.

But we have zero garden hoes. None, Nada.

And if I'm going to remove grass in pathways I'm going to need a hoe.

Sighs. So here I am, buying a hoe. SIGHS!

Saturday Market today, to get ever more veggie starts. And then I have partner drop me off at the garden plot with the hand hoe and the Strawberry plant we got today!

The hand hoe is too big to fit in my backpack, and it will stay here at our plot. I hide it under the 5gallon bucket... I've never heard of any problems with people stealing things from the plots. (just outsiders stealing from the tool shed!)

So I don't worry about leaving it, except keeping it from the elements... the forecast says rain is due tomorrow!

And then I go down the east side of the plot and rip up grass with my hands...

I am so angry that I have to do this! It's a ridiculous waste of time, when I should be forking the new area for the big trellis... I can't plant the Wax Beans until that's done and it's freaking June already!

Arg! Just Arg!

AND THEN! And then! I realize those pissant Pot People have left a digging fork IN MY PLOT...

And it's not even leaning, they've stuck it in the ground, those effing jerks using MY NON-COMPLIANT, GRASSY PATHWAYS to get around their stupid plot because they put their beds right up to the border and didn't save their own goddamn path.

On top of all that, there are only two good digging forks left in the tool shed, due to the theft I mentioned. And when you don't put the fork back, others can't use it! And I get it, they just forgot because they are stupid newbies, but GAH!

I hate them! I seriously hate them!

But really, I hate everyone and everything for the moment. I'm just frustrated.

I rage for a little while and then I get over it.

And anyway. Look at how happy the new Strawberry is!

And I've taken an even better photo of the Love Mist with the Brandywine in the background!

And then I go wandering and look at someone else's Love in a Mist.

And then I take the digging fork back to the shed... Since those jerks left it in my plot, it's like they were framing me for stealing it! Which makes me angry all over again. Pissants.

*Breathe*

I'm glad I get to walk home. That kind of exercise is good for my soul!

AND I get to check on the Barn Swallow nest!

On Sundays I usually like to stroll to the Post Office to check my PO Box. But that's an extra 20mins of garden work I could be doing, sighs, so I'm heading straight to the garden today.

And I'm taking some veggie starts in the backpack! A Green Zucchini and a Yellow Zucchini. The green Zuc doesn't quite fit!

I've bought so many veggie starts, there's LOTS left to plant. They are sitting in the porch room, and I'm hoping a little extra growing time before they meet the slugs in the garden will give them an edge!

Once I get to the garden, I note how bad off the plants in the Squash Square are... the Butternut is fine, not munched at all, the slugs must not like that one. But the Zuc and Spaghetti Squash are well on their way to dead, and the Crookneck doesn't look far behind them.

Shoot.

So okay. I'm going to start a Supplementary Squash Square! *laughs* I planted the Zucs at the end of the Tofu Patch. That'll be less room for Soybeans, but it's a pretty big area. I think it'll work out.

I fork and weed another line for the big trellis, future home of Wax Beans.

It's been sprinkling... but it starts to rain while I'm working here. Usually I draw the line: I don't work in the garden in the rain. But I have a deadline for the non-compliance grass thing, and I need to plant things as well. There's too much work, and I cannot pause even tho it's uncomfortable and annoying to work in the rain! I keep forking!

And then I obsess about the Big Comfrey. The new Supplementary Squash Square is a little close to the root ball of Comfrey I'm trying to kill.

It's nice that the Comfrey roots are easy to pick out. Unfortunately, they break very easily. And even small sections of roots left in the ground will come back to life. Killing this thing is a long term project.

BUT!

I really should be working on GRASS! They don't care about the stupid Comfrey. They want the grass in the pathways gone, not this thing.

Well. There's a couple grass roots in there! ha.

There's no one else in the Comm Garden, which is nice, and I wander around.

And then I come around the corner and see this...

Grass in the pathways.

GRASS IN THE PATHWAYS.

And guess what? This guy's plot IS NOT on the non-compliance list. Even tho he has some serious, well established, lawn-looking GRASS IN THE PATHWAYS.

OMG. I fume!

The double standard.

I am so mad I could scream.

I'm beyond cuss words.

I need to learn new cuss words.

...

But I can't do anything about the unfairness.
Don't let the bastards get you down, and all that.

damn them.

It rained most all night! It quit at some point this morning before the sun came up, but then started drizzling again around 9am.

I decided it would be a perfect opportunity to take a break from the garden.

Rose Garden! And maybe I can check on the Cliff Swallow nests I discovered last year!

My favorite rose is Silver Lining...

(Laughing at myself because I can't choose which angle I like better!) ...

Ha! Both our common squirrels! Our native Western Grey, and the non-native Eastern Fox Squirrel near the tree!

I can hear Ospreys yelling, as I'm walking along the river, but they haven't set up camp at the big platform nest across from the Rose Garden yet.

I'm so glad they have left this beautiful sculpture...

It's called Naseem, which means breeze in Arabic, and it's made from salvaged chrome car bumpers and motorcycle parts. It was supposed to be a temporary art installation, but it fits here so well, with the Art Pavilion made of the same chrome stuff!

And the real thing! *laughs*

Some Camas Lilies are still blooming!

Oh, there is an Osprey at this platform nest! ... and a lot of trash is up there too. bleh!

The bridge is 2miles from the Rose Garden and is usually the end of my usual loop. But today I'm going across and going out further.

As usual, I pause on the bridge to take in the sounds of the river! I love it here.

Out past the pond, where the invasive Yellow Flag Iris is trying to take over. That's a shame.

There's bugs flying here, but I don't see any swallows swooping over the water. hm.

And here I am at the bridge with the Cliff Swallow nests. foo. They are all empty and cobwebby!

I wonder if I am too early... or if they don't return to their nests like the Barn Swallows do?? Humph!

Haha, the sun got a Suspish fish!

This mixed up Mallard has been in the area for years! It's good to see him now and then!

And a rat?! Ha, that's unexpected! Hi Cutey!!

Okay! Yesterday's great walk at the river has renewed my spirit and I am ready to tackle the problems at the garden!

It sprinkled thru the night again... which is mildly concerning. I won't be able to hoe until the dirt dries out again: You can't hoe mud! Well. The new hoe doesn't arrive until Wed, so I don't need to concern myself yet.

This morning, it's cloudy, but nothing is coming out of the sky. I take the rain jacket with me, but I don't need it.

Okay... Here's what I'm working with...

The black dirt areas are the places where I've forked and weeded for beds, and there's some stuff planted here and there.

On the left side is the Tofu Patch and the new Supplementary Squash Square. On the right side of the pic is the Front Garden Square with Lemon Cucs and two tomato plants. oh, and that tall bunch of green is volunteer Elephant Garlics! And then, back right corner of the plot is the main Squash Square and the future big trellis area for the Wax Beans. You can't see the Sugar Snap Pea Patch, because it's as green as the grass, but it's back there at the end of the grassy path going down the middle.

I've been forking the dirt over a month now. It's hard, slow work because I'm trying to do a really good job of sifting out ALL the grass roots!

But! My mission now, is to get rid of all the grass in between those forked spaces. I've got until June20, just a bit over 2 weeks.

And I'm planting some Lemon Cucs, today, too!

Okay, here's where I'm working today. I've got a couple tomato plants in front of the big trellis area I'm forking... Before:

I'm just ripping up grass with my hands. It's too wet to do anything else, and forking to get at the roots just takes too long!

And After:

And, yep. I'm leaving the Dandelions! Because, seriously, I hate that dead dirt look, in between the plants. That's what they are requiring, but I NEED a little bit of wild in my space!

And that tall grass in the top of the photo above, is technically over the border, in the Pissant Pot People's plot. I will prob be ripping up their grass, in order for my plot to look better. Sighs. oh how I love to do other people's work.

And the Lemon Cucumbers are planted. They were in small seedling pots, and I was able to fit all four in the backpack.

Okay. I've been hard at work for 1.5 hours. Ordinarily, I could be here for 45mins or an hour, so I def did more work today than usual. But I think I need to aim for closer to 2 hours of work to get this all sorted, in the time frame I've got. SIGHS.

Hmm. I wonder where the Bluebirds are nesting this year? Nobody's using the nesting boxes at the Comm Garden.

The poisonous Sweet Peas.

All the different colours are certainly a delight. Supposedly they smell lovely as well... but I don't have much of a sense of smell, so that part is lost on me!

As I was finishing up in the garden, this one was having an argument with one of the Flickers who hangs out occasionally. Well, honestly, I think the Flicker was just teasing our furry friend.

She was still mad about it, even tho the Flicker flew away five or ten minutes ago!

Oh good, the homeless people have cleared out from under the bridge. So I get to spend a moment at the Barn Swallow nest! Hello My Dear!

*laughs* You got an itch?

Squirming around, trying to get comfortable.

Is that better?

Not really?

Oh, this is better, after all? *Laughs*

Aw, I love it when I get to meet the wildlife right outside the door!

Hello Dear Heart!

I brought four more Lemon Cucumber starts to plant in the front Garden Square...

Lemon Cucumbers are my absolute favorite, and I like to have a LOT of plants! I decide to separate the four plants I've got today, and I plant two in the Supplementary Squash Square...

So that's the Green Zucchini, top left.
Today's two Lemon Cucs, top right.
A Yellow Zuc, bottom right.
And the very small Columbine, which finished blooming a while ago.
And some stupid grass and a Dandelion! *laughs*

I fork and weed some more for the big trellis. And I rip out some more grass in the front.

And then the left side neighbor shows up. Oh my gosh, it's been ages since I've seen Mia and we chat for a while. Well. That would be me, mostly just complaining about the non-compliance notice I got about the grass in the pathways!

She was nice about it and said my plot was not a problem, but what are you going to say, right to someones face! :)

But I also complained to her about the double standard, that guy with raised beds and grass in his pathways is fine, but my grass in the pathways is out of order.

And she told me about the guy with the Lesser Celandine plot...

He let the Celandine get totally out of control, the last couple of early springs his plot is completely covered with it.

And they are giving him a new plot, while they try to rehabilitate the Lesser Celandine plot.

I am flabbergasted. So you LET the invasives get totally out of control, and they just give you a new plot? Yep.

Like I said, I need to learn new cuss words.

And unfortunately, I'm noticing a pattern here... The guy with raised beds and grass in his pathways, and the Lesser Celandine plot guy? They are bending the rules for the white men.

sighs.

Well. I'm pleased with the work I've done today. I've only worked 1h10m today but that wide spot at the front where I've ripped out grass... is noticeable progress. So I head out.

The same parent is sitting in the nest.

Underneath the bridge, there's two older ducklings...

But their Mama has a droopy wing. :(

I pause a moment to collect myself.

And then keep walking home.

I woke up at 4:40 this morning. I had opened up my bedroom window as wide as it would go last night, and I delighted in the cold air coming down on me. Of course, I also had all the blankets and quilts on top of me too... 55° is pretty cold!

The morning chorus began with a Robin singing in the distance. And then a crow... Close, probably in a tree in the parking lot, but not right outside the window. She Caws 5 times in a row, steady, with no pauses. The Crow the other day said 5 caws as well, but said it like, Caw, Caw, Caw, *pause* Caw, Caw. And then my current 5 Caw friend decided that 4 Caws was fine.

After she flies away, I'm listening to the Robin again... and I realize that's not a Robin! Similar tone, but the actual song is very different, and a bit faster than a Robin's song as well.

I remembered looking up a bird and the page said they had a song similar to a Robin... but who were they?

Me: Hello? Brain? You got anything for me?

Brain: GAH! It's Five O'Clock in the Stupid morning! Leave me Alone!

*Laughs* oh fine then!

Heading to the garden. Same parent in the nest as yesterday.

I get to the garden plot and start accessing today's work. I've brought a second Butternut start to plant in the Squash Square, and some Spaghetti Squash seeds. And I will continue forking and weeding the area for the big trellis.

But then I hear a Swallow singing. I look around and see a Barn Swallow...

Oh my gosh, he is so beautiful in the sun!

And this has to be the Papa, right? Singing about his territory while Mama sits on the eggs!

He knows me, so he lets me get really close!

So cool!

And now I'm getting some work done!!

I've put the Butternut in the Squash Square...

That thing with the big yellow leaf is the Crookneck. I think I've watered it too much!

and never mind the Zucchini with no leaves, the slugs did that. And there's a Spaghetti Squash in there as well, in the same condition.

That's okay, because today I've brought my saved seeds! When I ate last year's Spaghetti squashes, I cleaned some of the seeds and dried them out.

I don't know if they will grow. And I don't know if the slugs will munch them. But I've giving it a try. I've also got some old Crookneck seeds, and I throw them in the mix as well.

I forked and weeded a bit. And this part of the plot is looking... well. Pretty Grass-less I guess. ugh. That's what they want. But Ugh!

I've still not forked enough to fit the big trellis, so I've moved it over to the pathway. I just got tired of moving it around every time I fork there!

The slugs are so hungry they've even been eating the Giant Marigolds! This one has a bit of green at the top, yet, but most of them are becoming two foot sticks, of the main stem with no green leaves at all.

Heading home. And now I can say Hi Mama!

The Papa is still out singing, but when he's here he sits with his tail sticking out of the nest.

The garden is kind of drying out from the decent rain we got at the beginning of the week. I've decided to bring the new stirrup hoe tomorrow, since I'll be driving to Saturday Market.

I will have to hoe like crazy, to get all the grass gone by the June20 deadline. But I think I can do it!

Today, I'm walking to the garden.

Hey, Papa!

Are you still sitting? Still? I thought for sure some babies would be born this week!

[oh, oop! I review the numbers, and actually today was the earliest the babies would be born! So I don't need to freak out yet!!]

Okay! I'm at the garden... and oh crud! Both of the heavy digging forks are out of the shed, being used by other people. Shoot! That kind of kills my plan of forking and weeding and expanding the trellis area.

Okay, switching gears! This little spot in between the Snap Pea Patch on the left and the Squash Square, is bugging me.

So let's take care of that today...

I've freed up the Strawberries which were back there. And I'm thinking about experimenting with a summer cover crop... maybe that would be a good place to start.

Behind the Tofu Patch, there are some volunteer Sunflowers coming up! That makes me happy except the slugs are doing a number on them.

The Lemon Cucumbers seem to be doing well, except for that one droopy one.

And ya know... the Eggplant looks like it might be trying to make some buds. The slugs have chewed it all to pieces, but it might just live after all!

This is the little Love in a Mist that I almost pulled out when I was weeding the Lemon Cucs the other week... I'm glad it lived!!

That's a lot of grass to deal with! Revving my engines to start hoeing tomorrow!

Ha, that tiny orange thing right in the middle of the above pic is one of the Giant Marigolds... The slugs ate all the leaves so it's just a 2foot stick with a bloom at the top! haha!

Heading home. Papa is still taking his turn at the nest.

There's a Steller Jay, bouncing around on the bank of the creek... Oh! She's a fledgling! You see the bit of gape, the pink part at the edge of her mouth?

I realize I'm trying to photo thru a bit of grass. *laughs* Stupid grass!

So Cute!

Once they get some knowledge, Steller Jays become a lot more shy and careful around humans... but as kids, they are still just figuring everything out!

And then she flies away... probably going to find a parent to harass about some food!

Put the new stirrup hoe in the car to take to the garden! and I'm going to Saturday Market this morning to buy some more veggie starts from my favorite farmer!

The big leaves belong to a Sunflower. I like the rusty red ones, but this will be just a plain bright yellow flower. A Black Tomato, something new! And then four more Lemon Cucumbers, because I'm crazy for them. There's also a Yellow Patty Pan.

But I'm kind of feeling the heat today. That rain at the beginning of the week kept things blissfully cool, the highs were 62° on Sunday and 64° Monday... But now the highs are mid-80s, and I'm struggling to adjust so quickly!

So I decide to forego planting any of the veggie starts and focus on the hoeing. That's what actually needs to happen anyway!

I am going to put a dent in the grass!! Here's before:

And here's After:

The hoeing needs to be a precise balancing act... long enough for me to build new muscles, but not so long to kill myself. I've just got 12days left for the deadline on removing the grass and I need to be able to keep working, and not be in any kind of extreme pain!

Along with that big chunk that I hoed up the middle of the plot, I also hit the pathway along the back of the plot, next to back neighbor's raised bed.

I've done great work today, and I am pleased!

And Look! The first of the Sugar Snap Peas!!! Yay!

I ate them and they were wonderful!!

There's strawberries coming along as well, but I ignore them today.

I'm going to leave the new hoe at the back of the plot with my other junk. I don't think anyone will steal it, but there's no sense in leaving it out. Especially since it looks like a normal Community Garden tool! I've marked it with our names and our plot designation and I've hidden the hoe part under the 5gal bucket, which also contains the hand hoe.

I've got some short stakes, and heavy bricks. I use the planter pot to gather trash before I pull out a trash bag to haul it out. A small grid, I've used in the past to support plants, and under that is a section of row cover.

I probably should have tidied things up before I took the picture, laughs! But that's how it is, stuff just thrown down there in a pile!

Walking to the garden today, and when I got to the bridge there was no one sitting at the nest. For a split second I was terrified!

But then Mama flies in! *phew* She gives me the barest glance...

And then...

Oh my gosh! We have babies!!!

She makes sure I'm not doing anything weird...

But she is looking hard at her babies!

I'm wondering if I can tell how many babies there are, just from where she's looking in the nest. I'm gonna guess there's at least four in there. Maybe five.

Okay! Let's sit!

Everybody okay down there?

Yep!

So that's super exciting!!

But there's work to be done. Today I've brought seeds...

I've hand forked the Tofu Patch to kill the weeds and re-sowed the Soybeans. I didn't find a single soybean growing here! I'm not sure what's wrong, but hopefully this second round of seeds will do something.

And I'm going to experiment with a summer cover crop to maybe help keep the weeds down. I had bought some Buckwheat seeds ages ago... But when I got it, I realized it was a summer cover crop, would not survive a cold night, and I actually wanted a winter cover crop. Haha, silly me... you should do the research before you buy!!

So anyway. The seeds are old, but we'll see what happens. The internets told me Buckwheat should be soaked for 20mins before planting... so I threw a handful of seeds in a ziplock bag with some water, right before I left the house.

I put them in the ground here, between the Snap Pea Patch and the Squash Square at the back.

I'm starting small, just to see what happens. But supposedly, Buckwheat grows very quickly. So I can plant it basically any time during the summer, and it'll take just 6 or 7 weeks to get to flowering!

Okay! There's still lots of grass to hoe before June20. But I'm not hoeing today, to give my muscles a chance to catch up with the heavy work I did yesterday.

Couple more Sugar Snap Peas on the way. *laughs* I try to get artsy!

And the Strawberries.

I head out, but these pink Lupines catch my eye!

Mama's still on nesting duty.

So Sweet!

As I'm loading up my backpack this morning in the porch room, I notice how cute the little Pansies are!

And then I'm out the door. Some ducklings, and the creek water is gross. It gets like that sometimes, I don't know what gets dumped but it should be illegal!

And Papa is sitting at the nest today.

And I'm at the garden! I've brought a big Spaghetti Squash start in the backpack today!

I plant it in the front Garden Square, next to the trellis for the Lemon Cucumbers.

And then I get to work! Hoeing more grass down the middle pathway. And then I fork and weed for the big trellis. I keep going with the hard work for just over an hour, and then I water.

The baby Lemon Cucs had gotten sunburned when I planted them, but they are putting on new leaves and growing happily now that they aren't harassed by the slugs!

There's some Amaranth coming up on the left side of that pic. It's a weedy plant at the Community Garden and the birds will be happy with the seeds, so I don't mind about that growing. And Borage on the right... it's flowers brings in the bees and other pollinators, so it's very welcome!

Aww! This one landed right next to me as I was admiring the Lemon Cucs! A new damselfly, I will have to look him up!

And I discover he's a newborn Tule Bluet! His colours will darken to sky blue as the blood flows! How cool is that!

Behind the Lemon Cucumbers is the poor Eggplant. Just a single leaf survived the slugs...

But there's new growth at the base! I think it's decided to live!

That's exciting. I've never been able to keep an Eggplant alive!

And blooms on the Old German tomato plant!

Yay Garden!

But this evening, my back is pretty sore from the hoeing. I think hoeing every other day is a good idea... I just hope I can keep it up! There's still lots to go!

Here's Mama Barn Swallow at the nest full of babies, born on Saturday!

She makes sure I'm being good...

But she is checking on all the babies!

And then she flies off for more food! Hungry Babies!

Dang, but I wish I could see them or even hear them. But nope. I must be patient! They will grow!

I arrive at the garden. There's a cute lil Seven Spot Ladybug walking on one of the small Lemon Cucumber plants... Eat all the bugs you find, please!! :)

Today I am cutting some Elephant Garlic Scapes to eat! The first garden harvest of the year!!

You cut them a few inches above the top leaf. And then you can chop them up and use them like onions. You can even eat the flower bud! They are very very mild, just a hint of garlicy flavor.

I only cut the small ones, like five or six. I want the big ones to flower and seed and make the pollinators happy!

I've brought the last four Lemon Cucumber starts and planted them under the small trellis in the front garden square. There's 10 plants here now! (and a couple that are technically still green, but too slug munched to live.)

The Spaghetti Squash I planted yesterday is looking good. And you can't quite see them but the plants on the left, just under the hose are the 2nd SunGold and the precious Brandywine.

I forked and weeded another row at the future Wax Bean patch... and I moved stuff around and dragged the big trellis to it's permanent spot! Yay! There's plenty of forked ground for it!

I stomped it down and made sure it was stable. And I will bring the Wax Beans to plant tomorrow!!!

Oh! Papa is at the nest!

He is making sure the babies are okay, as well!

So thrilled I got to see both parents today! and So glad I can still tell them apart, from where they stand on the nest!

And I get home, and I'm finally able to get a pic of this kitty...

A stray, she's been hanging around the apartments for the last few weeks.

She Refuses to look up into my face, always staring at my feet. She comes close, especially if I turn my back. But doesn't trust enough for pets.

But isn't she so beautiful!

This is Sweet Amber, a common landscaping plant here, a low, spreading shrub, just 2feet tall. It's not native, but pretty -- I think the blooms look like little fireworks!

I get to the Barn Swallow nest, and Mama swoops in and dang it, I am NOT ready!

And then she flew away, and the babies disappeared into the nest again. Foo.

But that's at least three babies, in the top photo, and I'm positive there's more in there!

I get to the garden...

I turn it over, and it's not quite ripe. But it hasn't been munched by the slugs, either. So I ate it! Yum!

Okay! Garden work!

I planted the Wax Beans!! I have been forking and weeding this spot in front of the Squash Square for ages!

I've got several seed packets, so I planted the ones I just bought on the outside of the trellis. Sunshine Wax Beans. And then on the inside I planted last year's dwarf wax beans, mixed with 2022 wax beans.

I'm so happy the beans are finally in the ground. It's late in the season for this, but it couldn't be helped with the Non-Compliance thing I have to deal with. And maybe the slugs won't bother the seedlings so much, now that summer is drying things out? I can hope! ha.

I'm hoeing some more down the middle pathway. It's hard work and slow going, but I think I am mostly on track to be Compliant by the June20 deadline.

I've also forked and weeded a bit more of the front Garden Square.

I ate a couple of Sugar Snap Peas today!

And then I tried to get artsy!

The volunteer Sunflower patch...

These don't seem like typical sunflowers... I wonder what kinds of blooms I will end up with!

Heading home. and a typical Chickadee! *laughs*

They have been working, in bits and pieces, on the bike path for months...

It's been pretty ridiculous... they'd set out construction signs, and just leave them up even tho they would show up about once a month to do work.

Those damn pylons -- I guess they are called Delineator Posts -- became toys for the homeless people. They would be pushed over, moved around... broken apart, torn apart, and then thrown in the creek.

And does the city fish them out of the creek? No, of course not. Even tho the base of the posts are made from recycled tires, and it's proven that the toxic chemicals coming off tires kill fish!

ARG!

So anyway. Now we have some concrete platforms for the lamp posts that will be going up here. Great, huh?

*laughs* I crack myself up!

That's the Sunflower sticking out of the backpack, and I've also got a Yellow Zucchini in there as well!

Oh look! Papa is at the nest today! And one baby is making an appearance!

*laughs* I wonder what set her off?

Papa is not sure either. Get back down there, kid!

I get to the garden, and I've startled a squirrel out of one of the front plots. She stares me down from the fence!

Since the backpack was full, I carried the water bottle in this cute little satchel that came from Partner's Mom's estate.

Before I get to work, I notice a meeting is happening.

I'm sure they have important things to talk about!

I am breaking my rule of hoeing every other day, because I'm feeling strong and tough today!

Here's the Before pic:

And here's the After, where I've hoed a bit of that square just above the stake in the middle:

Ha, I wish the pic could be more dramatic to present. Maybe I should photoshop it with neon colours or something.

I planted the sunflower in between the Snap Pea Patch and the Squash Square, at the edge of the little Buckwheat section.

And Look! Some of the Spaghetti Squash seeds are coming up!!

Yay! Planting seeds in the garden is pretty iffy, so I'm thrilled that we've got some life here!

I planted the Yellow Zuc next to the other Zucs at the front of the Tofu Patch. Poor thing... I bent one stem accidentally in transport, and then the stupid Climate Change wind bent a second stem.

I ate another Sugar Snap Pea!

This thing is growing at the base of the transplanted Snap Peas...

I did have the Sweet Potatoes here, last year. But these leaves are more delicate than Sweet Potatoes. More likely, it's a Morning Glory... the leaves are much bigger than the standard Bindweed we have around here. So I'm going to keep it and see what colour the flowers are!

I had a wander around the Comm Garden... This is a new art installation in the back corner. It's a bird bath!

I suppose the nearby plot neighbors are keeping the flowers watered and changing out the water in the bird baths! That's nice, and it's really a lovely spot!

Cabbage White. A very important player in the ecosystem... I have seen so many of these caterpillars in the beaks of Bluebirds, to be fed to their babies!

I am almost all the way home when I notice a couple of Barn Swallow fledglings up on the power lines!!

I'm too far away, and can't get a good angle, so that's a bummer. But there are three fledglings altogether, and they are watching their parents fly around! Super cute!

Those Barn Swallow fledglings near my home are still here this morning!

Three kids, and as I mentioned yesterday, I'm too far away and can't get a good angle, so the pics are terrible. But they are still fun to watch!

Here's one of the parents!

Parent flies away, and hungry baby tries to get attention... Wait! Wait! Don't forget to feed me! *laughs*... and incidentally getting some flying practice in, as well! :)

And wow, you can def tell the difference between parent and child in their tail feathers! The adult has the beautiful long forked tail and the kids just have stubby tails!

Yay! Older ducklings!

A beautiful day... last weekend's overly warm mid-80s have cooled to a lovely 72° day, today! (22°C)

Yay! A dragonfly sits for me!

This is a Pacific Clubtail. I've been seeing dragonflies now and then, especially walking home when it's a little bit warmer... the big Black Saddlebag Skimmers mostly. But they are always flying above the bike path, busy hunting.

And at the Barn Swallow nest? Just a couple of baby beaks poking up!

I finally get to the garden... I take one look at it and immediately my back starts spasming!

Oh gah! Hoeing two days in a row was a major mistake!

Up until this point my back had been sore but in a building muscle way, not in a over did it way.

So this is concerning. I will take it easy today and then figure out what I can do tomorrow. Because there is still a lot of hoeing left to do before the June20 deadline!

Okay. Well. I brought the Black Tomato to put in the ground today...

I decided to put it with the SunGold and the Old German, on the right side of the plot...

Behind these tomato plants is the newly set up big trellis which will support some Wax Beans. And behind that is the Squash Square...

Here's one of the Butternut plants, with baby Spaghetti Squashes coming up all around it!

And on the other side of the plot... Aw, the poor Yellow Zuc that I planted yesterday. Wind damage. The other two adult leaves look perky, tho. Maybe it will live?

And here's looking down the small trellis at the growing Lemon Cucumbers!

That bigger plant at the top, there, is a Spaghetti Squash!

Heading home. And just some baby beaks again...

You hear somebody coming?

Oh! It's Mama!

Hungry, hungry babies!

Hmm. Maybe just three babies? I thought for sure there were four or five in there.

Oh! Look again! There's a fourth beak in there, under the middle child! Ha!

Mama flies away to get more food... the babies are so hungry!

But the babies quickly calm down and go back to napping. Growing up is hard work!

We had about 20mins of rain around 5:30 this morning! (And some sprinkles after that, unless that was just the wind rustling the leaves to sound like sprinkles!) But, Wow! It is really unusual for us to get rain after about May, so this weather this year is so crazy!

Forecast says 60% rain until 11am so I'm loading up the rain jacket in the backpack! Crazy! The clouds are moving around and its a lovely 55° when I leave the house!! (13°C)

Oh! The new stray kitty lets me get a decent portrait of her! But still, not quite looking up into my face.

She is so beautiful! She lets me crouch down, but avoids my outstretched hand. No pets yet.

The Climate Change Wind today is VERY gusty.. The weather page said 12mph, but seems like more. (heh! Not that I know a thing about it! The every day wind is new here, so I have zero experience with guesstimating the speed of the wind!)

The Cherries are ripening!

Here's a female Common Whitetail Skimmer!

There are a bunch of homeless people under the Barn Swallows bridge. So I don't stop to take photos of the nest.

And at the garden... my back muscles feel strong again today, so I'm going to JAM with the hoe! Here is the BEFORE photo.

And here is the AFTER, where I've hoed the rectangle to the left of the stake:

I also stabbed and hoed this area behind the front Garden Square:

Oh yeah! Gettin' It Done!

*laughs*

I don't have to water much because of the bit of rain we got this morning, and so I enjoy the garden for a few...

The Primary SunGold is doing things!

The blooms on the Old German tomato look quite a bit different!

This is the Crookneck in the Squash Square...

Yellow leaves like that mean I'm over watering the thing. Unfortunately, the extra water is necessary for the squash seedlings coming up all around it!

A couple of the transplanted Sugar Snap Peas are dying already. They've hardly even grown. Did I get too close to the roots with my weeding? I didn't think so, at the time. But I'm not sure what else would make them die.

That's okay... the Sugar Snap Peas that I planted from seed are doing really well! The first bloom on them!

Okay. I'm out!

There are still a couple of homeless people at the Barn Swallow bridge, but they are sleeping at the other end. I don't want to disturb them, so I only take a couple pics.

There's just one baby beak, poked up over the edge of the nest.

The Poison Hemlock looks pretty with the sky.

And further on... WOW! The Colour!

The dark red is a Cherry Tree and I think the white is a cultivated Ocean Spray!

It's cloudy this morning and just the slightest chance of rain, so I stuff the rain jacket into the backpack. Taking it is a pain, and if I actually have to put it on to protect the camera, well, that would be annoying too... It's a nice day -- 55° when I leave the house -- but the rain jacket would turn into sauna!

Barn Swallow babies!

Their eyes look like they are getting more open!

The slightest sound sets them off, asking for food!

My back muscles were giving me some twinges from yesterday's hard work. So I'm taking it easy again today, just hand weeding a little section at the front.

There is still significant areas of grass, and I'm starting to wonder if I'll be able to finish hoeing it all by the deadline on June20. We're getting down to the wire! And in the meantime, this Comfrey that I want to kill is getting bigger by the day:

Oh my gosh! This must be the Buckwheat! I planted it last Sunday, and it's already coming up!

Awesome... The Buckwheat seeds were old and I wasn't sure I'd get anything! And there are four seedlings that have popped up so far!

There's no one else at the Community Garden right now, so I have a wander...

I love all the colours of the Bachelor Buttons...

(haha, I couldn't decide which Honey Bee photo I liked better!)

These Dahlia's are in my left-side neighbor's plot, and I just love the pop of colour!

*laughs* I try to get artsy!

Okay. I know, I obsess! Moving on!

A couple young Nutrias, just outside the Community Garden. All but one ran away!

Oh! Oh-oh-oh!!! Is that a 5th baby beak over there on the side??!

I think it is!! Confirmation of Five Barn Swallow Babies!!!

Yay!

And then I came across the Mama duck with the droopy wing... and it's worse. Ugh. It must be so painful, she can't lift up her arm enough and her wing is dragging on the ground.

She's still got her two kids with her... and it's good that she knows that her efforts to protect her children were successful. But, ugh, her poor wing.

Sighs. I love Nature's abundance, but I hate the abundance of pain and suffering, too. Sighs.

Its almost chilly this morning, with the bit of climate change wind. And the forecast says Zero% chance of rain, but I think I heard it sprinkling this morning before I got up, so I decided to take the rain jacket once more!

There's hot weather on the way -- mid and upper 80s starting on Wednesday -- so I enjoy the coolness to the fullest!

Oh the scraggly cuteness!!

Okay! I'm at the garden, and I need to do some serious hoeing today, despite the couple of twinges coming from my back muscles.

I've decided to hoe all down the right side of the plot, the Pissant Pot People side. I had already ripped this grass out, by hand, right after I got the Non-Compliance notice, but... it's grown back... as grass is wont to do!

Before:

And After:

That stupid board is actually on the other side of the border, but I weeded under it anyway because I need the front of my plot to look way above average!

(And don't get me started about jerks who refuse to control the weeds on their own borders! I've been picking up the slack for that type of neighbor the entire time I've been at the Community Garden!)

AND THEN... I hoed all down the right side, all the way to the back, AND around the corner along the back of the plot. (Again, weeding well into the neighboring plot)...

The bit of green in the pathway, is grass that has been hoed and is laying there, on the surface dying... It'll fade to tan in a day, but I realize that I probably should be done with the hoeing the day before the deadline because of this! So there isn't anything green left in the pathways on the day of inspection!

This is the last section of grass in the pathway that needs to be removed...

This will probably be the toughest bit to do... because I have never bothered to hack at this area around the taps, so this grass is very well established. The ground is almost solid grass roots, and I won't be able to Just hoe it. I'll have to break up the top with the hand fork.

I hope me and my back survive!

I take a bit of Joy from the garden, before I go.

The Barn Swallow babies have re-arranged themselves, and all five are visible... Or... heh, I assume there's not actually six in there! *laughs*

Oh my gosh! Mama swoops in! But she's so fast, and unexpected, I don't get a single pic of her! haha!

And back to napping...

Except one or another keeps thinking they hear a parent coming, so they look up to see...

Too Cute!

Hawthorn pomes starting to grow.

Chilly days and it was another night when it got so cold that I had to close the windows! Ha! It makes me laugh that it's June and I'm still using my quilts on my bed!!

But I think it's going to be summer now... Forecast says 74° today (23°C) and mid-80s thru Saturday!

I walk past a Little Free Library, and notice a book I want!

*laughs* I reluctantly push it back in. Hopefully the book will make some kid happy. But, oh, Squirrels? And beautiful Art? (Yeah, I really wish I had nabbed it!)

And where's Number Five?

Okay. Here I am at the garden plot, and I'm taking a break from the hoeing to give my poor back a rest.

I'm going to kill some Comfrey today! It's gotten as big as the Zucchini plant!!

I dig as deep as I can and get some good roots out...

That one is a good inch in diameter! But you can see where most of the roots broke off! Ha. I wonder how many years I'll be battling this thing, before I kill it off for good?! Or maybe I won't ever kill it! :)

I've got some time left, so I decide to fork and weed more of the front Garden Square. I'm thinking about putting in another section of Buckwheat here, just to have some more green, living alive stuff... All the dead dirt they are requiring of me for the Community Garden Rules, is depressing.

But look, I've dug up something weird, plus a sleeping slug...

Oh my gosh! It's the Sunchoke roots that I buried last autumn...

Apparently it was pure slug food! I guess that's why it never came up this spring!

Back at the Barn Swallows bridge... Okay, good! We've got all five showing their faces again!

The kid on the end must be hungry! And apparently thinks I'm going to feed her. *laughs* It doesn't hurt to ask, I guess! Bahaha!

Their sweet sleepy faces.

Oregon Grapes, in the process of ripening.

Back at home, the Pansies continue to grow.

I'm happily surprised that they are doing okay with the limited amount of sunlight here in the porch room! Usually seedlings that I grow here get tall and lanky with the lack of light.

One of my favorite YouTubers is a new Childrens Book author! And I'm so thrilled that he's reading it and showing the art in a video...

∞ The Pengrooms, Read Aloud by Paul Castle

This is just SO Sweet! And Lovely drawings!

OH! And his partner Matthew is playing violin in the background?! So Awesome!!

I just love it! And there's Unicorns!!!

Point of Interest: Paul is blind.

I don't know what these yellow flowers are, in with the Poison Hemlock. They are probably invasive too, but pretty!

Sleepy babies.

Dear Sweet Seven Spot, could you do me a favor? Could you eat whoever is munching holes in the leaves of the Sunflower that I bought and paid for? Thanks!

Okay! Here is the last section of grass that I need to hoe before the deadline, tomorrow!

I was going to jump right into hoeing... but ugh I feel weak today even tho I slept well and the back doesn't hurt much.

I hand weed some, in the path and around the sunflower patch. It's is slower, but more satisfying because I'm able to pull up long grass roots! I have to stab most of the area with the hand fork and then hoeing is easier.

I get it done...

phew. And ya know... you'd think I'd be proud, getting all that work done? But, no. Definitely not proud... I worked hard, but this was to someone else's expectations.

But the garden plot is up to code, now, and in compliance with the Community Garden rules. And I just feel relieved.

The Sugar Snap Peas that I planted as seeds are coming right along! And I've been eating a couple Snap Pea pods every day this week, from the plants that I transplanted!

OH! Finally! Some Soybeans are coming up!

huh. I don't remember that the soybeans came up all shiny like that. weird.

And in the Squash Square... Spaghetti Squash seedlings Galore!

Heading home... Aw! Happy to see an older duckling. Look at her little leg splayed out behind her!

The sun is hot, Mama!

haha, she doesn't quite fit into Mama's shadow!

A bit more awake, this time!

But is Number Five going to show her face today?

Oh! Hey! Mama swoops in!

Aw, the looks of disappointment.

Just be patient little ones!

Oh, wow. Mama must have found a pile of bugs to feed, very close by!

(and yeah, I was fiddling with the exposure. sheesh!)

No, sorry! I've got nothing for you!

My gosh they are just so cute!

Oh hey! Here's all five babies, finally!!

So demanding!

Good Morning Little Ones!

Is Number Five going to make an appearance today?

Uuuh, gotta itch!

The fluff coming up, off their heads is so cute!

I'm at the garden, but I'm just going to water today. I've done the work they required, I've been working hard for weeks. And today is my break!

Oh, this thing, growing under the first set of Sugar Snap Peas! The leaves look a bit like a Morning Glory, and it's definitely not our regular Bindweed...

Turns out it's Black Bindweed. Invasive from Europe and Asia, flowers are small and inconspicuous, spreads by seed not roots.

Okay... Keeping it for now to see what happens! But maybe I will pull it up before it makes seeds!

Yay! A couple Wax Beans have sprouted!

The Eggplant almost looks like a healthy plant now!

It had been munched almost to death by the slugs... you can still see the leaf-less stems, and partial leaves! But it's definitely recovered! Yay, my first Eggplant plant in the garden!

Aubergine! A fun word to say! :)

The Lemon Cucumbers are happily growing.

The other green in there is mostly Borage, a wildflower I love that makes the bees happy!

A couple of the Giant Marigolds are making a top-heavy come-back from the slug damage!

Okay! On with my walk! Here's the Flicker Hole... mostly covered with leaves now. It's too bad I didn't get to see any babies born here, due to the crazy weather we've had.

Minnows! And their cute little shadows!

These two are a little too far away... a Goldfinch and an Anna Hummingbird... how companionable!

Oh No! The Fallen Leaning Tree doesn't have any leaves!

Little clumps of leaves are all that it's managed to grow. It must definitely be separated from it's roots.

Sighs....

The fine print says We are trying to rehabilitate it. But no, I don't think it's possible. It's nice that they left it to try, tho!

I stop to drink my water under a shade tree!

Sighs. Poor Girl. Her two kids are nearby, they are getting towards grown up.

Barn Swallow babies are re-arranged and so sleepy!

Oh! Mama makes a surprise appearance! Nobody heard her coming!!

A couple wake up, and a couple continue to sleep!

Nope, sorry! Just checking on you all!

Awwww, Mooooom!

Random shoulders everywhere!

Oh, wait. I guess that part of their wing is actually their wrists, huh?

Random Wrists Everywhere!

*laughs*

Good Morning Little Ones! Well! This is a different configuration, today!

I realized, later, the babies are probably trying to escape each other's heat! The high today is 90° (32°C) and it's already overly warm this morning... and probably even warmer up there under the bridge. I'm not sure they even get any of the breeze!

Oh we got another itch?

Here's Mama!

But she's just here to check on the babies.

And the little one goes back to preening...

*gasps* Little red dot... Is that your Belly Button???!

*Laughs* I'm not sure. And then I had to go look up to see if birds even have belly buttons!

They do!

∞ Audubon Question: Do Birds Have Belly Buttons?

Inside the egg, the yolk sac is separate from the embryo. And, yep, there's an umbilical cord connecting them, in the same way that an umbilical cord connects mammal embryos with the placenta.

So, yeah, birds do have belly buttons! That's fun to learn!

Okay! I'm at the garden and Look! Yesterday there was basically nothing, and today we've got some 1 inch tall Wax Bean plant babies!

Ha! Amazing! They grow so fast!

On the other hand, it makes me despair about the stupid Soybeans. I replanted the Soybeans on Jun9, and there are a couple coming up. But nowhere near the 30+ plants I had last year. Maybe I should replant them a third time?

Everything else is happily growing...

The Squash Square:

The Lemon Cucumbers:

The Zucchinis. This is the biggest one:

Yep, it's got a fruit growing on it!

I've also got two Yellow Zucchinis, the Crookneck, and today I'm planting the last of the plants that have been hanging out in the porch room... A Yellow Patty Pan that I'm adding to the Squash Square! It's getting a little crowded with all the Spaghetti Squash seedlings coming up! HA!

Okay! Heading back home, and there's craziness at the Barn Swallow nest!!

I can't figure out what's going on... The parents are YELLING, just outside the bridge. The babies are hunkered down, instead of spread out like they were earlier...

I keep looking around, trying to figure out what's going on. The parents keep yelling and flying around! And finally, I see this one...

I don't recognize this bird, and I've never met them before.

But she's a Brown Head Cowbird!

Cowbirds are brood parasites and that's why the parents are so upset! Brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.

She's too late for this nest, of course. But, now she knows there's a Barn Swallow nest here! She might just come back next year to lay an egg.

Brood parasites are really interesting and extremely smart. They have to be able to... be sneaky and undetected near the nests of multiple species of other birds, lay all their eggs in different nests, as well as remembering all the best parents thru the years! They really are quite incredible!

I learned a lot about brood parasites around the world while reading The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think by Jennifer Ackerman. It's a great book about how amazing birds are! Highly recommended!!

The babies are clueless about all the chaos going on just meters away! *laughs* But they have excellent parents taking care of them! They don't need to worry!

I keep going and... oh, I think this is Henrietta!! Dang it, I can't get a decent angle. But I'm pretty sure it's him.

So nice to see him again, it's been ages.

*Laughs* Everybody needs to preen, these days!

Good Morning Mr Squirrel!

Oh my gosh, look at his little thumb nubbins! It's hard to see, but he is holding a bit of hazelnut shell between his thumbs, as well as the rest of the nut in his fingers.

Thumb Nubbins! Too Cute!

Good Morning Babies!

Maybe today we will see Number Five?

But then a parent starts yelling, just outside! The babies hunker down again!

Is the Cowbird making another visit? I walk out and...

Oh great. The camera is having one of those non-focusing days. That's just great.

But that's a crow, and the Barn Swallow parent was diving bombing her. Much further away than the Cowbird yesterday, but the Barn Swallow parents are more sensitive about potential dangers now!

I get to the garden and...

Who needs the correct focus anyway??! :Pbbbbttt

*laughs*

Okay! Tofu Patch Assessment at the garden plot today!

Here I am, at the back of the plot, near the faucet, looking down the west side of the garden plot... The Tofu Patch.

On the left, is my non-grassy pathway, on the right is the good neighbor Mia's Kids, and at the top the sticks are delineating the Supplementary Squash Square.

Goal is to clear the weeds out of the Tofu Patch and free up any soybean seedlings growing here. The Leeks are also in that bottom left corner, they will probably appreciate some space too!

Here is the AFTER pic:

arg. There are maybe 10 or 12 Soybeans that have popped up. Dang it. I didn't have any trouble with the soybeans growing last year. It may have been too cold for the first round of Soybean seeds, but the second round should have done more. Maybe they don't like the dirt over on this side?

I don't know, but it's a bummer. I will bring the Soybean seeds again tomorrow and re-plant a third time.

I did leave a few wildflowers... There's a volunteer Sunflower growing in the middle of the Tofu Patch. And I left a little patch of Borage over there on the left. Gotta keep the bees happy!

Smartweed was making a mat around the Leeks, and they should be happy now that they are not being suffocated. But I also found two volunteer Beets! Haha!

They are a little bit close to each other, but hopefully they will get along!

And I'm thrilled to see more happy Wax Beans popping up!

Okay. Good Work today! Yay Me!

Heading home. Hey, Hey! We've finally got a count of Five again!

That's three beaks on the left, a head and eye, and then a whole face on the right! Five!

Hi Mama! Oh, you're missing some fur on your jaw? I hope you're okay!

The weather today does NOT look like summer at all!

It was 57° when I left the house! So nice! But the clouds will clear and we've got a high of 76° today. That temperature is right on normal for this time of year, but the clouds are definitely not normal!

Well! It's nice to see all five faces, first thing!

*laughs* They're so squished in, the one must have had trouble stretching their wing! Their wrist is up over their head and that's flight feathers in front of the baby on the right! Awkward! hahah!

At the garden, the plot on the end of my row has these beautiful Hollyhocks!

They are well over my head!

Here I am an our garden plot. Looking at the plot from the front right... the Pissant Pot People side. That's the Lemon Cucumbers, front and center, with a lot of Borage and the Elephant Garlics behind!

and from the front left... Mia's Kids side.

The big Green Zucchini is thinking about doing great things!

And lots of blooms on the Sugar Snap Peas that I planted from seed! I've still been eating about one pod every day from the transplants!

Buckwheat seedlings!

But the stupid Soybeans...

I've brought the bag of seeds, and I'm replanting the Tofu Patch for the third time today. Sheesh. I don't know what's wrong here, but only about 10 or so soybeans came up from the second replanting.

Maybe third time's the charm?

Four of the six Giant Marigolds have survived the slugs, and they are gearing up to be pretty!

The couple of Giant Marigolds at the edge of the Tofu Patch are in serious need of support tho... they are top heavy and are flopping all over the place in the Climate Change Wind.

The volunteer Love in a Mist is flopping too.

Okay! I've watered the newly planted Soybean seeds and I'm heading out.

We're down to four faces at the Barn Swallow nest again. But at least we can hold our wings properly!

Oh! Is a parent on their way?

No? False alarm? *laughs*

The Himalayan Blackberries are doing their thing. Invasive but will be very tasty!

At the garden, I'm forking and weeding some more of the back of the front Garden Square.

I thought I was going to plant some Buckwheat here, as a summer cover crop. But I don't know. I'm dragging the hose thru here to get to the Eggplant and the Black Tomato. So maybe I'll just let that idea go.

The Spaghetti Squash in the front, that started as a transplant is already making things happen!

And the Eggplant is looking great!

Lemon Cucumbers are growing.

Yay! The first fruit is growing on the Old German Tomato!!

Old German is a new one for me, altho last year I had a Striped German which I assume is similar... but I learned with that one that I need to pick orange tomatoes WELL before they get dark orange! haha! I was letting the tomatoes sit far too long on the vine, waiting for more of the stripes! Don't do that!

The Buckwheats are getting their first adult leaves!

They are growing fast. That makes me happy, even tho not many of them came up in the little space I planted. The seeds were old and I didn't expect much.

I am still eating one Sugar Snap Pea pod everyday, for weeks now. *laughs* at least it's consistent!

A Seven Spot Ladybug on a volunteer Amaranth.

I rather like the Amaranth. Like Borage, it's easy to pull up in the places I don't want it. And also like Borage, Amaranth will make a variety of pollinators happy. And then the birds will eat the seeds, tho they leave lots to reseed for next year!

Barn Swallow babies... Oh! Our little toes!!

And Number Five? Yeah, you can almost see them over there on the left!

There's a city worker at the Barn Swallow bridge, painting over graffiti (sighs!) when I stop to check out the nest today. The babies are growing up and our time together is growing short! So I've got to savor every moment!

heh... is that a tail? You are facing the wrong way for food, little one!

See what I mean?! *laughs*

Aw! All five faces!

Number Five is squirming around and sticks their tail out again!

Dang, they are so cute.

Okay. Heading to the garden!

I've hand weeded a bit around the Lemon Cucumbers, and in the Sugar Snap Pea patch. Ugh, there's some crabgrass growing here and it's really hard to get out.

And then I water the heck out of everything since it's another hot day here.

The plot behind ours grows Opium Poppies every year!

Usually they are full of Honey Bees, but I hardly see even one today. That's concerning.

Plus the Climate Change Wind is blowing and frustrating me a bit.

The different colours delight me!

But the dark purple is my favorite!

I've also finally put some supports around the Giant Marigolds at the edge of the Tofu Patch. They were flopping all over in the stupid wind, so hopefully they will be happier in a tomato cage!

After yesterday's hot weather -- 89°! -- we've got another lovely, cloudy day! Normal for this time of year is 78°... I guess you could get close if you averaged yesterday and today, because today is just 71°!!

So I head out the door, aiming to very much enjoy the day!

Okay. I'm at the garden. I've hoed down the right side and now I'm going to murder some of the Small Comfrey.

Unfortunately, the biggest leaves, there at the bottom, are right where the Crocus lives. So every time I dig there, the Crocus bulbs roll around all over the place.

I hope they survive!

Here's the view looking down the right side of the garden plot. The Lemon Cucumbers are in the front. Well, along with a lot of Borage! I love Borage!

And then the three tomato plants: the primary SunGold on the left, Old German at the top, and the small one at the right is the last planted Black Tomato!

The Old German is bringing on some fruits!

I at THREE Sugar Snap Pea pods today, instead of the usual one! *laughs* Hopefully there will be a pea pod explosion soon.

I wander over to a neighboring plot, because I've noticed they have some Chicory blooming!

And some Larkspur too!

And then as I'm leaving the Community Garden... Oh my gosh! Someone has Passion Fruit!

That's fun! It'll be interesting to watch this plant to see what happens! Right now it's a good size bush, 5feet tall.

Oh good! I get to see all five Barn Swallow babies before they go! I feel like they are going to fledge this week. They are so round!

A parent flies by.

But no food this time.

The disgruntled looks! haha!

Fledgling!! You can tell by the bit of gape left at the corners of her mouth.

A the new Heron who is hanging out here!

I move around to see if I can get a look at their nonexistent shoulder patch... and this Nutria starts swimming right at the Heron!

Nutrias just eat grass and plants, you know? They are not ferocious predators! But sometimes they get overly excited about their territory! Our new Heron friend just walks away.

It's another nice, cool and cloudy day today! But as I'm taking pics of the lovely clouds...

There's something flashing on the screen of the camera.

It's the battery light! GAH! Power!

There's usually a couple minutes of power left when the battery light starts flashing... But oh my gosh, I don't want to miss something awesome that happens further down the path just because I was taking too many photos of clouds! Dang it! I hope the Barn Swallow babies aren't fledging out today!

So I need to restrict myself on how many pics I take at a time.

Leaving the camera on, heats it up and reduces the time I have. Maybe less of an issue this morning, since it was just 60° when I left the house.

But every time I do turn the camera on, the barrel with the lens extends out, and as a physical motion I assume that takes quite a bit of power.

So! No more futzing around with cloud photos! *laughs*

I worry about it all the way to the Barn Swallow nest. But here they all are! Still sitting in the nest! Phew!

Number Five? Hello? Where's your face? *laughs*

I walk down the path, but of course I keep coming across awesome things!

This Flicker pair are just a little ways from the nest hole in the tree I watched this spring. They must be the parents... I hope they have a successful nest this year!

At the next bridge, there's Barn Swallows flying all over the place? Oh my gosh, the babies here must be fledging!

I had wondered if this pair of parents had come back as well... but this is the nest they were using...

Yeah, can't even be seen behind all the cobwebs! So i haven't bothered visiting it.

But I think there's at least one child still in there?

With everybody flying around randomly I can't even estimate how many kids there are! And plus, they are trying to get back into the nest... but getting into that corner takes more deft flying than the kids have got right now!

But one child has managed to land on the other nest that is there!

And then another child tries to land there as well!

It's so awkward!

But eventually they get settled!

And I move on with my walk!

I did not take pics of the Fallen Leaning Tree or the wonderful flowers in a downtown yard... there was lavender with yellow flowers and orange day lilies in the background. And it probably would have been an amazing photo filled with colour!

But I couldn't! It takes me a while to get a decent angle with that many flowers... I know how I am! I would get sucked into that and then I'd have no battery power left for the walk home!

*laughs*

I stop at the garden to water the stupid Soybeans. But Look! Brandywine!

Heading back home. And the camera is still alive so I take a few pics of the Barn Swallow nestlings...

Because they are just so darn cute.

Thank you for not fledging today!!

And... One more bird on the way home? Yep! The camera lets me do my thing for one more photo set!

And then I plug in the camera battery as soon as I walk in the door, when I get home! *laughs*

Knotty? Is that you? Have you met that new Heron without any shoulder patches?

The Barn Swallow babies are fledging today! There's three in the nest...

And two outside...

Don't you all want to fly?

You're thinking about it? heh!

Aw! We look so worried! The big world is scary, isn't it!

A parent flies by and we puff up again and feel better!

Well, I'm going to leave them to it!

And I'm heading to the next bridge, where the second family of Barn Swallows was fledging yesterday. And they are still here!

At first I just see this one... carefully watching as parents fly by...

Whoa! *trying to get her balance* Careful there!

You're just fine? Okay!

Flies to another branch.

Ooop! That twig isn't going to support you! Try again!

*laughs* She joins her siblings... Just three kids here, I guess?

Oh my gosh, they are cute!

*laughs* and I love how they track their parents flying by!

But they've noticed me as well!

I could watch Barn Swallow fledglings all day, but I've got stuff to do! I head back to the garden to water.

The Squash Square could use some weeding. And the Crookneck still has yellow leaves from over watering... But I've had to keep the seedlings damp, so it can't be helped.

And there's one little Lemon Cucumber plant that is stunted and doesn't want to grow.

And the Buckwheat is Supposed to crowd out the competing weeds... but it looks like I'll have to pull out the Crabgrass and Amaranth that's growing here.

But look! The Spaghetti Squash is doing things!

Grow! Grow! Grow!

Yep, I watched it.

Well. When I say I watched it, what I mean is I clicked on the stream seven or eight times, watched for a minute, and then stopped it to scream for a little while!

*laughs*

So! what I was expecting: Trump would lie for a while like the lying pos he is, hopefully his dementia would show a bit, and then he would stomp off the stage in a huff, well before the debate was supposed to end. President Biden would be the voice of reason and everyone would live happily ever after!

Yeah. so that didn't happen, obviously.

well, Trump did lie. Bigly. Nothing new there, except he's getting more brazen about it.

But Biden? There was something wrong, and it was painful -- horrifyingly painful -- to watch him talk. His voice was gruff and he was speaking softly. But also speaking so fast... his mouth couldn't keep up with his brain and he stumbled over words a bit. I think that's normal for him, since much has been said about his stutter...

But since I don't watch politics very often, I didn't realize how very not normal this performance was for Biden. And I was just, well, shocked!

But it turns out... he had a cold. And oh my goodness, that explains everything! His weird soft and gruff voice. He probably felt like crap, especially since he had to fly into Atlanta earlier that evening. (Flying with a cold is the worst, let me tell you. Almost, I would rather die!) And he couldn't call it off or delay, even tho there wasn't an audience, because it's so important that he shows up... [tho if Trump had cancelled, that's just par for the course and what everyone expected, right?] [Double standards. You know I love them. /s]

So, like I said, I didn't actually watch very much of it. And I think I watched just as much of the pre game show as the debate... but this was so despicable I could barely leave it on...

Many people are concerned about Biden's age... The format of the debate, which the Biden administration insisted on, will help Trump... look more presidential... Donald Trump has been preparing his WHOLE LIFE !!78 years!! for THIS debate.

What? *shakes head* WTF??? It was all so stupidly pro-trump that I kind of despise CNN right now. What is wrong with them? Why the obvious bias? There were real questions they could have been asking people... Are you concerned about the retribution Trump will take, if he's elected? Have you noticed the doctors commenting online about Trump's mental decline and dementia? What do you think will happen to democracy if King Trump is elected?

See? I'm not a reporter, but there's some good questions I came up with off the top of my head and I'm already better than those effing morons at CNN! *rift is brilliant*

And in the tiny fraction of minutes that I actually saw of the debates, Biden did make me laugh once... Speaking to Trump, re: Stormy Daniels and E Jean Carroll: You have the morals of an alley cat! *laughs* Srsly.

So. For me, this was just ... a sick day for Biden that was a momentary annoying thing that no one will care about next week!

Some other reactions...

∞ Joe Biden showed up, despite being sick, and why Donald Trump sank his chances to win the election

∞ Debate Nightmare, The candidates talked about golf more than abortion

∞ Did Donald Trump Murder A Newborn Baby? Is That Why He Keeps Claiming It's Legal? At this point it's starting to seem like he's setting up a defense.

∞ A Complete List of All of Trump's Debate Lies Trump lied 50 times during the debate

∞ 2024 presidential debate fact-check: How accurate were Joe Biden, Donald Trump?

Wow. I had a lot to say about that. huh.

well. You should go look at some photos now...

We've got low 80s from here until the 4th of July and then the forecast says it's suddenly 90s and more. Ugh! I'll have to enjoy this last bit of pleasantness, while I've got it!

I visit both bridges, but both Barn Swallow families have flown away.

I watch the damselflies for a while instead.

This is a Pacific Forktail.

Okay, I've come back around to the Community Garden, and I'm going to do some weeding in the Squash Square today...

I'll keep some of the Borage, but underneath the leaves there's some evil Crabgrass. That stuff is the dickens to pull out.

Here's the AFTER pic...

I wasn't able to finish, but these guys are all We're FREE! Free like a bird! *laughs*

Here's the recovered Eggplant... now I guess we'll see if there's enough season left for it to do something!

From what I can see online, it looks like Eggplant needs 65 to 80 days after transplanting.

I'll guess Jun20 was when it really started looking good again after the slugs had munched it down to nothing. 10 weeks (70days) will put that at the end of August... So maybe I'll have some Eggplants to eat in September?

I see several Seven Spot Ladybugs on the Lemon Cucumbers! I hope they find some good eats! My Cute Little Carnivore Friend!

The first Lemon Cucumber tall enough to start climbing the trellis!!

I stop to look at the Passion Fruit flowers on my way out.

They are so weird looking!

oh my. Apparently this Stink Bug doesn't realize she is bright green... I could see her a mile away!

But then I try to get artsy with the Cow Parsnip.

And all the colours of summer!

Wow...

This was going to be a Green Heron... I've not seen any Green Herons in ages and I was excited! But nope. She flew away. *laughs*