It is remarkable how quickly the leaves have emerged this week, especially right in Vineyard Haven. It seems like it happened overnight if that is possible. Then again my sense of time has been warped by the rapid accumulation of years in my life. Something I think was a few years ago actually took place decades in the past.
At any rate, May has once again proved itself as the truly spring month. Traffic has picked up at an alarming rate. I spent over an hour at the dump on Monday waiting in the queue to get onto the scale. I confess I got all judgmental about how much trash we generate.
One really fun thing this week was my first sighting of a humming bird. It was feeding on the Virginia bluebells. Violet took a picture of the flowers but sadly could not capture the bird.
I see that the nurseries have put out their annuals. I’m a little hesitant since I still am sore about losing everything a few years ago in May. One needs to be cautious around the time of the full moon. This year it doesn’t occur until the end of the month so hopefully all will be well.
Last spring Marie discovered a British vegetable — purple sprouting broccoli. We seeded boatloads of it. It didn’t do much. It wintered over in open ground and I picked an entire colander of the small purple heads. It was great to have plenty this early in the season. My broccoli that I planted this spring (De Cicco) is all of three inches tall.
I have been busy keeping up with watering. They keep promising rain but no significant amount has fallen for weeks.
How I wish I could follow my own advice. My dahlia tubers are still languishing in bags of peat moss. They could be in the ground since it will be a few weeks before frost-sensitive greenery will emerge.
The Star Magnolia is pretty much gone. All the spent blossoms are brown and sad in the driveway. I don’t have a Magnolia Soulangeana but have noticed them everywhere in full and glorious bloom. I do have, however, a yellow one about to pop. It is definitely a favorite. My son, Jeremiah, gets me a shrub of some sort every year for Mother’s Day. He’s been doing it for years and I’m happy to say most have matured into impressive specimens.
I used to keep bees but some years ago I had them die and never did it again. That is until this week. I got a three-pound package of them and spent considerable time and effort locating all the old equipment. I never even care if I get honey. I’m just happy to have them on the property.
In the Sunday, April 25 New York Times there was an article entitled Give Vegetables the Power to Fight Pests, about applying science instead of folklore, and strategically pairing up what you plant in the garden to maximize the effectiveness of organic invader control. Color me somewhat cynical but it was very interesting. One suggestion in particular caught my attention — to limit cabbage worms, plant brassicas with sage, hyssop or chamomile. Since I have spotted several, and cabbage moths hovering around my newly planted turnips, broccoli and collards, and I inter-planted an enormous amount of baby chamomile. One can only hope. In my perfect world (in which I do not live) I would have secured row covers on all those beds.
The article also mentioned that nepeta planted with potatoes works to deter the Colorado potato beetle.
Liz Cheney did not cause the Republicans to lose all three branches of the our government in the November election. That dubious honor rests solely on DJT. Nevertheless, she is the persona non grata in the party while everyone else fights to keep his approval. She and a handful of others had the courage to tell the truth — Joe Biden won and the January 6 insurrection was instigated by Donald Trump.
Don’t get me wrong, I disagree politically with everything in the Cheney world, but I do admire her commitment to truth and our democracy.
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