MNCat's Blog

I am just thrilled that the garden is still colorful.  And shocked too!  I did try to plan it this year for lots of long bloom, and to keep going into August-September.  We'll see how September goes...  I have been super lazy lately with maintenance and whatnot, but it's still going strong.

Today is pesto day!  Time for harvests.  We're doing both a basil and a mint pesto this year (TONS of mint, holy moly).

I will be starting a new project @ work next week, which means I will be traveling every week.  I hope I can still maintain my garden effectively just on the weekends... I really came to enjoy being able to do a daily garden walk.  Oh well.

Oof.  I'm Minnesotan, I'm not built for this weather!  LOL.  The heat index has been consistently in the 100's here for over a week I think.  It's waaaaaay too much for me.

Normally I don't cut flowers from the garden to bring inside (I don't really have all that many of them, and generally would rather enjoy them outside).  But it's TOO HOT to sit on the patio; so I figured what the heck, the blooms will be wilty and dead by the time it's cool enough to enjoy them, so I'm bringing them inside!  :)

Hope everyone is well :)  Is it just me or does it seem a little quieter 'round here?

Hello again everyone :)

Well, my latest venture in the garden, since I've finally filled all the gaps in the flower border, has been to put out a bird feeder.  Just by itself at first, but then the squirrels got into it (despite it being a "squirrel proof" feeder... I should have known there is no such thing!).  So, I decided to put out a separate squirrel feeder filled with their favorite stuff, and it works pretty well.  Then I also put out a suet feeder.

Since then, I have seen:

doves (in a pair)
red-breasted nuthatches (a couple pairs)
sparrows
chickadees
woodpeckers (in a pair? Maybe?  One had a red bit on the head and the other didn't...)
goldfinches (a few pairs)
cardinals (in a pair)
red-tailed hawk!!!!  (pic below)
squirrels
chipmunks

The chipmunks are so cute... their big cheeks filled with seed.  Oddly, the squirrels are afraid of them!

The hawk dropped out of my crab apple tree this morning, trying to get hold of one of the many squirrels.  He was clearly a young red-tail, and I'm not sure if he was seriously looking for a meal or just playing.  He went into full stoop a few times trying to get it, but the squirrel seemed like he was almost laughing at him ;)

After that show was over I hopped outside to do some herb harvesting.  I'm drying a bunch, and planning to do some fresh herb-infused oils as gifts.

Dill, lemon thyme, french thyme, mint, spearmint

 Sweet basil, spicy globe basil, more thyme, more mint, and rosemary

My delphiniums rebloomed this year - not because I really wanted them to, but their stalks looked really ugly after they were done blooming this year so I cut them back... voila!

Amazing how much nature one little city plot can display :)

Hope everyone is having a restful and wonderful summer!

FINALLY!  Sheesh!  Almost 2 weeks they had it in the shop.  And that place was always great before... they really did a terrible job this time.

Anyhoo, hi again everyone :D  I will try to catch up with everyone's musings... and then I'll have some harvest posts to post :)

So glad to be back!  *grumbles about computer*

"The man who doesn't relax and hoot a few hoots voluntarily, now and then, is in great danger of hooting hoots and standing on his head for the edification of the pathologist and trained nurse, a little later on."  ~Elbert Hubbard

"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop."  ~Ovid

Here's this weeks bounty from the farmer's market.  If there's any room in my border next year, I'm going to have to plant some eryngium; it's so cool!

Saw this stunning creature this morning after cleaning out the pond filter (again... why the heck is it so mucky in there right now?).

I think it's either an eastern tiger or a spicebush swallowtail?  Any experts out there?

He let me take lots of pics, was too busy chowing down!

EDIT:  Now this huge beetle - no idea what it is, it was over an inch long.  Also saw a moth that hovered on flowers much like a hummer does... but couldn't get a pic.  Dernit!

 >

Gardening to the rescue :)  I did some mellow puttering out there today; weeding, a little mulching, deadheading, watering... then I sat on my butt for a couple hours.  It was heavenly.  To slow down, watch and listen to the rhythms of nature.  AND I was rewarded with goldfinches drinking and bathing in the waterfall, a monarch and a tiger swallowtail sipping from the bee balm.

Oh, and the fish still begging like puppies.  They're so cute I can't resist them!

I finally got around to dividing up some huge clumps of yellow daylilies.  I did have one taker on about half the divisions, the others, sadly, went to waste :(  I refilled the area with purple coneflower, shasta daisies, tall bellflowers, and perennial geraniums.

Also cleared out some of the sedum around the pond to reveal the flagstone around it (I almost forgot it was there!).  Now I have a nice path to easily get to the rose bushes for maintenance.  I am going to try planting some thyme between the cracks, I have always wanted to do that!

Managed to get a few butterflies in the shots today!  Or moths.  Not sure which sometimes but, they're all beautiful to me :) 

And ALL of the fish this time!  They've turned into puppies, begging for food every time they see me ;)

Grar.  What happens when I get home from work, right after telling jlwe that I hadn't had any japanese beetles in my garden?

I get japanese beetles in my garden.

RAWR!  I think at this point I've had every dang bug known to man munching in here.  GRR.

On the pleasant side today, the stargazers are blooming, and got another new daylily blooming.

From now on I am just leaving a bowl of soapy water on the patio for easy reach :P

Although I can't complain about the 4th - was supposed to rain yesterday!  I'll take it today I suppose.  ;)

Some new blooms, daylilies are taking off now.  I am seriously considering moving or giving away a bunch of them though, since I'd sort of like more screening in the back of the border.  But that would be a fairly big/expensive project right now... I really probably shouldn't... must... fight... temptation!  LOL.  

Wasn't sure if I should post this pic yet, since the stargazers are juuuust about to pop; but then I run the risk of not getting a pic of the daylilies!  Even though I know they're a super common flower, I still think they're perrty.   ;)  More in my July gallery if you like em too ;)

Hope everyone had a rockin' 4th!  Ours was GREAT, except for a blister on my thumb from lighting fireworks.  Sheesh!

Woke up to these beauties blooming in the water garden :)  Also a couple other pics of what's in bloom... so happy I get to start a new "July" gallery lol, June was getting full of the same old stuff!

...bring it in!  ;)  I finally put fish in my pond!  They've been in there a couple days now and seem quite happy and all the water chemistry seems to be pretty good.  I was worried after 2 days of storms and rain but they seem to be just fine.

And hats off to sea-life photographers... I don't know how they do it!  I have shubunkins and comets, but couldn't seem to get a pic of the shubunkins.

As promised, pics from our outing to the gardens.  I didn't know this but apparently this garden is one of the oldest in the country, and is a test garden for AARS.  So some of the pics are "test" roses, which I thought were absolutely lovely!

 The poor rose keepers though, there were a lot of Japanese Beetles in attendance!  If only I'd had my gloves with me I would have squished a bunch for them.

My favorites are the lavender roses... they smell heavenly!  Here are just a few of the pics; the full set is in my photo gallery.

Assuming it doesn't rain bucketloads on us today, I'm going to take my youngest to the Lake Harriet Rose Garden.  They also have a perennial area in back.  I will take pictures to post!

Here's the booty from my trip to the farmer's market this week.  This flower vendor has a HUGE stall filled with these flowers... oh, I would love to visit their cutting garden!!!

The view from upstairs.  Can someone please convince my husband that we really need *less* yard?!

I so wish I was in my garden right now!  It's a beautiful sunny day, and here I am in the middle of the cube farm.  Ah well!