Potluck Post

I spend a fair bit of time tooling around the Internet these days, posting to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I keep my hand in with little tiny posts of unrelated content and keep an eye on my family and blog buddies in a very distracted way. Not only have I gone too long between longer posts at my own blog, but I don't get around to everyone else's pages as often as I should. Lazy Bones!  The excuse is, as always, that everyday life does not always provide the kind of activities and news that fill out a single subject post. Therefore, today will be potluck post time, including a bunch of unrelated pictures!

Most of my time lately is spent out in the garden, planting, mulching and obsessively weeding. Between the cool weather and the frequent torrential (for Massachusetts) rain most things are growing slower than I would like. I am disappointed, but patient. I wish the insect I have never seen that is biting off the leaves of my beans every night would stop right now. Some plants are enjoying this weather to no end. I had an interesting fern volunteer next to my bulkhead, and a dicentra pop up at the edge of my fire pit. Money plant has sneaked in (with some poison ivy, grrr ) from my neighbor and a couple of violas hid in my grass. I picked up a wad of day lilies from the dump (planted in a segregated area in case they prove to be thugs). All have found homes in my garden. Cute volunteers are welcome because I currently have no plant budget. Two of the puny sticks I planted in my future shrub border that I thought had died turned out not to be dead after all. One dogwood looked like there was a little hope so I was just watching it.  It finally leafed out and looks to be OK. The other was a probable viburnum that I actually dug up to remove when I saw a teeny bit of growth in the roots. I put it back in the ground and it has put out a couple of leaves. No great shakes yet but there is plenty of warm weather ahead so I'll wait until next year to decide its fate. Maybe the holly seedlings I planted will recover after all.  I am currently squinting at the shrub border and imagining it as lush shrubs beautifully underplanted with a stunning mix of ground covers and flowering perennials. (lots of) Time will tell if I am able to put my plan into action. Probably I will start at one end and fill it out over time.  I saw a shade garden in Menahaunt Monday that just made me sick with envy - what looked like a whole lot planted with ornamental trees and shrubs with mulch paths leading one around to admire all of the stunning underplantings. sigh. Clearly professionally designed and maintained. Still, even in the most unattainable gardens we can all get inspiration.

Lucky for us we have a membership at Coonamessett Farm and can pick and buy fresh produce there at good prices. We went last weekend and I got my eggs fresh from under the chickens.  First time for me and I must say, moderately thrilling. I expected the chickens to peck at me, but I guess they are used to such treatment and did not object. Next weekend I hope to beat the birds to some blueberries.

I am trying to get out for a long bike ride every week by myself, and a shorter one with Shana. Finding a good half day when I am not working AND the weather is dry(ish) has been challenging, but by then end of this month the weather will be more reliable. There will be more tourists on the path, but early on a weekday morning I expect it to be very tolerable.

I went vegetarian in April - just read that one article too many about commercial farming. Fortunately I like nearly every kind of veggie and there is already a lot of variety in my diet. Eggs and dairy are still in the mix for now. I know a few people who are vegan but eat from a very narrow selection of foods. That would take too much planning for me, and probably not all that healthy. I like having some quick meals in the mix and a lot of choices for when I feel like cooking.

Knitting continues, albeit with reduced time spent because of gardening and cycling commitments, with one secret baby item and a pair of basic socks for myself. The time is coming for the switch from mostly selfish knitting to mostly holiday gift knitting. I have supplies for most of the gift items already purchased and patterns selected.  I must say I am looking forward to most of it. There are some patterns I have not tried before, and one item that I will be creating from scratch: pattern, knitting, and embellishment. Not an exciting item, except for the recipient, but I am enjoying the process of planning how it will be done. If it turns out I will share the pattern for sure.

I ran across something this morning I never thought I'd see, although it should not surprise me. There is an iPad apps for cats! You can go to this site and download cat games for your touch screen phone or iPad.  The whole world is now automated.