The flowers are maturing and the days are hot and humid. I have been feeling draggy for a few days, must have been a summer cold. I made some Tabouli and am sitting down at the computer for a break while it chills.
I have harvested three ripe tomatoes as of this morning, all from the feral tomato plants that were supposed to be grape tomatoes. The first two look like a Roma tomato except that they are a bit more slender and have a dimple in the flower end. The third is a round fruit about the size of a golf ball. The stalks are monsters though, threatening the marigolds, basil, and lettuce planted by them. They are almost up to the window sill. I have been joking with my mother that I will soon be able to pick tomatoes from the window without going outside. Next year I am thinking that investing in some commercial seed, maybe heirloom tomatoes, would be a good move.
I spent most of the morning on the computer chatting with mito buddies. Learned a new word guddling in the process. I used to think of poaching exclusively as a method of cooking food, but recently have been made aware that it has a second meaning concerning ways of getting food if you aren’t wealthy.
I am leaving the peppers on the plants for now, would like to let them turn red. It is taking a chance, but so far I have been pretty lucky that the outdoor critters aren’t nibbling. I pulled a few onions and made a pretty big dent in the parsley for the tabouli.
I went out with Bode earlier to pick some more mint from the patch I found near the culvert. Unfortunately it was the victim of weed wacking, only got a few tips. Left the remainder of the stalks in hopes that it might grow back. Some pretty impressive milkweeds and Joe Pye weed disappeared as well. Guess all plants look alike when you have sweat running into your eyes. At least the lawn has been safe from pesticides except what was sprayed on the corn across the road and what the REA crew sprayed under the electric line up by the lane.
There was a bonus though, as Bode and I walked up the little stream looking for more mint, we found some ripe blackberries. I ate some there and took some back and had them still warm from the sun with some cottage cheese for a snack. I tried to give him the scent of the mint so he would seek it out, but he insisted on snuffling the traces of mouse, rabbit, and gopher. We came across a fairly decayed cat carcass in the weeds, but I was able to keep him away. Looked like one of Tim’s barn cats.
The lily plants are just starting to fade, but still quite pretty. They are so tall that I can see them from the window as I sit here at the computer. That makes it easy to spot when butterflies visit.
I found the butterfly above on the road by my parents house. I picked it up carefully then gave it to my cousin’s daughter who held it gently in her hands for for the other two children to see. After they looked it over, they took it into the back yard and let it go, well away from the road. They are really nice children.
I think the yellow swallow tails are about the most common butterfly I have seen, followed by the black swallowtails. I think I have spotted a few monarchs, hope enough milkweeds escape for their caterpillars to live on.
Hot weather (90° F and higher) and dry spells wilt the flowers then heavy rains pound them down, has been especially hard on the anemone plants. Maybe next spring they will get off to an earlier start and do better.
The nasturtiums that I planted as seed directly in the ground are blooming. I like the way their leaves look like little parisols.
The morning before last I found a little brown finch in the bird feeder for the third time when I went out to check to see if it needed a refill. I took the lid off and it flew away, didn’t seem to be much the worse for wear. I am beginning to wonder if it is the same bird each time and that it has come up with a strategy to get more seeds when the feeder is getting empty.
There is now a hummer rivalry. For two weeks one bird at a time would come to sip sugar water from the feeder on the front porch. A few days ago I noticed it it was acting differently, seemed to be using stealth. Then a second hummingbird flew at it chattering and tried to drive it off. The liquid is going down quickly, so I think both are getting their fill, but one has to sneak in while the other makes extra trips trying to protect his turf. At least they haven’t allied the finches and cardinals and started a war.
As I was sitting out on the porch the other night with Bode at my feet and Ling Ling in my lap, I noticed that the sound of the hummingbirds flying is almost the same as the cat’s purr.
