When I last wrote, at the end of last month, I said “We’ve been working on projects outside until the downpours get too heavy, then take breaks, and resume again.” Well, scratch that. We didn’t do that method for long before we realized we wouldn’t finish projects for some homestead deadlines unless we worked in those downpours too. We have worked in a lot of downpours over the last month! There has been quite a bit of rain here- it’s been downright soggy. The other week we had more hail, followed by some cold, stormy days. There was a small break with some sunshine, and then the rain was back.
Part of me wants to complain about the nonstop rain, as my body and the garden feels ready for sunshine and the warmth of spring, but the other part of me knows that come summertime (when things are so very dry here) we’ll be wishing for more. I had a good reminder about that the other day when I met someone who moved to Oregon from New Mexico, and told me about how terrible the fires have been in New Mexico and Arizona (my heart goes out to everyone there!), and that we should all be grateful here for the abundance of rain. Yes! I appreciated the reminder.
I wanted to mention that this website was down for a period of time this month. A kind blog reader wrote to me to let me know and to make sure everything was okay, and I appreciated that. The https expired without my knowing it, and I was able to contact the hosting company for my blog to get it renewed. It was a quick and easy fix, but I was so busy for awhile there that it took me quite a few days before I was able to take the time to sit down and take care of that. I apologize if you tried to visit this space and weren’t able to, or were worried. The blog is still here, and I appreciate you coming to visit, even during the periods where I only get a chance to update once a month.
What are things like where you are? Lots of rain? Dry? Any of you been busy with garden plans?
So nice to hear from you,
Beautiful Iris 😊
I’m harvesting my garlic and watering the gardens, veg and flower.
It’s very hot and dry here. 😟
Blessing
Anne ❤️
Hi Taryn, loved the pics of the iris and hostas… but I need to know – how do you keep the insects from devouring the hostas? I sprinkled diatomaceous earth around mine – to no avail! Help!
Jeff does sprinkle some natural slug bait around. There are so many hostas growing here, though, and they are so large by this point that the slugs can only do so much damage. 🙂
Jeff wanted me to mention the best trick he has found for catching slugs. Here is from Jeff: “Hi, the very best thing I have found….scarilly good is to get little cups ( I used little plastic condiment cups like you gat catsup in when you take fries to go, I actually bought a bunch at the dollar store ..(don’t like using Plastic, but THIS WAS WAR…So you set them down in the ground….I bought the cheapest beer they had at the store and put that in them…then covered them with little dishes I had for under plants…it keeps the rain out and alcoholic dogs at bay….. The slugs naturally crawl under stuff,, but it seems the smell of the Beer just draws them, they come off the plants, crawl into the little pool of beer and drink themselves into oblivion…… OMG, you won’t believe it. You go out in the morning to all these cups full of dead slugs…empty em out, and refill. I also dump the corpses around the area….I read somewhere a long time ago that this discourages the slugs in the area. (the method I read was they put a bunch in a blender, made a slug smoothie and poured that around to run the slugs off)…No thanks…… so I just dump the corpses…..Now we have Huge Hostas everywhere……Another crazy thing is bait plants….For years I tried planting Chinese Cabbage…..slugs would come from miles away to get to that cabbage, I think they travelled across the state, hitchhiking or by whatever means just to get to that Chinese cabbage…..Kept em busy and off more important stuff…”