Corn

The first batch of corn is in as of today.  Of course you have to plant it in blocks so we did about 20 feet by 4 rows.

The weather was gorgeous with sun and a few puffy clouds going by.  Maybe 75 degrees.  Nice!

I got the two five gallon weigalas in but one looked pretty darn wilty this morning.  Let's hope it starts looking a little happier by tomorrow.  Watered it so.  The other one looks great.  The little tiny honeysuckle I just put in a couple of days ago looks quite happy and so does my new, cute little clematis.  The licorice mint seems happy as well.

I am disappointed that I don't see much, if any, hummingbird mints coming back from last year.  My trumpet vines are coming back but they are coming up from the roots.  I thought they would get bigger and come up on the vines that were left from last year.  Might have to read up on those.

We got the shutter built.  We are trying a barn door style shutter for the front [south facing] windows.  We had hinged shutters but they were bad about the wind so I hope the new barn door slider style will be better.  They sure help keep the house cooler in the summer and I think they help in the winter as an  extra barrier between us and the harsh cold winds that buffet the house.  Hubby did a marvelous job and the shutters were definitely over my ability to do a good job.  Let's hope it works as planned when we hang it tomorrow.

Hubby also got the outdoor pug wired up for the pond pump.  It isn't areal pond since it is only fifty gallons but the Aussie shepherd loves his pond and so do the other dogs that visit.  The birds like it as well.  I will have to get the pump going soon as I keep having to change out the water.  The pump will keep it much more aerated and the mosquitoes don't lay eggs in moving water so that is a worry off my mind.  Because the water keeps getting changed over by over spilling with new water I haven't seen any mosquito larvae but it is better safe than sorry on that one.

Wheel barrow wheel is aired up and ready to go again.  Have to stay on top of that.  Yes, we have tried foam.  They had a no flat wheel barrow tire at one of the stores last week but at $40 I thought we could just keep air in the tire we have until it wears out!

I worked on the irrigation and the back berm is watering well now.  The spring garden has sprayers so no more hand watering the new guys.  The back berm near the wind fence was a bit of a mess but that is now watering properly.  I made risers for the sprinklers out of PVC pipe to get them up over the irises , grasses and shrubbery.  I also made risers for some of  the rest of the berm area but I have lots to do so I am going to worry about more risers if the plants get taller.  That back watering system also got an adjustment by the wind fence and is watering quite well now.  I got rid of the center sprinklers, moved all the sprinklers to the front and aimed them towards the fence and used half round sprayers instead of the full circle sprayers.  I think the fence will stay drier and the coverage is better.

I managed to get the landscape cloth down on the right side of the house.  Maybe I already told you. Then, over the last couple of days,  I got the irrigation straightened out over there.

Did I mention that area got some low white lattice pieces for fencing?  They are about 2 feet tall and four feet long and they were free.  It looks pretty good actually and maybe in a few years I'll change it up and make it look even prettier.  Keeps the dogs from playing in there and cuts the wind down a bit.

All the dog fencing I have put up is great and now that the dog isn't trying to drink out of all the sprinklers they are remaining pointing in the right direction!

Weeding is ongoing and the goats got 4 or five bins of weeds to eat today.  They even quit begging they were so full.

The irises are glorious clouds of color and I have a pink iris and an orange iris blooming.  Really unique and really pretty.  The yellow irises were hit by the freeze nine days ago but may manage to start blooming again.  The purple irises are classics and do well every year.  The blue irises are starting to bloom and have lovely shades of medium and dark blues.  One iris on the east side is almost black and very velvety looking.  The red iris is in its prime this year!   The two toned German irises are also starting to bloom.  I can count on my irises for clouds of color every year and may get a few more different colors.

I am finally feeling rested up, caught up and I think I can start keeping up!  We'll see.  Thursday I have to go to town and Friday I have to clean a house so maybe by Saturday I'll be back to tired and not getting enough done.  I promised myself that whatever I do this year will have to be enough.  There is only one of me.

Watering east side zone overnight.