Ars Terra Journal

August... The bees are back! July was very disconcerting, as I saw only 2 bees during that month, and both seemed groggy and weak. Now they are everywhere, and wandering through the gardens! Though, we are only getting our first tomatoes NOW, and we have an entire monster in the front that hasn't a single tomatoe, but hundreds of flowers...

The backyard duck pond is doing well, with small fish and an assortment of plants... The ducks gobbled the pond plants at first, so I had to build a fence around half of it so the plants can take and do their job. Now there are too many plants, so I am able to throw some over the fence to the ducks! I can;t tell you what it means when I see the ducks inthe water, Don Juan loves to nap while he floats...

Take a look at our Front Yard plan, just updated!

June - FINALLY! Things are starting to kick in!

After what feels like FOREVER, we are beginning to see our veggies taking hold! After the temperature spike, and the rising heat, the Sun blasting, and really, throughout May everything looking yellow and weak, I felt as if nothing was going to work out this year, then YAY!

To the right is probably the third generation of bean pole seedlings, this time not dying off or being gobbled by Roly-Polies (I called them Potato Bugs as a kid). This is the first actual tendril starting it's climb up the tee-pee pole! The Roly-Polies have been great for working on the mulch, but in the front (see left), they have attacked the seedlings one by one. Checking online, I found numerous gardeners complaining about them this year, so I didn't feel alone at all...

The Back Porch: I just love before and after photos, here is the back porch from February, and now, compare this to the tiny grapevine we planted back in 2006 before the insanity ensued! I love to talk about this grapevine, which now covers the back porch and is full of grapes. When I first bought it back in 2005, I planted it in a shady area by itself. I watched it quickly get devoured by what I learned to be "Grapeleaf Skeletonizers", little black and yellow striped moth larvae that gobble grapeleaves. I felt so awful, I replanted it in the current area. It took two years, moving locations, and lots of patience, but it is now the grand beast shade-maker.

The new trellis area on the left of the photos is the "Cat Room" where our indoor cats can hang outside and watch the ducks. Here is Prissy, enjoying the shade of the grape leaves. As we move ever forward in our homestead, we are blurring the line between indoors and outdoors more and more...

Squash Make Great Summer Landscape Plants: Here is a shot of our first squash plant kicking in. Once a transplanted seedling begins to take hold, sprout new leaves and begin to flower, this is when I feel I can breathe easy - it has what I call, 'kicked in' and I can remove its shade teepee and let it go!