Turning a Corner

We think we may have turned a corner with the earwigs. I am sure everyone is tired of hearing about them and I am tired of talking about them. We have been so vigilant, taking away all of their daytime haunts, setting out yeast traps and clearing away any debris and rocks. Our use of row covers is over as apparently the earwigs used them for a party tent. The good news is that most things are coming back, the bad news is that everything is going to be delayed. It does give us confidence though, that an organic solution may take some time, but they do work and they are worth it. Everything we have saved will be worth the effort. 

Above are a picture of some lavender that was left by the previous owners and my peas, which have finally begun to flower. I can't wait for fresh peas. The kids love to eat them straight off the vine. 

Peonies, Shrews and Earwigs

We continue our fight with the earwigs. Everyone told us that earwigs could not possibly be doing the damage that they are doing to our crops, but we now have an eyewitness....me. One of my potted plants were being eaten the same way and I took the ground apart to find hundreds of them in one pot....UGH!

I am not normally freaked out by bugs but seeing hundreds of those creepy things crawling everywhere, is up there on the creepy scale.

Other than worrying about everything being eaten, we have a cat who has perfected her skills at killing shrews. She can can kill sometimes 3 a day. The killing is not the problem it is the disposal of the bodies that bother me. We now have a shrew dying field. I have nightmares of shrew zombies coming after me.

too long so sorry

We have been so busy these days I have been neglecting our blog, but I promise now that most of the plants are in and seeds sowed, I will be more diligent with my writing.

This is a picture of one of our lemon balms. They smell so good. They taste even better. The leaves are good with fish, in ice tea, or dried as a hot tea. I can't wait to harvest some. Everyone who hasn't tried this herb should try it at least once.

We are having a big problem with snails and are now trying every natural remedy we can think of. I can't wait to see if any snails have decided to go for a dip in the beer jacuzzi. In the mean time row covers have stopped anymore damage from occurring.

Where is the Sun?

Well it is coming down to crunch time and this rain is not helping. Most of the things we are growing should be in the ground by the middle of June, but the rain is making this impossible. Even when it isn't raining the wet ground makes it feel like I am planting in pizza dough. We have made tremendous strides, but the finish line is still far away. To add to this everything else is piling up. Mowing the lawn has to be down, weeding fertilizing etc. It is just to crazy. Let's hope this week is sunnier than last.

Peace

Finally a break from all the planting. Don't get me wrong I love it, but my house looks like a pit. So it is the glamorous job of cleaning and laundry. I am praying that it dries up soon, but it isn't supposed to. I walked Miles to the bus stop this morning and the road was actually quiet except for the usually chorus of birds. The misty fog hung all around feeling like it was a bubble keeping the chaos out and the peace in. It was warm and I felt like I could stand out there forever just soaking in the quiet and calm. Of course that was until I heard my daughter screaming from the balcony " are you coming in I am thirsty" at the top of her lungs. Apparently the peace bubble missed a bit of chaos. The good thing is she is one of my favourite bits of chaos lol.

Beautiful Visitor

One of the perks of living in the country and working for yourself you can take a little time to meet some of your neighbors. This little guy came for a snack and gave me a great excuse to take a break from planting.
Gracie and I followed him all over the lawn so we could get the perfect picture.