June 18, 2009

Well, Judy must be busy or out of town, because her pics are down too and she hasn't updated her blog in a few days, so bear with me folks. If she's not back this weekend I'll take a stab at re-linking the pics from one of the various other sites I've got them stashed. I don't expect the run on the site like when the Times ran their article.

So anyway, today my wife got fed up with the inch-long and half-inch thick bumble bees in her laundry room. It's too close quarters in there when they're buzzing around or crawling on the blankets that cover the floor.  I don't blame her, and I am unafraid of bees.  So, the one that was on a blanket got easily covered with a 1 gallon glass jar and walked outside.  Unfortunately for the other one, I couldn't get the jar over it and it suffered a squishy fate.  Two of three saved isn't bad I guess.  Normally I would have waited for the bee to be an easy capture, but I don't do the laundry. 

Now for the test.  I got my wife to consent to keep one or both doors closed at all times.  I don't want the possibility of a bee to fly inside the house and then go directly to the laundry room.  As remote as it sounds, I want to avoid the possibility.  So, if we find any more bees in the laundry room, I know they're coming from the attic.  I have a gas hot water heater vent pipe and a gas line pipe coming from the attic.  Both have gaps in the ceiling that a bee could get through.  I suppose I could do the humane thing and somehow plug the gaps in the ceiling if that's how they're getting in, but I must say these bees are trying my patience.  Did I mention it appears that my plum tree will have a far smaller harvest this year for some reason?  I guess the bees aren't as greatful for the free rent as I'd hope they are. hehe.

Other than bee patrol and extermination today, I watered and shook the tomatoes, which have TONS of flowers on them.  While I was out there I snapped a few pics that I wanted to share.

First thing I noticed when I walked into the garden was my short wall-o-peas.



And on closer inspection, on the back side (shade side) of the wall I found this little guy.



Funny how there were none sprouting on the sunny side but a handful on the shady side.  Maybe that's why the peas in bed #3 aren't doing as well. They're getting full sun.  Thoughts?

Also, I figured it would take a while for the cauilflower to grow to maturity.  I didn't expect it would take less than a week.



No, it's not as big as some of mine last year, but I'm not sure I want to wait til it starts growing alienish like last time, so it will probably be picked this weekend.  The cukes will like that since this one's shading several plants, hehe. 

Of course I think I've got a half-dozen broccoli all ready or near ready to harvest.  And in case you're wondering, we had grilled chicken, ride and broccoli for dinner tonight, but still have one single serving left from that big head I harvested last week, hehe.  It's clearly better fresh so I think broccoli and cauliflower are on the menu for Father's Day dinner here Sunday.

Well, if you can't tell I'm trying to keep my posts to around 500-1,000 words and as few topics as possible. Call it my expereince writing for Patti the Garden Girl.  She likes 500 word stories and I've found I'm really good at keeping my thoughts to that length.  However, when it comes to blog entries, I find the words just grow in number without even trying, thus the 1,000 word self-imposed maximum.  Hope you enjoy the brevity so you can hit all your favorite blogs every day!

Enjoy your garden, I sure am mine right now.