June 4-5, '10

Hot and dry, hitting 90 on Friday and 92 on Saturday with only one quarter of an inch in the rain gauge.

Garden
After getting only a hand full of green beans the weekend before, this week Sally picked about two gallons. Wow! She also got the last of the radishes (too big and hot for me), a couple of smallish onions, and a few beets. A bell pepper had fallen off prematurely. She pulled up all but one collard, but the worms are going to get it too I am sure. She forgot (or didn't want any more) of the summer spinach. (That black walnut growing in the garden, I'll leave until winter and then move it.)

Mow/Weed Eat
I only mowed the upper level -- I hope I can get through the lower road next week. I took this picture thinking I would show a before and after, but forgot the after. I also tackled the back hill with the Poulan weed eater and fixed line head. (Smaller line worked better.) That's some real work. I didn't get to the upper road and cattle guard, that will really need it next week. (I got a tick from the high grass just getting out to put the chain up at the cattle guard.)

Berries
I continued weeding around the berries, and spreading more newspaper. There were a few red raspberries, but they seem to be drying up on the vine. The blackberries are looking good. I wondered the fields looking for wild raspberries, but didn't get enough to collect. Saw the cactus blooming on top (yellow) and ran across 4 young armadillos though.

Sprayed
I sprayed the apples for fungus, but didn't get any herbicide on any of our villainous plants: knapweed, thistle, sumac, or buck brush.

White Oak
Saturday I took my McCulloch and Stihl into the back pasture where the huge white oak still lays. It was toppled two years ago this fall (Ike or one of those hurricanes that made this far). I had gotten just a little off of it and then our ice storm hit. I wanted to get some more short (18 inch) pieces for Amanda, thinking we would be driving up this summer. The whole tree was buried under brush and grape vines.

I didn't get quite a truck load from the tank of gas in each saw. Boy, was I whopped -- I'm not yet acclimated to this heat and humidity. Sally unloaded the whole truck as I split the larger pieces. That white oak sure splits nice -- even right through a limb joint.

Wild Flower
I'd like to know what this wild flower is. Its pretty thick on the hill just above the house, and in a few other places on the south facing slopes. Sort of soft and delicate.