thinning, weeding, mulching, squashing....

This month has been all about trying to stay a step ahead of the bugs, the weeds and the lack of rain. We've been enduring a really hot spell with 99 degree days. I've been trying to get out to the garden by 6:30, sometimes earlier, and working till 9ish when I'm forced inside due to heat and Eli leaving for work. I'm pleased with how much more time I've had for gardening since school ended. I still never feel like I get enough time out there, but I'm averaging about 2-3 hours a day the past two weeks. I hope to ramp that up in the next couple of weeks to get the garden to a really weed free status before we head to Michigan at the end of July.

I planted another round of tomatoes last week. I plan to get a couple more rows of beans put in this week. I'm hoping that staggering the planting like this will guarantee some beans and tomatoes into the fall this year. The tomatoes I'd planted in the spring are finally starting to deliver. I've been putting them in the CSA bags for a few weeks now but have done so at the expense of not having any on my personal dinner table. Last night we enjoyed a tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil salad. Yum. We also enjoyed a raw chard salad (the chard is all riddled with holes at this point but I hate to take it out because I always crave greens by the end of summer...hopefully the cooler weather coming this week will give it a chance to recover), cucumber slices, and rosemary roasted potatoes. I love having a table full of food that I've grown myself.

I've included a photo of Ward helping me thin and weed cucumber plants. He had a terrific time until all of sudden he was DONE. At that point I had no choice but to bring him in and wash him off in the kitchen sink. That kid has eaten more dirt at this point than Isabel and Flora combined. I'm looking forward to the 80's on tap for this week because I'll be able to have all the kids in the garden with me at any point during the day. Maybe I'll get some more artwork out of the girls.

I've been dealing with a round of bursitis in my right knee. I noticed it was swollen and that I couldn't kneel on it around the 1st of the month. I waited, hoping it would resolve on it's own, until last week at which point I went to see my GP. She drained it and told me to compress it with an ace bandage, which I did for four days until I realized the swelling had moved to my ankle. I took the bandage off and iced the ankle. Thank goodness it went back to normal the next day but my knee is swollen again. Occupational hazard. Oh well. I continue to ice it at night in hopes that it will not get worse. It's not painful unless I kneel on it. So I'm just using my little garden cart and scooting around the garden on that, like I did when I was pregnant. It works.

I've exhausted my kids' patience for blogging. It's almost cool enough to get out to the garden now anyway. Yay!