Summer Visitors

One of the things I've really enjoyed since having a yard is feeding and watching the birds that show up. I live in a quiet neighborhood near a creek, so there are numerous visitors to the feeders each day. Mostly I see chickadees and finches. However, once summer rolls around the makeshift "bird bath" I put on the deck rail draws some additional visitors. Today I saw a Northern flicker and a pair of ring necked doves.

Fairy Garden

A friend gave me this little fairy door for my birthday. She has one propped up against a tree in her yard and thought I could do the same. I decided to do something different instead. Today I reconfigured the tableau and planned a few new plants. I just can't decide if I should paint or embellish the house in some way.

Turkeys

I've seen this flock of eight turkeys in the neighborhoot several times. They've been doing a great job of cleaning up the bugs and they like to check out the neighbor's water fountain. Tonight, when I got home from work they were in the neighbor's yard. A few minutes later they had crossed the street and were busy cleaning up the seed on the ground under the bird feeder. Kit wondered what they were doing in his yard.

 Unfortunately, they spook easily and so my only pictures are of them walking away.

Raspberries and Cherries and Tomatoes

I mentioned that everything is super early this year. Last week I went raspberry picking with my mom and dad. We came home with 30 pounds, most of which were frozen in simple syrup for when we have a raspberry craving next winter.

Cherries are also ripe. Of course, they require a bit more effort (and a ladder!) to pick. But they are yummy. My niece would eat herself sick if we let her.

And this week I picked my first tomato. I love homegrown tomatos. They just taste so much better than what you buy in the stores. For the last coupld years I've branched out from the standard red tomatos. This year I planted yellow and what is labeled "pink caspian". That one is not ready yet.

New Deck

My home needed a new deck. I knew that when I bought it, but rather than have the seller fix/rebuild, I decided to keep that project for myself so that I could get what I wanted. Due to the slope of the lot and a few other considerations, I chose to have it built rather than doe the work myself. Safely was more important than saving myself some money.

My old deck was sloping, the footers were rotting, and I wasn't comfortable with the stability. It also lacked railings and the stairs weren't up to code.

Old deck

To replace the deck as it was, would have required a permit from the city so we lowered it and added steps down out of the house. It is also a bit smaller, and made of synthetic material which means I won't have to restain/reseal it every few years.

New deck

The crew from Rick's Custom Fencing and Decking did an awesome job.

My garden

I had the idea to put in a raised bed so I could grow tomatoes. I love tomatoes but I am not impressed by the ones you can buy in the grocery store.

We got one raised bed put together and filled. And had enough soil left over for second one. Now I have two, and my garden has grown to include bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, sugar snap peas, strawberries, oregano and two kinds of basil as well as three types of tomatoes.

Newly planted, May 20.

June 11.