Summer is Here!

 

Volunteer Foxglove overlooking the lake in the morning sun.

Finally, lake is warm enough to swim every day, plants are getting sunshine to grow, and life is good!  My favorite time of year is late spring/early summer, but I actually love every season - if winter is very short!

Broccoli and cabbage in the Hugelkulture mound are thriving.

The pole beans have found the trellis and are growing by leaps and bounds.  Peas along the lakeside fence of the mound are producing peas. 

The beets at the north end of the mound are WAY bigger than the beets I planted in the main garden at the same time. All in all, the 14' x 3' Hugel mound is doing a lot better than the main garden.  But that may be because it's in full sun all day, and the lake is like a big heat sink that keeps the area close to the lake warmer.  Or it could be the composition of the mound itself - where the decaying wood in the bottom creates extra heat to the plants growing on top.  

Raspberries - I'm about a week away from being up to my eyeballs in raspberries.

The corn we planted early came up spotty, so the replanted corn is only about 2" tall.  The corn that did come up early is about 6" to 8" tall.  The coming days of warm weather should change that quickly.

Blackberries - looks like a year I'll finally get a crop of blackberries.

Strawberries every day now!

Lots of figs forming - hope I can beat the birds to them!

Apples are always dependably abundant.  I've been thinning every time I go to the orchard, but it is like one of the tasks of Hercules to get them all thinned.  

Some Family Pictures

 

March - In Florida - We had a first visit from family at our new place in Lake Placid and enjoyed our granddaughter and her family's visit.  The great grands are endlessly entertaining!

We took a short trip to Lake Okeechobee, where we enjoyed the sunshine on a pretty day in March.

May found us in Eastern Washington visiting for Eliza's birthday party and checking out the fishing on Round Lake.

Sammy, Addy, and Liza showed me their tricks on the play equipment in their new playground at Grandma and Grandpa's.  Sammy never took off his batman cape!

June brought us family from Salt Lake City, and a family gathering at the lake. In spite of rainy weather, we all had a good time.

  Tony braved the weather to take boatloads of children on their first fishing adventure.  He had a rapt audience when he cleaned the fish and cooked them for the kiddos to try.

Part of any gathering at our house is lots of food, and visiting and catching up with each other.  We missed having a gathering last year, so there was a lot to catch up on.

And swimming is always part of the mix - even on a rainy cold day.  The lake water actually felt pretty warm as the air was colder than the water.

     The cousins always enjoy getting together.  They play games, run around in the woods, fish, swim, and end up totally exhausted.