June 2021 – Page 2 – Cross Road Gardens

Insects known and unknown

June 25, 2021July 7, 2021 CatherineLeave a comment

I was happy to get these photos of the very busy Hummingbird Moth. The photos are highly cropped. The moth’s coloration is so extravagant.

Hemaris thysbe, the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

The unknown creature below came in on an escarole leaf. At first I thought it was a spot of dirt. I touched it and it disappeared. It turns out it is a winged creature. It was very interested in settling on the kitchen windowpane where it stayed still for a photograph. It seems to be pointing head down. I can’t figure it out. A few different photos to show the scale. It is tiny.

state of the milkweed

June 22, 2021July 7, 2021 CatherineLeave a comment

I don’t know what’s happening here, but something is really munching on this milkweed. And it’s not monarch caterpillars. Sam put the electric wire around it to try to preserve some of the patch for the monarchs. Who seem to be slow showing up this year.

Poppy volunteer

June 21, 2021July 7, 2021 CatherineLeave a comment

I don’t know how this poppy seed got into the hoophouse raised bed. But it has been fun to watch it grow and bloom in an unexpected location.

Arugula bouquet

June 20, 2021July 7, 2021 CatherineLeave a comment

I pulled the overgrown arugula in the hoophouse. I stripped most of the edible leaves from the long stalks and then couldn’t bear to compost the flowers before enjoying them as a bouquet for awhile.

Kiwi bees

June 20, 2021July 7, 2021 CatherineLeave a comment

The kiwi vine is in bloom and the whole thing is buzzing with bees. No fruit will be forthcoming though because we don’t have a male plant. Not sure I want one, because I’m just picturing fallen kiwi fruit littering the deck and needing to be swept up.

Grafting the lemon tree

June 20, 2021July 7, 2021 CatherineLeave a comment

Sam wanted to graft the good Meyer Lemon tree onto the root stock left from the previous failed Meyer Lemon tree. It was quite a complicated operation. He used this website for guidance.

Grafting Lemon Trees – How to Graft a Lemon Tree with the T-Bud

Top of root stock is partially severed and bent to be lower than the grafts. This fakes the tree into thinking it needs a new leader and it will hopefully send energy to the grafts.

Camp – bathroom tile

June 19, 2021July 7, 2021 CatherineLeave a comment

It never seems easy, but we have finally settled on some tile for the camp bathroom.

The pebbles that were our first choice for the shower floor have been discontinued. So we ended up with the simple dark gray squares.

The bathroom floor will be the long planks with the gray mottling.

The shower walls and ceiling will be the mottled looking white tile that’s standing up.

On to the next step!

The Nelson blackberry travels

June 19, 2021July 7, 2021 CatherineLeave a comment

This blackberry variety is both productive and a bit invasive. Robust canes are popping up all around the area where it is planted. I should probably have given it more space, yes?

Anyway, we dug up a cane to give to a friend. It was quite an ordeal as the root seemed very tenacious. The root ball was huge and we tried to jam it into a tub.

On its way to a new home.

Hay mulch

June 17, 2021June 18, 2021 CatherineLeave a comment

We went on a mission to get a bale of hay for mulch. Found one at Dean Young’s. They had a group of old rotting bales looking quite the worse for wear, but free for the taking.

A scenic drive up the Eastbrook Road in the pickup. The mechanic got the bale loaded easily with his tractor. At home Sam managed to unload it and position it with some difficulty, since it was close to falling apart. But now it sits in the soil amendments area, reminding me of Jabba the Hutt.

Mid summer overview

June 17, 2021June 17, 2021 CatherineLeave a comment

Almost summer solstice and my garden is growing. Here’s what the rows look like with the exception of the tomato rows: