05/09/13

Today was one of those days where it seemed like I just kept jumping from one task to another. At lunch I took out some compost and checked on the garden. While digging in the compost I noticed that the excessive rain we've gotten lately had left all but the outer few inches soggy, which isn't a good condition for a compost pile. After work I decided to turn the pile, which I don't do nearly often enough. With my old setup this was a difficult task, but it isn't a big deal now that I have plenty of room. I simply recreated the pile, next to where it was located. There were several yellow jackets flying around the pile, which concerned me. Apparently they were not nesting, however, as they never tried to attack me. I'm assuming they were just attracted by something, such as the pineapple I had added earlier. I also saw a small snake in the pile, which I've not been able to identify. I am fairly confident, however, that it wasn't poisonous.

After turning the compost I hauled another load of leaves to use as mulch. The thin layer I had applied to the garden earlier was apparently too thin as weeds are already starting to grow through it. I added another layer to a portion of it, but still need to haul at least another load or two to finish that section up. I think that I'll probably have to switch back to straw soon, unless I can start getting enough grass clippings to do the job.

While I was hauling mulch Andrea was sorting through our rock pile, looking for some rocks to use in the herb garden. After applying my load of mulch I helped her haul some up to the herb garden and placed them as stepping stones. We now have close to fifteen feet completed, which isn't quite half of what we have to do. She has a little more than fifteen feet of the edging done. It has been a time consuming project, but I think it will be well worth it when we finish.

Once we finished in the herb garden for the night we went hunting for wildflowers. I had seen one earlier that we hadn't photographed yet, so we wanted to be sure to get it. We also spotted one that we had seen before, but hadn't gotten a photo of before the rains washed it away.