Hot and Humid

It's actually hot here -- and very humid -- but still no rain.  We could really use some rain.  The farmers market in Park Falls opened yesterday and only two vendors showed up.  Everybody's gardens are way behind because of the late season start.  Out in the field we hilled my potatoes although they didn't really  need it, and we did run the tiller between the corn rows to slow down the weeds which don't seem to be bothered by anything, but the rest of my plantings are doing poorly because we haven't had any rain and the temperatures are wacky -- 44°F the other night to 82°F  (plus humidity) during the day simply stresses the heck out of plants.  Because the heat bothers me, too, I've been getting most of my work done when the area I want to work in has some shade or later in the day after we have our supper.

Remember this?

I think this looks much better!

Weaving through the posts on the driveway side of the forest garden fence is coming along much faster than I thought it would.  I love the rustic look of it.  You can see the space between two posts where I'll put in an access gate.

On Midsummer Eve Lara and I put out some cornmeal (we don't smoke so we didn't have any tobacco) for the fairies near a clump of thyme and some more by the Foxgloves (aka Fairy Fingers!).  Alas, we couldn't stay awake till midnight to see the fairies dance. 

Fairy Fingers or Foxgloves

Cornmeal for the Fairies

I started clearing out the forest garden area near the red currants so I can dig beds for the horseradish, rhubarb, and grapes.  If there is enough room after I get that done, I'll try to add beds for the French sorrel and Egyptian Walking onions.  There are a lot of tree roots in this area so the going is on the slow side since I have to use a mattock to chop through the roots.  To take a break from this work, I was going to define work paths through the forest garden, but everywhere I looked I saw butterfly or moth cocoons on leaves, and I decided to wait a couple of weeks.  I'll do it when the tree leaves begin to fall.   

cocoons

Well, that's about it for now.  Take care!