This morning I checked the small enclosed trap in the shed to see if another packrat might be in it. The trap was occupied but the critter inside is black and white. Yesterday morning the smell of skunk was quite pungent but I didn't take time to check the trap because we were in a hurry to leave to drive to Idaho for a medical appointment. Anyhow, now I have a disposal problem if the critter isn't dead.
My hubby got the small lawn mower going for me and I mowed around the rhubarb. Or I should say I mowed around most of it. The mower would work for a minute or two and then quit. I'd get it started again and it would quit a minute or so later. I only have one more plant to mow around and the mower refuses to start again. So there it sits. Hubby will look at it tomorrow.
This year's onion patch needs to be rototilled so I can plant the onions I have started in pots. I suppose with the rain we just got from a quick thunderstorm that job will be on hold. We received 2 10th's of an inch of rain in about 10 minutes. More is on the way. My onions need to be planted soon. I might plant the onions without tilling the patch. Thistles have already been chopped out and I can hand pull, dig out the remaining weeds. My peas also need to be planted ASAP! It should have been done already! I did finish weeding the garlic and gave it a drink, and now this shower will take care of watering needs for several more days.
Our neighbor who owns the field east of us has been disking, harrowing and planting. He usually grows rye to make into hay for his cattle, then turns cows in to graze after the bales are removed. I hope he finished the job in time for the seeds to get this nice drink. He watches the weather quite carefully. He is a 3rd generation farmer and that is how he has always made his living. Obviously he has it figured out!
Yesterday I did some plant shopping. I bought 4 nicely growing Heritage raspberry plants. They will be set out about 4 feet apart and should increase quickly to fill in the spaces next year and make a nice row. Heritage is an old everbearing variety. Tried, true and reliable. My last raspberry patch was a bust because I started with plants from a neighbor and added some from somewhere else (nothing purchased). Apparently the second ones had a disease that caused the canes to break. I took out all of them because I couldn't tell which plants were infected until the canes broke. They looked fine one day and were broken the next. At first I thought something like an owl may have broken them but then it happened over and over. Nope, not owls, disease. The neighbor who gave me the first plants has not had a problem. So, after a few years, I am starting another row. All plants from one source and I will resist the temptation to add any free ones!
We are enjoying the daffodils now. I have a few of the fancy bi-colored ones but mostly they are the old standard yellow. Hyacinths are also blooming amongst the weeds. The weather has delayed my weeding and now the ground covering project is on hold because I am too busy elsewhere. These things seem to happen every year and I never catch up!
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