Positive Focus Sunday - Lovely Morning Yesterday in the Garden

I'm writing this in the dim light of a rainy Saturday afternoon. The Kentucky Derby is on the TV. It's a bit of a tradition to watch the Derby every year. I'm excited about this year because there is a grey horse running. I have a thing for grey horses. 

There is a steady rain with a bit of a rumble of thunder. Luckily, at this point at least, it's not a gully washer, but a good rain for the plants.

This morning I was outside working on the remaining 7 'beds' I need to get ready for planting. I did manage to get the smallest one planted, a 4X6 foot bed. I have about another 400 square feet of bedding rows to get cleared and planted. That's my goal for the coming week - 1 bed a day. And then it will all about weeding and maintaining.

While I was outside I had my phone in my pocket listening to Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The section I was listening to was about weaving baskets and what it takes to learn to weave under the tutelage of a tribal elder/master craftsman. I was sitting there, setting some squashes and cantaloups in the bed and noticed I had a visitor.

I have noticed a robin sitting on top of my tomato trellis over the past few days. And because the trellis is right beside my berries, I was side-eyeing him/her a bit. 

However, on this occasion, I was being ignored in favor of picking through mown grass and weeds to select material for a next. I did take a video of one of the trips to the yard. She/he didn't mind I was sitting there watching, nest building was underway. 

When going back to watch the video a couple of hours later, I realized the video had picked up the audio from my audio book. It seemed appropriate as basket weaving must be close to building a nest. It was a pleasant stop to my labor to take a moment to watch pieces of grass being picked up, dropped, another piece selected, until just the right one was found and taken to the nesting site (which happens to be the rain spout next door). 

It's time like this in the garden when the troubles (and there are many) in the world slip away. Looking around, I realize every moment I spend in the garden gets me just that much closer to helping Mother Nature grow my dream.

My row of blackberry and raspberry bushes is loaded with berries. Just loaded. Of course, knowing me, I'll eat most of them before they ever make it inside. But it will be a fantastic harvest in the next few weeks. 

And while I was watching the robin, I was sitting beside one of my young apple trees. This will be the first year I will get apples. How can I think there is lack in my life when I am sitting next to a tree with small apples growing bigger and bigger every day. And this nice day of rain will go a long way to making them even better. 

I am so thrilled my 'Pepper Pot Row' is looking better than any peppers I have grown in the past.

They are tall and setting fruit all up and down the row. They are getting tall and looking sturdy. It should be a 'spicy' season in the garden.

I did have to do some more 'reining in' the asparagus bed. The stalks are getting so tall, they were starting to fall over. And some were falling over onto my potatoes. The potatoes are starting to flower and are looking so good. Knock on wood, I haven't seen any potato bugs either. 

I do have a bit of an experiment in mind after someone I follow on YouTube talked about planting potatoes all year. And this year I do have three sweet potato slips I grew. I need to find some to buy somewhere, because I want to try sweet potatoes. This is all part of wanting to be able to have something growing and harvesting all year round.

And while they are not in the backyard with the veggie garden, my elder bushes are starting to flower. Elderberries are in my future! I can't wait. The four plants I have in the ground now have grown from about 1-2 feet tall this winter to over 6 feet now. And I have a pot of seedlings which I will plant out along the front of the yard to form a hedge to keep the dogs from barking at people. Or it could be to keep people from looking into my yard.

But every time I 'doom scroll' and start getting upset about the state of affairs, all I have to do is 'garden stroll'.