almost summery

 in my queendom i can almost kind of say that we are into a state of almost summery.  one important sign is on the dashboard of my car where the MPG reached 50 today, which i love to see! (am i gloating? nah... )  in the colder months it sits at around 47 or 48 MPG, and in warmer months goes up to 50--> 52.

and i got my first spider bite... just below my ear.  i have thru bad experiences learned to wear socks and long pants when i'm out in the garden, and usually long sleeves, too... but this little bugger was probably hanging down from a tree and i walked right into her.  happily, i still have a tube of magical medicine - called Fenistil - that i got in Greece and haven't been able to find around here.  it's better than benadryl or any other bug bite stuff i've ever used.  takes away the itch and some of the swelling.  i have no earthly idea what's in it... but it works.

i've almost got the garden planted.  still left to put in is this big lovely pot of basil ... bargain of the last Trader Joe's visit.  there's at least 6 or 7 hardy looking plants in this pot for $2.99.  i love TJs for a lot of reasons and this is a big one!!

and the sugar pea plants....  lots of lovely blossoms but no sign of anything else.  yeah... patience is needed.  actually the weather has been perfect, with the cloudy cool weather they love... so what's the problem here???

another spring/summery kind of thing is the deer showing up with their babies.  i've seen a couple of fawns and Jim has seen twins.... or at least 2 small ones together with 1 big one.  i do love to see them.  do not love them munching on plants and flowers.. which is why most of my roses and all of the veggies are behind an 8ft. fence.  didn't know they like geraniums.  they do.  so had to put something else in the huge planter of flowers that i've got going.  it seemed logical to me that the smell of dogs would deter them, so i relieved Meika of a few huge handfuls of stinky doghair and placed it strategically on and around flowers.  stay tuned for how helpful that is.

the volunteer poppies are spectacular this year... really brilliant almost neon colors.  and i love 'em so much that even tho they appear in less than convenient places around the garden, i just can't stand to pull them up.

and the yellow crook-neck squash have blossoms... always reliable, they are.

i don't know the name of this salad green that Jim planted in the greenhouse.  i don't really like the taste and texture of it... but sure do love watching it grow!  it sprouts tiny babies on the tops of the leaves.  looks so strange... and makes me think of Dr. Seuss' characters.


so... it does seem almost kind of like a summery kind of thing around here.  or maybe i'm delusional.  maybe tomorrow will be warm and sunny... but i doubt it.