The Russell Chronicles

Temperature has been in the nineties lately, and in my very pregnant state, the heat wilts me quickly. This has limited my ambitions in terms of outdoor projects. The porch plants are actually lucky if they get enough water. The vegetable garden has not been getting enough attention and has grown weedy and unkempt. I haven’t been checking on it every day, which has allowed certain pests to ravage away unchecked longer than I would like, and watering problems to go uncorrected long enough for the plants to become very thirsty in the scorching heat. Overall they seem to be doing okay, though. One tomato plant had been stripped of about a third of its leaves before I plucked the culprit and fed it to the chickens. Any remaining hornworms will soon get to meet their maker via Bacillus Thuringiensis. Can’t have them spoiling my ‘maters. The pepper plants fight on, and to my surprise they have even begun to flower. They got kind of a late start out in the garden, and have had a bit of a time catching up. Many of my seeds have gone unplanted, and will either get their shot in late summer for a fall crop, or will have to wait until next spring. The fence that I was going to grow some of the viney plants along never got put up, so they have been shelved for now.

We’ve had intermittent thunderstorms over the last couple weeks, so the deck isn’t finished yet. It has to be totally dry before the stain and sealer can be put on, and it has to stay dry for at least 24 hrs. before it gets rained on. This week looks good for it, though. We’ve shifted focus to the porch. It faces west and the bricks got so hot in the afternoon sun that you’d bake out there. Now we have some wicker furniture we picked up on sale, and a mister fan that hooks up to the hose (so awesome! 20 degree drop in air temp!). We busted out the old tiki torches, and have been enjoying the perfect nights outdoors, watching the fireflies dance. Eventually we plan to screen in the porch, but for now we’ve picked up some solar pull-down shades to block out the sun.

Some of our more ambitious landscape projects have been put on a back burner. The grass has largely filled in around the front area, so we no longer have a giant mudscape to contend with, but the back is still patchy. We’ve got some ideas involving an arbor and gravel walkways that are going to be fleshed out soon. The large trees I intend to have put in may have to wait until fall. That will also be when we put the fruit trees in the front by the vegetable beds. We finally had gutters put in, and the rain barrels will eventually be placed under the downspouts. The front planters are also in the queue.

So it’s been a lot of work, but it’s coming along! I have to mention that my sainted husband has been doing most of it, along with the laundry and cleaning and cooking, and working full time! Oh yes, the poor dear has been picking up the slack for me, in light of my awfully delicate condition. Delicate, and contorted, distended, and structurally compromised, actually. I’m sure not the only one looking forward to meeting the new baby!