Pure Florida Garden Day

I spent the last day before Daylight Stupid Time began transforming the now vacant (sigh) pig pen into a vegetable patch. The day had started with coaxing "PIG!" into a pen on our utility trailer so she could go to the fair. A mix of fresh Florida grown strawberries and some yankee apples did the trick and she is now sharing a pen at the fair with another well mannered pig. The swine show is Monday by the way.

This post is about transforming her pen, not the fair, so let's get on with it. She had dug amazing wallow pits all over her pen over the past 4 months and my first job was to smooth all that out. My ancient Troybuilt tiller is ill, so I did that by shovel and rake.

I had my eye out for flint chips and possible spearpoints (mostly atlatl dart points here) since whoever owned the place a few thousand years ago, had dropped a lot of flakes and a few points that I've been lucky to find.

Sure enough, the nice flake above popped out of the soil as I was raking. It's tempting to see it as an arrowhead, maybe a birdpoint that was flawed and discarded. It has the little central ridge and some symmetrical fluting on the "shaft" end ... maybe a flaw caused the maker to toss it midway. Some folks would sit down and ponder a multitude of possibilities if they found such a thing, but I had a garden to wrangle, so I just slipped it into my Wranglers.

I planted 6 "Celebrity" seedlings from the evil Walmart store in two beds along the interior fencing that divides the pig pen into two 16 X 16 squares. The fencing will serve as trellis as they grow.

Didja hear that optimism? "...as they grow." Our chance of frost is so low now, that I'm only gambling a little. I have to beat the bugs, heat, and humidity that is even now, packing it's bags and preparing to visit.

I also seed planted Burpee's Stringless Green Pod bush type green beans in a big block ... just kind of randomly scattered in a 5 X 6 foot rectangle. In a nearby wide row, I stuck in about 8 Orange Tendersweet watermelon seeds.

Amongst all of these, I sprinkled Ferry Morse Carnation Flowered Orange Bowl Marigold seeds to attract pollinators and pretty up the place.

Today, I'll plant some Burpee Early Golden Summer Crookneck Squash for the missus. (Blechh!) I also have Jelly Bean hybrid grape tomatoes that I am going to plant directly as pelleted seeds. I never do that with tomatoes. I always use transplants, but what the heck. Let's see what happens.

Tarragon, Purple Coneflower, and Black-Eyed Susans could get in the dirt today too.

While I was gardening, I lit the surrounding grasslands on fire to reduce the threat of a ground fire racing up to the house or barnshed. An area I burned two weeks ago is already rich with tender green grass shoots.

It was a nice day in the garden ... too warm though. For the first time in months, it actually got hot. You could feel the change in the sunlight's energy. Time to lose the winter beard ... and I did.

Everyone was gone while I gardened and puttered, but I wasn't alone of course. The deer came to hang out and watch me creating a new buffett for them. I'm rigging tall posts this year with razor wire (just kidding) to try and keep them out.

The chickadees were hanging out with me too. The birdhouse next to the pigpen/garden was a busy place as they flew in and out, chittering and chattering. Yes, I had my camera with me, be patient. I was, and it paid off.

Chickadees tomorrow.

It was nice to actually do something outside around here. The weather has been spectacular, the JEEP's been topless for a whole week! I've missed alot of that great weather due to my huge, painful, never ending, National Boards project ...deadline in 3 weeks! I did not work on it at all yesterday, so today I will have to force myself to keep reflecting and writing in the kitchen with short garden breaks.

Curious ...

So far, not a one of the smart and interesting people I live with has noticed that I shaved my beard off.

I swear, I'm just another piece of furniture around here.