Flour - June 5, 2023

Nanny did not come out of the house Saturday afternoon when The Husband and I went to the garden to plant the pinto beans.  I figured she was still sore at me for running her out of the garden earlier in the day.  

We'd driven the truck to the garden because it was full of broken-down cardboard boxes that The Husband has been saving from work.  Saving boxes is one garden-related chore that he doesn't mind doing, since it saves weeding work in the long-run.  He had a bunch of boxes.  After planting the beans (on a straight row, mind you) we slit the boxes open so that we could lay them out flat between the rows.  At least half of the garden is now "paved" with them.  We'll still have to do some weeding around the plants, but the middles will pretty much take care of themselves, and the cardboard will help keep moisture in the ground.

Nanny came out while we were putting the cardboard down.  She didn't seem too mad. 

* * * * * * * * 

Yesterday morning, I tackled our yard, which has suffered from neglect while we've spent our efforts in the vegetable garden.  The bed along the back wall of our house is in my line of vision when I'm sitting at my work table on the back porch.  It was so overgrown with phlox and daylilies and trumpet vine and other things that I felt like I needed snake boots to tackle it.  It looks better today.

Job 2 was planting the rose bush that I was given for Mothers Day.  This required more daylily digging.  I threw those in the compost.  When I finally got the hole dug and pulled the rose bush out of its pot to plant it, about a million ants fell into the hole.  I squirted them with dishwashing liquid and kept planting.  I hope it doesn't kill the bush.

Yesterday afternoon, after most of the yard work was done, a little rain shower came up, enough to do us some good.  This ought to bring those beans right out of the ground, if they intend to come out.

* * * * * * * 

We have been sleuthing Jose'.  Friday night, The Husband turned on the outdoor camera by the driveway to see if we could catch him red-handed, but all it recorded was a pair of unidentified glowing eyes.  I had the bright idea to dust around the shed (under which we believe Jose' lives) with flour so that we could see how he's coming/going for intel on the best place to set the trap.  I also dusted a path across the front sidewalk.  

An hour later, the rainstorm came and washed away most of the flour.  <sigh>

This morning, there was a faint sprinkling of flour remaining near the shed.  I didn't see any tracks in it, but there appears to be new dirt on TOP of the flour.

I hope Jose' has dough stuck to his belly fur today.