The End of May

I cannot believe it is almost June.  The spring melted quickly away in all the rain.  We were sequestered inside because of it.  While it made me feel a bit batty at the times, what else was I going to do with three kids and an infant anyway?  I am not brave and outgoing when I have a baby.  I hunker down.

This past week Jamey had a day off so he took baby duty so I could give our kids their achievement tests.  While I sat with them during test time I was able to order their books for next year and get my paperwork together to submit to the local school superintendent. Except for a little bit of work I'd like each of the kids to do this summer, we are calling school done for the year.

We've had enough hot, muggy days to make it feel as if summer is here.  The sun shines and the lack of rain is glorious.  The baby is taking real, two- and three-hour naps in the afternoon which is freeing me up to work on weeding the garden and flower beds.  It feels so good to be doing normal things like weeding.  And weeding adds a whole new purpose when you get to feed them to your pigs.

Last year, the girls and I picked blueberries at a local, organic blueberry farm.  We had gone early and were the only ones there for awhile.  I was able to pick side by side with the owner and she graciously answered some of my pressing blueberry-growing questions.  In the past, we have netted our bushes to keep the birds away but at their farm, they had wire strung over the rows with sections of reflective tape tied to the wires which moved in the wind and made a lovely rustling sound.  I decided to order some and try it this year.  I also put some of it on stakes in our strawberry patch.  So far, it seems to be working with the strawberries but the blueberries aren't ripe enough yet to know.  When I went out to snap a picture for you I found this...

Is she turning her head away because she's blinded by the tape or is she calling her friends to tell them that there's no net this year?  In the picture the tape looks white, but it is a very shiny, prism-y, silver.

Our first CSA box comes this week!  While we're not planting much this year for preserving, we are planting a few things to eat fresh.  And then there's all that garden space that you can't just leave bare otherwise the weeds will take over and drop seeds for next year's garden. We are using landscaping plastic to help keep weeds down in the sections we aren't using.  

We're actually amazed our garden looks as good as it does.  It's strange how when you're overwhelmed it seems impossible to imagine having time again for anything.  But it comes.  

Just like the sun.