Self control

When I was a kid, my younger brother and I would leaf through xmas catalogs, pointing and chanting "I want that and that and that and that..." Not much different than what I do now, but with seed catalogs. Since this is to be a rebuilding year, I had to put the brakes on. I want to grow something, but what?

Part of the plan for this year is to subscribe to a CSA, so I started by looking through the list of fruit and vegetables they supply. This helped me narrow my garden list to the following:

• Peas - snow, snap, and English
• Sweet potatoes (which I plan to start from my own slips)
• White potatoes (for winter storage)
• Paste tomatoes
• Green beans (to freeze)
• Onions (for winter storage)

I am also going to start beds of:

• strawberries
• raspberries
• asparagus

For flowers, there will be marigolds, zinnias, sunflowers, and magic lilies, aka naked ladies. Since the winter rye I tested for viability FAILED, Canadian field peas was added to the list, for green manure. And, because I could not help myself, I also ordered a blueberry plant.

And that's all! Sometimes I start feeling overwhelmed by the garden before I have planted even one seed, but this feels manageable. The potatoes will grow in grow sacks, the veggies will go into 5 of the new raised beds, strawberries and asparagus in the raised beds by the patio, and the raspberries in the long raised bed. The magic lilies are for the south side of ths house, the other flowers to fill in the blanks. Not sure where I will put that blueberry plant.

I'm excited!

And now, for your amusement, some more squirrel pictures.

Me watching you watching me

Pole dancing