Not so Fast

I checked on my plants again last night and several plants that looked to be in bad shape bounced back.  I'm hoping we don't get another Tropical Storm anytime soon, but glad to see my plants are doing fine.

Joy

June Garden

The Tropical storm ravaged my little garden plot.  Several plants drowned and a few others look pretty haggard.  Here's the plot though.  

And the Verdict....

So, I'm in a walking cast for the next 4 weeks.  Maybe.  I'm going in for a MRI scan on Friday.  I see the Doctor again in about 10 days.  Once we agree upon the next step (surgery or PT), I'm going to lobby for an ankle brace.  But I'm already wearing an ankle brace while driving and in the garden.  I'm just wearing the cast in the office and on my commute.  

Hobbling

I've always had joints that are a little loose. Consequently, I've twisted my ankle quite a few times growing up.  About 10 years ago I tore several ligaments in my left ankle.  I've been to an orthopedist twice for that foot and now get to go back a third time to see about the foot.  I've been limping for nearly a month here and there, but the foot is getting worse and my roommate is pretty sure its bursitis.  Here's hoping this time PT and my bicycle(s) will get this foot moving in no time.

Garden Floods

Rain is a great thing for crops.  Three inches of rain over the weekend and another 1-3 inches today plus a possible derecho (rain and tornado level winds) and I'm thinking about converting my little garden in a rice paddy.  I checked the garden on Saturday and the garden was wet, but only my lettuce was flooded (about three inches).  The lettuce needs to be harvested, but may not happen for a few days because of these silly storms.  I'm also thinking I need a different plot next year.  We'll see.

Joy

Garden of Eatin'

So, as most of you should know, I'm a Chinquapin community gardener as of March of this year.  I've been on the waiting list for years (literally. It's been 5 years) so I was excited to get a plot.  The plots are good sized.  They are approximately 15 feet by 20 feet.  Needless to say, I've taken my time to fill the plot with vegetables, partly because we had a cold spring.  Some of my plants are doing better than others and I've found that part of the garden drains into my plot which is a bit of a problem, but my lettuce seem to thrive on being "swamp" lettuce so there's that.  I'm a little nervous about this summer.  We're already going to get "slop" from the first Tropical Storm of the season and I'm a little worried about my garden's ability to drain itself.  But they are plants and it is Virginia where everything that can, will grow.

April 2013.  You can see my porcelain owl in the corner there.

June 2013. 

Tomatoes.  There's three tomatoes on the closest plant.

Summer Squash, peppers and Brussel Sprouts.  the makeshift net is my peas and beans.

Another garden shot

An Open Letter to the Neighborhood Mosquitos

I get it.  You smell fear or something.  You know exactly where to bite so my leg gets welts the size of silver dollars and I'm miserable for a couple of days.  I don't understand how you know where to bite because your brain has to be tiny, but whatever.  Seriously though, twice in less than a week in the same leg and about two inches away from the last bite?  Is this what my summer is going to be like this year?  We haven't even hit July where I just know I'm going to be an itchy mess and keep a bottle of Benadryl topical gel at the office and at home.  Anyway, I'm not really complaining, I'm just mystified at my luck.

Thanks for hearing me out,
Joy