What’s happening around these parts? It’s green. Really green. The forsythia, violets, and apple blossoms have passed. The first wave of dandelions have seeded, and the daffodils are done. This is the green spot before the rest of the daisies open, our late lilac blooms, and the wild rose explodes (but only for a short week). And then the red bee balm, the orange daylillies, and the red clover will brighten all the corners.
Green. We spend so many months in a sort of grey haze – the green feels lush and wondrous. Green space feels right. Swathes of greenery – leaves, buds, grape curls, grasses, clovers – our yard has many nongrass friends; plantain, henbit, buttercups, wild strawberry, violets, pineapple weed, and errant nightshades, docks, primroses, oats, wild carrot, yarrow, cleavers – all just a sampling of what was here before we moved here.
There’s been a lot of wind this past year, so much wind but not enough water. We have ‘enough’ for now – enough to make it all green. I hope we can keep it that way until at least November. The dragonflies have hatched – they save us from mosquitos. Duende has been building bat houses – they save us from brown tail moths. And soon we will build some Owl boxes and see if we can’t dim this tick population by lessening the vole and field mice population. The insect troubles are real – so real. By Fall we will apply some nematodes to curb the rose chafers next Spring. I want to let nature just be its own nature-self but I suppose like any other party, you invite the folks that you want to congregate with, and dissuade the rest from showing up.
Rock Bottom Homestead 