Watering and Pest Management Systems

I’m in the process of getting the watering system set up in the garden. Our rainy months are May and June, and we’re already behind in rainfall for this month. If June isn’t rainy, we may be in a world of hurt for the rest of the summer. It isn’t uncommon to go through July and August with not a drop of precipitation. There will be moisture in the atmosphere, but it will evaporate before it hits the ground.

The peas went in yesterday morning—finally—and then we got a couple of hours of rain after dinner, so that worked out well. I also filled in the empty spots in the strawberry bed with runners from a few of the more vigorous plants.

We likely will have to resort to shooting at some point, but I am trying to give the rabbits, squirrels, and turkeys an opportunity to see the error of their ways. I am auditioning a variety of pest management systems this year. (Bugs are the least of my worries.) The fake snakes are over by the peas. I bought a fake owl, put crushed walnut shells in it for weight, and set it by the ground squirrel holes:

I am supposed to move it around every couple of days.

I’m also putting decoy strawberries in the strawberry bed to confound the turkeys:

The husband does not believe this will work. We shall see. In any case, painting rocks is very relaxing.

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Knitting peeps, did you hear the sad, sad news that XRX, Inc., has filed for bankruptcy? So many great memories from the days of Knitters magazine and teaching at Stitches events . . .

Yesterday’s mail brought the gift of a pair of lovely spiral cable needles from Mama Sauce (Nicole Sauce’s mother).

I had the great fortune to spend time relaxing and knitting with her at the LFTN Spring Workshop a few weeks ago, and now I am feeling the need to cast on a project so I can try these out.

However, once this plant sale is over and the garden is in, I am devoting a couple of weeks to sewing. It has been almost two months since I have worked on anything substantial. I’ve got inventory to finish for the craft co-op sale—including a quilt—projects I want to make on the new machine, and some clothing patterns I want to try. I have about three currently-not-scheduled weeks on the calendar and I am going to do my level best to keep them clear for sewing. I should be able to get quite a bit done if I put my nose to the grindstone.

I’ll be at the Bernina Meet-and-Greet with Paul Ashworth, CEO of Bernina, next Monday at the Quilt Gallery. I offered to help out as I was planning to be there anyway. I will be assisting customers with the sergers.