Weekend in Review: Gates and gardens

Last week we were told we had a renter lined up for 507. There were a couple little issues but overall the couple seemed okay, so we accepted the contract.  They have a dog--a golden/lab mix about 8 years old--and the gate at 507 was not really what you would call secure, so we decided to fix it this weekend.

I was the demolition expert with a small sledge hammer and more enthusiasm than skill I knocked the two sections on either side of the gate down. That and a little figuring were the only parts I played in that part of the venture. Ornery put up new fence all the way across (about 30 pickets total including the gate) and built a new gate.  It looks really nice and it is much more secure than before.

I worked at taming the wild vegetation that has sprung up since I last worked in the flower beds. I filled two bags of branches, leaves and trees.  Ornery worked at the job too, and I think we are ready for the renters to take possession.  IF they decide to take the house, that is--last I heard they were waffling.  Goodness what a mess this has been!  I know eventually the right person will get in there, but the wait has not been all that pleasurable... just sayin'.

When I was home I was hanging out in my CLEAN studio! I made 8 cards and a journal, wrote a couple letters and just sat there gazing at the beautiful room! I have to pinch myself sometimes to believe it is real!  The journal was an impromptu gift for my niece, and after a brief text conversation this morning I had some ideas of what she might like.  Unfortunately, I am not the hipster she is, and didn't have what I needed to match her preference... so I painted it myself!  I got my twinkling H2O's out and made a background for the cover.  It turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself.  I can't post photos until she sees it as it is a surprise...

We also got the tomato cages up on the tomatoes and a couple flowers that needed support.  Some of the flowers are starting to wane, others seem to be getting a second wind. Columbine, which I have never tried to grow in pots before, is putting on a second set of blooms, but the impatiens stopped blooming altogether.   The carnations looked like they were going to bloom another time, but just as happened last summer, all the buds dried up and died on the second set.

I have a very bright red pepper on one of the plants Michael and Elizabeth bought for me, but I don't dare try to cook with it--I think he said he bought some habaneros and I certainly couldn't handle the heat from those!  Asparagus is apparently not a good plant for container gardening. Half of it has died and the rest doesn't look normal. I guess I'll pull it out and put something else in that barrel.  Lettuce really liked it last year... I read in my perennial book last week that delphiniums do not like hot and humid weather, and rarely make it a second season in those conditions.  That could explain why mine looks so puny. The coleus are gorgeous, though, and while some of the herbs seem to be failing, others are thriving.  Go figure!

We have a busy week coming up.  Monday we meet with a guy to set up an LLC for our rental properties, Tuesday we are having the right-of-way behind 507 cleared, and Thursday we are hosting a little party here for July 4th.  Ornery's mom, Elizabeth, Michael and Jeff are joining our next door neighbors and us for burgers and dogs on the grill.  I am looking forward to it a lot.

I mostly have the house picked up from our shuffle, but we didn't get the daybed finished for the library or the lawn mowed this weekend since we were at 507 most of the time.  The weather has given us a delightful reprieve, however, so hopefully we will get a few more things done before Thursday.  Ornery is off on Friday as well as the Fourth, and I think he will be doing the little plumbing job with the water filters that day.