Early May in my garden

We're still in the sweet spot, garden-wise, at this point in the year. Everything is growing and thriving, and the heat, bugs, diseases, and general malaise of high summer still seem far away. 

Here are a few pictures from my garden as of this afternoon. I'll start with my current obsession: my baby Eustacia Vye rose! Her first bloom is beginning to open, and I'm in love.

There are nine more flower buds now, too.  It's hard to believe this rose was planted as a bare root at the end of March. 

In other good (but somewhat less exciting) garden updates, here are a few more photos of things I'm growing, all taken this afternoon:

The five blueberry bushes are still fairly small but loaded with berries. The plant growth on all five has been very slow, but this year I've finally started fertilizing on a regular basis. I'm hoping they'll start to take off as a result. As it is, we'll probably get three or four cups of blueberries at the most....and that's if we feel like fighting with the birds and squirrels for them. (Probably not). At least the plants seem healthy, though!

Poppy is a great garden companion. She walks with me while I inspect everything, the tomatoes, peppers, beans, corn...

See the nest box in this next picture? There's currently a bluebird family taking up residence! Mom and Dad work tirelessly all day long bringing food to the babies, and it's a real joy to watch. The current brood are just about ready to fledge. 

After a very late start, my lettuce is finally starting to look like....lettuce! Haha. The carrots planted beside it are finally sprouting but they're not worth taking a picture of yet. Next year I need to get on the ball much, much, much sooner with the lettuce and carrots.

We built a tripod for the cucumbers to climb. They're looking good right now, too.

And finally, the corn. 

Lovely May

It's such a beautiful time of year. Just yesterday I was sitting outside after work, drinking in all the loveliness around me and trying to think of how I would describe it to you.

One thousand shades of green. Friendly birds at the feeders; house finches, sparrows, cardinals, mourning doves, wrens, grackles, chickadees and the occasional goldfinch, all calmly eating their fill despite two humans and two canines sitting close by. An American robin hopping in the grass among butter-yellow dandelions. Warm sunshine and blue skies. A clan of unusual red squirrels that live in this part of the neighborhood, chasing each other merrily around the big old oak tree out front. The sound of the children (all new to our street) riding their bikes and playing after school. The frogs and crickets, singing, when the sun starts to set.

I can barely stand to be inside, this time of year.

For your Saturday enjoyment, and in keeping with the theme of appreciating the natural world, here is a beautiful piece of writing I wanted to share with you today.