Invigorating Rain

We have had quite a lot of rain in the past few days. Everything is growing quickly. The iris have been blooming and I love them dearly. I've never had an established stand of them before and am enjoying them. The wild blackberry bushes are flowering, enabling me to try to learn to tell the difference between them and poison ivy. Eradicating the poison ivy is one of my projects to begin this year.

Today on a walk I saw young dragonflies and saw a very young praying mantis not far from an egg case. I watched blue birds bring nesting materials to one of the boxes that are out for them. I saw and smelled a lot of blooming honeysuckle.

One of my older tea roses is still alive, I was thrilled to discover. It has been growing in a 5-gallon bucket for 7 years yet has flourished and its blooms have increased in size each year. When it was slow to come back this spring I was concerned--for no reason, as it turns out. I will plant it in the ground in the next few weeks.

We've been growing an apple tree in a garbage can for a few years, knowing we were hoping to move and take it with us. This is the first time it has produced little fruits, although most of them blew off in the recent storms. Still it's good to know that it will fruit and it also will be planted in the ground, although we may hold off on that until it goes dormant again. It's interesting that it fruited despite the limitations of growing in a garbage can.

The garden is growing rapidly and loving all the recent rain. In it we have planted cucumbers, sunflowers, purple hull peas, butterbeans, okra, pole beans, tomatoes, peppers, corn, and potatoes. There is more to be planted one of these weekends. The broccoli was a little disappointing in that a couple of the plants went to flower before producing a head but it's been suggested we try another variety next year. It wasn't a complete dud, though. The cauliflower is growing. It's too soon for it to be harvested. Hubby is impatient for it and can't wait to pickle it.

That's the latest on our happenings. It doesn't sound like a lot when I write it all down but it sure has kept us busy. We're loving it, though.