Chores

Even though I stagger the seeds and starts, getting everything in the garden seems like a rush of activity. My schedule is full of “plant this today, plant that tomorrow, prune the tomatoes, cut back the lettuce” and on and on.

It’s hectic and exhilarating.

Then, once it’s all in the ground, the waiting starts.

In between obsessively checking for green sprouts and flowery buds, we have our daily chores.

First thing we do every morning after breakfast is check on the little chickens. We make sure their food dish is full and they have plenty of water.

Next, we head out to check for eggs and bring fresh water to our old gals. They’ve been a bit subdued since losing two from the flock so I’ve been bringing them treats to try and cheer them.

They loved the frozen bananas and seem to enjoy having iced water.

We walk around checking on the trees, making sure the weeds are pulled back and they have plenty of water.

Then it’s time to go on Japanese Beetle patrol.

We’ve found troops of them attacking the aronia leaves and a few lone soldiers have gone after the grapes.

Armed with bug gun and a dish of soapy water, our resident bug hunter is on the case. He pulls them off the leaves and either squishes them or plops them in the water as treats for the depressed chickens.

We check for eggs one more time before the afternoon is out and then stroll through the garden looking for those green sprouts, yellow buds and first signs of fruit.

Then, we get up the next day and start all over again. It may sound monotonous, but every day brings something new and exciting.

One day the blackberries are pink, only to be black and sweet the next.

One day the broccoli flower is tiny, only to be big and sweet the next.

One day the marigolds have tiny green buds, only to have orange and yellow flowers the next.

There are a new surprises every day.

Daily garden chores
Varying shades of delight
Always something new