Still on Vacation.

It's been a great week having Laura here at the house and at the lake. I'm still bobbing from being on the boat so much. Laying in bed, it feels like the whole world is rocking slightly, like the boat as a wake from a long past cruiser passes by.

A few pictures.







On to more stimulating locales this afternoon. It's going to be a great weekend in Asheville.

I like it.

Sunday evening, I pulled the first two countertops from the forms. They aren't perfect. Nothing in this house is. I'm okay with that. I really like the look and feel of them.





The small holes created by air pockets will be filled with Portland cement before sealing them. There aren't many. The majority are in the center of the larger of the two countertops. I need to adjust my technique for the remaining piece. It's the largest at 102" long.



It's 72 degrees. The high today will again reach into the mid/upper 90s as we officially roll into summer. I need to spend a couple hours this morning watering a few things in the backyard. The potager and the grasses I planted last week are in dire need of rain. I've lost one squash plant. I believe the wind storm was to blame.

10:04am - The watering has been done. I'll do more tomorrow morning. I'm going to have to do a rain dance soon. It won't be pretty. It's 79 degrees, clear, and sunny. Humid is an understatement.

The first Yvonne's salvia blooms of the year. It reached 57" tall by the end of 2009.



The first hibiscus bloom. I think I grew this one from seed.



Milkweed. Wintersown in 2008/9. I hope to create lots more from cuttings in a few weeks.



A combination I like.

Right about now.

This is the time of year when I really start to miss the heat and humidity of June, July, and August. It's 34 degrees.























It may only be 40 days til spring, but the last frost of the season is still 3 months away. Hurry.

75 degrees before noon.

The plants are loving it. I, on the other hand, am sweating like a room full of red pocketbooks in a church filled with rocking chairs and long tailed cats. Or something like that.

I enlarged the rear white bed with half a load of leaf mulch. I'll plant castor beans here on Saturday to give me some summer privacy from the neighbor.



The rest went into the edge of the woods where the compost bin was. These things may look neat, but they don't do squat for composting.



Then I applied a thin layer of wood mulch from the landfill over several beds. It's free. I'll spend the next 2 weeks picking trash out of the mulch. I did the front bed, the driveway bed, and the white bed.





Lavender Hidcote Blue sprouts - wintersown. Careful not to cover small sprouts.



The backyard is now shady again thanks to all the leaves. The tomatoes and veggies get full sun for about 6 hours. From 1pm to 3pm, then from 5pm til sunset.



The potager got watered.



My melon garden. I'll plant watermelons and cantaloupes in these straw bales. Trying something new.



The first yellow knockout bloom of the season.



Off to take another shower, visit the elementary school for a photo-op, then come back home and put my okra in water to soak. Not sure what I will do this afternoon. The big jobs are now done in the yard. It's time to start thinking about the house.

2:41pm - Officially our warmest day of the year. 83 degrees in the shade.