some work

I've finally got out in the garden to start doing a bit of work again. Yesterday I cleaned up three of the beds, mostly pulling weeds, where I did a silly thing a month ago. On a whim I planted kidney beans. We've been eating the end of an older package of the dry beans, and I'd been tossing the unsuitable ones into the compost bin. Where some of them sprouted. So I thought hey, if the beans will sprout in my bin, won't they sprout in the ground. And beans will grow fast, like the heat, without needing much attention. So on a day when I really shouldn't have been working, I cleared the ground in three beds, made rows of holes with a stick, and sowed a few dozen kidney beans. No idea if the climate here is good for them, if they'll mature in time (planted late!) or anything, and it was a bad idea that day to do physical labor, even though it wasn't much. It was too much for me. 

But look! Two of the beds, about half the beans sprouted. Ha. That does feel satisfying.

That day I also cut back the dill, which had grown into a towering thing with drying brown umbrels of seed. Tall just like in that book I looked at disbelieving two years ago. I saved the seed.

It's much tidier around there now. I also cut back the lovage which was towering over my head and full of yellowed, bug-attacked leaves. That was all yesterday. Today I trimmed grass edge around four of the beds, and used it as mulch on the beans. I cut back the catmint which was going crazy and flopping all over the place, too tall. The ones I puzzled over earlier in the summer? Also catmint, they look just the same now. This little plant 

did grow up into blue sage! Cheers me to see it, even if there's only one.

In the herb bed I cut back the lemon balm which was making leggy seed stalks, and the sculpit whose balloon flowers were flopping all over the top of other plants, and happily saw the winter savory is thriving again! I trimmed that one a bit just to encourage spread. Trimmed lavender back from the edge but going to do a proper pruning later when I can take more care for the shape.

I startled a rabbit out of the perennials when carrying stuff back to dump in the compost bin. Found a yellowish toad when I was trimming grass edges. And saw the most beautiful thing- a brilliantly gold beetle. It looks like a ladybird that's a jewel. Not kidding, it's spectacular. There were two. I caught one and took inside put in a jar (with a loose lid) to identify. Came back the next morning to take a photo before setting it free- and it had changed color. Now a duller orangish tan with translucent edges and faint spots. I'd read they do that, but hadn't expected to see it. I hope I find another one and get a photo of the gold color, it was just so stunning.

There's a giant squash growing in bed nine. At least, I think it's a squash. I thought it was a volunteer zucchini, from the year before. The leaves are wrong- they're too round and not notched enough. It does have the big yellow flowers just like a squash, but only one plant so don't know if I'll get any fruit to find out. 

There's lots more to catch up on, but that little bit of work just got me so tired- in a good way! I'm happy to be physically tired from actual work again, instead of dragging tired from illness and recovery. 

My milkweeds are tall and robust and making fat fuzzy-edged seedpods. But no sign of monarch caterpillars. I feel like I always expect them too early, so will check again! 

Up the railings to the deck, the handful of cardinal climber I planted late, is finally getting its height. But no flowers yet. And no hummingbirds. The blue salvia on smaller sideyard is in flower, but I just haven't been out there enough to see if the hummingbird visits. I'm sad to think it might have gone to forage elsewhere for the season because I didn't have cardinal climber growing for it yet.

Last thing to note: I learned this week that I can soften crystalized honey in my greenhouse, and melt butter for a baking recipe, and put dough in there to rise. But it's not quite hot enough to melt candle wax out of the bottom of a jar! (Worth a try, I thought).