Just as quick as it came, the plum cucurlio left - only to be replaced by rose chafers. The little guys are mating all over the place and, to feed their appetite, munching on fruit sets of most trees. As far as we know, there’s nothing to do about it except wait for the cycle to pass and sort through the remaining fruit, thinning out what has been chomped.
The last couple of days have been mixed with stormy clouds, saturating rains and fresh warm sun. The garden is lively with the ideal weather. We’re harvesting radishes and salad mix daily. Head lettuce will be ready for next weeks market along with collards, chard, and more radishes and salad mix.
Because the local village markets are rather small and there are already a couple vegetable vendors in attendance, we are tossing around the idea of serving drip coffee and cookies alongside our veggies. Maybe adding too many things to the table or maybe the smell of coffee and baked goods will draw more people?
Last night we found a curled-up fawn in the tall grass next to our garden. We watched it lay motionless until it could take it no more, jumping to its feet and bounding through the garden. Took out a few radishes and maybe a flower or two. We hung drier sheets throughout the garden in hopes that the smell would keep them away. Very cute.
In other endeavors, we scored a hand-crank ice cream maker at a garage sale - heavy cream, vanilla, dark chocolate, sugar, and fresh mint never tasted so good. We’ve also been drinking our first attempt at a dandelion ale - earthy and refreshing on warm days.
