Finally Finished Weeding the Blueberry Ring

August 16, 2026 On August 12, I got up early and took a look at the vegetable garden. I noticed two butterflies in the garden. This butterfly was on a pepper plant. I often see it flitting about. It seems to be the only one right now. I know butterflies can stay in the same […]

Resuming Work on Blueberry Ring

August 15, 2026 On August 11, I resumed weeding the blueberry ring. I made good progress on getting towards the other end. While I was weeding, Bruce found another use for the tractor. Wait until you see what he did! I finally remembered to take pictures of the blueberry ring. The end was in sight, […]

Mulching Made Easier Using Tractor

August 14, 2026 Updated on August 15, 2026 On August 10, I got up and put the collapsed cardboard boxes into the wagon. I put a knife in my pocket to cut the cardboard. It was the start of mulching time. I cut and put the cardboard around the newly planted pawpaw and around the […]

If That Mockingbird Won’t Sing…

August 7, 2026 On August 5, I put together the garden kneeler and seat I ordered from Amazon. It was mostly easy to put together. It was hard to push the buttons in to release the extendable feet for extra stability. One button worked just fine and the other was a struggle. Using a chopstick, […]

More Cowbell, Oops, Not Cowbell, I Meant More Tractor and Chainsaw

August 6, 2026 On August 3, while I was finishing up the weeding, I am sure some of you (Tom from Reiko’s Journey) were wondering what Bruce was up to. Bruce clipped the blackberry thickets to make straight sides. This allowed him to safely mow next to them. He also clipped the blackberries around the […]

Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Hummingbirds and Flower Bed Weeding Done

August 6, 2026 On August 3, I spent the cool of the morning pulling out the last of the weeds from the flower garden. The flower garden jungle is tamed. In the early afternoon, I took a walk around the garden to determine what should be done next. First task, kill the Harlequin bugs on […]

Almost Done Taming the Flower Bed Jungle

August 4, 2026 On August 1, 2026, in the morning and afternoon, Bruce and I did a lot of outdoor work. In the evening, I saw this bird on the feeder. Using the picture, the Merlin app wasn’t able to identify the bird. When I used the step by step, I was able to find […]

And the Jungle Is Less Wild

August 1, 2026 On July 30, in the late afternoon and early evening, Bruce used the leaf sweeper mower attachment for sweeping the hay from mowing. Bruce used his soaked water vest to keep cool. While Bruce was sweeping the yard, he saw a mouse. He said the mouse ran away from him and stuck […]

And Now, Back to the Present

July 30, 2026 On July 26, we started to try to tame jungle Blackberry Homestead had become. We had an overnight thunderstorm that knocked down an old branch from the oak. Bruce mowed at the highest setting on the mower deck. There was no speed mowing that Bruce normally enjoys. It was slow going and […]

Still Back in Time to the Middle of July

July 27, 2026 On July 9, there was more rain in the early morning. After everything dried out from the rain, I headed out to the garden. I picked tomatoes. I spotted this cutie on a bean leaf. The sunset was gorgeous over the house. We headed out to hunt hornworms. A toad was sitting […]