Twilight

Twilight, with tree-buds and tree-flowers, and chickens scratching in the compost and everything in the garden loving this week of warmth, and an ambitious Pete-cat trying to break into a birdhouse to swallow baby swallows. Snack? Hehllooooo, snack for hungry Pete? Oh, this guy.
This week was pretty mellow. I dug into the two big projects that will stay with me all summer: digging bishop's weed out of the circle garden beside the driveway, and of course working on the house exterior. I put in four hours or so on the front porch this week, and have not a whole lot to show for it: I burned and scraped paint off of maybe a four-foot length of spindles (urgh, spindles!) and gave the whole porch a second coat of that lovely dark blue color. I should make a weekly habit of taking a picture out there, so I can make a time-lapse video of the summer's progress. It will be slow progress, to be sure, so time-lapse is probably the only way to go. But in the end, it'll be so rewarding. 
Bishop's weed is awful stuff, to be sure, but this week I've had the "assistance" of the chicken brigade while I work. Loretta, especially. She is not afraid to get between my shovel and the ground when a juicy earthworm is involved. That whole area, once I de-weed it all, is going to be a place for some perennial herbs and flowers to attract beneficial insects to my garden. In late June all the perennials get marked down to $1 apiece at Frog Pond, which is about when I'm going to hitch up my mules and head down there and haul home all they have. 
Tomorrow I decamp for New York City for a few days, to stay with my sweet aunt and still the ever-turning mental hamster wheel that is May for a gardener like me. I had so much fun switching off for a few days last year, when I went, that I decided it should be a yearly tradition. So, I'll be wearing cute skirts and walking through the Botanical Garden where I don't have to worry about weeds, or bugs, or germination rates-- and that will be just fine.
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