Sit Rep

It's time for a situation report.

Hectic is not a word that I associate with free time in the summer, but hectic it has been here.
The combination of new and existing projects and the postponing of garden work due to climatic conditions has me now in a difficult place. That is to say that in terms of getting caught up with garden work (cleaning, sowing and planting out) and keeping to my other responsibilities there is the inevitable conflict of schedule items or dates.
I have been keeping the appointments and doing the garden work in-between these and rain showers. The net result is that when I can get out to the lotties, I work very long days which does test one's musculature, if you know what I mean.

Well then, in the time allotted, I have been able to get some things planted in stages. The broad beans are in, the beets are in and have been pricked-out and transplanted in small beds beside the sowing bed.


You can see above that they look pretty sorry. This job had to be done in weather that was not at all ideal for the job--it was in the high 20's C and even though it was late in the afternoon, still too hot and windy. Ach, but what must be done, must be done...time was running out and I was so far behind.

The French climbers' turn was next.
One thing I always like doing is putting up the bean poles, for once they are up I really feel like my season has begun.


We had put in the spuds some time ago, also in stages, as you can see by the various sizes of the plants. Well, here is only a small corner of the potato patch, but you can still see the difference in size of the ones on the left and the ones on the right...right?


With all the sun, high temps and wind...the strawbs suffered a bit and had to be watered frequently during this very important stage in their development. It's always something with strawberries.
Early on one has to be mindful of sudden frosts which can kill the blooms, it is the heat and worst of the wind which dries out the foliage...then the plants must get enough water to allow them to produce nice, fat and juicy fruits--strawbs are a "water fruit", you know.
Of course it doesn't end there, there must be some kind of mulch for the berries to rest on so that they won't rot...also it must help retain moisture.
Ach, the list goes on and on. If I didn't have a weakness for them, I could easily NOT grow those guys.


All this work is not without pauses. Yes...I NEED pauses. heh heh heh. You know, a little tee, a little sitting...and when possible a little nature. This time it was the mother swan bringing her cygnets out for a little look-see from their nest on the land's end point.

I know that cygnets can ride on the backs of their mums--I have seen it on the telly and in pictures in books and so forth., but to see it live and in person right in the sloot (small canal) next to the plots is a bonus of the most delightful kind.


My partner saw them first and snapped-up that little camera and sprinted off to the neighbour's to wait for them to float by. She got some fotos of them feeding.


She and the neighbour lady were chatting and taking pics one after the other...then she saw that the swans were coming back down my way, so she came hopping back into our garden just in time to catch this parting shot from the far corner of our lottie.


What a sight this was. The pause stretched out to almost 40 minutes. hahaha. I was a bit sorry that I didn't have the larger camera with me. I had left it home because in fact I had come to work and did not expect such a foto opportunity. Thank goodness for the small camera though.

It isn't all work and no play here though--One day we had to take off to do the bird conservation thing outsider a village called, Holysloot. This is a picture of a tiny nature preserve and this is a sort of floating boardwalk that you must walk over for part of the walk.


It was so beautiful there and so quiet--amazing really, when you stop to think that it is situated under the smoke of Amsterdam...very close, that is to say.

The place was full of bird songs coming from unseen avians ensconced in the reeds. Oh, it was nice waiting there for the rest of the group to come.
I had arrived thirty minutes early and used the time to walk about in that preserve. It was the wrong place though. The TomTom said that it was the place, but in fact where I needed to be was a bit further, ~3-5 Km's further. We eventually did find the leader of the team on up the road and spent from 10:00 until seven hours walking the fields and observing.
We found a couple of new nests and checked the others.
Here you can see a Kievit's nest which was situated in the open along the banks of a slootje. The kievit is called a "Lapwing" in British english.


Back at the ranch, on another day...We saw a cute scarecrow that Netty put up. I just wanted to show you:


My flower garden is beginning to fill out a bit now. Here is a view taken from the gate.


Another view shows the damast plants and the Oriental poppies. I like red and white as a combination.


On another day, the weather finally broke and became quite cool and it rained...and rained.....and rained. here I am looking out the door of our little garden house.


Out the windows you can see the new little flower plot with flowering geraniums and trollius. It is bordered with campanula which has bloom buds already.


Hopefully tomorrow will be dry and I can resume the clean-up in the flower garden. Of course there will be a whole new horde of tiny little weeds which will have broken the surface of the soil waiting for attention. The gardening continues.

 

Beautiful pictures as usual. I love looking at the little swans. I like those brown eggs, too.
I can see that I am not the only one who runs out of hours at the end of a day. It's been hot here so an afternoon break is called for and I can sew for awhile. But, the weeds are overtaking me. One of these days people will have to come rescuing me and won't be able to see me for the weeds.

dooley

 

Sjoerd,That was a very nice tour of your garden. I love it. Hope mine gets that filled in and pleasant. I love the Swans of course. Those babies are so so cute.

Barb in Pa.

 

Hey DOOLEY--Thanks for your nice comments. Don't sweat the weeds, there'll be time one 'o these days. ;-)

Thanks BARB-- I am glad you liked the tour and the swans...what's not to like, eh? They were looking particularly cute that day.

TONI--You say the nicest things. Thank you. I sure hope that you get your shed. I have not been sorry that I got that thing. I spend way more time in it than I expected. Fingers crossed that it will be ready on time.

Thanks so much, EILEEN--I am surprised as well that things are going as well as it is in the garden, but it has come because of some awfully long days.
The lapwing's call-- Well, one of the calls that it has. To our ears, that call sounds like "kievit" and to you it sounds like "peewee". I can see that.
It rained here all day, so I could rest those muscles. You won't hear me complaining about a day of rest. hahaha.

 

Another wonderful tour Sjoerd. I so love to go on these tours with you ... your gardens are always so neat and tidy, never a weed to be seen. I love those Swans too, I wish I could see some here - Canadian Geese just arent the same as those graceful swans. Netty's scarecrow is cute

 

Thanks, S! That was another great day in the garden with you. It is always so interesting to see what you do and how you do it. Do you thin the beets and replants the ones you thin out?

The swan was cool, too. I loved seeing the cygnet up on her back as she was floating through the water.

All your flowers are beautiful, now. I was expecting to still see bare ground after your last weather report.

 

All I can say is "Wow!!!" you sure did plenty with so much time restriction. Your lottie is such a beautiful place and I sure wish I have a stream running by my garden! Well done Sojerd!

 

Everything is looking so good. I can't imagine how wonderful it would be if you had alot of extra time to spend in your gardens!
Like the others have said, the swans are just too cute.
But I must say, all that beauty.

 

Thanks so much, NETTY--Just don't look too close for those weeds, for they are definitely there-- both little and large.
Canada Geese come here too, in their thousands. There is a place along the dike where they situate themselves, and the ground is so heavily covered with their bobbing bodies that you can't see a blade of grass. It is something to see. Sometimes if I am on that dike at night, I stop and in the stillness I can hear their soft murmuring in the blackness of the night. It is magical.
I shall tell the Netty here that her namesake liked her scarecrow. Oké?

Hiyah C--I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the posting. I think that you know that I am acutely interested in what you do and how too. Your operation dwarfs mine, but still...the gardening principals are the same. I like hearing what specific types of veg you are growing as well...and of course your wise words concerning beekeeping.
I am beginning to enjoy the flowers now that they are beginning to show themselves.
The swans are always present, except in winter. I like them but I do not want them on my plot as they eat and poop too much.

KK-- Thank you for your nice words. That water feature next to the plot is handy for watering the flowers and some veg that will be cooked.
You could have water at your place too....all you have to do is construct a water mill on the banks of the Sungai Melaka. It will be brought up and out of the river and be splashed into an aquaduct which would lead to your home. The aquaduct then would spill into a reservoir and then you could dig a stream to meander across your property as you see fit. The overflow could go into the sewers, which might be brought back to the river. Simple, right? ;-)

Thank you CHERYL-- I hope that next year will be one where I have more time for the garden, and of course that the elements work WITH me instead of against. But as we say here--"No one has a program for the Concert of Life".
It'll be 'wait and see'.

 

Ditto on very pretty flowers + the swans. One of my customer Coons got into Swan eggs.He was VERY upset. I would be also-they are so graceful. I want to try and grow some more Lupines. Floods in 08 killed mine

 

Wow, I am impressed! You got so much done and everything is so lovely! I really enjoyed the tour! Thank you!

 

Awwwww, the swan and cygnets are so cute! Your plot looks wonderfully organized and colourful as always. I wonder if you have organized a quality testing of your fruit and veggies this year? Quality testing is very important you know. ;-) Those blooms of yours look very fresh, I like the vivid red of the poppy. Netty's scarecrow looks a bit too friendly, don't you think?

 

Thanks KOSZ--Good luck with your Lupines. They come in a real variety of colours, both single and bi-coloured.

Thank you, CrisGzr-- Glad that you liked the posting. I appreciate your comments.

Hey DROOPY-- thanks for the nice words, meid.
Yes, Netty's scarecrow is just a pretty face, I'm afraid. hahaha.The jackdaws and wood pigeons just make fun of her, poor thing.
As for the testing--well, the preliminary testing has begun, but in the second phase we are bringing in a board of independent tasters and samplers from abroad. I have heard that starlings are a good gauge too...so I shall keep my eyes open for them. Do you think that there is anything to that?