It's a beautiful morning in the Ozarks!  but a little chilly and so much dew that I got wet almost to my knees checking a  calf in the east field.



See that tiny head peeking over the grass?  I thought it was a new baby but on closer inspection saw that it was one born a few days ago.  I saw more thistles......an ongoing problem.  We have decided mowing is the best method of control.  I don't like herbicides and it gets pretty expensive to keep spraying.

While I was out doing my 'walk about', I turned on the sprinkler in the garden and at the dining room porch  beds.  While we aren't seriously dry, I thought they could use a drink.  I will leave them on about an hour which figures about l inch with our pressure on the well.

I haven 't accomplished a lot over the last week.  I did make us a rhubarb pie from the rhubarb my Sis gives me each year.  DH wasn't  thrilled but he ate a piece whenever I did.  I hope she won't have to supply me next year.  I have a year-old plant and just ordered two Starkrimson Rhubarb plants from Stark Brothers (who else).  The are currently residing in two large flower pots and have already sprouted large leaves.  It looks like they will have a nice red color (I hope).  I did my normal routine of cooking and housekeeping (very little).

We did have DH's mother out for Mother's Day.  We had picked up the new corn-fed beef on Saturday morning so we were able to test out some steaks for dinner.  We all thought it was very good, tender and juicy.  There was lots of marbling in the red meat which is what we were striving for by feeding corn for 90 days.  She requested a peach cobbler, but I had to substitute apricots....out of peaches now.  She brought  me  a 'hostess' gift.  It was a new large rain gauge that I can read by just looking out the back door.  No more bringing the can in the house and measuring with a ruler!  She's the best MIL to be had.

Gardening

I finally planted the sweet corn and Cherokee Trail of Tears pole beans (that's what I am watering this morning).  I also got my long row of new strawberries planted. I hadn't ordered from Stark Brothers in Louisiana,  Missouri in a very long time and was very pleased with the product and quick service.  I bought 25 strawberries and two rhubarb plants and received them within a week or less.

I hoed out the row of cauliflower  and broccoli but didn't quite finish the tiny little bed of spinach and carrots.

I harvested a gallon bag of cilantro (all self-seeded).  I washed, dried and chopped it.  Then flash froze it and put it in a gallon bag.  I should be able to measure out what I need easily.  I use it in my salsa recipe.

I still need to get the tomato and pepper plants planted and hope to begin that today.  I keep getting interrupted with something.

Weeding

I am currently working on the light pole and new bed around the generator.  The goal is to finish that today.  I did two hours day before yesterday and then the trimmer refused to cooperate.   DH was going to finish mowing the west yard and the mower died.  I hate to let him near my equipment.....he always has bad luck....I will see if it will start this morning, if not, a trip to Bolivar is in our future.  I am sure I just flooded the trimmer.............

The snap peas I planted this year were new to me and the jury is still out.  I keep pulling pods off and they don't seem nearly as sweet to me as previous ones.  The are lush and very tall.  I did two different varieties as you can clearly see.  I keep waiting for the pods to fill out more but it seems very slow to me.  I  will water them deeply today and see if that helps....if not, I will just harvest at  this stage.

One the strong winds blew part of the row off the fence.



Flowers

This always amazes me.  For  two years now this rose campion has grown out of this stump in the humming bird bed.  It seems to do as well as the ones growing in the dirt.

This is the first year  my clematis Jackmanii Superba has bloomed nicely.  I manage to accidentally cut it down a couple of times while  trimming the last two years....that doesn't speed up things at all.



As you can see by the feeder, the hummers are back.  We saw  several  Sunday. Still no orioles and not too many butterflies.