Chopping and Shopping

Monday and Tuesday we had cool weather, just right for working outside, and we put in two busy days chopping and pruning and trimming. The compost bins are full and we have bags and bins of hedge prunings awaiting yard waste pick up. It will take several truck pick up days to get rid of it all.

But the spent perennials are cut back and all of the pruning has been done and picked up.

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Out in the vegetable/cut flower garden the dahlias are beginning to bloom. They will be the makings for many bouquets for the rest of the summer.

And finally, at long last, the sweet peas are growing and getting set to flower. They sat there and looked at us for a long time during our cold, wet spring.

I had mentioned that I would be picking raspberries every third day, but I think our season has come to premature end. We have raspberry fruit worms.

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I was having trouble sleeping last night, so I got up and went on line to do a little research. You see, I had noticed a few tiny white worms earlier on the berries, but when we went to have some berries last night from the bowl of fresh picked berries, the bowl was full of tiny white worms. We threw them all out. I'm pretty sure the ones I have in the freezer are wormy too, but hopefully not as bad, and at least the worms are dead. Maybe we'll never notice them in cobbler???

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Anyway, the verdict is that we have raspberry fruit worms and the infestation is severe enough that I don't think I'll bother to pick anymore. The crop this year was only about half of what we usually get anyway. We'll have to watch and spray early next year.

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Since I was up in the middle of the night, I did go back to bed and slept. It was 9:00 when I awoke! So I got off to a slow start.

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On the list for this morning were shopping for clothes and for groceries. I took my coupons and headed off to Kohl's for some new jeans. I hate shopping for clothes so I seldom do any. But it was time to retire several pair of jeans to use as gardening clothes and replace them. I'm between sizes, so I bought a bigger and a smaller size, depending on if I want to slouch around comfortably or get squeezed in a bit. Jeans always stretch out after wearing so I have options. I also bought several new tee shirts, one "dressy", and a pair of Capri length pants for wearing on the beach. With my legs, shorts are no longer something I want to subject the rest of the world too. Not pretty.

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Then I was off to the local Safeway for another hour of shopping. I was back home by 1:00 and had to put all the groceries away before I had a late lunch. Later this afternoon I finally went through my closet to sort out winter clothes to move out and move summer clothes in. Finally I think it's safe to put the long sleeved tees away.

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Jeans and tees, that's pretty much what I wear. I have two kinds: the ones I wear around the house, and the ones I wear out in public.

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Saturday is my birthday and we are heading to Whidbey Island Friday to spend three or four days there. It will be a quiet, simple celebration. Now that I'm over 65, there seems to be little significance to my age. I've already qualified for senior rates, pensions and Social Security and Medicare. Sixty-six is just another year. But a very good year if was!