Garden Update and Silly Pets

The garden is looking lush, except for the peas which are reaching the end of their season and beginning to dry up. In fact, I pulled out the early row today and rolled up the chicken wire support. In this picture from the east end of the garden, you mostly see winter squash and pumpkins and the last of the peas to the right. I will plant sunflowers in place of the peas and some of the squash vines will like the extra space too.

This picture shows cucumber vines in front and tomatoes to the back. Today, I finally got all the stakes in for the tomatoes and have to work on tying them up as they grow. There are 56 tomato plants this year, not as many as I've done some years, but if they are healthy I should be able to freeze a lot of sauce.

I will not miss the peas as I am picking zukes and yellow squash at least every other day, though I get the best tasting small ones if I pick every day. Most get grated and frozen, but we are really enjoying them with fresh pasta too. I can't believe how good homemade pasta is and have already made a second batch since my last post about it.

I believe we are on the cusp of picking buckets of cukes and we're planning to can pickles.

I'll confess I am not very good at caring for fruit trees. I planted 7 dwarf trees which I love for the blossoms in the spring. It would be nice to maximize their fruit yields, but I never seem to get out to do the successive spraying of anti-bug wax stuff. Therefore, the fruits are enjoyed by the dogs for the most part. This one looks like it's on the way to being one for me!

The Coneflowers are beginning to bloom, this one is right next to the apple.

And this is some Butterfly Weed.

We provide Bandit with a variety of cardboard boxes that he sleeps in before they go in the recycle bin. Even in the height of summer, he curls in a ball to sleep, often completely inside the box with his head curled around to his chest. It must be 120 degrees in there!!!

Today, I got a big box of supplies from King Arthur Flour (following a free shipping promotion) and I made the box into a playhouse for Bandit. He likes to go in there and then swat at the dogs through the little paw holes.

And, speaking of dogs, what is Silas doing now? Pruning trees of course! They mustn't grow too close to the lawn. He can get quite obsessed about jumping and biting at them. Can you believe how high he can jump? It's his trick!

Sometimes he bends a branch to the ground and plays tug of war with it for awhile. It's pretty funny to watch and it keeps the trees from hitting me in the face when I mow!