*arbor day*

 Yay!  My new [old] arbor is in!  I love it.  It was made by a couple of local guys who used scrap wood they had lying around; they wanted to flesh out a design and see how it would go.  This is the prototype, so it's not fancy, not pressure treated, but I couldn't be happier.  There's an optical illusion with the slope of the ground that makes it look a little higher on one side, but they put a level to it on all sides and she's as plumb as can be.  

 Once I get the clematis and sweet peas planted on either side, you'll never even notice the off kilter vibe.  Once it gets cooler, I'll start the stone path from the arbor to the pond, and if there's enough stone, I'll make a small pad for the iron bench.  Now to get someone in to help get my alpine garden started...

I'm feelin' alright

 I was talking with my aunt last night and confessed something that was a very foreign feeling to me - I'm happy with where I'm at in the grand scheme of yard work.  My gardens have some weeds, sure, but overall they look pretty darned good.  The cold weather crops kind of took a hard hit in the last two heat waves, but everything else looks healthy.  I've been able to keep up with the mowing in areas I want mowed, so the back yard hasn't been lost in a sea of overgrowth.  I've been diligently watering the tomatoes and peppers in the polytunnel and they are thriving.  I've been gradually pulling weedy things out of the wildflower meadow and planting more cottage garden type plants in their place.  What perennials I planted last year that survived the winter are looking fantastic.  Yup, I'm feeling good about what I've accomplished so far, how much I've been able to maintain, and I'm not stressing about what I wanted to get done but haven't.  Cooler days are coming, and there are enough projects around this little farm to keep me busy for a decade.  For now, mulching the bank behind the wildflower meadow is the big push, and I'm having an arbor installed at the firepit patio this week. And this makes me a very happy biddy.