TA DA!!!

Hooray! The waiting is over. Here's what's been keeping me busy.

By now, we're all familiar with "The Corner Yard" :
Now, I'd like to introduce to you....The OTHER Corner Yard! (note stadium fan cheer here)

This is directly on the opposite side of the yard from the other garden, but the boxes are turned to face the first corner yard instead of running in the same direction with the original ones. This side of the yard only gets sun during the summer months, so it will be almost useless for two of the three seasons, but next year, this will be perfect for the boy's corn. Right now it's got sweet potatoes and butternut squash in the large back box, the front left has more bush beans and the front right has soybeans. I know it's late starting a lot of this, but I hope it will mature before it's too late. I'm also a smidgen worried about how close the wooded area is in this area. The squirrels are getting brazen, not to mention the birds I found yesterday building a nest in my bush cucumbers. This is an extra 50 sq ft to add to my space. I need to add it all together soon.

There's a story behind these boxes (there's always a story, isn't there). This weekend, the man took the boy and the girl to get the tires rotated on the truck. Sure enough the boy comes home saying, "Mommy, we got you something, but I can't tell you what it is. It's for your garden and you don't have one but it's for your birthday (Which was still four days away at this point) Do you want it now?" Poor kid couldn't handle it. So, I got my present early.

Eat your heart out, Granny!
It's a tiller! Ok, Granny, I'm sure you actually have one already, but I was incredibly thrilled. This will be great to help get out some of those roots at the end of the season and help work in new organic material. I, am a lucky gal with a husband who knows me well. So therefore, if the garden warranted a tiller, it couldn't hurt to be bigger. We built the new boxes, but it took me two days to fill them. Yesterday I did most of it, but it was just too hot so I finished it around 5:00 this morning. It was MUCH nicer. Darker, but cooler as well.

My mother gave me a set of the most magnificent gardening gloves. I have the most difficult time finding gloves to fit my hands. Women's x-small sometimes fit, but children's are too small. I have a set of these gloves that I'm already working my way though and it's fantastic to have replacement pairs since almost the whole set fits perfectly!

Another oddity of the birthday world came from my aunt. I have a book in my on-line "shopping cart" for a book store because I had a gift certificate from a student to spend, but I realized I left it at school and didn't buy it, nor did I say anything about it to anyone. My aunt must have read my mind:

I haven't read it yet, but I'm really excited. That's what I like about summer. I can read what I want without a red pen in my hand. Anyone have any books they'd like to recommend?

Anyway, enough with the birthday nonsense. I'm really rather humbled that people took the time to think of what I enjoy and gift receiving always makes me feel rather awkward. However, I found two Japanese beetles on my beans today and several cucumber beetles everywhere. I've also found some crazy flying bee looking like thing with spots on its back. No time for pictures. Gotta squash them while I know where they are. Aphids, white flies and some cotton looking jumping bugs are starting to get prolific on the tomatoes and cucumbers. I'm going to have to spray tomorrow.

Lastly, I thought to post a picture of our tally from the last two days. This is what's come from the garden with the exception of a non pictured zucchini which I forgot in the fridge. It's just amazing how much can grow in such little space.

The morning comes early, but thank God an hour later than today's. Sweet gardening dreams.