The segue into June

The roses on the Rose Gate are a little more than half done for this year. When new branches spring out toward us or our guests, I tuck them back among their companions, thus building a shape we find pleasing. I don't know the variety; they were here when we got here 21 years ago. I moved the bush three times, but not to good places as it has a climbing habit. So the obvious thing was to split the root ball and plant on either side of the gate, where it's very happy.

Warm days and cold nights. The garden did not mind my gamble to put things out early -- the pie cherries are ripening three weeks ahead of schedule -- but things grew to a certain height and just sat there. This week they're beginning to take off. The tomatoes, corn, beans and squash will do all right, by the look of them. It will, with any luck at all, also be a huge fruit year -- apples, pears, grapes and quince have set well. There are even medlars, goumi and aronia for the first time.

As usual though, the stars of this farm are the roots and greens. The potato beds and bins look good. Here we have five kinds of kale, collards, Forellenschluss and Cracoviensis lettuces, red and green cabbages, red and green chard, tatsoi, bok choi, spinach, and turnips. A last year's chard and a kale have gone to seed, which I really want as they survived the -10F spell over the winter, a significant achievement even for them.

Young Man has been here and emptied the duck pools, bucketing the water to the fruit trees, while I have taken on the long-put-off task of cleaning the garage.

Spring can make me keep my head down and back bent a bit much, so it's good when The Cowboy can get away from his job and take me out on the water.

Purple Martins