Last night a black flying object flew by my head as I was walking out of my upstairs bathroom. At first I thought it was bird (wtf!), then a bat (oh crap!) and finally my imagination and shadows off the lights (phew!). But after shutting the door to the closet I heard something scratching at it (oh crap!). If it was a bird it would have continued flying around looking for an exit. This was definately a bat! It was late and I didn’t want to trying capturing a creature while it was scared, trapped, possibly rabid and awake. So I waited till sunrise. The next morning I decided to see if I could find it sleeping somewhere… and there it was by our DIY tivo box.

If you are wondering about the grey fuz next to it… that is just dust that fell off the pc vents.

I am not sure why it choose the floor next to the tivo box, the pc was dead so it was not generating heat. I worried that it might have starved overnight. I didn’t want it flying in the house so I opened the closet window, shut the door and went to the office to consult the internet. After looking around the internet I decided to take the advice from the bat conservation website and remove it with a shoe box. Bat Conservation International: Bats in your home? By the time I got back to the closet the bat was gone. I found a little poo pellet on top of the dresser drawer in front of the window so I figured he flew out. But just too make sure I shifted clothes around and looked in possible hiding places.

I hope it survives. This has rekindled my desire to build/purchase a bat house. We have had mice problems so I image the bat came in through the same access points. The last couple of nights I have been coming home late so the house has been dark and probably looking like a good home to a bat. I probably should put a timer light upstairs just in case I will be coming home late.

We have been harvesting raspberries and blueberries every other morning since Saturday. Here is Saturday’s:

And the Pattypan Summer Squash trios (white, green and yellow) are producing. Here is two of them:

Like the summer squashes of last year we need to harvest them when they are small otherwise you get a woody, seedy tastless squash. The white one in the photo is getting to that woody state.

Just got back from Kansas helping my mom with her knee replacement surgery and attending my cousin’s wedding. I forget how hot it can get there. It has been a bit of time since I last updated the blog. Here are the pictures since then.

Here is a shot of Norm and Lena trying out our mowers. We had one last BBQ with them before they move to their new home in Maryland. They thought they were just testing out the gear but really I was getting them to mow my yard Tom Sawyer style… he-he!

Here is a shot of the young robin who I think made the mistake of nesting in our honeysuckle bush.

Here is a shot of the remaining plum tree fruit, fuji apple fruit and the very first raspberry of the season (which was very bitter).

And finally the volunteer bok choy. Yeah bok choy!

Oh and I almost forgot the patio upside down planter my sister gave us.

On a final note I sampled some more fresh strawberries and found them to be super sweet. I guess from now on I don’t pick the strawberry unless the stem is turning brown or desiccating.

I should have picked the strawberries yesterday. Much of the ones I saw yesterday around the plum tree got picked clean. Except for the ones with sedum growing around it. Maybe it was the fact the strawberries were closer to the back door, or that I was going in and out of that door last evening and this morning, or that the sedum was hiding the strawberries. What ever it was they remained there over night. The sedum is soo easy to pull back from the strawberries that I think I will transplant them into the strawberry patch around the plum tree.

I just got back from my sister’s up north and the house is currently 85 degrees! I opened the windows to see if that will help cool it down a little. As I went to the backyard I discovered we have strawberries ready for the picking!

The last photo was a volunteer strawberry plant… probably where one of the animals deposited.

These last photos are of the fruit on the plum and fuji trees.

Last night our good friends dropped off our rain barrel. Its a lot larger than I had expected. Rain is coming and I am trying to decide if I should put it out asap.

Here is some shots from yesterday.

The Robin’s nest

The flowering Fuji

The first three blueberries rotating clockwise from the plum tree. The one’s with the tags are brand new ones.

The fourth blueberry plant that came from one of those small cartons.

The fourth and fifth blueberries.

The sixth blueberry plant.

The seventh and eighth blueberries.

The two wisteria.

The new cherry tree.

The strawberries near the back door.

Some new ground cover I picked up while visiting my sister. ‘Pearlwort’ Irish moss and Table Mountain Ice Plant.

The poor Japanese maple. I think it was graphed onto the trunk of a regular maple… note the different color of leaves on the bottom.

The dogwood in the front yard in front of the rose bushes. Like some of the blueberries this came in a carton with another dogwood. The other one didn’t survive last year.

Here is a pretty bush with pink flowers… maybe Judy can say what kind of bush this is.

The tulips in the front yard with the sun setting and on the side of the house.

Row 3 and Row 5 seedlings. Referring back to Judy’s earlier post. The first doesn’t look like rosemary or parsley. The second photo might be a green bean seedling.

My sister bought this great book called “Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan”

It got me thinking about all the native plants I would like to try and plant. There was four items I want to use soon. One was a suggestion to mow your lawn only down to 3 1/2 to 4 inches because longer grass shades its own roots reducing water loss and competing better against weeds (never cutting more than 1/3 the blade a mowing). The second was to add up to 1/2 inch of compost twice a year in the spring and fall to your lawn. The other two items were suggestions of vines to add to the back wall.

The first vine is parthenocissus quinquefolia (woodbine, Virginia creeper). It is an aggressive vine that must be tended to but it can cover anything completely, turns a bright red in the fall and produces berries although the jury is out on if they are edible.

The second vine is the Vitis riparia (Wild Grape). This vine is also aggressive but does produce edible fruit that can be used in jellies. I think it is an actual grape plant.

I love fall colors but I might think twice if I determine the Virginia creeper is poisonous. The last item of the day is I am trying to determine what is the ground cover I have growing in our flower bed. I believe it is a sedum but I am not sure which. Here are the closest matches I have found on the net.

I think this last one Sedum surculosum var. luteum is the closest match. To compare you can see it around the strawberry in the previous post.

So I thought I would follow up Judy’s post about our seedlings with some photos.
Here is a aerial shot of our whole garden taken from our bathroom window before we broke out the hoes and got down to work.

If you notice that dark spot, to the left of it is where the collards are planted. Here is a shot of the seedlings.

And here is some photos of our tulips.

Strawberries

Wisteria planted last year

Dwarf Fuji apple tree that we think is budding flowers this year

and finally the blackberries are growing like weeds. Just look at those shoots.

I was fortunate enough to be home this past weekend.
Nothing like a long trip away from home and family to make you appreciate what’s most important. I’m in danger of getting sappy…

We worked the garden saturday and sunday.
The plot looks something like this

___ Left row ___
1. Collards,radishes
2. eggplant
3. eggplant
4. Trio peppers

___Right row___
1. French Cervil, Lemon Basil, Queen Siam Basil, Savory
2. Coriander, Chives
3. Rosemary with parsley in between
4. Cucumber
5. Green Bean
6. Soybean
7. Butterhead lettuce, Easter Egg Radish
Okra

Man I feel like I haven’t been biking for years. Decided to bike after hearing on the radio gas would go up. I ended up biking right at dusk due to needing to stay home late for the plumber. He took longer than I hoped but now we have a back external spigot. No more dragging one hose to the front and back of the house.

As I was walking from the garage to the mailbox two bats rounded the roof line and swooped close to my head! I was a little startled but not scared. In fact I was happy to see the neighborhood bat had a mate/partner/competitor. I have seen one in the past and I welcomed him to swoop in and eat those pesky mosquitoes. I hope it is a mate and then we can start having a few more to help in mosquito reduction. It was interesting to see them circle around me. My warm blooded body must be beacon for bugs. I would capture them on film but the light is too dim and I figure camera flashes are bad for them.

Tomorrow I will connect the long hose to the back and finally water those poor plants in the garden.