As the calendar flips into July, we take a moment to reflect on how June unfolded into our lives. June is always a busy time that ebbs and flows with feelings of accomplishment, followed by feelings of being overwhelmed. The excitement of the start of "true" summer tangled with the chores of the homestead and the expectations of what we hope the garden will provide.
As the days grew longer and the temperatures climbed, tulips and daffodils took a bow to welcome the arrival of peonies and irises.
The little critters began scoping out their hunting grounds in the garden as the seedlings started bulking up for the summer bounty.
It seems every time we take a moment to observe the landscape, something new and exciting is popping up and adding color and signaling to the local pollinators.
Weigela
Golden Ragwort
Lily of the Valley
Pink Lady Slipper
As the flowers bloomed so did our garden beds providing huge stalks of asparagus along with many meals of asian greens like this chinese winter heart pictured below.
One change this season from the past few has been the chipmunk pressure on our berries. Typically they seem to find every ripe berry among our patches moments before we do, but this year they are sharing.
Im not saying they are leaving them completely alone but in previous years a handful of strawberries whether from our wild patch or our cultivated varieties was a rare treat. This year I was consistently eating handfuls during garden chores and even had a few occasions of filling containers for snacking on later. What changed? I'm not sure yet, there seems to still be plenty of them scurrying in every direction. I have noticed more predatory birds circling our homestead than we have seen in previous years so maybe that is putting them a little more on edge.
Im curious to see if the slowly ripening blueberries are less prone to chipmunk pressure this year as well.
Another project I started this season was making a compost tea for enhancing our gardens fertility.
LocalRootz Compost Tea
Rain Water
Comfrey w/ Flowers
Stinging Nettles
Yarrow
A shovel of last years compost
A handful of leaf mold
After all the ingredients were thoroughly saturated I stirred the mixture rigorously for about fifteen minutes then placed some garden stones into the bucket to keep the majority of the plant matter submerged. I will stir this stinky nutrient rich concoction for a few weeks and then start supplemental feedings when ready.
After just 24hrs the fermentation process was already bubbling away.
We finished planting up this shady perennial bed after a few years of experimenting with shade veggies it seemed to never produce the size or quality of veggies we hoped. So after a couple years of selecting some shade loving perennials to fill it in we are happy with the final results as they are offering benefits to not only the local pollinators but also so fun interest options for our flower bouquets, some of which you may start seeing for sale in the coming weeks!
And yes the begonias and coleus are not perennials but are great annuals for filling in shade beds.
Along with flowers, perennials and veggies, mushrooms have been popping up in the garden, forest and dinner plates this past month with these beautiful wine caps that I spread some substrate of around our elderberries as well as these prime white oyster mushrooms that flushed in our forest!
Our Roses are providing a better showing this year after proper pruning and some supplemental phosphorous heavy plant food, we have had many more blooms than previous years. I still suspect maybe we have them in a bit too much shade to really flourish, but also having them in view of the kitchen sink to observe while washing dishes and prepping dinners makes moving them remain just and idea for now.
Indian Blanket Flowers
Broad Neck Root Borer Beetle
(this guy was so big I heard him walking past me)
Daisy Flea Bane
Dahlia from Seed.
Red Bartlett Pear
Hosui Asian Pear
A Homesead Bouquet
A new roof... being a house built in 1985, it was time to do it before we had a problem!
As June churned on so did the summer solstice, and just in time for this beautiful rendition of "Summertime" performed by Kahil El Zabar & David Murray at the Space Gallery in Portland.
We also did a family roadtrip to visit historic Fenway ballpark in Boston. Every year we attend a Portland Sea Dogs game and the girls always wondered what it would be like to see a game at Fenway. I grew up going to a few games a year, being just 20 min north of Boston, but was excited to bring Hazel and Cassi to their first game here. It wasn't a Red Sox game though, to add a little more excitement we scored second row seats right along home plate for the Savannah Bananas vs the Firefighters. A quirky eventful day at the historic ballpark to say the least! Great seats and a entertaining night that we will remember for years to come!
Along with attending a few baseball games, getting into the swing of summer camp schedules and finding a few hot summer afternoons to escape to a nearby pond or lake... it is safe to say Summer 2025 has arrived!
the Sandbar @ Sebago Lake
We hope you find the time to enjoy the gifts that Maine has to offer in these dog days of summer!
