We're back!

Actually, we haven't really been gone. But Blogspot was updating their system and I couldn't upload photos for over a month. It was nice to take a break, but I'm glad to be back. 

Let me catch you up on what we've been doing. 

Frankie says, "Not much." Summer or winter, this is the majority of his day.

Dingus is a little more adventurous. Actually, we've been letting them roam inside the garden fence some mornings, and they love it. 

The human residents take Saturday mornings to have breakfast or donuts in this nice little park in Benson. It has great shade trees and lots of open space. 

One weekend we walked a few blocks down the street looking at cute old houses, and found the Benson Fire Department conducting training exercises. Exciting!

Back home, Sam got Mom Virginia to try a beer one evening. (Sam put ginger ale in the bottle so they could play a prank on me!)

The early mornings in June were cool enough that Sam and I rode our bicycles in nearby J-Six Ranch. No action shots, but we always notice the plant life.

Then there was Bisbee, and the Shady Dell trailer court.

Most of the rentals are vintage 1930's to 1960's campers, decked out in period decor. SO cute. The Shady Dell

For years, Sam has wanted to stay in the totally unique 38 foot long 1947 Chris Craft Yacht. We drive by almost every time we visit Bisbee, but it's always booked. This year (probably because of Covid-19), we finally got in.

The interior is amazing. 

Sam made a great captain (although normal hats are always too small for his noggin).

There was a large selection of vintage records to play on the old turntable, although I believe this one is from the 60's.

We stayed one night and had such a good time. 

We even discovered a part of Bisbee we had never seen before. 

In fact, we had such a good time, Sam took me back for my birthday a couple weeks later. 

This time we stayed a night at the Inn at Castle Rock, a comfortable and whimsical place that was fun to explore. (Many thanks to Becky for taking over Mom's care while we took these breaks.)

My final update is on the garden!

In May, we planted many seedlings in the buckets, then Sam started on our new raised beds. This secondhand deck lumber, which has been lying around for over a year, was the perfect size and was begging to be used. (Thanks, Marla!)

Just like the buckets, we filled the beds with a mixture of native soil, compost, potting soil, and a little worm castings. 

Once the raised beds were done, we knuckled down and finished installing the fence around the posts we put up . . . last year. We're such whiz kids. We appreciate it more when we have to wait for it, right?

Meanwhile, the harvest began with our first cucumber. 

It picked up steam about a month later with this colorful assortment. 

Until BOOM, now we have a garden!

The okra are huge and getting bigger. 

Tomatoes are slower to ripen, but we're getting a few. 

Sam put up cattle panels as support for climbing plants, then I sewed shade cloth for our blazing summer sun.

We had fun painting the fenceposts and gate with a mix of colors.

And finally, peppers. Green and purple. Jalapenos, too, of course. 

Not everything is growing or producing as we hoped, but this is only our second year. We have a lot to learn. 

A few weeks ago Sam spent days and days in the June heat (and I helped a few of those) taking down a couple of huge greenhouses from a neighbor's property. The lumber and hardware are now stacked here at the PPR, awaiting the time and money to put them back together for use (hopefully) next winter.

Another welcome addition to the Pumpkin Patch Ranch is this awesome horse trailer that Sam will be using as a utility trailer. It's a commanding presence on the ranch and looks right at home. 

No, we're not getting horses.

Too expensive to buy, feed, upkeep and care for!

I'll say goodnight with a couple of sunsets we've enjoyed in the past few weeks. Several times we've even taken time to relax in our lawn chairs for an hour! (Are they still called lawn chairs when there's no lawn?)

We wish God's blessings on each of you, and time to listen and talk to him.

New do

During this social isolation, many of us need a haircut, and Sam is no exception. A couple days ago, he came up with a remedy.

Strangely enough, the mohawk suits him! There are several reasons behind it. Number one, he likes change. And he saw a great new video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/4nWcxgxCVG0

There's a shorter version on FoxNews.com, if you want to search for it.

After cutting his hair, Sam chose the Scaled Quail as his "spirit animal."

See the resemblance?! Photos of quail here:

https://images.app.goo.gl/n1nCHousfuKB9X7a8

We hear their calls and see them daily on Pumpkin Patch Ranch.

We want to show you the progress on our garden, but first a short road trip today.

A few weeks ago Sam was using his binoculars and saw an amazing sight. Wind turbines are barely visible over the hills northeast of the PPR.

https://www.tep.com/red-horse-wind/

These things are 450 feet tall and 27 miles away, though our round trip drive was about 100 miles. At night they blink red lights (to warn airplanes flying over), and we can see those, too. Sam found it on Google maps and today we went adventuring.

You can see why they built them here--strong winds are common in this valley. It was a beautiful drive by back roads and we thoroughly enjoyed the break.

So back to our garden. We have all these plant starts that have been growing from seed in the greenhouse and more recently in the patio area. Some are 4 or 5 inches tall and really need to be planted.

We've been cleaning out the water pipes and buckets and digging up yucca and weeds from our new raised bed area. Those are tubes of old roots next to Sam.

Mom Virginia was inspired to groom the yard a little.

But unfortunately, her energy doesn't last long. We're in a heat wave, high temperatures of 91 to 94 degrees Fahrenheit, so we don't work long in the afternoons.

Finally, it was time to start filling the buckets. In case you're interested, I'll go through it step by step. We begin by mixing dirt in the wheelbarrow.

We have 4 different piles of soil: kitchen compost, purchased compost, soil from last year's buckets, and native soil from up the hill. I take varying amounts of each.

Then I toss in supplements like worm castings, blood meal, bat guano and potting soil and mix everything together in the wheelbarrow. (Yes, most of the amendments are made from dung or fecal matter of various animals; it grows great plants!) As I've said before, Sam does the research and testing on what to use.

I bring over an empty bucket. Then I grab a little plastic basket and wrap it in a piece of weed cloth. We're using the fabric from last year; it's a bit ragged and stained, but will work fine.

The basket goes in the bucket . . .

And sticks out the hole in the bottom.

Next I pack some really wet soil into the little basket. This will help the water wick up into the bucket.

A longer piece of weed cloth lines the inside, held in place by a few clothespins.

Weed cloth is necessary to keep the soil in the bucket while still allowing it to "breathe" through the holes.

Lastly, I fill the bucket with the amended soil, wetting it down between every shovelful.

And Sam sets it into place with the basket dipping into the water in the pipe. Then I start all over again.

Finally, the transplanting begins!

It took a couple of days (partially because of the unseasonable heat), but by evening yesterday, we have 19 buckets planted with tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, sweet purple peppers, okra, and green beans. 

And 2 potato plants, a purple and a kennewick. I guess we like purple! Thirteen buckets to go, plus a lot of work to build 3 raised beds and fill them with soil. And I haven't even mentioned the trellises for the plants to grow on!

I'll leave you tonight with a promise to post more spring flowers, soon.

And a beautiful sunrise from the other day. I hope your days also hold much joy!