Thanks to crashing out super early on Sunday after our hike, I woke really early on Monday and having a very rare two-day holiday, I set in right away on yardwork, getting the trumpet vine and the three wisteria pruned and a bunch of other miscellaneous things neatened up before Ann came downstairs. I took a break and joined her on the deck for a cup of coffee, a rare treat for us these days to have coffee together, not having to be somewhere.
After coffee, we set in on a bunch more yardwork including weeding and planting the garden, removing a very invasive lemon balm, digging out a Euonymus that was not sited correctly and not happy where it was sited, planting a dozen roses, and transplanting to new beds a slew of volunteers including purple coneflowers, coreopsis, and even a maple tree.
About 1pm, we had mostly finished all the yardwork we were going to do for the day and set off on a quick 3-mile walk about the neighborhood where a new crop of wildflowers was waiting to be seen. While we were out walking, I noticed that none of the black locust trees are blooming this year. The same frost that killed our wisteria blooms must have done the same to the locusts. Pity.
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Deptford Pink |
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Crown Vetch |
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Ox-Eye Daisy |
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Sulfur Cinquefoil |
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Golden Hawkweed |
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St. John's Wort |
Back at home, we decided to cool down on the patio in the shade of the vines with a bottle of Vinho Verde, our first of the year. Its light green apple flavor is so refreshing.
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Vinho Verde on the Patio |
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My Girl! |
Ann wanted to see how good my new camera is at bird photos. Not very. The camera is probably just fine, but my 28-135mm lens doesn't have the speed or the reach to do the birds justice. I'm putting a 70-200mm lens on my wish list, small enough to hike with and handhold, but with considerable more reach than the 135.
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Male Cardinal Below the Feeder |
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Mockingbird Guarding the Native Honeysuckle Berries |
At noon, I took a break from gardening to run in and throw these ribs in a slow oven. They're coated in a rub that I make myself. I fancied that I might smoke them and grill them and the whole nine yards, but once it became clear that I was really involved in gardening this Memorial Day, I opted for the easy way out in a slow oven.
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Ribs, Ready to Cook |
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Cabbage and Chinese Broccoli Slaw |
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Pigging Out! |
Just today the scales told me that I have lost 25 pounds since Christmas, a pretty good milestone. I just nibbled at breakfast and skipped lunch in order to be able to feast on ribs and slaw. And two portions of each I did have. I kind of regretted eating so much food, but not really! Damn those ribs were good!
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