Mr. T and the Gardens

Half jokingly, Keith and I have often referred to a particularly large black rat snake around here as 

"Mr. T". 

He's big, black and bodacious, you see. 

Yes, he's quite the large thing, isn't he?  When I walked in the door, he was coiled up in the water bowl on the right.  I usually keep water up there for the bantams, who like to roost in the rafters.  The black bowl is feed.  It's time for both to come down, but what the hey, as I say. 

His cousin was down in a nest box.... and I got those eggs.  There are plenty of mice in there to keep the snakes fat. 

Our flower and vegetable gardens are looking good, now that the weather seems to have balanced out. 

This is salvia and creeping phlox.  There are some tree seedlings in there that I am going to have to spend some time digging out individually.  That's one problem with planting so near our big maple. 

Several bunches of irises are sending up their flowering buds... I love irises... and they are very late this year. The big butterfly bush is still alive after my butchering pruning job, and so is the caryopteris shrub next to it. 

(bright yellow green) 

Here is the iris border, there is only iris in this side of the bed.  It's at the north end of the garden. 

There are onions planted in the hoophouse which we may or may not cover next year, so we have left it up. 

Here are eight of the vegetable beds... with lettuce, swiss chard, and spinach planted.  I'm finally cutting lettuce for the table.  I didn't think we would get any. 

The tomatoes, marching in their little rows.  The Super Sauce tomatoes are actually flowering now. 

That's it for a sunny Wednesday from Calamity Acres!