Weekend at the Farm September 6 - 8, 2013

We had a very eventful, long weekend.  We drove to Burton on Thursday evening after work.  Then we drove to Austin the next morning and went to St. David's Hospital to be present at the birth of our daughter-in-law and son's son, Henry.  Six pounds, eleven ounces.  A very touching and happy day.  Arrived back in Burton about six o'clock.

• Took a ride around the property when we got home from Austin, and it began to rain.  We haven't had rain for a long time.  We pulled the Cub Cadet into the shed to get it out of the rain.  And then we sat in the shed listening to the rain fall on the corrugated tin roof.  My husband turned to me and said, "This is a day the Lord hath given."  How true.  A beautiful, perfect baby boy and the world was washed clean.  New beginnings.
• The electricity went out about eight o'clock, and we ate dinner in the dark.  Our neighbor came over and the three of us drove around the property with a big spotlight looking for animals.  The electricity finally came back on about eleven o'clock, thank goodness, because it was really getting hot.  I was wakeful, so I called Josh.  I knew he was driving home from Utah, so he would be happy to have someone to talk to.  We talked for about an hour.
• Painted the inside of the picket fence, the side that faces the air conditioner units.  The paint was starting to peel.
• Planted some German Chamomile seeds in the Medicine Garden.
• Added some compost to one of the beds and planted some Royal Chantenay Carrot seeds in the Vegetable Garden.
• Planted some Contender Green Bean seeds in the Orchard.  There is some space where one of my failed Blueberry shrubs once stood.  I planted them in that spot after turning the earth and adding some fertilizer and shredded leaf mulch.
• John Nelson came for a visit on Saturday.  
• Put on the bee suit and gave the bees some sugar water. 
• Weeded the Long Border and pulled up all the Four o'clocks that were crowding around my Lady Banks rose.  I planted the bulbs I pulled up in the Star Garden, and in the bed where I planted Janine's bulbs, and in the small bed under the arbor at the entrance to the Long Border.
• I transplanted Nicotiana seedlings from the paths where they sprung up in the Star Garden and moved them to the Medicine Garden. 
• I moved some Wedelia  to the Hollyhock Bed.  That stuff spreads like crazy, and I can't seem to get anything to grow there.  So I'll try that.
• Sprayed herbicide in the Medicine Garden, the Vegetable Garden, and the driveway.
• Put compost around my Sombrueil Rose.  It was blooming this weekend.  This is only the second time it has bloomed in five years.  Hallelujah.  
• Vacuumed and cleaned sinks.
• Trimmed, deadheaded, and pruned in the Star Garden so the pathways are clear.  If you could brush against it when you passed through, it got cut.