gardening and enjoying life in Salem, Massachusetts
My very sad excuse for a cucumber this year… holy moly what happened here?
The very lovely cucumbers that our dear neighbor Becky sent over… these are real cucs!
What my youngest daughter did with one of the cucumbers just above (she even took the photo, she was so cute ) 😉 
This, Mom, is a cucumber!
Guess I’ll try to grow them down in the garden again next year..
Thank God for great neighbors!
Enjoy everything, especially all of your homegrown cucs!
Michele
Here’s a little bit of my weekend, the part spent with camera in hand.
Our first stop was at the muster down on the common. We got there at the very end but still saw soldiers marching in formation. As the daughter of a career army master sergeant I get a thrill whenever I see this, which isn’t too often these days.
There were horses…
The colonial militia men..
And tanks that fired. What is it about boys and tanks? He loves this stuff, it’s just in him. Maybe it’s a piece of his grandfather.
Of course we had to visit the playground for a minute. It was very cold and windy. My older kids played here every day when we lived a few doors down.
We checked into the Derby garden and found that I was correct last week, this is indeed a daffodil! I thought so!
Here’s the next mystery plant… I think this might be a tulip, believe it or not. I’ll check back soon.
I spent a good twenty minutes on Saturday night photographing this ant. Perhaps I need to get a life, lol.
They are fascinating creatures if you stop and look at them. I started this project in my quest to figure out where their coming into my kitchen from. I continuously look down to see an ant looking up at me. They are really driving us all a little bit crazy.
Of course, by the end of the twenty minutes the ant was named Wilbur and had a framed portrait in sepia finish. I think I need help here 🙂
Out on the deck last night my little guy took this photo of one of thousands of planes heading into Logan over our house. Their so close that we can see the landing gear come down.
But to our left we were really enjoying this.
I’m hoping that this helps anyone who’s still recovering from the ant photos.
Today it’s going to be in the sixties with less wind. I’m hoping/planning to get out and plant these!
Seed packets are buy one, get one free at Home Depot! It’s a great time to stock up on anything that you need.
Happy Monday!
Enjoy everything!
Michele
I’m a little bit behind on my What’s Happening update. Soccer, dance and golf (and school) are our main focus right now. Garden time is precious, as is blogging time. Blogging makes me motivated to get things done out there. Right now I’m wishing I’d gotten fall veggies in. I missed the window, but this is life with a large busy family. I really try to take one thing at a time and enjoy it all!
Anyway, out to the garden we go!!
Bye-bye Black-eyed Susan! These will need to be cut back soon. If anyone who lives nearby would like some please let me know. They need to be divided.
We are still enjoying the zinnias! and that poor window box needs some attention. It gets lots of sun so if we miss a watering it suffers a lot. 
There are still some peppers coming along. Just a few every few days, but we enjoy them.
Mesclun! Love, love, love this!
And the tomatoes are still producing too. I’m watching the frost predictions, we should be okay for a few more weeks. I guess I could bring them in but I don’t really have room and I like when they ripen on the vine.
Hello chickens! This one is cute but she’s a little bit aggressive for a buff orphington.
They really love the dust bath?
I don’t get it, but it’s fun to watch.
I would prefer this nice soft nest if I were them.
Lupines for next year! My neighbors Becky and Mags brought these over and I plopped them in. I’m looking forward to blooms next June. They are gorgeous over in their yard.
And this whole area needs to be dug out and reconfigured. Michael and I keep talking about it. This side of the yard makes me edgy because every time I set foot in here I find a snake. I hate snakes. For some reason I think I won’t see them just across the yard in the fenced in “garden”.. That chrysanthemum really popped out when the tree that used to be to it’s left was taken out in the spring. Good light means everything.
This Japanese Maple tree came from Mrs Landi’s yard. Mrs Landi is a very dear friend of my Mom’s. I’ve had it in this pot for several years because I can’t decide where to plant it. It’s looking a bit weather worn right now but it actually does very well like this. When it gets colder we’ll put it in the garage for the winter and just water it a little bit. Next spring it will be back and beautiful again. Someday I may plant it but I like to move it around and I enjoy it so much in the pot.
This is a stream of consciousness post if ever there was one!
Please leave me a comment so I know you were here. I keep seeing all the views and wondering who is actually reading this..
Off to clean, cook and take kids places!
Thanks for stopping by! Love, Michele
The Salem Garden 