Summer! Summer! Sweet, Sweet Summer!

The first day of summer always reminds me why it is so good to be a teacher. I love my students and enjoy teaching, but these two months of time to garden and play are pretty high up there on my list of reasons to stay in the profession.

After a month of a broken pond pump, I finally broke down and ordered a new one. I had been debating the merits of converting to an external pump but that would have involved putting in a modified bottom drain and I just didn't have the energy to think about all that might be involved. So I coughed up $400 for a new pump and hope it will last at least a couple of years."
The fish are happy now that the water is tumbling about again. I'd put in an oxygenator while I hemmed and hawed over the pump decision, but it's just not the same effect. As soon as I turned on the falls, dragonflies appeared and started zipping and zinging all over the place. And birds started coming to drink and splash around. Now everyone is happy. Except, I haven't seen the frog this year. I hope something didn't eat it. Maybe it just decided there were two many dogs around.
I think we are down to about 20 fish, versus the 30 that were in the pond last fall. There is one I've never seen before that is bright orange with a black stripe down its back. I tried to buy some more bright orange ones but the garden shop where I went was out. I toy with the idea of getting one koi, but koi get so big and live so long, I think it would almost be like adding another member to the family. I'm not sure I'm up to the responsibility. The fish I have are shubunkin and are very friendly. Alas, they are also very stupid. They rush to the edge if anyone comes over, that includes dogs and, I assume, cats, herons, raccoons, etc. They open their greedy little mouths and blow kisses until they are fed. If you put your hand in the water, they swim right up and around your fingers.


In the front yard, where there is a tiny patch of sunny ground, I have my sun-loving flowers and vegetable patch.

These are m y black hollyhocks that take up far too much space and the tigerlilies that were here when I bought the house. I moved them from the shady backyard and put them up front. I only keep them because when I was a child I wanted my name to be "Tiger Lily." Otherwise, they don't have any scent and although they are cheerful and bright, I'm tight on space and can't just be handing out leases to any old trashy flower that is looking for a place. Everybody is a renter in the front garden and I re-negotiate our agreements every year. This is prime real estate and anyone who isn't behaving gets moved out to the other side of the tracks, I mean fence, in the low rent district near the street. It gets some sun, but you have to put up with shade, traffic, the peeing dogs of neighbors walking by. Not to mention the snowplow in winter coming by and dumping a couple of feet of snow on top of you.

These are my grapes. Even though they might look a little pitiful to people who are grape specialists, I'm in a tizzy over them.


I just planted the vine at the corner of the house, hoping to train it over the window for shade in the summer and this year it has eight little clusters of grapes! And I didn't even do squat in terms of fertilizing and pruning. Needless to say, I have extended its lease indefinitely. The sad thing is I've forgotten the variety. I think it might be Niagra. I've got it written down somewhere from when I planted it three years ago, but Lord knows where. There is something to be said for labeling your plants.