A Beautiful Walk

So I took a nice long walk on one of my days here. I actually got a bit lost because the trail kept forking, so after awhile I wasn't sure where I was. In this area, the ferns came up to about my waist, and everything is just so green right now. It was gorgeous.

Where's Waldo?

I mean, where's the chipmunk. There are "camp brats" (the kids of researchers, etc. who come up for the summer), and some of them chase the chipmunks. But this one was so cute, I had to snap a photo.

Up North

I went up to the Biological Station (known as the Biostation) for work, and also to see the Biostation as I'd never been there before. Here is my cabin, which is a bit rustic, but not nearly as much as the cabins the students stay in! Those don't even have finished walls on the inside.

What's Outside My Window?

Just my friendly neighborhood squirrel!

The Mystery Plant

Neither Stephanie nor I can remember what this plant is, and the label is completely worn away. We think we've finally identified it though--Broccoli!

The Garden

The squash plants (as well as the zucchini plants) are really growing! They're a bit of a pain to weed around, though, as the stalks and the undersides of the leaves are prickily.

A New Project

I have been wanting to compost for awhile now, because it is such a waste to through compostable materials into the landfill, where it takes so much longer for them to decompose, and there's nowhere for the nutrients to go. Now that we are living in a house (so there is a place I could keep a compost bin) and we are gardening (so there is a theoretical reason for composting, besides my own desire), I looked up how to cheaply and easily make my own compost bin. I found lots of suggestions, but I opted for using a garbage can. You need to make sure the lid will be relatively secure when closed. I added a bunch of holes fairly equidistant by using a drill and about a quarter-inch drill bit. Then I just loaded in some of the compostable materials I had been collecting (I cleaned out our vegetable draw, which was full of old and rotting vegetables, so that was a good start). Then I just put the bin out in the back yard. Every couple of days I lay the bin on the ground and roll it a bit, to help aerate the materials. Supposedly in 4-8 weeks I'll have compost. :)

The Garden

It's starting to look more professional! I finally got some hay to put down to help keep away the weeds. Slowly but surely I will cover the garden, and the hay will decompose and add nutrients to the soil. Yay!

The Garden

Our parsley TREE! It's huge!

You Say Tomayto, I Say Tomahto

Here's some buds on one of our tomato plants, giving us a sign that we may soon be getting tomatos!

The Garden

A little head of lettuce! It's so cute!

Weeding

Of course, it doesn't look like I was very successful in my weeding that day, because it's hard to distinguish the plants from the weeds...

Weeding the Garden

Here I am weeding in our garden. Our plants are still so little here. Although weeding is a bit boring and tedious, it is also relaxing. People in the neighboring plots are very pleasant, and everything is so fragrant--especially our herbs.