Today the hot temperatures finally broke so Pop, Mum and me decided to go for a afternoon motorcycle ride.  Pop got me situated on the back of the bike which is my place to ride.  While it’s true I ride looking at where we’ve come from, I don’t mind.  It gives me a longer time to look at things.

Anyhow we got started but right away knew the wind was going to be a problem.  Going East and West was difficult.  No matter how hard I tried to stay on straight, the wind kept blowing me sideways.  It’s not as much fun when I can only see on one side of the road.  I’d turn my head but the wind would just turn me back around.  I finally had to put my goggles on as the wind was making my eyes water.

After we went about 20 miles Pop decided it just wasn’t much fun to fight the wind so he turned the bike around and we headed for home.  Can’t say I was very disappointed.  My neck was getting really tired trying to hold it straight.  Pop said that after days like today that Mustang Convertible is looking better and better.  I know I’d look good riding in a Mustang convertible.  I think a bright yellow one would be perfect.

Decided to instead stop at a Harley Davidson store and Mum bought herself a new pair of HD riding boots.  A darn good looking pair of boots but WOW!! do they get a lot of money for their stuff.  Good thing they don’t have boots my size.  Pop would have to get a second job.  Pop says that HD stands for hundred dollars.  I think he’s right about that.

All of the heat we’ve gotten in the last week sure has made Mum’s garden’s grow.  Last Friday and yesterday Mum and I spent the better part of a day pulling weeds.  We’ve eaten all of the radishes from the garden and the peas and beans are really growing.  Also the lettuce is growing like crazy.  I love the lettuce from the garden.  We gnomes are primarily vegetarians so love things like lettuce, radishes, beans and peas.   Mum says that apparently so do the rabbits.  They’ve been doing a number on the garden.  Although I know Mum gets really mad when she sees the rabbits have been in there, I like rabbits.  Rabbits have always held a special place for gnomes and we try to protect them whenever we can.  Mum put a couple of my gnome friends in the garden.  Their job is to convince the rabbits to go somewhere else.  Pop says he can convince them to go somewhere else with his “22″ but I don’t like to hear Pop talk like that.

Boy did I work yesterday! I know you must think that most of the time I stand around with my hands in my pockets but not so yesterday.  Mum and I spread 40 bags of mulch in the gardens.  We had bought 60 bags so we will have to finish up the other 20 probably sometime today.  What a dirty, exhausting job that is. When we called it a day, all I wanted to do was take a shower, take two aspirin and relax. Today my back is killing me.

We also planted rows of carrots, radishes and lettuce in the vegetable garden.  Is it my imagination or are they putting less seeds in the packets these days?  We had to go to the store and buy more seeds because there wasn’t enough seeds in the packet to even complete one row.

We did get the last of the perennials planted, however we do still have to plant the Bitter Sweet Vine.  Mum said Pop has to help her with that one because she needs a really big hole dug.

Today I’m going to help Mum pull weeds from the large perennial garden.  She said that there are also a lot of plants that needs to be separated.  I guess I’ll help with that also but OH MY ACHING BACK!

Also today is the day each garden gnome must take it’s place among the gardens.  Hopefully they’ve all decided where each is going to stand on guard.  We’ll see, because usually what happens is after everyone is in place one or two of them decide they don’t like where their standing and run to one of the other gardens.  Next thing you know there’s 3 gnomes in one garden and none in other gardens.

In a few weeks I’ll take more pictures so you can see the progress the gardens are making.

Several weeks ago I told you that Mum and I had started seeds indoors.  They actually have done quite well.  We put them under grow lights downstairs with a timer that let the light on for about 8 hours and then shut off.  The lights were only about 3 inches above the plants all the time so Mum had to keep adjusting the lights up higher as the plants grew.  As you can see by the picture it won’t be long before they will be able to be planted outside.  We are growing, Cucumbers, Squash, Pumpkins, Zucchini, Peppers, Marigolds, Zinnias and some kind of flower called “Globe Amaranth”. 

Pop already got the garden tilled up and Mum and I planted 3 rows of onions.  Later this week we will plant radishes, lettuce and peas.

Last Friday Mum left work a little early and her and I planted some perennials.  As you can see by the picture I can get quite dirty doing these jobs but I just love helping my Mum in the garden.  Right now the other gnomes are flipping coins to see who gets to guard what plants in what gardens.  Having one of them stand watch for the first couple of weeks while the new plants are getting started is very important.  As I’ve said before, gnomes do bring good luck to your garden.  On Friday we planted Verbascum Mix, Anchusa Azurea and Brilliant Miniature Hollyhock and Starburst Ice Plant.  We still have some more to plant but it started raining so we’ll have to wait a few days.

By the way, Mum says I should tell you about this book “Best Plants for Midwest Gardens”.  She has it and says it’s her reference guide for this area.  She says sometimes it hard to know what will grow good here in the Midwest.  This book answers those questions for you. The Best Plants for Midwest Gardens: Flowers, Vegetables, Shrubs, and Trees for Spectacular Low-Maintenance Gardens Season After Season

During the spring and summer months Mum and I spend a lot of time outside working in the gardens.

We have a vegetable garden and lots of flower gardens.  I’m adding some pictures so you can see some of the gardens Mum has and also where some of my friends hang out.

It seems as if each year goes by, Pop has to dig up more ground for more gardens.   Mum is making the vegetable garden a little smaller each year because we travel more in the summer and no one is around to harvest the bounty.

This year we have started some seed indoors under lights.  So far they are growing nicely.  I’ll keep you posted if this works.