The first big tomato!

Lots of hue and cry about this one. Grace picked it, Peter was given the right of first fondling, and they carried it triumphantly into the kitchen, where Grace washed and dried it and settled it in a small bowl with a paper towel for cushioning before deciding it would be better in a larger bowl with its cousins, purchased from the farmers' market. Then Peter dressed up in his knight costume (sans sword: that was just trouble) and proceeded to take orders regarding tomato defense from Grace, clearly the mastermind of the project. I am in no way exaggerating: we take these milestones very seriously.

Tomatoes are getting ripe!

Our cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen - we've eaten about half a dozen so far, and they're excellent. We have just one regular tomato that's close to ripe, but the next two weeks should be prime tomato season. The vines are getting huge, and we're staking them with brightly-colored pipe cleaners - easier to use than string, and *so* bright and cheerful.

Hopscotch alongside Marsha's garden

The kids were in sidewalk chalk heaven at our friends Marsha and Lee's house (they are parents to our friend Renata and grandparents to the fabulous Dorothy!) Grace and Peter were very taken with the (quite audible) baby birds and the beautiful roses. Grace observed that Marsha's garden is *much* more fully in bloom than ours is. Sigh, she's right. :p

Historic Kentucky garden...

We visited friends in Kentucky recently and while we were there we went to an ice cream social at an historic home. There were also some historic gardens, which we wandered through while waiting for our turn on a carriage ride. Although it wasn't clear how historic the gardens were in terms of plant selection or arrangement, the only staking materials were wood, and the vegetables were huge and well-tended. It looked more like a cutting garden than a formal garden; there may have been formal gardens closer to the house but we didn't get that far from the ice cream.

Suburban randomness.

This is a family of ducks on their second pass through our yard. The first time Peter and I saw them they were headed determinedly for 183rd Street, which is busy, and we were a little worried. But they either took wing or reversed course, because we saw them again a few minutes later, still intact. The small ducks, recent babies, all had their adult feathers but were much smaller than the adult ducks, the presumptive parents. I'm not sure what the duck maturity timeline is but it was cute to see the big ducks leading the littler ducks in a perfect straight line, off to polish their duck education and (hopefully!) to avoid getting squashed by cars.

What's in bloom!

Our first daylillies bloomed yesterday, and the hydrangia is in its full, wee glory. The salvia (most of it, anyway) has come back from its transplant shock and is looking like it will continue to do well. We're excited for more lillies, both the tiger- and the day-.

Rocks, redux.

We decided to go back to the rock depot/garden center to buy some flagstones to make a little path by the hose bib in the backyard. (Such great words for outdoor water: spigot, sillcock, hose bib...) This place also sells an infinite number of stone figures for the garden - very Narnia-under-the-White-Witch - including this cute Mr. Frog. As we were leaving the house, Peter decided he needed to wear a tutu, despite what you might think about the practicality of such an item. We picked out nice flagstones, tucked a couple of butterfly bushes in, and headed home. Stay tuned for pictures of the finished project...