First Harvest

We are eating chard from our pot for supper tonight. Our plants are growing pretty well -- very slow at first, but picking up a bit now. I took pictures right before "harvesting" the chard, and I wanted to do a side-by-side of today (May 29) and planting day (May 16), but my picture positioning isn't working the way I want. Looks good in the draft, then changes when I preview. So, the top pic is today, and the next one is the first day of planting. The third picture shows the drip system Dad fixed so our lovelies won't burn up when we're away (as we will be most of July -- which gets HOT, especially on the porch).

Montana

So here we are back at the cabin. It weathered well over the winter -- hardly any dust had settled, and this year, there was no evidence of mice. Max did a really good job of plugging the doggie door, which we decided last year must be the place of entry. It's a little door for a little dog, came with the cabin (you can see it in the next photo, to the left of the "porch pots"), and serves no purpose for Orvis, but . . . there it is.
The weather has been just spectacular -- almost too hot for us. Usually, when we arrive in mid-May, things have leafed out nicely, and Spring is in full swing, then we have a lot of rain and chilliness well into June. This year, spring was late and the aspens were still bare, as were our lilac bush and mountain ash. But after a so-so weather day on Wednesday, during which we rested up from our long drive (and did laundry and other little chores), Thursday burst forth with lotza sun and temperatures nudging 80. I went into Whitefish to reconnect with my walking group that day, and everybody thanked me for bringing the sunshine with me. Apparently, it was a very cold and long winter, and our observation that spring was late, was correct. Today the temperature is nudging 90, which isn't supposed to happen until July. Thank goodness, the nights are still in the high 40's or low 50's.

We have spent these sunny days doing our version of "square-foot gardening," in porch pots that we can gate off from browsing deer.
We have parsley, basil, a tiny weak rosemary, and a snapdragon in the first pot (from left); two Swiss chard plants and a pepper plant in the second; one tomato, two marigolds, and some thyme in pot 3; and one broccoli plant and another pepper plant in the fourth. If the rosemary catches on, I will probably have to move it to its own pot. I have lavender in a smaller pot by itself, but it wasn't planted when I took this picture. I've already harvested parsley, thyme, and a few chard leaves. The chard will be ready to make a meal in no time, I hope. Now we need to set up a drip system. Going into Whitefish tomorrow (Monday) to walk again, so Dad will hit "Home-Boy Depot" for supplies. I have also sown seeds for arugula and squash, as well as morning glories to climb up the posts that remain from the wire fence that used to be around our lawn (see right foreground in next photo).
I'm not sure you can really see it, but to the left of the house, in front where the gravel bank begins is a stump that has our Dish on top, and a white birdbath on the right-hand side. At the base of it, in a little rock-rimmed bed, I put out a clematis vine that I hope will climb up the stump, and some oregano and creeping speedwell (aka Veronica) to cover the ground.
If all goes well, we'll have an abundance of purple and blue flowers in a month or so. Deer don't like oregano, but I'm not sure about clematis . . .

Denver

We left Fort Worth on Thursday, May 8, with Denver as our target for Mother's Day Weekend. Our drive through the Panhandle was uneventful -- spent the night in Dalhart (woo-hoo!) at a basic-but-adequate Best Western called "Nursanickel Motel." We nursed those nickels to the music of several trains rolling through town during the night, but -- thank heavens -- there were no "My Cousin Vinnie" experiences where dishes rattled off tables and we had to cling to one another to keep from shaking off the beds. The trains were close, but the sturdy Nursanickel absorbed the vibes (but we still heard the whistles).

Hit Denver Friday afternoon, and visited with Bibbus and had dinner with her (at Luigi's, of course) before heading up to Chez Perkins (or is that Perkins B&B?) for two nights. Here are three of my favorite men cozying up on the couch.


Then here's Will, doing his Steve imitation. I have a pic almost exactly like this of Steve sitting in his toybox, but it was a plain old cardboard thing. If ever I get all those old photos sorted and manage to scan some into the computer, I may post this again with its ancient companion pic.Not to be left out, here is Alex, "reading" with Steve. I also took a couple very amateur videos of the boys eating birthday cupcakes (from a neighbor's party), but I have forgotten how to post them, and may do so later, if I get it all figured out again.

I highly recommend the food at the Perkins B&B -- Steve cooked breakfast both days: waffles and bacon on Saturday; Eggs Benedict & bacon for Mother's Day brunch. For Saturday dinner, Laura put together a very yummy pasta dish. Strawberries were really good, too. Max & I contributed Log Cabin syrup for the waffles, and Pepperidge Farm garlic bread to go with the pasta. Otherwise, we were free-loaders and loving it!
Orvis had a good time with Sadie and Atlas, too. I think I can safely say, "A good time was had by all."
We left a little before noon for Casper for our next night out on the road in another Best Western, but without trains or cutesy name. Made it to Bozeman/Belgrade for the next night, and finally to our cabin on Tuesday afternoon.