Spectacular!

Bird damage control just got cranked up a notch.  The checkout stand at Von’s had a variety of miniature kites for the kiddies on special.  Butterflies, turtles, dragons, and owls once filled a display.  The inventory was reduced to turtles and owls.  For a little over $3, I had something to add to my arsenal of bird detractors.  Perfect.  I snagged an owl to stand guard over the strawberries.  Along with the scare tape, things look fairly good. This little guy is tethered to the post for the squash support.  Strawberries are planted in the cinder blocks that form the bed where squash and watermelon will grow this summer.  The squash is called Squash Lemon and the watermelon is call Malali.  It’s from Israel.  More on those crops another time. Farmer MacGregor was not distracted by Hootie’s bobbing and weaving in the breeze.  The gentle farmer was on a mission to complete the installation of the squash support.  I’ve planted the squash along the right side of the support.  The plants will be trained to grow up the wire.  I will help the blossoms poke through to the other side.  The squash should dangle down on the other side out of the dirt, moisture, and sun.  Pretty cool. Since the area on the left side of the support should be shaded, I may plant beets under there.  I have a few days to decide.  Note the drying rack in the background behind Hootie taking a dive. This evening was nice enough to not only plant the squash and melons, but I planted radishes and onions too.  Then the storm moved in and it rained.  It rained!  This weather is spectacular.