Fallow year

It's official. No vegetable garden for us this year. We never heard back from the landscape guy about tilling up our plot (we can't do it ourselves any more). Now it's too late to plant; the seedlings have died. So, the garden plot will lie fallow this year, sort of. I'm still mowing it.

I left the volunteer artichoke alone. The oregano patch (right) is starting to bloom.

We're thinking now about how we can change our approach to the garden. Maybe by relocating it. Definitely by downsizing it (we've already started that). And likely by finding another gardener who'd be more reliable and responsive.* I'd hate to give up on backyard tomatoes and squash.

*He's always been reliable about the hedge trimming and taking down trees. Big jobs are more attractive than small jobs I guess. But he's the one who offered to till for us. He did it last year. I could understand if he's swamped (as it were) because of all the wet weather we've had this spring. Maybe he's lost employees. Maybe he's gone out of business. We haven't heard anything.

Holy moley

The moles are back. Not in great numbers, but there are two areas where fresh hills are appearing. This one is in the north forty, the other is in the west. They're not a big problem, but the hills are unsightly.

They kind of look like cow patties. They're just dirt.

Yesterday I did some trimming, cutting off most of the low-hanging branches on the apple trees. They tend to slap me in the face when I run under them with the mower. And the apples are getting big enough to hurt when they bump my head. So, off they went!

Armagnac

I treated myself to a shot of armagnac on Saturday after lunch. Armagnac is a brandy made by distilling white wine and aging the result in oak barrels, much like its cousin, cognac. Often, brandies are served in a bowl-like glass called a snifter. I guess that helps to develop and capture the brandy's aroma, particularly the smokiness of the oak. I served this one in a shot glass. But don't gulp it down in one go. Brandy is meant to be sipped and savored slowly, and especially after a meal. Brandies are often referred to as digestifs. That is, they are believed to help with digestion. Works for me!

A nice shot of armagnac on the deck after lunch.