Veggies

The vegetable garden is starting to produce. We've already eaten a couple of cucumbers and on Monday we grilled the first zucchini. I'm hopeful for a good harvest this year, even though it's been very, very dry for the last ten weeks. I spend about twenty minutes watering every morning, filling a watering can and giving each plant a drink. I could use the sprinkler, but then I'd be watering the weeds as well as the plants. That, and the leaves would get all wet and that's when you have to worry about fungus/blight.

Zucchini blossoms are edible (battered and deep-fried), but I don't go to all that trouble.

I don't know if watering by hand reduces the chances of blight, but it can't hurt. It also gives me a chance to pinch off suckers and adjust the ties on the growing tomato plants. The few weeds that do come up are easy to see and get rid of. The first row of green beans is starting to blossom, so I'm hopeful that we'll have beans in the next couple of weeks.

Boom boom

Our town held it's annual July 14 celebration on Sunday night. The twelfth. We heard the fireworks going off around eleven last night. The other towns around us are probably waiting until Tuesday night for their fireworks, so we'll get to hear them again.

The sign on the electric fence at the spot where the trail heads down through the woods.

I don't know why our town does them on Sunday night, but it's not the first time. It may have something to do with people having to go back to work the day after the 14th, so staying up late for fireworks and the party after on a "school night" may not appeal to some. I don't know how many people use the expression "school night." It comes from kids not being allowed to stay up late at night so they can get up for school the next day. I guess it carried over into the working world.

Summer daze

We're having a real summer. So far. The days are sunny, warm, and dry. The afternoons are actually hot, even if the mornings are a little chilly. One day it will start raining again, but we're enjoying this nice stretch of nearly perfect weather.

Our house seen from the neighbors' property on a sunny summer afternoon.

Our neighbors across the road showed up on Saturday. They usually move in for the summer at the start of school vacations, which was last weekend, but we didn't see them until yesterday. They've both been having some health issues, so we're hopeful that things are going better for them. Ken and I often walk Callie across their property when they're not there. We like to keep an eye on things in the neighborhood.

What's on tv

This weekend is finals weekend in Wimbledon, the Tour de France rolls on, and Bastille Day is on Tuesday. None of these events is mentioned on this week's program cover. Instead, we have Sandrine Quétier, the new host of MasterChef on TF1. I don't normally watch cooking competition shows, so I won't miss anything.

No mention of July 14 event coverage on this week's cover.

What NOT to watch this week. Our tv magazine rates shows and movies using a star system: one star is ok, four stars is best. They use another symbol for really bad movies: the red dot. It means "à zapper" (change the channel!). The editors often include comments about the movie that make me laugh.

Apparently, it's "shark week" in the USA, the Discovery Channel's annual collection of shark related programming. Here in France, it seems that there's always some shark movie on. This week, it's "Jersey Shore Shark Attack." I don't think they're talking about the island of Jersey, either.

Jersey Shore Shark Attack. American made-for-tv movie. Directed by John Shepphird, 2012.
With Jack Scalia, Jeremy Luke, Joey Russo, and Daniel Booko.
In New Jersey, a coastal drilling operation liberates a horde of albino bull sharks from the deep.
► The actors, all bad, are helped along with a non-existent storyline. It's so bad, it's irresistible!
For adults and children over 10.

Through the woods

From spring through mid-summer, the path that Callie and I like to take down through the woods into the river valley is closed. An electrified fence blocks it off; the fence helps to keep hungry deer out of the adjacent vineyard parcel. Otherwise, the deer would nibble on the new shoots, flowers, and tiny grapes. So, we find other paths to take around the vines.

Looking back up the path from the road.

This little path is not closed off and it connects a vineyard parcel with our road as it climbs up from the valley. It's a very short path, but it's a nice cool spot on a warm afternoon and Callie loves most paths through the woods. It won't be long before the electrified fence is opened up and we'll be able to head down the hill again.

Periodic puppy pics

I haven't taken many pictures lately. I've been working on putting the den back together, watching tennis, watering the garden, etc. And it's been hot (but it's cooled down now). This one is from a few days ago. Callie and I were playing with her tennis ball. In case you don't know, "playing" means that I throw the ball, she chases it and then sits down with it. End of game.

Callie sits with her tennis ball. Come and get it.

The next time I walk by where she's sitting, she'll look at me with that look. It's the look that means "I want you to throw the ball." So I go and fetch the ball and throw it again. She chases it and then sits down with it. End of game. This will happen four or five times over the course of an hour or two while I putter around in the yard. At least it's not strenuous.

Hydrangea update

A couple of you asked about the hydrangeas. If you remember, I took cuttings from the hydrangea on the north side of the house a couple of years ago, rooted them, and then planted the new plants against the front of the house last year. They replaced some tired old roses and camellia bushes.

The board is Bertie's "ladder" which he uses to get into the garage where his kibble and bed are.

They made it through the winter just fine and have grown significantly (except for the one on the far right in the photo below; I don't know why it's still so small). And the flowers are bigger than those on the parent plant.

A wider view. The edges and underside of the deck need to be painted. You can see the parent plant around the corner on the right.

This fall, when the leaves have dropped, I'll trim them back a little just to even them up and I'm hopeful that they'll come back with thicker and more even growth next spring.