 |
| Ruffled white and lavender irises bloom |
1. I'm thankful for irises.
Monday afternoon, I went to the Red Cross to donate whole blood.
2. I'm thankful that something that is so easy for me to do is actually helpful for someone.
I might have mentally said, "Yeah, yeah," when the phlebotomist gave me the instructions about avoiding exercise for the rest of the day. I knew I had raspberries and strawberries arriving that afternoon that would need to get planted. As soon as I got home, I started digging holes. I must admit that, even though I only needed a hand trowel, digging 70 holes when down a pint of blood took more energy than I would have expected.
3. I'm thankful to have that project done!
 |
| A newly planted tiny strawberry plant |
Earlier this spring, a master gardener had an online question and answer session on Facebook, then later a Zoom meeting about soil preparation. I was able to get a recommendation for a berry nursery that I hadn't ordered from before. It was a great recommendation! The berries from Nourse Farms did not disappoint. I was very impressed with their healthy, strong roots. Though the tops aren't much to look at right now, I fully expect the plants will establish themselves nicely.
4. I'm thankful for those who share knowledge.
Wednesday afternoon, another box of plants arrived on my porch, this time, 10 raspberry plants and 4 fruit trees from Raintree Nursery John had previously dug the holes for the trees, and the ten little holes I needed to dig for the raspberries took no time at all.
5. I'm thankful to have that project done!
 |
| A row of raspberry plants growing in raised garden beds |
 |
| A newly-planted peach tree waits to leaf out |
Anyone who has been around the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop for any length of time knows that we are a little lax about the number ten. Clark, one of the co-hosts, will tell you about a book of secret rules (or secret book of rules) that allows for the number of items to differ from ten. In order to lead by example, I will end this post without getting to ten. If I individually counted the planted fruit trees (4), raspberry plants (30), and strawberry plants (50)--not to mention the irises-- I'd surpass 10. I'm sure there's a rule in the book somewhere that allows for that!
However, I will count to 6, because I am also thankful (as I am each week), for John. He's an extraordinary digger-of-holes, builder-of-garden-boxes, installer-of-sprinklers, and mover-of-dirt. He definitely deserves a rest after all the work he has put into the yard this year!
What are you thankful for this week? You don't have to count to ten!
Joining me this week:
The Prolific Pulse
Heart to Heart Soul Creations
A Season and a Time
MessyMimi's Meanderings
A Multitude of Musings
the Wakefield Doctrine
Backsies Is What There Is Not
Carin's Gratitude
Regarding #2, I am quite certain you inherited a few of your mother and my mother's genes, and just as certain that your kids are going to say someday, "You can't do that anymore." HaHa
ReplyDeleteI am glad your plants were still alive after the delay in arriving. That is a lot of strawberry plants! Are they an everbearing variety?
Those are gorgeous irises!
I suspect you are right about the genes. I've been wanting to try a somersault since you last shared that entry of Grandma's. Haven't done it yet, though. :-)
DeleteThe strawberries are two different varieties. One is June-bearing, and the other is everbearing.
The irises smell as good as they look!
raspberries and strawberries...nice! I'm not big on raspberries, but I love blackberries!! I'm glad you didn't pass out after giving blood and doing that work. :-)
ReplyDeleteGotta love those side kicks of ours that do the honeydo's!
Raspberries are my favorite, but blackberries are good, too. I was hoping the berries would arrive on Friday instead of Monday, but schedules don't always cooperate.
DeleteJohn has done a lot of honeydo's this year!
Oh, irises are truly beautiful and they smell good too! Thanks for sharing your thankfuls.
ReplyDeleteThe smell is intoxicating!
DeleteSR 7.3 [sub chap 5] (in point of fact) would be how I would cite the BoSR/SBoR
ReplyDeleteNicely done!
Tried strawberries once. We did, at one time, have (wild) blueberry bushes, but never tried to cultivate them. The birds seemed to enjoy it.
We've adopted a certain laissez-faire attitude on the garden... whoever eats it first (fauna or family) is welcome to it.
Liked the raised bed garden (in photo).
Have a good week.
I knew you would know the citation details! Thanks!
DeleteI suspect that if we hope to harvest strawberries, we might need to cover the garden box with netting, but we'll see. Like you, we're pretty open to sharing, but we do hope to have some, too!
I've heard that blueberries just don't do well here, so we didn't even try any. Our city celebrates Strawberry Days, so presumably strawberries grow well here, and last year I picked raspberries at a U-Pick place, so I have high hopes for the raspberries, too.
Just being thankful counts! After all, i think we are all training ourselves in gratitude and looking for things to be thankful for throughout the week, even if we don't always remember to get them written on the weekend.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I agree, we are training ourselves, and the TToT helps us, no matter how many (or few) things we count each week!
Delete70 holes?! Wow! How long will it take before you get berries? Like a couple of years ? My great aunt planted probably 100 everbearing strawberry plants many, many years ago. Picking them was a pain, but there were strawberries all summer! We ate them over homemade ice cream!
ReplyDeleteTheoretically, we could get some later this year, but I'm not counting on any real harvest until next year. Half of the strawberries and about 2/3 of the raspberries I planted are everbearing varieties.
DeleteI think you were referring to rule 9.25 subsection g part 3 that states if Clark said it, it's probably good to go.
ReplyDeleteThat's it! :-)
DeleteYou're a lifesaver. Thank you for your blood donation.
ReplyDelete