Deer in my garden

Last year I spent a week in the bush hunting deer. I didn't see one the whole time. When we got home, there were 4 deer in my yard. A bit of a nose-thumping there, but it was okay. They can't do any damage in November. Springtime is different. That's when I don't want any animals in my yard, especially not in my garden. Last year I had to fight with the rabbits. I put up little fences to keep them out of the garden. So far this year I haven't had any problems with rabbits eating my vegetables. Just this morning I did some inspecting after the storm. Everything is growing nicely. The plants are a little flat from the rain and look disheveled from the wind, but mostly everything was okay. My beets are quite tall already. They stood out so nicely after I managed to weed the beet bed before the heavy rain started.That was this morning.

Shortly after noon my wife calls me excitedly and tells me to look out of the window. At first I was also excited when I saw who had come visiting my yard and my garden. I snapped a few pictures and I was elated, but when they began pulling stuff out of the ground the elation was replaced with frustration. We had to yell out of the window to chase them away. They took off and I rushed into the garden to inspect the damage and I was not a happy gardener. Many of the beet tops had been bitten off. I hope the beets recover. The worst part was they came back after we chased them away, but I couldn't see any more damage. They may have nibbled on the lettuce, but right now there are so many weeds after the rain, it is hard to tell.

Here are a couple of pictures:

2 nice bucks. A welcome sight during hunting but not at home in the garden

A sample of the damage they left behind.

A Poem for a girl

Last week we went to our granddaughter’s Graduation. Actually, it wasn’t really a graduation, more a celebration of the end of Grade 5. The school she went to went through some changes. From now on it will only have students from Kindergarten to

Grade 5 instead of Grade 6. That’s why the celebration. She and all the other kids going into Grade 6 will have to go to another School.

I made a nice card for her and wrote her a little poem. She didn’t seem overly excited about it and I hope she appreciates the effort I made. But then again, she is only 11 years old and maybe I expected too much. Nobody wrote a poem for me when I was 11, so I can’t say how I would have reacted. Then again, we didn’t celebrate anything at school until we left in Grade 8 (that was in Germany). Many students began an apprenticeship at 14 years of age, after Grade 8. Some went on to higher Schools to get more education, like I did. When I left High School I didn’t get a poem, either. I didn’t have an uncle or grandfather who did that sort of thing. If they did, I might have thought it weird. I don’t know. Kids think different from adults.

Anyway, I do write the occasional poem, mainly for my wife, even though I don’t consider myself a poet. I believe, she appreciates them. At least, I hope she does. She always says so. I always remind her that buying a card or flowers is easy, making a card and writing a poem does take effort and time and it comes from the heart.

Here is the poem I wrote for my granddaughter:

 On your journey through life

You will learn new things

And you must learn to accept

What destiny brings

You study and learn

And then you graduate

But that’s not the end

And you must not be afraid

Now you’ve graduated from Grade Five

You will leave your school and old friends

Remember, this is just the beginning

Your education never ends

But today is your Graduation

Be happy and have fun

We wish you all the luck

Today and every day from now on

With lots of Love

Oma and Opa

XOXO

The rain just won't quit, but weeding the garden must be done

Yesterday it rained. This morning I managed to work in my garden exactly 2 1/2 hours and do some weeding. The weeds are taking over. I did about 1/2 the garden. After weeding the Red beet bed I was surprised how tall those plants already were. Same with the Beans.

Before I worked on the weeds, I pulled out all the #dill plants. Okay, dill is also considered a weed by some, because once you have it in your garden you can't get rid of it. It seeds itself and comes back every year. That is okay with me, because we love it in Borscht, soups, stews, and in many other dishes. Everyone loves dill pickles. You can make dill dips with it. The list is endless. Actually, dill is a herb and also used for medicinal purposes.

Right now the plants are about 6 inches tall and at their best. This year, after all that rain, they are green and succulent. I pull out the whole plant, break off the root and throw it into a pail full of water. I wash the plants and take them into the house, where my wife takes over. She pulls the leaves off the stem and puts a bunch into a small freezer bag. Then she freezes them flat, like an envelope. When it comes time to use some, we take the bag out of the freezer, break off as much as we need from the frozen dill, and put the rest back into the freezer as quickly as possible. The reason for rushing is simple. The frozen dill thaws almost immediately. So it is important to keep the rest from thawing. We have 'fresh' dill all winter.

Every time I take that frozen dill out of the freezer, it reminds me of the show we once saw on TV. It was a documentary about the mammoths they dig up in Siberia. They are about 10,000 years old, kept intact in the frozen ground. The researcher who dig them up, have to work fast once the frozen bodies are exposed to the air, because they start to deteriorate very quickly. Sometimes they find animals with grass still in their mouths. And when the grass thaws they can smell the swamp it came from. Imagine, to smell something that was alive and growing 10,000 years ago! That must be exciting. Like traveling back in time.

Pulling the weeds was not much fun. The soil was clumpy and sticky. I had to constantly scrape the dirt of my hands and the small rake I used. In fact, using a rake was nearly impossible because of the sticky condition. Oh, and I forgot to mention the mosquitoes. They were out in full force and buzzing around my head. But I fooled them. I wore a mosquito net and I had sprayed repellent all over me. I got bitten only once. It was hot and muggy and my wet shirt clung to my back. That mosquito found that vulnerable part of my body.

It started raining again at 1:00 p.m. Time for me to go and have lunch anyway. That, of course, was the end of my weeding. I didn't mind. I felt grimy and sweaty and tired. A nice shower made me human again and after one glass of wine I felt okay. Let it rain, who cares!

Last week was our anniversary. Only two of our friends sent us good wishes. Nobody else remembered or cared. Thank you Don and Norma, and Hania and Orest. We appreciate it.

We wanted to go out for supper in #Winnipeg and drove to the #Forks. We got there around 4:00 p.m. Our plan was to walk around a bit and then have supper at the #Beachcomber. That was the plan, but it didn't turn out that way. We circled around looking for a parking spot. Couldn't find anything. We drove into the Parkade...nothing. It was full and everywhere it said: Free Parking after 6:00. Good Luck! This during the week and with that ugly building, the new Museum of Suffering, not even open yet. How can we expect visitors to Winnipeg to visit the Forks? I don't like going downtown anyway, because of the lack of parking spaces and how much they charge if you can find a spot. Metered parking is two Dollars an hour or portion thereof and the parking lots are even more expensive. I prefer going to the shopping centers and shops and restaurants on the outskirts of Winnipeg.

We ended up driving home and went to #Gaffers in Lockport for supper. This is not the first time we did that. Gaffers is a nice place with good food and reasonable prices. My wife had Jumbo Shrimp and I had the 10 oz Prime Rib. Both choices were excellent and we went home happy.

#Religion...blessing or curse?

 I’ve wondered many times how this world of ours would be without the introduction of religion. Would it be a better or worse place? I can’t imagine it could be any worse than it already is. Just look at what is going on in the #Middle East. Right now we have a sectarian war going on in #Iraq. The Sunni are fighting against the Shiite. Both religions are of the Islamic faith. The invading Sunni fighters hand out copies of the Qur'an and they murder Shiite men en masse in cold blood. They are nothing but a bunch of bloodthirsty, cold-blooded murderers. They want an Islamic state where #Sharia Law rules. (Do yourself a favor and check out the link. You'll be shocked and horrified!). No other religions allowed. If the Sunni gain power God help the Shiite. In the rest of the world we want to stop this bloodshed, but what side should we take? Are the Shiite any better? They are still Muslims and they also won't accept any other religions.

There is no doubt that Islam is a narrow-minded, intolerant, and violent religion. Women are suppressed and considered second-class humans. The barbaric Sharia Law dictates that anyone committing even just a minor crime gets his hand chopped off. They stone women who are accused of having committed infidelity to death; they hang women for marrying somebody not of their faith. People of other religions are considered infidels and need to be killed, according to the #Qur'an, their holy book. And yet, the Muslims claim that Islam is a religion of Love and Peace. Somehow I fail to see that.

Young men strap bombs around their bodies and willingly commit suicide, murdering dozens and more people in the name of their religion. Apparently, they believe that as a reward for doing that they will have sex with 72 virgins in the afterlife. Are they really that naive or just stupid? Anyone so obsessed with sex that they would commit murder for it is sick. They should have it while they are alive not dead

Of course, the Christian religion is so much better, isn’t it? I mean we are forgiving, tolerant, peaceful and loving. We love everyone. Don’t we? Anyone believing that is naive, knows nothing about history or has a short memory. Let’s have a closer look at history:

At first it was only the #Roman Catholic Church in Europe. Then in the 16th century the #Protestants came along because they didn’t agree with the way the Catholic Church operated. That’s when the religious wars began. Catholics and Protestants fought each other in the 16th and 17th centuries. Unbelievable atrocities were committed during that time in the name of religion. Catholics and Protestants are still at odds with each other in Ireland. We don’t hear that much anymore about that, because there are other more interesting stories to be broadcast by the media.

The Church sent missionaries all over the world to ‘save’ the natives in Africa, the Philippines, and other places peopled with non-believers, because their primitive religions were evil and bad. They needed to be converted to the Christian religion, which was so much better and their only salvation. As far as I’m concerned, the only good thing they taught the original Hawaiians was the missionary position.

Even now we still have religious priests molesting young boys. In the early 20th century the Church removed hundreds of native children in Canada from their families and put them into Schools to make civilized people out of them. Many of the children were beaten and sexually assaulted and they suffered lifelong scars, mentally and physically.

In Europe, nearly 100,000 people, mostly women, were accused of being witches and tortured, hanged, and burned. (Somebody claimed it to be in the millions, but that number is disputed. History has a habit of exaggerating things like that). In the USA women and men were tried and hanged in the infamous witch trials in Salem from February 1692 to May 1693. The same thing happened all over the US.

The witch hunts are not over yet. Practicing witchcraft in Saudi Arabia carries the death penalty. (Unbelievable!). Ten thousands of women and children have been killed since 1960 in Africa, India, and Papua New Guinea because they, apparently, practiced witchcraft. That is the wonderful world of religion.

The object of a cult, and I consider any religion a cult, is to control its members. It’s all about power. People are gullible. People are afraid of what happens after they die. They will believe anything a charismatic preacher tells them. They will hand over their possession for the promise of a spot in Heaven. Once this preacher has enough followers and therefore the power, he can then begin to suppress and control even the ones who don’t believe the lies he tells his flock.

As long as Church and State are separate entities, there is still a chance to live in peace and enjoy freedom for people who refuse to be pressed into somebody’s mold and forced to follow an ideology they can’t accept. However, when the Church marries the State and governs a country we have trouble.  If this Church is dictatorial (which religion isn’t?) and its members fanatical and ruthless, denying and suppressing all other beliefs and ideologies, it becomes dangerous. We have that situation now in the Middle East and wherever Islam rules. I’m not saying that all Muslims are evil people. There are those who want to live in peace with others and they abhor violence, but they cannot speak out if their lives are threatened by the fanatics.

No, religion does not have a good track record. Just check out history when the Catholic Church was powerful in Europe; when even Kings bowed to the Pope. The Church ruled with fear and false promises. Enough money bought the forgiveness of sins, even a seat in Heaven. The Cardinals, the Bishops, and the Priests were all corrupt; so was the Pope. Just check out #Pope Alexander VI, whose real name was #Rodrigo Borgia, who became Pope in 1492. Perhaps things were not as violent the way the Islamic militants are now, but they were far from being peaceful and ideal.

To me religion is the curse of humanity. It is not the different religions on our planet that are evil but the people who practice them. The fanatics, the born murderers, the do-gooders, and the power-hungry. This does not mean we should not believe in a higher power or in God. We should. I don’t know about the Qur'an, but the Christian #Bible does not teach violence. Jesus preached love and tolerance, but it is the clergy and the ones who are in charge that abuse the power they have over their followers. They make up rules as they suit them and help them to stay in power and control; they use threats and promise of eternal damnation. Even criticizing them and the Church is considered an offense and punishable. Talk about a wonderful method of control.

There are other religions besides Christianity and Islam. Perhaps some of them are not as ruthless and bloodthirsty. Some may even be beneficial to practice. I’m fine with any religion, as long as I don’t get bothered by its followers and as long as they don’t try to force me to abide by their rules and to accept what they believe. I have my own thoughts about the universe, my place in it and what life is all about. I don’t believe in violence. I don’t expect anyone else to accept my views, but I believe we all should be tolerant with each other and try to live together in harmony and peace, no matter what faith we follow. Violence and force in all its forms is evil and if the so-called ‘Holy Books’ command us to commit evil acts then those books are wrong. They were written by men who claimed to be inspired by God. Perhaps they were inspired by Satan and not God. Just something to think about.

I'm quite certain, some people reading this may be offended and upset, be they Muslim or Christian, but the truth always hurts. If we don't talk about these things and try to change them it will never get better in this beautiful world of ours. What will the human legacy be some day? Will we leave behind a world in shambles where violence rules and people live in fear or will it be a world of peace, tolerance and good will. Will it be Heaven or Hell? It is up to us.

I invite you to leave a comment.

#Willows

I will never plant willows again. Last night we had a thunderstorm with hail. We were not at home, but the evidence was obvious. My wife’s Hosta didn’t look as good as it did when we left home in the afternoon. The leaves (they are quite large) had holes and rips. There were other plants that had similar damage. My garden was not left unscathed, either. Many of my pepper plants had holes, so did some of the zucchini leaves. I just bought a rain gauge and it showed we had 7/8 inch rain. That is a lot. We’ve had so much rain this last week, our lawn is water soaked. There are a couple of small ‘lakes’ on one side. It'll take days for it to dry. If it doesn't rain again in the meantime.

However, the worst damage were all the branches from the willows that I’ve planted around the perimeter of our property. The branches are so brittle, even a soft breeze breaks them. So I spent an hour picking up the larger ones. The small ones I will have to rake. I use my lawn tractor for that. I have an attachment that I actually use in the Spring to rake the dead grass left from the winter. It works quite well raking up the smaller branches and much easier than raking them with a hand rake.

I pile the branches up in one corner of the lot, and in the Fall we burn them after the garden is finished. We usually have a couple of huge piles of branches to burn. In the Fall I also cut down the willows that have died over the Summer. The willows all have more than one trunk, and new branches keep on growing. Most of the time I have enough wood to last me through the Winter to burn in our wood stove. I don’t use them in the fire place. So there is one positive side to having the willows die off. The branches I collect during the Summer are not thick enough to be used for firewood.

In the Winter we lose a lot of branches to the storms also. Once the snow is gone comes the work of gathering all the fallen willow branches. Our lawn usually looks like a disaster area. So we have another large fire in the Spring before I get my garden ready. The garden is the only place I can burn.

If I could do it all over again, I would never ever plant willows. They are a nuisance and cause us more grief and work than they’re worth.

With all the rain everything grows. I cut our grass last Wednesday and it is already tall enough to be cut again. The plants in the garden are growing well and so do the inevitable weeds. The soil is too wet to work. Hopefully next week it will be dry enough to pull them. At that time I also collect the dill. The plants are green and succulent. Even with pulling the dill plants there will still be plenty left for the Fall when it comes to making dill pickles. Dill is a weed and it comes back every year. It can also become a nuisance.

And let’s not forget the pesky #mosquitoes. They love this wet weather. So do the #canker worms. I found a few of them on our fruit trees. They are not as bad as they are in Winnipeg. I hope it stays that way. If you have only a few they are easily controlled by hand. When they appear in masses then they become a problem. I remember some years when I walked around the property every day with a sprayer. There used to be large masses on many of our #Green Ash trees. And also on the fruit trees. Those critters can eat the leaves of a tree in no time and leave only a skeleton behind.

As I write this (4 p.m.) it is 27 C outside and 28.5 C in our sun-room. This morning when the sun hit the sun-room it was 34 C in the room. We have 3 fans going to keep the air moving. Isn’t Summer wonderful. Of course, so is Winter when the temperature drops to minus 40 C outside.

I’m not really complaining. We are still lucky. Watching the news on TV we see nothing but disasters everywhere. So many States in the US are hit by tornadoes and by great floods. People lose all their possessions. So a little bit of raking dead branches isn’t so much work. Like my wife said, “At least we still have a roof over our heads.”

I’m looking for a planet where the weather is always nice and the temperature even the whole year through. Anyone know such a place?

#Rain, rain, go away...

This is already getting too much. Last weekend was rained out. We got so much rain, there were small lakes on our property and the ditch was full of water. Tuesday and Wednesday we got a small break, but today it rained off and on all day again. In fact, in the evening it poured. It is just so typical. You ask for a little shower for the grass and the garden and what do you get? Buckets full of water pouring from the clouds, drowning the plants and washing out the soil. Actually, this rain should not be a great surprise. The Red River Ex is on and it rains during that time every year. It’s already tradition.

We put some new soil over dry areas in our yard and seeded them. Then we covered the patches with burlap. I guess the rain is good for that. The seeds I broadcast in the ditch are obviously washed out now and I have to reseed the ditch.

Everything is growing well in my garden, all the vegetables, including the weeds. They are popping up everywhere and it will be fun getting rid of them. As soon as this rain is finished I’ll be on my hands and knees and pulling weeds. The dill is also growing nicely. I will pull the young plants when I weed. There will still be plenty of dill growing after that. I will save the pulled plants. We wash the dill and freeze it. Then we use it as it is needed. The young dill plants are best right now. Later on, when the plants are growing tall, the dill is not as lush and green anymore. I use dill with my Borscht. It looks like we’ll have plenty of red beets again this year. They are growing good. My tomato plants are all looking healthy. The peppers still need a bit of time to become strong and thick.

I went fishing with my friend Rudi Tuesday. We went to the Big Whiteshell lake for Walleye and Northern Pike. We expected high waves after the rain, but the water was actually quite calm. Even though, I chewed on a Gravol pill just to make sure I wasn’t going to be seasick again. My stomach is that sensitive.

We didn’t have much luck until about noon. Suddenly the wind picked up and we had some waves. Not large but enough to agitate the fish. We started catching them. We use pieces of Nightcrawlers. They work quite well. I did use a plastic baitfish with a rattle inside and I caught my first Walleye immediately on the first try. A nice 43 cm one. A keeper. Anything over 45 cm has to be released again according to the rules. Rudi caught one 50 cm long. We took a picture and put the fish gently back into the water. The big fish are the ones that spawn.

It turned out to be a beautiful day

A lonely loon kept us company

When we finally stopped fishing we had our limit of 4 Walleye each. Rudi also had 4 Northern pike and I had 5 nice Perch. (Rudi didn’t want any). Not bad for one day of fishing. We caught many more fish but we released them back into the water. Some were too small to keep. I could have brought home a few Pike also, but I don’t keep them because they are bony. Maybe next time (We’ll be going out again on Monday) I’ll keep a couple of Pike and we’ll make fish patties. Tomorrow we’ll fry up some Walleye fillets. They are just so good when they are fresh. Walleye are a Manitoba fish. They taste great just rolled in flower and fried in butter. Hmmm...

Today I took down the Weathercock I have on our Birdhouse. It was all crooked and needed a fresh coat of paint. I fixed everything and now it is ready to be put back. I just have to make sure I point the N-letter (for North) in the right direction. Tomorrow, if it doesn’t rain too much I’ll do it.

I built this weathercock a few years ago, but it was in need of a new paint job

#The Weather Forecaster's Song

 The Weather Forecaster's Song

I forecast the weather and I love my job

Because I can’t do no wrong

No matter what I forecast I can’t be blamed

Every day it’s the same sing-song

I will tell you it might rain or it might snow

The sun may even appear

Every night on TV I’ll make a big show

And I do this without fear

I just flip my coin in my secret room

Rain or shine it don’t matter to me

Will I forecast gloom and doom

Heads or tails, what will it be?

Will the sun shine or will there be a storm

To be honest I have no clue

How the weather pattern will perform

Sometimes I truly wish I knew

With weather satellites to track the clouds

And other high-tech gizmos

I still don’t know what it’s all about

None of us weather people really knows

My job is secure, for life you might say

I work for the government you see

With this job I will always stay

For the benefits and the security.

So let me give you some advice

If the weather you want to know

Check in the Farmer’s Almanac

Or just look out of your window

© 2014 Herbert Grosshans

It’s enough to drive you crazy. Last night the all-knowing weather-people forecast the temperature to drop down to 4 C. They didn’t say ‘Risk of Frost’ like the night before, but 4 C is close enough to worry. So we covered up my wife’s newly planted flowers and my garden. I’m mainly concerned with my tomatoes and peppers. And the cucumbers. None of them like cold. And we do this work around midnight after watching the news. The night before we didn’t get to bed before 1:00 a.m. So we weren’t happy to go through this whole thing again. In the dark, or semi-dark. We do have bright lights on our house and we can light up most of the yard. In addition, I wear a headlamp.

Covering up everything is not too bad. We are prepared. I have huge tarps and burlap. Also a large number of ice-cream pails and plastic pots we saved over the years from all the shrubs and small trees we bought to be planted in our yard. But it still takes time to do it, especially at night.

Friday night it actually did go down to the predicted temperature, but last night it didn’t. When I checked this morning at 6:00 a.m. it was 9 C. They were completely wrong with their forecast. To add insult to injury this morning it started raining. Not much but enough to make the grass wet. That rain had not been forecast either. So my wife and I rushed out at around 8:00 a.m. to remove the tarps and the burlap from my garden. It is not good to have wet burlap, and, of course, we need the rain water for the plants. No sooner were we finished the rain stopped and the sun appeared.

I want to strangle those weather forecasters! Unfortunately, we can’t ignore their warnings, because there is a good chance they may just be right. Fat chance but it could happen.

#Thirty Seconds

Yesterday we went to our son’s convocation, which means he received his PhD during a ceremony at The University of Manitoba, along with around 300 recipients of various other degrees. As proud parents we wanted to be there and witness that moment, which takes about a whole thirty seconds. That’s the exciting part for us, while the rest of the two hours the whole event takes is at best boring. It reminds me of when I go hunting. I sit in my deer stand for days sometimes waiting for those thirty seconds I have to shoot a deer when one finally appears. Sometimes no deer appear.

I wanted to catch those thirty seconds on camera. We sat quite far away so if I wanted to even recognize my son’s face on the picture I had to zoom in on it. Now, as everyone knows, when you zoom in on an object it is best to have a tripod. Of course, I couldn’t set up a tripod so I had to rely on my steady hand. I practiced with another recipient and the picture turned out okay. I was ready for my son to appear on the stage. When it was finally his turn to get his handshake and whatever else, I panicked a little, but I managed to find his face in the viewfinder and it looked clear. Just as I was about to push down the shutter release on the camera the guy in front of me moved his head and all I saw was a white shadow. I moved the camera to the right, which of course made it shaky. I got a blurry picture of my son walking away. The thirty seconds were gone.

When I turned to my wife, she had a few tears in her eyes and she said, “That was beautiful.”

I said, “What?”

“The whole ceremony,” she said. “And you didn’t even clap.”

“I was holding the camera, trying to get a picture,” I said.

“Did you get a nice one?”

“I would have had it not been for the guy’s head in front of us,” I said. “In fact, I missed the whole thing. Did anyone else clap?”

“Yes. A few people did.”

“Damn. I didn’t hear or see anything. That’s the last time I’m taking pictures. They never turn out anyway.”

“But it’s so nice to have pictures.”

“It is...if you manage to get some.”

I spent the next fifteen minutes or so zooming in on my son’s face as he sat on the stage with all the other new doctors. Most of the pictures were blurry but I got a couple that turned out okay. Later on we took pictures outside on the lawn. He looked so impressive wearing that hat with the tassel (it’s called a mortarboard) and the black and red robe. My wife and I were all choked up and so proud. Our son the doctor. His name now is Doctor Richard Grosshans.

When our granddaughter was christened my son gave me his movie camera and asked me to film everything. I was so busy and intent on filming and worried about it turning out okay, that I didn’t enjoy the christening. I had to watch the film later to actually see and experience it. Not the same. It’s not the first time I spoiled things for myself and maybe some day I’ll learn. I’m trying to get pictures at every Christmas concert from the kids and they never turn out. The lighting is always wrong and most of the time some huge guy with a big head wearing a baseball cap or some even bigger woman in a parka sits in front of me blocking my view. Next time I’ll go to a ceremony I’m going to leave the camera in the car.

My how time flies. It is June.

Unbelievable. Today is the first day in the 6th month of 2014. Half the year nearly gone. Because of our long and harsh winter some things are late this year. The plants think it is Spring when Summer is just around the corner. One of our apple trees is only now beginning to bloom. I have two more, but they are of a different variety and always a bit later. (Goodland). I don’t even see any flower buds on them. The only tree in full bloom is our choke cherry tree. It is our pride and joy. Most choke cherry trees in Winnipeg and surrounding areas are sick. They have the Black Knot disease, a virus, which means there are long, black knots on the branches, as the word says. Our tree is no exception, but I’ve been taking care of it. Twice a year I remove the diseased branches. Sometimes I have to cut off a nice, thick branch, that hurts, but so far we have been lucky. The tree comes back with blooms every year. I spray with an oil/sulfur emulsion once in a while and that help a little. If the knots are not removed from the tree, eventually the tree will die, beside looking ugly when the leaves are gone.

Here is a picture of our choke cherry tree.

I’m almost done with my garden. All the seeds are in, already for a few days now. In fact, the lettuce is already sprouting. Yesterday I worked from early morning till about 6 p.m. to get my vegetables planted. Some I bought and some I grew myself from seeds. I planted Kohlrabi, Parsley, Corn, and cucumbers; also 22 tomato plants. We have 4 cherry tomatoes, 6 Super Fantastic, and 12 Roma. I’ve cut down this year. Last year I had nearly 50 tomato plants. Way too many. I took quite a few tomatoes to the Soup kitchen.

I managed to plant 62 Pepper plants, but I still have a whole bunch more to go. Hopefully, that will happen tomorrow. If the weather cooperates. The weather is always the problem. Yesterday was hot and humid but cloudy. A perfect day to transplant stuff into the garden. If you’re wondering why so many peppers? We love peppers. We fry them up, we eat them raw, we eat them stuffed. We make salsa and Pfeffersosse (Pepper sauce). Lots of it. Wonderful fare in the winter. And our winter is long.

#Gardening is a lot of work and tiring. I dug all the wholes by hand with a small shovel. That is hard on the hand. Last night my hand cramped up and my back hurt, but I’m not complaining. In the end it will all be worth it. Nothing better than fresh, home-grown vegetables out of your own garden. Very satisfying.

My wife, of course, was also busy planting her flowers and finishing up all the flowerpots she has. Everything looks nice now. We have to enjoy it. Our Summer here in Manitoba is short. So far, we've had to fight off only a few mosquitoes, but those little pests will be out in full force soon.