Another hot day at the farmette. Seems like we're getting our summer in September, instead of the usual July/August. I'll take it. Better late than never.
My brother and sister-in-law were visiting last weekend from Prince George, and they made a stop at the farmette. As always, the first thing they wanted to do was tour the property. As I took them around I really noticed how much things had matured over the summer. So here's to a wet, but very productive few months.
I planted a grove of hybrid poplars we bought from the Conservation Authority on May 7th. I know some people think it's cheating to put in such a fast-growing tree, but meh, I wanted to grow some trees that I'l actually be able to enjoy before I shuffle off the mortal coil.
They were so small that I had to put a piece of string on each of them so Rob wouldn't run over them with the John Deere.
Today, I took a picture of the tallest one, and it's bigger than me - at five foot five! So there's something positive to be said for all those rainy days we had to put up with when the sun was supposed to be shining.
The sumacs seemed to like all the moisture, too. You can barely see the stick in the middle of the picture on the left. But look at the one on the right! A good two and half or three feet of growth. Yippee. And the leaves are already starting to turn the deep, satisfying red that I was looking for.
The sunflowers that started as seeds that most people and birds like to munch on are now about my height and more. They didn't quite get to the heights I wanted - only one made it to the 10 foot mark, but oh, well. They still make me smile. And they'll be a great backdrop for the family photos at Thanksgiving, when we host the Harris clan here.
I'm most proud of the redbud tree that we transplanted from 79 Foster in Guelph when we moved five and a bit years ago. It was just a twig back then. Now, it's way taller than the fence, and has spread its gorgeous branches across the back garden. It's actually not supposed to grow this far north, but I've coddled it through four winters with burlap and twine. I think it's a bit too large now, so we'll have to cross our fingers going into this snowy season.
Finally, I'm pretty sure the rain didn't have anything to do with it, but the family seems to have matured, too. The little ones have grown like strong trees and the older ones (including me!) are a bit greyer and wrinklier, but still pretty hale and hardy, considering the five original Harris siblings each have more than 50 years under our belts! Until next week...
