Hi everyone.
The 3-Hs are back. Hazy (milky white) skys, Hot temperatures, and very high Humidity. This is a common phrase here in New England for the dog days of summer. It is Monday June 7th and the summer heat has started early this year. We are in the second day of a 4-day heat wave. Heat waves in New England are defined as any three consecutive days with temperatures over 90 degrees region wide. Almost all of our heat waves have exceedingly high humidity levels making life miserable for man and beast alike. Temperatures along the coast are a bit cooler but inland it’s up in the nineties. The humidity is at 71% this morning. When the temps over 80 degrees and humidity over 70% and I feel like I am going to melt. Along with the high humidity comes hazy sunshine with all the moisture in the air.
One benefit of living on Cape Cod; is that the miserable hot temps are held at bay by the surrounding cooler ocean waters. Today is a prime example of one of these days. This morning it started out in the mid-60s and the forecast is only supposed to be for 79 degrees here on Cape Cod. While Boston is forecasted to be 90+. Oh! We get heat waves here too. The real heat waves will hit here towards the end of July along with very stormy weather in the afternoons.
Keeping busy!
I told you in my last blog; that I started a part time job hosting at a local restaurant. I worked Friday night. I was called to work on Saturday night – but I declined that shift I worked last night, and I will be working again tonight. Last night’s shift was brutal! The Air conditioners were not working in the restaurant. The only cool spot was out on the deck. My step count for both days I did worked have been sky high. Triple what I normally average in steps a day. I woke up this morning feeling a bit sick to my stomach, so I am taking it easy this AM. Good day to write a new blog post. 😊
In the garden now!
Most of the lawns all still need to be mowed. The gardens are doing great, as long as I keep up with the watering. The main garden was watered this morning; but I still need to water the patio pots. Watering the main garden is easy. I have a stand-up sprinkler in the center of that garden with hoses running back to the house. I just have to turn on the water.
Birding news
I moved the jelly feeder to the side yard behind the deer netting. I suspect that my nightly jelly raider has been one of the deer. The feeder is within sight of its old location. The male oriole was just eating the fresh jelly I filled the feeder with. The catbirds will soon follow. It will take a few days for the redheaded woodpecker to find the feeders new location.
Jelly feeder Update: Three days after moving the jelly feeder – there have been no more night time attacks on this feeder. Finally a win against the deer.
Hügelkultur garden update
I looked through my earlier post about my Hügelkultur bed and I realized that I haven’t shown any close ups of what’s happening out there. So here goes.
The new back garden bed. The cardboard is down to kill the old lawn. I have more cardboard to spread. Eventually I will cover it with wood mulch. This garden is a new work-in progress.
The Hügelkultur bed, the back woods, my fire pit, and saltwater marsh.
The planted end of the Hügelkultur bed. The flower boxes and pots along the edge are also planted up with veggie plants and seeds.
Pic below: It’s red! (Taken 3 days later – 6/11)
The thyme and catmint plants loving the full sun.
A thyme plant, catmint plant, and an orange poppy. Hollyhocks in pot next to thyme plant
various. plants and herbs planted behind (from the house) the gingko tree.
See my earlier posts on the Hügelkultur method of planting. Gardening on the Upper Cape blog2
My Ginkgo tree. The deer chopped off its main stem the year I planted it; otherwise, it would be twice as tall as it is in this picture. Still pretty! I planted the ginkgo first and I have been adding the perennials behind it for the last few years. This is the location of a large weeping willow tree that was blown over about 5 years ago.
Other news!
Hummingbirds love catmint and salvia plants. I have a lot of catmint plants, all of which are in full bloom right now. The visits to the hummingbird feeders are always down while the catmint blooms are at their peak like now. I saw the male hummingbird visited this “Hummingbird haven” at least twice this morning.
Chipmunks:
I have at least 3 active chipmunk borrows close around the house.
The chambers are were they store the birdseed that they collect all summer.
The largest borrow is occupied by ‘Sweet Thing’ – the Alpha female – she has a notch in her left ear – and quite a few battle scares – she is the scrappiest of the bunch. Pictures below. This borrow is under the flower bed by the cellar door. I know where 4 of her exits or “bolt” holes are. This borrow is huge! It’s at least twelve feet long by 6 feet wide. No idea how deep. I have watched her enter and exit this borrow for the last two summers. She maybe the same female chipmunk who lived here before last summer or one of the daughters from the previous female.
She is the friendliest of all the chipmunks I’ve seen this year. As you see in the pic below; she will come within arm’s length of me to gather seeds. I was sitting in a chair next to the table when I snapped this pic.
There is a second borrow near the house – this one is home to a younger chipmunk (No name yet). This borrow is on the far side of the house near my generator. He (No name) and Sweet Thing are always scrapping over the birdseed I put out.
I know where at least 3 of the “bolt” holes to this borrow are. He also uses the four holes in the bottom of my generator to duck out of sight whenever he sees me. He uses the rocks along my foundation wall as a personal raised highway through Sweet Things territory. He uses this wall to get to my back patio where I put out seed for the chipmunks. I see her chasing him along this same wall all the time. I have also seen him in my front yard from time to time under the bird feeders looking for dropped birdseed along with the big male turkeys. (Another story.)
The third chipmunk borrow is under my backdoor patio. I’m not yet sure which of the chipmunks currently calls this borrow their home as he/she is rather skittish and runs whenever I look his/her way. The former occupant was the old Alpha male, who I saw get taken (killed) by the redtail hawk 2 years ago. The new occupant moved in last summer.
This borrow has a bolt hole under my sunporch. My sunporch was built by my father and grandfather, and it started out as a real porch. They changed the original porch into the enclosed sunporch it is today. This room has ‘weep’ holes in the floor. (One inch round holes to let out any water. An Old Thyme carpenter’s trick to shed water.) These weep holes are the perfect size for a chipmunk to slip through.
Whichever chipmunk that calls this borrow home; has entered this sunporch and tangled with Sam (my cat) a few times.
The sunporch is located just off of the living room; and I could hear a chipmunk running around from time to time in there this past winter. Now that the sunporch is open to the house for the summer; they know not to enter this area when the door is are open to the house because of Sam.
The main “bolt” hole for borrow #3 is behind a large flowerpot and out of sight from my chair. So, I am not sure which chipmunk actually lives here. But it’s hole is an exceptionally large bolt hole – so this maybe Big Boy’s home.
Big Boy! Named as such since he is twice the size of the other chipmunks. But Sweet Thing still whips his ass every time. She rules this yard.
There are other chipmunks in my yard; but these three are the ones I see the most often.
I hope the wet weather holds off for a bit and I can get my lawns mowed. Between work and the rain, the lawns have gotten and stayed ahead of me mowing this year.
Oh Well! that’s it for now. I hope all is well in your part of the world. Until next time. Gail
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