Stan & Joyce Orchard
Trying to figure it out since 1975.
Dragonfly Guardian
This little guy, unlike others of the species around here, is not bashful at all. It sits atop one of the stakes in our greenhouse, keeping those marvelous eyes on our tomatoes, peppers, etc. One of many critters that co-habitate with us in there.
Smiling Dragonfly
We have many insect friends here on The Orchard Compound, especially dragonflies. I’m always trying to snap photos of them but they usually fly off. This little guy perched on a thin piece of metal on our old tractor and stayed still long enough for me to get a shot. But when opened in my photo editor, I found this bug was smiling at me! Weird.
Good Morning!
This big guy wandered through this morning just after sunrise. Never tire of watching them, especially this time of year. Svelt coats, fuzzy antlers, rippling muscles. Amazing, fascinating creatures.
First Tomatoes
The weather this spring in our part of the world has been miserably cool and wet. Nice to spot our first tomatoes in the greenhouse this morning. A little bit of summer in this dark, damp season.
Pepper Pandemonium
Weather around here this spring has been cool and wet to say the least. But with the greenhouse we built last year we’re growing peppers for the first time. Amazing to watch them grow along with tomatoes, flowers, etc. We’ve been enjoying spinach, lettuce, radishes, peas for months. Life is good. Watch it grow.
Fuzzy Antler Time
Favorite time of year as they take on summer coats and new racks.
Sweet William
In the summer of 2021 I found a packet of seeds. Never heard of Sweet William before let alone grown any. So, threw some in a pot and left them alone. Put the pot in our new greenhouse where the plants thrived over winter. So much so that we divided them into four pots. Spring 2022 we’re now enjoying cut flowers that last for two weeks easy. A beautiful gardening discovery.
Log Splitter Miracle
Joyce Carol and I started heating with firewood in the mid-70s. In all those years we salvaged wood from dumpsters, forests, and elsewhere. I used various saws and axes and stoves. It became a way of life. But today for the first time in nearly a half century I used a hydraulic log splitter. Why in the world did it take me so long to learn this? Good grief, it’s amazing.
Skunk Cabbage Arrive
Warmest day of the year so far and we spotted the first skunk cabbage of the season. It’s also the 47th anniversary of meeting the love of my life and our grandson is seventeen today. Life is amazing.
Work Crew
We moved some firewood, searched for antlers, marveled at how much things have changed. What a time to be alive.