Stan & Joyce Orchard
Trying to figure it out since 1975.
Greenhouse Wildlife
We’ve been using our greenhouse for a year now. An abundance of vegetables and flowers is the result. But we have been surprised by the number of small critters that have found their way in there. Butterflies, dragonflies, bees, frogs, and even slugs. We learn something every day.
Turn The Page
This is our youngest grandchild headed off to her first day of Montessori school. The same school where her grandmother was a teacher and her father a student so long ago. My brain and heart are having a hard time taking it all in.
Sweet Life
Consuming what you grow is one of life’s greatest pleasures, at least for us.
Hiding In The Peppers
We’ve been enjoying a bumper crop of sweet peppers this summer. Today when grabbing a few more, this little guy appeared. We’re not the only ones enjoying those green globes of goodness.
Tiger Lily Lives
Our son and his family recently sold their house and moved to a new house here on The Orchard Compound. This lily was growing in the ground at their old place and was near death. So they dug it up and threw it in a plastic bag and brought it here. We threw it in a pot and it has come back to life. Excellent fragrance.
Petunia Love
Petunia Love – Here on The Orchard Compound we love petunias. One of the flowers we can grow well. Tried some different color combinations this year. Now that the summer heat has arrived in full they’re exploding. Just love that!
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.