I got the gardens all weeded and isles hoed.  Then I pruned and cleaned up the raspberry bed.  Norman got to talk to our neighbor Monday, that is the first time we have seen or talked to any of the neighbors since we came back from Florida.  That is what Norman likes best about this place- he can work outside all day and is never bothered by a neighbor but we do have five neighbors that we can go to if we need help or if there is trouble.  We have been here seven years and have never had to call on any neighbors yet.  We have helped three of them when they needed help but that did not lead to a stop for coffee kind of friendship which Norman hates, so he is happy and really hates to leave here.  But as we get older he may need someone closer that he feels he can call on so he knows his time here is limited.  Anyways, today Norman finished putting in the tomato stakes and prepping the corn bed.  We got a dozen tomato plants, a dozen assorted pepper plants and a new rhubarb plant on Wed. but will not put them into the ground until next Wednesday or Thursday as the for caste is for severe storms Sunday night, Monday and into Tuesday with high wind, 2 to 3 inches of rain, large hail, and tornados.  Usually we don’t get the bad storms here on the mountain but it is foolish to plan on that protection again so will take the warning and wait to put out the plants until after the line of storms have passed the area.   Today I finished the raspberries and realize what kind of a winter they had around here.  Davy said it was an awful winter, the worst in history- so cold for such a long period of time and my raspberries told the same story.  I lost a lot of last years canes and those are the ones that should be bearing this year.  So I don’t think we will have as good a crop as last year but it still should be good.  There are several new plants coming up in between the rows so I got seven or eight pots ready and this afternoon I will dig those up and put them in the 2 gallon pots to root.   This fall I will transplant those back into the garden in spots where the old roots have died or where there is room for them.  If we had the time or energy we would start a new raspberry bed since we can’t enlarge the present one- no room but there are not enough hours in a day to make and care for more gardens.

Everything looks so good in the gardens, the deer are still visiting and sampling my hostas that are in the grove area so I may need to put more netting on those, otherwise we are not being bothered by any wild life at the present.  Hope it keeps up.  The lilacs are in bloom, the Mayflower bush is in bloom and both smell so good!!  The iris are budded and will bloom soon and I will have several out in the grove area.  The blueberries are all set thanks to the hundreds of bees that have worked them so well.  The grapes are growing and you can see the bunches of grapes starting to form.  I just love this time of year!  Have a great day.