Weekend Recap

Friday evening my husband and I were invited to a barbecue, which got moved indoors due to weather. Our host was a good sport about having to grill burgers and salmon in a downpour!

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Saturday evening my back and shoulders ached a little from preparing my raised beds for planting.  I had decided a garden would be too time consuming this year, but I changed my mind this weekend. It didn't feel like summer without trying to grow some herbs and vegetables.

Soil turned, fertilizer added, and automatic soaker-hose positioned ready for planting.

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Saturday night, thanks to summer solstice, there was light in the “big sky” of Montana well after the actual time of sunset.

View from my deck: 9:45 pm on 6-21-14

Some light still left in the sky, at 10:15 PM on 6-21-14

I noticed the date on the iPhoto information regarding these photos was incorrect - it was recorded as being about an hour and 45 minutes earlier than I knew I had taken them.  We never bother to reset our camera clock for daylight savings time, and apparently camera clocks are not noted for maintaining accuracy.  The user's manual for my Nikon D5100 digital camera states:

“The camera clock is less accurate than most watches and household clocks.  Check the clock regularly against more accurate time pierces and reset as necessary.”  

Sure enough, when I looked at the time setting on my camera this morning, it was 1 hour and 43 minutes earlier than the time on my phone.  It took 15 minutes to figure out how, but my camera is now set to the current time.  I wonder what else I would learn, if I actually read the manual!

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Sunday morning, my favorite nursery let me down when they had no tomato plants left for sale. I admit, June 22nd is a little late to be planting a garden, but I was counting on finding some well-established tomato plants to make up for that! Fortunately, after visiting two more nurseries, I found all the herbs, tomato, zucchini, yellow squash, pepper plants and seeds I was hoping for.  Now I'm hoping for warm weather into late September!

An "instant garden" of nursery-grown plants - with the exception of
my previously planted strawberry plants and lettuce.

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Sunday afternoon, it felt a little heartbreaking when Portugal figured out how to “make the most of a moment.” US soccer fans were ecstatic when our team established a 2:1 lead over Portugal in the World Cup game, only to be scored upon with 30 seconds left in the 95th minute (5 minutes were added to the regulation 90 minutes, due to delays in play).  A win would have advanced the US team to the “Round of 16.” This will hopefully still happen, but it will take a little longer.

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Sunday evening, I finally got to watch the impressive performances of Judi Dench and Steve Coogan in the movie, Philomena.  I am so glad Philomena Lee decided her story should be told.  I am still thinking about it this morning.

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That sums up my weekend - how was yours?

Would you ever plant a garden as late as the weekend of Summer Solstice?