It’s one of the most touching poems, ever!
It’s one of a handful that I’ve memorized through the years. This line, in particular, makes me feel in AWE of all our Forefathers and Foremothers sacrificed for us.
Are we up to the task? I fear we have failed them in so many ways. :(
“To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.”
I’ve been SO BUSY I can’t even describe it! I’ve been up extra early on these ridiculously HOT and windy days to get done what I’ve been able to. So, as of late, while I’m still a bit behind, I have:
Gotten the mowing done (twice!)
Spread fresh mulch (12 bags!) on my Rose Garden raised beds next to the greenhouse & replaced two roses that failed
Planted Cherry-type tomatoes and my SINGLE Jalapeno Pepper in 5-gallon nursery pots
Planted various flowers, Kale (Prism and Dinosaur), Sweet Peas (flower), Zucchini (EZ Pick Gold and some green substitute for the EZ Pick Green), planted ALL my peppers (with Mom’s help yesterday, too numerous to name this season, but Shishito leads the pack), and I got 8 tomato plants in today before I couldn’t take the heat and wind anymore.
Mom and I were laughing while we were planting the peppers, yesterday. We’ve never planted peppers in a friggin’ TORNADO before, LOL! Everyone is fine - a good watering and a thick layer of straw - I’ll stake them when they’re a bit bigger.
Harvested my first lettuces and spinach for salads - MUCH more to come
Mulched around the foundation of the house by the porch (2 more bags to go, there) and since I’m NOT raising PUPPIES this spring/summer I can have PORCH POTS! YAY! They are a sage green which matches the house (about 7 gallon size) and I went CRAZY for COLOR this season: Sweet Potato Vine, a ‘Spike” in the middle, Torinia, Moss Rose, Celosia in eyeball-burning colors, etc. Pictures when they fill in.
Got my Pole Beans in (Saychelles, green) but still need to do rows of Bush Beans, Golden Rod (yellow) and Velour (purple).
Now that my bulbs have petered out, I filled in those raised beds (the two Beau & Mick added for me last fall) with purple cabbages (to eat) purple Petunias, the biggest yellow and orange Marigolds I could find, and a marigold that I just love and started from seed called, ‘Fireball’. Those beds are an experiment this season to see how much I need to fill in around the bulbs, once they are done.
In The Big Garden, Potatoes are in (Kennebeck, Red Norland and German Butterball) and Sweet Corn and my Gladiolus. Beau tilled two rows for me and I will be adding Brussels Sprouts (much to his dismay, LOL!) and the squashes (Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato and Delicata) and I still have PLENTY Of room, so I’m thinking about what else I can toss in there. Two rows of cutting flowers are going in, too - mostly Zinnia because they are just WONDERFUL flowers all the way around.
So, that’s what I’ve been up to, along with wrangling dogs and the three 8 month old pups we’re raising for Amanda. Beau (who is retired) has temporarily gone back to work for a previous employer, but he’s a great help to me after hours and takes care of the weed whacking and anything else that’s beyond my capability, which isn’t much, d@mmit, LOL!
Oh, and I added a ‘Fanal’ Astilbe to the shade garden, and I couldn’t find the smaller version of Russian Sage, so I added a perennial Salvia to a bare spot in my raised bed around the greenhouse.
Also, there is a Bumble Bee living in my greenhouse! Not sure if he’s a Bumble-He or Bumble-She, but so far just the one. It was literally waiting for me to open the greenhouse doors this morning. Kinda cute, but it might turn ugly. :(
And with this THIRD hot=spell temps in the greenhouse have been 95 and ABOVE, so I’ve been watering a lot. Cooler next week, but the plan is to have everything OUT of there and in the ground this upcoming week. Between rain.