Another fantastic day :-)
‘It is warm today, it went above 21C (69,8F) already at 10 am and it looks like it will continue to rise for yet some time, yesterday we reached 24C (75,2F) and that was a few degrees higher than predicted. There’s no wind at the moment either so it feels warmer than it is. I’m enjoying it to the fullest, this might be the summer we’ll get this year. Last summer started much the same and after that it was mostly cool and rainy.
Nova saw these hares but listened to me and stayed where she was 🙂
I wore a fleece jacket when we went out this morning and it turned out to be too much. I didn’t regret it though because we walked through lots of bushes and god knows how many ticks that might have been in them 🙂 I have to say though that I haven’t picked that many ticks from either dog, Nova prefers to walk in open spaces where there are no bushes and the grass is low. Sune he takes his baths and I think that rinse away some of the ticks that are in his fur.
The ground is still too wet and soft but they keep on trying 🙂
Finally the ferns by the creek shows.
I’ve done almost all the laundry already, I still have the working t-shirt left to do though. I really can’t wash it with any other clothes, the powder paint that still is in the t-shirt has a habit to stuck on the rest of the clothes instead. It is very easy to brush off but still annoys me. The rest of the laundry is now hanging on the patio to dry.
One problem when summer start this early is to keep calm in placing more sensitive plants outside too early. We can and often do get frost here the first week in June but already now nights are warm (Scandinavian warm that is). I would like to have my tomato plants, the two I have, outside already now. I can of course bring them indoors if they threaten us with frosty nights but the pots will be rather heavy to carry and I’m not sure covering them will be enough.
I also have several Tamarillos which need both bigger pots and more light. I know that when the are acclimated to an outside life they will manage to survive down to at least 0C (32F). I once had one growing in a south heading window when I lived in Gothenburg. It grew really large and even gave me fruit but I tossed it away since it really smalls rather nasty if touched and for some reason one does that every time no matter how careful one is 🙂
From here on it is flowers in my garden.
The plants that I really! want to get outside though are the Naranjilla (Solanum quitoense). It too can take low temperatures since it likes to grow on heights above 1500 meter ( 4921 feet) above the ocean. The problem with them are the thorns. Nasty sharp that goes straight through the skin and are impossible to get out again 🙂 It has those thorns both on the stems and the leafs 🙂 I’ve heard the fruit is delicious so I just had to try and grow it, no matter how thorny it is 🙂
Tulipa tarda.
It is time for a pot of tea and then a walk again. We better enjoy this weather as long as it lasts because already next Saturday they all predict much cooler and rainier weather again.
Three more anemones.
Lonicera caerulea . We call it Blåbärstry (Blueberry honeysuckle).
Have a great day!
The cottage by the Crane Lake, life goes on. 
Hi Christer,
I forgot to say how glad I am that Jesus the bull calf is now living the good life somewhere. 🙂
Is the tractor stuck in the mud again? With a short growing season, I suppose they have to start as soon as they possibly can.
All your plant notes reminded me to ask how long I should leave the little quince in a pot before I plant it outside somewhere. It’s only three or four inches tall and hasn’t got any thorns, yet. And if I leave it in a pot until it’s out of the rabbit food stage, what do I do with it in the winter?
The lawn guys gave the columbine a competitive edge by weed whacking the bad tasting mint. It’s still sort of there but considerably reduced. The struggle continues. 🙂
Today’s weather is the same as the weather has been all week. Dank, dark, dismal and damp. The sun did make an early and spotty appearance but has gone away again. Rain is around though not at my house. Yet.
Enjoy the day.
May 8, 2016 at 4:35 pm
Hi Caryn!
I was hoping something like that had happened to him 🙂 He was far too small to go to the slaughtery, he wasfar too small to become veal (it isn’t that popular here).
Yes it is 🙂 but they had managed to unstuck it by the afternoon. They’ll only grow forage there anyway but I think they’ll sow a mix with lots of beans and other good thing for making a highly nutritious silage. They tend to load too much seeds in the seed drill and lots of it fall off on the way. The road look really nice when beans, peas and flowers grow all over it 🙂
You can have it in a pot all summer if You want to and plant it in the ground in late autumn. If You think rabbits and other cute but deadly animals for plants will eat it just put a put over it, preferable one of the old kind clay pots.
The mint can actually grow stronger by being weed hacked 🙂 So keep an eye on it so the columbine won’t be surprised and overpowered 🙂
It is odd, You are having our weather and we’re Yours. I’m definitely not complaining about it though 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
May 8, 2016 at 4:51 pm
Christer, these images are lovely and WOW to those flowers in your yard. Here I was enjoying all the lovely landscapes too…but then the last 2 photos of your cats really made my day. Everything seemed to be working well, the weather, the plants blooming and the cats posing for their close-ups. Here it has been a damp and chilly week with some breaks of sunshine finally today but then a lot of wind. Hope your weather continues to be so nice and that our improves this week!
May 9, 2016 at 3:31 am
Hi Beatrice!
I am glad You like them 🙂
We’re still having amazing weather but it will cool down some already tomorrow, it willstay around 68F anyway. The last warm day will be Friday after that it will fall down below 50 they say.
I think it is time For You to get some really nice weather too, normally it is You who have the weather we’re having now 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
May 9, 2016 at 5:58 pm
Hi Christer! Better late than never eh? 🙂 The weekend has been so busy, I am finally getting around to respond. We are having nice weather for now but we too are supposed to get some cooler, rainy weather. We shall see! 🙂 Yes, tick season is upon us and we are planning on heading out to our cottage for our upcoming May long weekend. We must be diligent on checking for ticks. Tucker has white fur so he’s easy to spot any bugs, but Karma is black with a bit of white so she will be a tough one! It was hot our yesterday so we brought out a paddling pool for her and Tucker. He ignored it completely but she was like a small child. Running around, in it, over it, drinking from it. The water is totally disgusting so I will change it when I get home. My gardens are waking up finally but albeit slowly. Have a good evening! 🙂
May 9, 2016 at 4:37 pm
Hi Dianna!
There are more important things in life than internet 🙂
It was supposed to be cooler alreadytomorrow but now they say it will be slightly warmer instead 🙂 Cooler on Wednesday though and the weekend will be rainy and almost cold. We’ll see when the weekend comes 🙂
I have only had one dog who wasn’t black 🙂 So I just feel around in the fur after any uneven spots. Nove prefers to walk where the grass is short so she rarely have ticks, Sune take baths so the ticks he has are on the upper part of his body. I removed four this morning.
Sune’s pool broke last summer so I’ll buy another one. I’m thinking smaller but deeper sincew he loves to be almost totally covered by the water 🙂
It was more or less s plant explosion here when the warm wetaher arrived 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
May 9, 2016 at 6:04 pm
you are lucking out with your weather. i hope you get more! maybe this will be a warm summer for you? we are supposed to get rain but i will believe it when i see it. the ground is cracked here it is so dry. they are predicting a hot dry summer for us which does not thrill me one bit. i guess i will be doing lots of watering for the next 4 months.
May 9, 2016 at 10:31 pm
Hi Joyce!
They always predict hot summers for us and we rarely get it 🙂 🙂 Summer is our rainiest season so I don’t have too high hopes for a warm and dry one though.
Your last summer was nasty warm so I hope You’ll get a cooler one or at least not an even warmer!
Have a great day!
Christer.
May 10, 2016 at 5:37 pm