Nothing beats summer in Minnesota if you ask me. It’s the reason we put up with the harsh winters.

I’ve been trying to get myself back on track with walking in the morning. I like to do it as early as possible but some mornings I can’t seem to get the lead out.

I’m so fortunate to have beautiful and well maintained places to walk. Just around the bend of the above photo I spotted a place where the fairies live. 🙂

It was so cute. I’m glad the park service let it stay there.

As I continued on my walk I got to our city center park which hosts a carnival and street dance the 3rd of July. Everyone was working hard to get things set up for the afternoon. Mini-me and I went up for a little while and hung out with our neighbors. It’s always a good time.

Yesterday Mini-me and I walked at the MN Landscape Arboretum. They have a nice 3 mile walking trail that we enjoy. There are benches of varying ages throughout the walk to rest or contemplate.

My garden is doing quite well. I’ve harvested 2 cucumbers and 2 jalapenos so far.

I’m hoping the tomatoes will begin to ripen soon.

Summer is in full swing around here. It honestly is going WAY TOO FAST!!!! We are almost to July…I’ve even seen school supplies at the store! That’s a vision no educator wants to see in June. Marvin clearly doesn’t want to hear about mom going back to school either.

I’ve been trying to be outside as much as weather permits. We’ve been getting buckets of rain. Several roads in the county are closed because the Minnesota river is too high.

I stopped at a couple garage sales one day while running errands and picked up a bunch of supplies.

It was just what I needed to sew a new bunting for my garden. My neighbor asked me if it helps deter pests. I told him not that I’m aware of…it just looks happy to me.

Yesterday I repotted a dozen of my houseplants. That took WAY longer than I anticipated.

Good thing I’d made myself a nice breakfast before tackling that job.

May, so far, has been quite busy with all fun things. The month started with my birthday. We celebrated for two days …takeout sushi the day before my birthday and went out to the pub at the dinner theater for happy hour the day of.  We typically don’t go out much but have been trying to shake up the routine a bit lately.

The following weekend we attended Mini-me’s college graduation. It was a beautiful day. It was very emotional seeing her in her cap and gown. When J graduated college in 2021, he chose not to walk so we hadn’t had that experience with a college grad before.  Right after the graduation ceremony, we had to move Mini-me out of her apartment and drive back to the cities. It was a LONG day.

And, of course, Mother’s day was the following day. Mini-me arrived home with the rest of her belongings just before noon. J came over and I grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. It was nice to have everyone around the table for a meal again.

This past weekend was a busy one as well. Mr. G went to a friend’s cabin to help with some construction work. Meanwhile I had my own agenda here at home. Saturday morning, I went to an elementary school version of 101 Dalmatians in which a friend’s son had a lead role. It was really cute and short. LOL

After returning home, I got started on my task of assembling my new compost tumbler. It was a bit of a pain to assemble but it is very sturdy. 

After trying another spot I decided this made the most sense so it wouldn’t have to be moved to mow.

I also finally got the garden cleaned up and planted my seedlings. I want to purchase a few seedlings before planting a couple short rows of green beans. Only one pepper plant sprouted of the four I started.  I’m hopeful everything will adapt to their new spaces. I spent a week acclimating them to the outdoors. The tomatoes are usually resilient but I’ve had trouble in the past with transplanting cucumbers and summer squash.

I’m trying out a couple pots of tomatoes in the front yard this year. The afternoon to evening sun is REALLY HOT in the front but tomatoes tend to like the heat. I also had started a couple extra plants than would comfortably fit in the garden. I am a bit worried about critters nibbling on them or squirrels digging in the pots. Lots of variables but time will tell.

My deckbox garden has herbs at one end and radishes and carrots closest in the photo. There is also mystery seedlings intermingled with the root veggies. I say mystery because I remember spreading them last fall but I failed to make note of what they were assuming I’d remember. That was a poor assumption on my part. Oh well…its just another fun experiment.

Now that the weather is really nice, I’ve been increasing my walking in the mornings. I’m trying to make up for lost miles. I’m about 110 miles behind where I should be to hit my goal by the end of 2024. 

My creative time and motivation had been non-existent as of late. That happens sometime. I have been writing notes about ideas though. Things I want to try. Projects I want to finish. But first I need to finish the last 12 school days.