First Strawberries

Yesterday the first few strawberries were ripe from the day-neutral variety. I only got a couple of ounces worth, and they were gobbled up in seconds by the guys, but apparently they tasted delicious. I don't care for strawberries myself, and I always get questions like "Well, why do you grow them?" Well, because there are three other people in the house that do like them, and I like strawberry jam, just not raw berries. That and it's WAY more cost-effective to grow them, rather than to buy them, and I know that they're not sprayed with ANYTHING.


Right now I smell like smoke. I didn't spray the apple trees this year, and what a big mistake that was. I went out to check the trees, and I found many tent caterpillar nests among the branches. Man, did they grow fast, because it's only been three days since I was out that way. So I clipped them, and Thing 2 and I built a little fire to kill the pests. Being that the fire was made of apple wood, sage and bay leaves, the smoke smells nice, but I'm smokey all the same.


After loads of rain in early May, we haven't had a drop in weeks, which is unusual for this time of year. While I'm saving on natural gas since there's been no need to use the furnace, I'm using much more water than normal for this time of year. Of course, compared to my neighbors who don't follow the voluntary water restrictions and are watering their lawns EVERY DAY, and letting it run into the street, I'm using hardly any water. There are days that I ask myself "Why do I bother?" but I know, at least, that I'm doing the right thing.