May Projects

 And the unpredictable weather continued. The days and nights were too cold to purchase plants or work in the garden until the very end of May. I purchased some tomato plants and cucumbers, some potting soil and waited for the perfect day to tackle the projects.

tomatoes in the buckets ~ bush cucumber in the planter

cucumbers in the raised bed

At the end of summer season a couple of years ago I purchased 3 planters in an ugly sage color at a very good sale price. I intended to paint them and finally did that this year since planting season is later than usual. Another of the 3 planters is in the first photo. The other is a very vivid blue. You will see them again as summer progresses and once I decide what plants/flowers will make their homes in the 'new' planters.

The other project that has been awaiting warmer weather is the stripping of the deck and the front porch. We painted (not stained) the deck in June 2019. Deck Saga Continues

The paint has been peeling from some of the boards and chipping from others leaving a very crappy look. Hubby decided something needed to be done. He purchased a pressure washer. Some of the paint came off very easily and some...not so much. We asked the advice of my brother who has built and stained at least 3 decks. His advice: Three coats of stain on every board, every side, every end before assembling. In this humid and unpredictable weather, that is taking a LONG time.

Rather than stripping the front porch or removing the boards that seemed to be unremovable, we are building over the existing porch. It is a work in progress.

And we are making progress on the deck. The stain repels the rain as seen by the puddles on the tree boards closest to the door. The other five boards were added just prior to another downpour and quitting time. Maybe this project will be done by the end of the week. Maybe...

The weather continues to be unpredictable. Storms and severe thunderstorms were forecasted for all of Memorial Day weekend and beyond. Our part of the city did not experience any damage from the winds or have the large hail other parts of the city experienced.

We have received almost four inches of rain since Friday night. (as of Monday evening) The plants and lawn are very happy.