Hello there, Rural Sprout readers,Ā Ā How was your week, my friends? I feel as though asking about your weather is a loaded question. It seems everyone is
having crazy weather this summer.Ā Ā I heard from my aunt in Kentucky earlier this week, and she spent a night in the basement because of tornado-producing storms. The smoke here in Pennsylvania has been unreal. Weāve had some fun outdoor activities canceled because of the air quality. Ā Add in the heatwave, and itās certainly been a wild weather week.Ā Ā Itās been hard to get out in the garden between the heat and the air quality
warnings. But Iāll tell you who has been in the garden ā rabbits, lots of them.Ā Ā Holy cow, we have a bumper crop of rabbits this year!Ā Ā I guess thatās what I get for lamenting their absence the past couple of years, telling my sweetie how I missed seeing them sitting among the white clover all over the yard. So charming, so rustic. Ā Ha! The little stinkers are all
over my garden, chowing down on my yarrow, calendulas, the borage. (Apparently, they really like my herbs.) I chased one out the other day, yelling, āEat the kale, not my flowers!āĀ
Ā Ā The good news is theyāre growing pretty fast. Two weeks ago, I would walk into the garden, and three or four of them would go scrambling through the fence to get out. Now itās down to just one. I have to laugh when I see him. I guess heās the only one whose butt is
still small enough to squeeze through the narrow wire fencing.Ā Ā I even caught the little stinker napping beneath my yarrow the other afternoon.Ā Ā When I woke him up with a, āHey, you furry little thief!ā he took off for the corner, his usual escape route. But my sweetie had been busy all morning, and the little fuzzball came up short. He finally found the side of the garden my sweetie hadnāt put chicken wire around yet, and out he
went. Ā When I went in for lunch, I mentioned to my sweetheart, āWhen you put up the last of the chicken wire, double-check to be sure weāre keeping the little menace out, not caging him into an all-you-can-eat buffet.ā
Ā So far, so good. Weāre rabbit free.Ā Ā I wonder if my furry little friend is sitting outside the garden yearning for some yarrow.Ā Ā
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When it comes to superfoods, the elderberry stands out among its peers, offering an impressive arrayā¦
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Container gardening has a lot of great things going for it. As a beginner-friendly introduction toā¦
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The imported cabbageworm (Pieris rapae) is a notorious pest, known by gardeners all over Northā¦
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You could say we have an obsession with compost around here. And why wouldn't we? It's the perfectā¦
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I'm a fan of walking in the garden every day, especially in the late afternoon when the sun warms theā¦
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If you love DIY projects but detest the costs associated with buying brand new lumber, then it's timeā¦
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July is a wonderful time in a garden. Summer is in full flow, and you will be beginning to reap theā¦
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Soil aeration will help your houseplants stay healthy. Here is how to aerate your plants soil step byā¦
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Ground covers are low-lying plants that creep along the surface of the soil. They are practical andā¦
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The other day, my sweetie came out to the garden to find me buried head first in our Amish Pasteā¦
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Did you miss a newsletter or want to go back and read a few for inspiration - Click this link. Don't forget to check out our Facebook page for daily updates.Ā Ā That's all for this week, Rural Sprout Readers.
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Sincerely, Tracey Besemer Editor |
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