New legs and a big dragonfly

My big oak beam that we rescued from The Pantry is now officially a bench in the backyard thanks to 4 new hemlock legs courtesy of Tom and Roberta. I plan on letting the paint weather away for another year or so, and then I will seal the whole thing somehow. Haven't figured that out yet. The next backyard project will be the paver patio that will probably have to wait until next year. The bench will be much happier on a drier, level surface.

While we were all in the back watching Tom put the new legs on the bench, the largest dragonfly I have ever seen found his way onto the screen porch. It took me about 20 minutes to escort him back outside. Dragonflies are big mosquito eaters. We love our dragonflies!

It's hard to get a good photo of a moving target, but I got a close enough look to identify it as a Brown Hawker—about 3" long, brown body, clear wings with a coppery sheen along the edges, and some yellow green stripes on the body. Easy ID when you can just type in "big brown dragonfly" and find the name of your mystery insect. What did we do before Google?

Growing like weeds

The baby chicks are now the teenagers. I love this awkward coming of age stage. Little boys are sparring like big boys do sometimes. Little girls are staying close to mom and each other. (Guess which 2 I think are the roosters?)

My first year of protected gardens inside the big fence was hampered by my old-fart knee. I did manage to plant some heirloom variety tomatoes behind the weeds and flowers by the living room windows, but the Zebrina hollyhocks and Rudbeckia are winning the battle so far. The tomato plants have blossoms and some small green attempts at tomatoes, but they are struggling for the sun behind their taller neighbors. I will learn from my mistakes and do better next year with a better knee by then I am sure.

The Husband's gardens are doing much better inside their improved fencing. We have a huge crop of large tomatoes, and are starting to get some corn for the first time in about 3 years. But his perennial gardens have been struggling with the critter dining and the rough weather and those darn weeds.

The zinnias in the feeding trough, however, are spectacular!

Garlic, tomatoes, hot peppas, and corn!

Here is my very first successful crop of garlic. Lack of attention is my usual problem,  and it was this year too, but the whole crop managed to survive the weedy, stony plot where I planted them. They are a bit small. Something to work on next year.

I have 5 tomato plants in the same plot. So far, only 3 tomatoes have gotten red enough to pick. All 3 were rotten and chewed up by something on the bottom where I couldn't see. I thought it was the slugs that I saw on the first one, but the last one had tooth marks on it. I suspect the devilish little chipmunk I have seen out there. It is the only thing that can fit through my double fence (I think).

The Husband has had much greater success with his much larger garden. Woody is pointing out the spot where I "hide" the tomatoes. He has no great interest in the corn or peppers, but he would like you to know that Ball jar box is full of nice big fat ripe tomaters.

The last photo is added here to see if anyone has any suggestions on how or where to sell these 2 swords. I tried in a group on Facebook, but apparently it was denied because these are considered weapons. The Macleod has a 40" sharp blade and is as heavy as it looks. The other appears to be a replica of a US Marine sword with scabbard. My good friend Colin moved from a house to a small apartment and has "hired" me to sell these for him. I might just be giving them back if I cannot find them a home...

    

Storm clouds

An unexpected storm rolled through last night. A different beautiful big sky every 5 or 10 minutes. Serious downpour only lasted a short time, in the middle photo.