Strawberry Delight

It is amazing how quickly the garden grows this time of year. All the plants are taking off except of course the ones that need to grow the fastest. The STUMP planter as I'll call it has trailing petunias that need to cover the pot and the stump it is sitting on before we have our garden tour on August 1st. I feel like I'm watching water boil. They just don't seem to do anything. Maybe I'll go out and get a big container of Miracle Grow. Is there such a thing as giving too much of this stuff?

Our two strawberry patches are doing very well. On the East side all the transplants have made it, and the patch in the raised bed has blossomed profusely and is now covered with berries. John has been babying them along making sure to hand water carefully each day. He has been waiting patiently to pick the first ones as they ripen. This morning on our way out the door I heard John use a few choice words and wondered what was up. Otis had apparently beaten John to the berries. He had gotten into the raise bed and eaten all of John's precious strawberries. The netting had been trampled on and the fencing around the bed had been knocked down. Ouch. John was furious!!! He said that if he had caught Otis in the act, he would have strangled him. Am I ever glad that didn't happen! On Otis' defense, I told John that it is not fair to be mad at Otis if on one had we give the little guy strawberries to eat and yet expect him to leave the berries in the garden alone. Besides, we use to let Da Boys pick their own berries in the other patch whenever there were stragglers left on the plants. John did not get this until I used the analogy of giving Da Boys steak treats at the table. If then you go outside and put some in the yard you could not expect them to not eat it. Right, my point exactly!

So now what? I guess if we don't want Da Boys to help themselves to the strawberries, we are going to have to come up with a dog-proof system to keep them out. I know. More work. Otis's new nickname is Strawberry Delight! Seeing a charcoal black dog with a bright red strawberry in his mouth is just too cute. All he needed was a squirt of whipped cream to top it off. By the time we made it to Coos Bay, John had dealt with his anger and was loving on Otis once again. Ha ha. I'm glad John has a soft spot for Da Boys.

It’s a chicken. It’s a turkey. No, it’s a goose! Actually I’m not sure what it was but surely the thing that crossed the 101 (walking) on our way home from Coos Bay was big and in the bird family.