Into the Wild – Weekly Musings on our Yard’s Transformation | August 18th – 24th

Yardwork:

• Finished laying fresh soil, grass, and clover seed by the back gate and on the other side of the stepping stones leading from the patio into the backyard.
• Realized that we would have a lot of leftover soil once we finish sifting, leveling the backyard, and filling a dip in the front yard. Decided to use it for raised planters along the south side of our house. Designed the planters, calculated the amount of wood needed, and picked it up on sale! We also cleared everything from alongside the house, except for one living clematis.
• The garden path finally dried out a bit, so I was able to dig in the brick pathway. There were moments of overwhelm and second thoughts, but I’m glad I pushed through, discovered quicker and easier methods, and finished just as the sun set. I’m pleased we found a use for the random bricks scattered around the yard. It’s not perfect, but I enjoy the extra touch it adds to our garden.
• Cleared out some weeds from the back flower garden. (Will also be filling up so soil in here if needed to prep for next years apothecary garden in this space).

Gardening:

• Picked a handful of beans and peas. A bunch of beans will be ready for picking in a day or two.
• We have a cucumber, a few cucamelons, and a squash that are growing rapidly each day. Additionally, there are at least six ears of corn developing.

Flora:

• One calendula planted on the alley side of the garage has bloomed, though the rest of the seeds I planted aren’t thriving. Our sunflowers (which were started late) are still far from blooming.
• My Common Tall Sunflower (Alberta Native plant) bloomed.
• I thought I had accidentally killed some fireweed plugs last month, but I kept them in a pot to see if they would recover. To my surprise, they not only came back but are thriving! Now to decide where to plant them…

Fauna:

• We have suddenly had an influx of wasps in our backyard. The are hanging out under the clover by our garden, and I’m worried they might spread to the rest of the clover. Although they haven’t been aggressive so far, I’m concerned they might become more so as the weather cools and food sources dwindle. I’m terrified of getting stung, and I don’t want our pup to get stung either. We hung up a wasp trap last week but have only caught one so far. I also placed two paper bag wasp nest decoys—one by our back gate and one along their flight path—after observing their movements. Hopefully, these measures will help deter them.
• Spotted a few birds in our backyard, but am not able to positively identify them – as I wasn’t able to get great shots from them (either through the window, or obstructed by branches)
• There are at least 30 House Sparrows around our neighborhood, constantly invading our yard. It’s incredibly frustrating, especially since we’ve worked hard to prevent them from nesting. Unfortunately, they’re drawn to our clover seed. We’ll likely need to set a trap to try and reduce their numbers, but we’ll wait until after migration to avoid catching any migratory birds. Even the squirrels don’t want them here -one was actually chasing them out of the trees!
• Spotted a Carolina Locust on our patio—eek! This is only the second time I’ve ever seen one in the city. I really hope we don’t see any more.

Miscellaneous:

• Made some really good green chili mac and cheese for dinner one day. Definitely not a meal for when its 27°C, but will be making this a lot when the weather gets cooler.

Thanks for reading! Until next time,
Tracey

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