I planted some forget me nots and lavender before the trip and completed it yesterday with seeds and bulbs: Shooting Stars, Windflowers, Delphs, Cosmos, Alyssum, Lupine, Blue Flax, Larkspur and Phlox.

Should be sprouting as follows. Fingers crossed.

Delphs: 14-21
Cosmos: 8-15
Larkspur: 14-21
Phlox: 10-18
Alyssum: 10-15
Flax: 9-15
Lupine: 10-15

We weeded, mowed the lawn, completed the front garden planting and resolved an issue with Ron’s bank.

We cleared a space for Ron’s hammock, bought the hardware to put it up and installed it. The detritus from the area almost filled the truck bed.

We also visited the farmer’s market at the Waquoit Congregational Church.

We made it, a day and a half early: landed in Mashpee at 10 pm on Thursday May 5, 12 states in 5 days. Everything looked great: the house, the gardens, Fluff.

Celebrated Ron’s birthday yesterday by moving him in. Got pretty much everything out of the van, did laundry, went grocery shopping and had the Cohens over for dinner.

I am bronchial and have had poison ivy rashes for the last week.

Fluffles slept with us last night. He’s been very talkative and cranky since we got back.

May Destination Miles Driving Hours
1 Wells, NV 542 8.25
2 Cheyenne, WY 620 8.75
3 Williamsburg, IA 718 10.3
4 Elyria, OH 552 9.0
5 Mashpee 714 12.0

(D)Elyria, Ohio.

First mow of the year this afternoon.

The front lawn is amazing, looks like thick green velvet.

Glad I cut the grass for two reasons: needs to be cut regularly this time of year to grow and by the time I get to do it again, it’ll be way too long.

Set up the sprinklers in case they are needed.

Picked up some Forget-Me-Nots on sale ($2.50) at Mahoney’s, put them in the country garden.

Got my “paws” done, too, all four of them, flamingo pink.

Opened up a safe deposit box at Rockland for Ron’s jewelry and Nonna’s bracelet.

The bank rep alertly informed me that Ron’s license expires next week – whoops! He was able to renew it at his local DMV today.

I ordered a strip of lettuce seed from Burpee and planted about two thirds of it in the last Earth Box and the rest in the vegetable garden this morning.

I also seeded the morning glories along the vegetable garden back fence.

We had fearsome rain, thunder and lightning yesterday afternoon and evening, and a couple of the daffs and jonquils were knocked down. They do make an awfully pretty bouquet.

The Lily of the Valley have started, and we have a couple more potato plants!

First pumpkin plant.

First potato plant?

Seeded Nasturtiums along the back cellar wall, the trellis and the bird bath base. Seeded Portulaca in the new garden, but the seeds are so tiny that I’m not holding out much hope.

Wind is fierce today, gusting up to 40 MPH, enough to make driving hazardous and knock over small trees.

At the Cape Cod discount nursery, the word was, “If you’re in the nursery business – get out.”

Planted two Munstead Strain Lavender in the new country garden. Would have loved to have put in more plants, but I’m nervous about heat next week.

Picked up a hose rack for the back yard at Waquoit Feed and Garden and what I hope is a better spray nossle than the Gilmours purchased up to now.

The compost from the Falmouth recycling center had been sitting in the front yard under a bright blue tarp for exactly two weeks.

To say the least, I was way overdue on getting it spread.

By luck, it rained last night, perfect conditions for prepping the soil for the new English country garden.

Here it is, ready to go: compost from Falmouth, more compost from Aubuchon, loam and 2 cubic feet of peat moss. This garden is going to grow with a vengeance once it gets going.

I also finished weeding the grass garden at Edgewater today.