Weekend fun and my first fallen soldiers.

Finally the weekend weather was on my side. It was decided that the swing hammock I picked up late last fall needed to be hung. Here was the challenge: the huge tree in my yard doesn't have a branch lower than 20 or so feet. The lowest branch, however, does branch into a V, which I thought was the best place for the hammock. I bought a chain big enough to support a person's weight and my thought was to run the chain through the V and hang the hammock. Sounds easy, right? Well yes--but the weight of the chain was too much for me to just toss up over the branch. Enter Neighbor Mark (who without fail has assisted me with countless projects, garden suggestions, and simple, good-neighborly know-how). I asked him to borrow a ladder. He did even better: a ladder and a rope with carabiner. I believe there were about 15 attempts from the top of the ladder to lob the rope up to the branch and have it land in the right place. After hanging it too low the first time, we succeeded the second time. I can't wait to enjoy a read in the sun soon!

I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the seedlings, namely the sunflowers, who lost their battle to make it to the yard. They (like the bachelor buttons on the left) have outgrown the tops of the seed trays. So I decided to take them out and sit on the top shelf of the green house. Within less than 24 hours, the seedlings were limp and wilted. What have I done!?! I've learned two valuable lessons here: 1. Learn what seeds to start indoors in your zone and what to sow directly in the ground. ThrifyFun.com has a pretty good list. 2. Don't start sunflower seeds indoors in zone 5--they grow too quickly.

On a positive note, I did notice some pepper seeds have germinated finally. I think the only seeds that haven't popped up are the black-eyed susans. The next challenge is figuring out how to get these seedlings big enough to take on the world.