So, we went fishing...and garden stuff!

 July 25, 2025

Early this week, we had a bit of a respite from the heat and humidity, and for a couple of nights, actually had to put a light blanket on the bed. It is back off now!                                            

Monday morning dawned clear and cool, so we hitched up the boat trailer and headed off to do some fishing. The warmth of the sun was really appreciated, especially when the wind came up later. We accessed below the Tramore Bridge, and went down the beautiful Bonnechere River.

Water levels are still high for July, and there is a good current riffling the water as it comes under the bridge. We have carefully navigated the boat up river from there, under lower water conditions, but it is more a canoe or kayak habitat from the bridge upriver to the dam below Round Lake. Below the bridge, the river pools out into big, deep, lake-like openings, which are linked together by narrower, shallower sections. The river flows between farm fields, where my Merlin app picks up the songs of Bobolinks and Meadow Larks. Closer, along the shores, are Kingbirds and Kingfishers. Cottages and homes dot the shores around the lake-like sections, but from the Tramore bridge down to Golden Lake, the river is easily navigable.    As the morning progressed, the wind came up, gusting enough to make white caps on the water, and give the electric trolling motor difficulty, so we packed it in around noon.                                      

 We were totally skunked..except for my huge catch of the day...

As the week progressed, the temperatures increased back up to hot July levels with the high humidity that goes with them...and the deer flies that love it...so working outside becomes an endurance test, once the sun cracks the horizon.

In the garden, all is going well. Vine crops are climbing/crawling and blooming. Broccoli is giving a regular harvest of side shoots off of 8 plants. My 4 cabbages are looking beautiful, and thanks to the row cover, no bug holes!

Perhaps it is time to cut and sample this fellow?

There are four early planted rutabagas in the end of the brassica bed, doing well,

and another 8 over in the Field Garden, later planted, and now putting out secondary leaves. The garlic will be next on the agenda, as it is time to dig them and get them curing. I dug up some volunteer spuds out of the end of the gladiola patch, and yes, they really were that red...and absolutely delicious.

This is the final thinning of the first carrot crop, they are spaced nicely now, and we'll be pulling them as needed from now on, from the 'in-ground' larder.

All the pepper plants have fruit growing. I put the plastic lids under any fruit that might touch the ground. It keeps it clean, and up away from bugs, slugs and moisture. 

Look! Almost there!

I got the last of the finished compost sieved this morning, a good three big pails full, plus enough to side dress the second carrot planting, and put a good layer in the end of the caged bed for my soon to be planted fall garden. 

I have hardware cloth covered lids for the caged bed, because...deer. They have not been an issue this summer...fingers crossed. We have a device mounted that broadcasts ultrasonic sound out over the raised beds, and perhaps it is helping? It is left over from my town garden where it did little to deter squirrels and cats, but did annoy a young neighbour, so it went into storage. The deer are certainly around, as there are night captures on the yard trail cameras, but so far, so good. Hubby has pounded in posts to surround the perimeter of the raised beds and the Field Garden, preparatory for mounting an electric fence. Spring and fall, when food is more scarce, are the times when we might have issues with deer. Moose, on the other hand.... they would walk right through and take the fence with them... so I am hesitant about actually getting the fence up and running. 

Some random pictures...

A water lily from our fishing excursion. 

Trumpets opening on the Trumpet vine.

A bee on the Swamp Milkweed.

An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly on a Zinnia.

A PowWow Wild Berry Echinacea that I grew from seed, the only plant that survived from the packet. It's a fighter!