Second crops and Cat Nights

This spell from the first-day-of-school through Labor Day (week)) I am working non-stop:  M-F at school, F-Sun at the track.    I have managed, however, to plant a couple of rows of bush beans, some sugar snap peas, and some pole beans, and a small circle of spinach.  Gone are the Romas, done in by the fusarium after a brave battle, and the zucchini never did much, so I removed them as well.  The fennel and dill have been harvested and replaced with cilantro, and most of the carrots and onions have been pulled.   The tomatoes are still loaded with green tomatoes, but for now there’s no pressure to fix or eat them.

During this lull in the edible garden, we are focused on the front yard landscape.  It’s a good time to plant trees or shrubs and I’ve been cruising our local nurseries for ideas.   I love the planning stage…low expenditure of energy…

My Old Farmers Almanac gives some good advice about gardening and keeps me informed on the celestial scene.  I marked my calendar for this event:

Cat Nights Begin

The term “Cat Nights” harks back to a rather obscure old Irish legend concerning witches and the belief that a witch could turn herself into a cat eight times, but on the ninth time (August 17), she couldn’t regain her human form. This bit of folklore also gives us the saying, “A cat has nine lives.” Because August is a yowly time for cats, this may have prompted the speculation about witches on the prowl in the first place.

Yowl on, kittens…