Busy, busy, busy. Gardeners and botanists work is never done.

Field work is underway doing vegetational analyses of an old field as part of our research into the biology of a hemiparasitic plant that appears to have a considerable impact on this plant community. It's hard, rather slow work, but you do find some little treasures. The area is dominated by tall goldenrod and warm season pasture grasses. So it doesn't look like much. But when you examine things close enough you find some nice things: a green, fringed orchids and purple twayblade orchids that are so cute buried down in knee high vegetation already.  A grape fern (Botrychium dissectum) was also found, a new record for this site, and not just once, but twice.  But then the rest was way too much Solidago.  
TPP was also using a nice to wildlife approach to discourage any woodchucks looking to relocate to our botanical buffet.  A chicken wire skirt was installed around the base of our pavilion, a not subtle message to stay out. Do not attempt to wrestle with chicken wire, juniper shrubs, and staple guns all at the same time. TPP came off the worst, but didn't loose too much blood. So far, so good. 
The kitchen garden is coming along. The lettuce and spinach is coming to an end, some broccoli is ready, all the spring onions have been eaten. The snap peas are just being so slow.  The herb garden is shaping up too.  Soon there will be enough parsley even for us. But will there be enough basil? Dill, never enough dill, and it's a bloody weed! Come on dill!  Look at the cilantro and get with the program!