Well it's better than snow!

The latest big snow storm that has been barreling through the northeast missed us.  We've had mostly rain... although today there were a few snow flurries out there.

Although Ellie is not a fan of either snow or rain (just like her Mom), she hates snow more because she's so little that she can barely walk through it.  Well, that may be debatable.... just check out that miserable look Ellie is flashing me as she stands outside in the rain while wearing the cutest yellow dog slicker ever! Poor baby!

Here's another picture from the flower show to remind me that spring is just around the corner.  Hope you are warm and dry wherever you are today!

Wine Tasting on a Rainy Day

What do you do after 4 days of rain, only a brief half day respite of sun, and then back to more cool misty weather? Well you go wine tasting of course!





Surprisingly, along the coast line of New England are quite a few local vineyards. It's not Napa Valley, but there are some really good local wines. Today we visited Newport Vineyard in Newport, Rhode Island. The winery, founded in 1978, is family owned. Paul and John Nunes, whose local roots date back to 1917, purchased the winery in 1995. Since that time, the winery has grown to 50 acres of varietal and hybrid grapes.



A colorful mural on the wall.



The fermenting vats.



The store and wine tasting area was packed today. I guess since we are not having beach weather everyone is drowning their sorrows.



Today we sampled 10 different wines (each of us tasted 5) from their nice selection of local vintages. I enjoy the drier wines while Andy's palette tends to prefer the sweeter ones.



The patio, which is usually filled with visitors, is empty since everyone is taking refuge indoors.





Off in the misty distance is a farmhouse peaking through the fog.



We wrapped up our day by having diner at Cooke House on the marina.



We sat in the lower level tavern. Our table was right by the windows.



In the lower portion of the photo you'll see a caution sign warning people to be careful of the slippery stairs, which are wet from the humidity of this foggy day.



I thought this room was so cheerful with the pink stripes. It's on the upper level of the restaurant and much more formal (with a different menu and higher prices there are far less people sitting up there).



The view from our table - it was like sitting right outside on the dock since the windows slide back into the wall. Even with the rain we enjoyed watching the boats come in and out.







I had the sea bass - it was delicious atop a celery puree with morels mushrooms.



Andy had the penne chicken with a creamy almond basil sauce.



With full bellies we went for stroll to look at the yachts. This one was huge and it was privately owned - by whom I don't know but it came with a large crew.





As the darkness of evening fell upon us I admired a gorgeous hydrangea (the picture below is untouched - it really was that color). If only there was more light I would have photographed the entire garden that was next to an old inn we happened upon. It was lovely and worth a return visit.

A Weather Break

I'm interrupting the tour of the Flower Show for an important weather declaration -

WHERE IS SUMMER???!!!

Sorry for shouting, but those of us in the Northeast have had it with all the rain and cool weather. The past 2 days we've experienced torrential downpours and flash flood warnings.

(Photo credit: http://www.weathernewengland.com)

During the month of June we've had only 8 rain free days and most of those days weren't even sunny. Both my perennial and vegetable gardens are flooded. The containers are a mess. Flowers are broken, plants are soggy, stems fallen all over the ground and snapped. There's debris everywhere and of course there's weeds, weeds, and more weeds. Fungus and disease abounds and it's difficult to spray because the rain won't stop long enough to allow it. It seems like all my hard work has gone down the drain - quite literally indeed. I haven't been out to take pictures because it bothers me so. My poor little Ellie has been shaking in fear for the past two days from the bowling sounds of thunder.

If that's not enough there's a late blight warning in effect for my area. One of my favorite New England bloggers - Cathy over at Skippy's Garden has a very informative post about it.

You can also check out this video from our local news station to get a taste of our current weather conditions.

Either the sun had better come out soon or I'm building an ark and getting out of here!

Thanks for giving me a moment to vent.... I feel better now... I think.

Slug Feast!

The month of June has been a bust here in New England. Usually it's a wonderful month with warm breezes, cool nights, and low humidity. It's one of my favorite months. But this June has been nothing but clouds, rain, lower than normal temperatures, and high humidity. Nothing seems to get much sun or dry out. The garden plants are all lushly green but the blooms are lagging behind desperate for some rays of golden sun.

Here's the rain gage after just a few hours of showers. If I were to measure all the rain we've had this past month I could probably fill up a small bucket.



It seems I can't get ahead of all the fungus and mildew problems my plants are having. Black spot disease seems to be every where. I spray and cut back but I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. Some of my phlox, which is normally susceptible to disease, may be a goner. Even the cosmos which were beautiful a week ago are clearly complaining about their "wet feet."

But the thing that seems to be enjoying this weather the most are the slugs! So much so that we've renamed our garden "Slug Feast 2009!".

Here's one munching on a sweet green pepper leaf. How brazen.... in the middle of the day he's feeding!



My usual methods of controlling don't work in these rain forest conditions. Beer in cups, copper, slug bait, netting, cages, hand picking, - you name it I've tried it. The sad fact is that slugs are breeding faster than bunnies (I'd prefer bunnies at this point) and there's very little I can do but hope for some drier weather.

Here's what they've done to the bok choy and basil. I've never had problems with them eating basil before.





I could have taken more pictures to show you what they've done to the delphiniums, bee balm, hostas, lettuce, cone flowers - but it's too depressing.

Well at least today the sun is out!



Ahhh... it feels good.... but in the background while making breakfast I heard the weather man on TV say that afternoon showers are expected. It took all my strength not to throw my coffee cup at the TV.


PS - As you know from my Houston post I've been away all week. Sorry I haven't had a chance to read your blogs and comment on them while I was away, but I'll be catching up on them now that I'm back. Thanks so much for continuing to read my blog. I really do enjoy and appreciate all of feedback!

Rain Rain Go Away!

I should be dressed like this guy!

With all the rain we've been having this week, I feel like I should be donning fishing gear and heading for the high seas! I actually met the guy who is the mascot for Gorton's fish. He's an actor but also a real fisherman from Gloucester (that's pronounced "Gloss-Tuh" if you're from this area). I guess I'm a bit obsessed with all things related to fish right now.... but who can blame me -- it hasn't stopped raining in days.

Even Ellie is annoyed that she had to wear a raincoat.

This morning I opened my eyes and let out a HUGE sigh as I saw and heard the rain coming down -- yet again. It's been raining off and on (mostly ON) since last Saturday and we are expecting more of the same through the rest of the week.

See that puddle....

If it gets any larger, I'll need to a small boat to navigate it.

Being someone who loves to garden I usually adore rain. The plants love it, they grow more lush, and I don't have to water as much.

Just look at how our front bed has grown in a mere week. The Montauk daisies are starting to take over already!

But the problem I'm having with the rain right now is that I haven't had a chance to finish up my spring gardening tasks. All this rain means that the pea and snap pea seedlings have no home yet and are sitting on our back porch.

See them flopped over this in pic...

..they aren't dying (at least not yet), but reaching for something to hang on to. They are vining so fast that if I were to sit next to them for any length of time they'd be wrapping around me!

Here's the bed we've prepped for them.

The soil has been tilled and enriched with manure and compost. I'm ready to make little mounds for the pea seedlings to nestle in... but that's all I'm doing right now is waiting. (I know I should have NEVER sowed the peas indoors.... I know ... I know... lesson learned already!).

Here's a picture of the foundation evergreens that I bought but haven't planted either... why? ... same reason... too much rain....

But with all this rain I know that the garden will flourish, the flowers will be blooming soon, and the moss on our cobblestone walkway will grow dense (Yes, this is one place where we like the moss! Moss here means no weeding between the cracks!).

So, this morning I shook off that rainy feeling and snaped a few photos for the blog. It felt good to get outside (even in the rain) until I soon realized I was takinig pictures while dressed in my bathrobe with a towel wrapped around my head (I had just showered for work). And, to make this scene even lovelier I was doing all this while holding an umbrella in my hand as a school bus packed with teenagers drove by. Jeez.... it's a good thing I'm not a teenager any more because clearly I would have been mortified!