THE LAKE GARDEN

Friday morning Daughter Abby and I left for a 3 day weekend at the lake. Yay! Her boyfriend Tom met us there with a friend from where they go to college 1/2 hour away. They had a great afternoon going on paddle boat rides and fishing off the dock. The Husband drove in from his office in downtown Chicago and just missed a huge storm that knocked out our electricity for 24 hours. So much for the start of a great long weekend. We managed to get around that night with candles and a lot of walking into walls, and the next morning The Husband was able to get us coffee from a nearby town. It was sort of like camping, no water, air conditioning, lights...the perfect excuse for sitting around outdoors with friends and neighbors. And that we did. Unfortunately the lights came on that night.
A sure sign that kids were visiting... beach towels and rain coats and life jackets lying around. How the clean up used to drive me crazy and now I welcome signs that they were here. The Husband worked on the beach until it looked perfect, no weeds or lily pads and sand raked in perfect rows. I worked on my tan. Just kidding.
I just planted all my pots last weekend so they are looking rather small, but soon they will be overflowing. I really have to start in May next year. It seems one thing after another gets in the way. This little chair sits on the side of the Summerhouse. See the chair on the little front porch? And the palms? The Husbands likes to think he is in the Bahamas.
This is the wee little garden I told you about that he made for me on the other side of the Summerhouse. Isn't it cute? We have grass seed down and you can see small branches from the big storm the night before. The first section is planted with peas that are just coming up...

...and some tomato and basil plants that are quite small...

...and in this last section I had beans. HAD. The bunnies got to them and ate all the leaves. My neighbor Barb, who has a fabulous garden, said they would continue to grow. I read about a spray repellent from Gardener's Supply catalog that keeps rabbits away. Apparently, it has egg whites in it that rabbits abhor. I think I may give it a try. I have never had a critter problem at home here in Chicago, so I am at a loss. I was SO disappointed when I saw this. They really sat down to a buffet here.
So that was my weekend and it was really a lot of fun. Next weekend we will get our wave runners in the water and family and friends will start to visit. I can't wait for my first boat ride. I''ll show you some great pictures of the lake and island and all the pretty homes. I hope all of you had a great weekend. Thanks for stopping!