It was another rainy week here in central Oklahoma. There’s more rain in the forecast for the next two weeks as well. It is June now and usually it would be much warmer by now than it is. Due to all of the rain, it has stayed cool. We had a big storm with hail one day that knocked over my biggest sunflower on the balcony. I have since tried to straighten it back out but it isn’t cooperating. It has become floppy. I have some time off on the weekend and we plan to go to the farm on Saturday. There’s a high chance of rain that day but we need to check on the cat so we’ll be going rain or shine. Hopefully, the sun will shine so I can do some more planting. I got a new plant this week to put by the pawpaw trees that is called a beautyberry. It is supposed to attract 40 species of birds. It has pretty purple berries that you can eat in jams and jellies but don’t taste good fresh. I will be taking the other seedlings from the balcony to the farm to plant if the weather permits. My chamomile on the balcony has been blooming despite the rain and I have been collecting the flowers for tea. I have also started hanging some peppermint to dry for tea. I think the fresh peppermint leaves make a weaker tea than the dried. Unfortunately, the camellia sinensis tea plants I planted at the farm are doing poorly. However, the fig trees that we had thought dead have begun to regrow. I have done some more drawings for my family this week and practiced drawing the knee in my class. I took a very cute squirrel photo this week. I also saw my thirsty bee friend again this week, sipping water from the soil.
Lisa Ledbetter 