I Stopped for Anchovy Paste...

And found a butterfly. She was floundering on the pavement in front of the Shop-N-Cart in the path of an oncoming Prius. I gently scooped her up and we hung out for a bit. I think she was a bit stunned from the heat and the asphalt.
I bid her a gentle adieu on some marigolds in the plant section at Bi-Mart. I hope she's O.K. after some shade and a respite.

A Guest and Some Growth

I found my first beneficial guest this week. She seemed to find the cilantro perfectly suited for catching her morning sun. The plants are starting to get established. A nice long stretch of sunshine hasn't hurt. Also new to the garden, five dozen nightcrawlers. I lovingly dug them holes and buried them to fulfill their wormy work.
The nasturtiums have just begun to poke up their heads. They seemed as if they would be a bit sparse, so I added some more seeds on Friday. We will all quietly sit back and watch this backfire as I am over-run with the serpentine little suckers. A soybean and Thai hot pepper also were stow-aways in my shopping cart. Oh yeah, and a few scarlet scallions...

In The Beginning...

It looks so innocent now, my lovely kite-shaped patch of possibilities. I knew I wanted tomatoes, beans, and pickling cucumbers. The rest was left to my total lack of judgement. When given a blank expanse of dirt, I am the gardening equivalent of going to the grocery store hungry.
I'm certain I have created the monster, each vegetable looks so nicely spaced now...
Tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, obscure melons, and four varieties of beans.
Eggplant, okra, seven varieties of hot pepper, and lesser known squash. There are no provisions in the companion planting reference guide that address "when you show no self restraint". I hope they play nice together.

I made it home in time to enjoy the evening light in the new house...