It appears that Spring Is really here this time.  The night time temperatures are rising and yesterday they made it into the mid-eighties for the first time.  Maybe just maybe we can put the worries about frost and cold air behind us.  We suffered a light frost two nights ago which was more than a little unusual for late May even here In Maine.

The garden’s been completed with all the plants in the ground and on their way to producing the things we require for next winter.  The herb garden had some recent issues with space requirements due to an out of control apple mint plant that was determined to take over the entire area.  It grew up and over an oregano plant that I’ve had for years and killed it.  I was forced to attack that plant with a shovel and cut away close to sixty-five percent of it.  I then surrounded it with a box that extends deep into the soil to stop it from spreading it’s runners in every direction.  I replanted three new oregano plants nearby and hopefully they’ll grow healthy and keep us supplied through next winter.  I need to be extra careful that I don’t harvest too much or I’ll be the idiot responsible for killing them.

Last year at the beginning of the season I planted two rhubarb plants.  I knew it would be at least a year before I could harvest any of them for jams or jellies. The plants need to be firmly established before you can start chopping away at them. I think I’ve been successful because both plants are growing out of control already.  Normally my neighbors, who also grow rhubarb plants, see theirs grow not much more than two feet high.  Both of my plants are going strong and are already three and a half feet high and I can just about taste that strawberry-rhubarb jam we’ll be making later this Fall.

I can now sit on the deck and watch the garden grow for the next three months.  I’ll be forced to kill some insects, slugs, and other assorted pests but that’s just normal gardening activities.  My biggest fears are the deer that love to show up once the plants are a few inches tall and chew them off a ground level. This is the same battle my father fought for years and never was able to completely win.

Everyone I know has their own methods for dealing with deer but honestly they don’t have much more success than he did.  I’ve been told to spread powdered blood around, hang human hair in panty hose from the trees, build a six foot high fence, and the best and most disgusting solution was for me to urinate around the garden  whenever possible.  As much as I like peeing outside, I think I’ll skip that one.  It could very quickly make my neighbors a little uncomfortable.

My better-half has suggested we build a human size scarecrow in the hopes it will scare the deer away in those early hours of the morning when they usually visit.  I think I’ll try and create one that looks as much like my ex-wife as possible.  It should certainly scare the hell out of them just like it will scare the hell out of me.  I guess I can deal with that kind of trauma if it keeps the freaking deer out of my garden.  Man just thinking about that sends a cold chill up my back. 

Thank God there aren’t many moose in this general vicinity.  Even a scarecrow of my ex-wife wouldn’t scare those big bastards away.  Life in Maine is always interesting.