Garden thanks.

 1. Finding out how many birds are in my garden, giving a helping hand, er, wing. There are several swifts, they eat mosquitoes, some little ones that eat the little yellow bugs that eat holes in leaves, and I don't know for sure, but I have seen the hummingbirds dart in and out of some of the flowers, I suspect they might be pollinators... 

2. Hummingbirds are fun in the garden. I had a neck holder for the cell phone. Yellow, orange, green, blue random hippie stripes. The little guys have no fear to come right up and check it out. I just hold still, and they investigate, decide it's not dinner, and wander away... Just in time for another one to show up! 

3. Thankful for the noise level... Or lack thereof. I can be out listening to a podcast, I can hear the news on my radio... Or, more commonly, just enjoy the quiet. Well, occasionally a car goes by, and the chickens can get a bit over the top, but generally it's not very noisy. 

4. Thankful for new things. I planted Patty pan squash this year, simply because it looks cool, and I wanted to try one. I have one in the kitchen now, hope to try in the next day or so. (Opinion thereof later...)

5. Old favorites thanks, I also have crookneck squash, and it's coming on, too! (Yum, yum, yum!!!)

6. Thankful to have found a couple completely shady spots by the garden, to rest and cool off when I get too warm, or when I am watering my trees and have to wait for a period of time. (I water for about 5 minutes a tree, and have about 8 trees started.)

7. So very thankful we have good water. I have had to water so heavily some years, our hill has come through each time! 

8. Thankful for the corn doing well. I have had iffy luck with corn, tried three different kinds, one that I had tried, with very little luck, and had seed leftover. One that is a deeply colorful corn, and one that is stark white white red stalk and husk. The two new ones are doing well. The other... Not so much, but hopefully the new ones will make up for it! 

9. Learning new things. I learned about how to mulch and what tools to use to get the mulch established. I learned how to use fencing to make elferstout* supports for my tomatoes. Knowing that just because I did it one way and it worked, doesn't mean I can't do it a new way, and maybe have it working better! 

10. And family, friends... Some loaned me tools, some shared or bought seed or plants for me. Some helped move things or set up stuff. And some take veggies, so I don't have to resort to hiding zucchini and tomatoes in random people's mailboxes...

*To avoid censors that sometimes block, say the word out loud...