This morning I was up at 6 after a restless night. Tom had had dreams that deer crashed through our fence and ate everything in sight, leaving nothing for our guests to view. I combated nervousness by walking the garden several times while sipping glass after glass of cold brewed coffee.

Good morning, North Garden!

I noticed a few new things. Figs! Yahoo!

a good omen

potato flowers

pole beans working their way up the trellis

I was feeling good about the garden, but then I noticed spotted cucumber beetles on the potato leaves. I collected what I could and fed them to the chickens. Dang it. These guys can decimate all my melons, cucumbers, potatoes... Double dang it. I vowed to research this later, and added that to the running list of things to be done in my head: "...the peas need to be pulled out and replaced with pumpkins, the shallots need to be harvested and replaced with cantaloupes, the sweet potato slips are ready to be planted in with the corn..." All of this monotony calmed me, and I was happy to see our first group of guests arrive.

And the tour was terrific fun. We hosted close to 100 folks on this sunny, windy, beautiful day. I was overwhelmed with the awesomeness of gardeners - interested, seeking, searching, learning, laughing. I got some great questions, made some interesting connections, and was generally excited all over again by what we're all doing here, in our yards. Gardeners are making the world a better place! Many of the people that visited toady are already themselves accomplished farmers, beekeepers, and chicken keepers. I learned as much as I taught. Tom and I are tired but happy. The kids came home from their first Bar Mitzvah tired and happy. It's was a red-letter day, for sure.

The folks at the Institute of Urban Homesteading do good work, and did a great job planning the event. They have tours in Oakland and Hayward later this year, if you'd still like to participate.

admiring the chickens

passing the bee hive

discussing hoop houses and row covers

No cooking tonight, I promise, and the garden list can wait till tomorrow. We feel recharged in soul but pooped in body. Totally worth it.