May Day...a time for celebrating, May Pole dancing, special foods and the arrival of another growing season.  Except it's raining.  Again!  Oh, the green grass is gorgeous and lush and reminds me of the Irish "forty shades of green," but I keep looking at it and thinking that we will need a baler rather than a lawn mower if it doesn't dry out a bit soon.  Since we don't have a baler, it will mean raking up the grass.  That's good, because it will provide lots of material for the compost heap, and I smile thinking ahead to the rich blackness that it will become.  Except that it will take lots of hours of back-breaking raking and toting, and if it continues to rain it will be difficult for the compost pile to reach a high enough temperature to kill off the millions of dandelion seeds that will be imbedded in the grass.

     The cool temperatures and lack of sunshine have made the tulips last longer than normal, and I've been absolutely amazed that the petals stayed on the stems despite hurricane force winds that tore shingles and soffit from the house.  But, I worry about the honeybees who have had so few sunny days to search for pollen on rain-washed plants.  I'm sure their stores are depleted after such a long, hard winter and I worry that the pear and cherry trees, the blueberry and gooseberry berries that are blooming won't get pollinated while the poor bees are shivering in their hives.

     I did manage to get many crops planted in the Cook's Garden, since it has raised beds that drain quickly.  In only four days the turnips and radishes broke ground.  I'm hovering over the snow peas, peas, lettuces, spinach, kale, stir-fry greens and other seeds, hoping they don't rot before they sprout.  The tomato cages are doing double duty now as "rabbit fencing" around the broccoli plants and so far it's working.  The alpine strawberries are already beginning to flower so we'll have berries soon.

     So, it's May and our farm season is already 1/3 finished and I'm about 1/3 done tidying gardens.  Next on the list is the Moonlight Garden, which has stoned paths and sits on high ground.  I'll be out there weeding between the raindrops.........