Of Potatoes and Puppies

Big day yesterday--the potatoes went in the garden. It was the easiest potato planting ever, due to the fact that A. wielded the shovel and dug all the holes for me so that all I had to do was drop the potatoes in and cover them with a couple of inches of dirt. Works for me.

We planted a bunch of varieties this year, as the MiL got a little carried away at the seed potato place when she went to pick up our potatoes. I understand potato excitement, so I can't judge her. We ended up with the two varieties we planted last year (Green Mountain and Bake King), along with Keuka Gold, Lehigh, Adirondack Red, and Chieftain. You will not find these varieties at your local nursery, because the MiL actually drives all the way to Cornell University's Potato Research Station (don't think I can't hear you laughing right now), where they develop varieties specific to New York State, for our seed potatoes. The MiL bought so many this year, we ended up giving away about half of them, thereby providing potatoes to half the county. They'll thank us when winter comes and they all have nine boxes of potatoes in the cellar.

Anyway, so the potatoes are in, leaving the transplanting of the tomato seedlings as the last big planting in the garden. I'll probably start working on that this week, though I'm sure we'll have a frost some night in the next couple of weeks that will have me running out to swath my defenseless seedlings in bed sheets to stave off death.

Gardening can be a nerve wracking thing.

And now! For all you mothers out there! And, um, everyone else, too. I realize that today is Mother's Day. Being as my own mother is in Greece with my dad and so is obviously in no need of anything from ME to make her day special, I can instead give all of YOU something special: the promised puppy picture.

Happy Mother's Day from all creatures great and small at Blackrock.