As a very wet May turns to June, there is a lot going on in our garden! In all, the garden is going much better this year. I’m going to give credit to the alpaca beans we amended the soil with. ($1/lb if you need some!) There’s a lesson to be taken from my garden this year about being patient. First there were the seedlings that sprouted randomly in the containers I dumped my soil from failed seed starting into. The mystery seedlings are still going strong. Then, in the patio garden, I had some squash seeds that I didn’t think had germinated, so I did a second pass and now I have a crowded, random batch of plants. I will probably have to move some once they get bigger. I am very proud of how tidy the rows of greens are. I can be a bit of a chaos muppet, as evidenced by my carrots and onions, but those neat greens make me smile every time I see them. The corn is growing! Last year the seeds did not germinate, so I am very excited. This Indiana girl is hoping to see it knee high by the 4th of July. Last week, I planted a second type of sweet corn and some more beans to fill in gaps where seeds didn’t start. It has been so wet this year, that mushrooms have come up in a few places in the garden. It was one item on the long list of things we’ve had to check to see if they are toxic to alpacas now that we let the girls graze the backyard. (On that list, the Columbines, poppies, and, yes, the mushrooms.) I planted three packets of sunflower seeds and they’re starting to pop up in a lot of borders and fence lines. I’m feeling very protective of them and managed to chase Clementine away from one just in time yesterday. I am excited that one of the Icelandic poppies is getting ready to put up flowers again. I put four plants in that old trough. One died, the other hasn’t started to bloom again, and then the fourth has seemingly transformed into an entirely different plant. I am mystified and letting it grow, hoping that eventually it will reveal what kind of plant crowded out that poppy. I am also excited that the wildflowers I planted in pots last year are coming back. The seeds I put by our front door did nothing last year, but they are sprouting this year! They look like weeds for now, but I know better and am pleased as punch. The rabbits have dug the entrance from their warren into our pumpkin patch again. I filled it in again. I keep seeing the snake by the raised pumpkin beds. I spent some time on a website about Colorado snakes yesterday. I think it is either a garter snake or an Eastern racer. Either way, it poses no threat to anything unless in the unlikely event it decides to climb into the beehive. I spent some time this morning on my own and then with my little helper watering, weeding, and doing succession plantings or “try again” plantings of almost everything, including greens, herbs, corn, beans, cucumbers, and several types of pumpkin. The pumpkin patch is starting to show lots of growth, so hopefully we will see you in October!  -Kasey