Waiting is the hardest part.

It's that time of year in the garden.

You've passed the flurry of excitement that seed catalogs bring in the Spring. You've gathered your supplies and marked the Frost Date on the calendar, sowed precious seedlings indoors and marveled at the tiny, green shoots.

You've spent heady days in the cool Spring temperatures placing new plants all over your garden and making sure everyone is watered, fed and cozy in their new spots. 

You've been thrilled to see how everything doubles in size after a hard rain and old friends return all over the yard.

But now comes the part that is the most frustrating, at least for me, the awkward part where nothing is blooming or fruiting and it's all watering and work in the hot sun.

UGH. WHERE ARE THE TOMATOES ALREADY?

WHERE MY CUKES AT?

ZINNIA'S STOP BEING SO GREEN ALL THE TIME.

Let's focus on the positive to pass the time while we wait for the literal fruits of our labor.

B's corn patch and my pumpkins have mysteriously not been eaten by any neighborhood deer herds.

The Shed is coming along swimmingly. Google auto added this old timey filter to it, which is hilarious so I kept it. The Old Homeshed. I do kind of want to move into it. B needs to build me one in the mountains.

On a lake.

Yessssss.

I have a bunch of new and poached plants in my bee bed. The empty looking spots have zinnia and marigold seeds. I also have some scratch and dent plants that bees like and I moved the hydrangea from the back yard. I can't wait til this looks like a big, bushy mess.

My $2 Ollie's Roses are starting to bloom! They look and smell marvelous. 

I'm drying and freezing basil like a champ. This is the easiest way, imho, to preserve basil. Rinse the leaves, snip off the stems and let it all air dry for 30 minutes. Then just freeze it loose in an air tight container. 

See those little red lumps? Those are future potatoes. Curiosity got the best of me and I yanked out one of my potato vines to see what was going on beneath the dirt. This is how baby potatoes are made, ya'll. Aren't they cute?

The nice people from Alternative Aire  came out and patched up our failing HVAC system so it can limp along until we get the whole thing replaced. Everyone in the house is thrilled. We've had a real hot spell this week so it couldn't have been a better time to get things going.  Pommy had the right idea, just hang out over a vent.

I've been spending my free time while the garden is being s-l-o-w hanging out with people. Me and some ladies went to Audio Under the Stars on Friday night. It was phenomenal. I highly recommend it.

I also went out with the DurCHillsborough Backyard Garden Society on Saturday to visit the NC Botanical gardens. It was free to get in and had enough shade where you didn't feel like you were totally going to die out there. It's much bigger than I remember and a lot more peaceful than Duke Gardens. The carnivorous plants were the highlight for me.

I've also spent time getting ice cream with friends.

And hanging out with old friends at Honeysuckle Tea House. Honeysuckle is another place that stays mysteriously cool on a steamy day.

With all of these adventures (and lack of AC) the house remodel has taken a bit of a back seat. My trust paint brush will be making it's Summer debut very, very soon. We're also getting quotes for siding (I CAN NOT WAIT.) and installing new cabinets. B is letting my try my hand at putting up the trim in the kitchen. Hopefully that won't end in tears and/or blood shed.