June 23 in Logandale

First of all, Happy Birthday, Mary Sue. I love you very much.

Today began with work in the garden about 5:30 AM. Dad & I cleaned up the rows where the last sweet corn had been planted, and dug out some remaining asparagus roots that had been missed. (The rows that had been corn were asparagus earlier this year, but Dad decided it was time to dig them out and start over.) Before it got too hot to work we were joined at about 6:30 AM by Bro. Carson, a member of the Logandale 6th Ward bishopric, and the Mortensen family. The Mortensen's come every Monday morning to help out for several hours. They pick produce and deliver it to widows and others who appreciate it for free and take the the remainder to the Valley Herbs & Health Food Center for sale. By about 11 AM it was getting too hot to work outside (the temperatures have been reaching at least 110 in the shade by mid-afternoon). Here are Emily & Bryan with children Myra and Myles, and Bro. Carson on the far right, with the fruits of their labors. Emily's mother happens to be my second cousin--as are a number of people my age in the Valley. It is nice being related to so many people we have dealings with every day--not something I am used to.

Most of the rest of the day I helped Dad with corrections to an updated version of "Vegetable Gardening in Moapa and Virgin Valleys". The Cooperative Extension folks brought by a draft copy on Friday and Dad is wasting no time working on it. I was also able to install the wireless router I brought with the assistance of the local Comnett technical specialist, Adam Hardy (another cousin). I will now be able to connect to the company internet and do a much better job of keeping in touch with work.

At the end of the day, the Mortensen's came back for a lesson in melon planting. Apparently, melons don't mind the heat and it is OK to plant them now. They will grow mostly on their own while Dad is gone after the 4th, sending roots deep into the ground so they won't even need to be watered. While we were waiting for the Mortensen's to arrive we examined the three large spikes that have grown out of some of the yucca plants in the desert garden. Here are two of them:
As you can see they are over three times Dad's height and the close-ups reveal a very interesting pattern of flowering that starts at the top and works its way down the spike. Some Mexican friends of Dad were very much wanting to have the spikes if Dad was willing to part with them. After they complete flowering and dry out they are prized as the raw material from which to make strong and lightweight hiking staffs.