RussianFibers: Late spring snow, early summer storms

February in May past last frost date for the area

For 2 days the temp has dropped. stuff that I could cover I covered, but lots was left to ride.

Beginning of the 2 day late May storm (these lived through 3 hail storms after that... yea...)

Rain turned into snow, maybe that did save some of the plants... full second level drain dish, so good I put that one in this spring early, I'd be in heap of a trouble...

it kept coming as wet snow melting on some hot rocks (mind you there was above 70 for over 2 weeks before that...)

but next storm roaring water washed part of dirt under one of the supports of this bridge, will have to fix that one...

And it kept coming for 2 days

Yeah... what did we get... half-to-foot-ish...

One knows the mulch pile that is composting in freezing weather...
That's when it started melting in 2 days

Cold tolerant plants lived just fine
Here is the same snowed in area

bumble bee

By the way all that goodness now bolted to seeds... and you do not want to know what chickens did to sorrel when they got into the garden :)

Use of the row covers

After the freeze there were cold below 50 nights, and that's at very end of May almost June, last days...
So Wall of waters came up (they do not quite help for 2 days in 20F and below...)

After that there was beginning of June, relatively uneventful except of several hail storms, some areas got 1-2 inch hail and that was bad, We did get smaller one and thankful for that, in some areas cars and houses were shredded by 2 inch hail.
We did get some very impressive rains. It did happen at night, so no good pictures of any of it, but there was sort of... busy time.. foot deep dry creek at the beginning of it, it looked like a flood, took measurement in wheel barrow in the morning and it was 3 inches dumped monsoon style in less than 15 min, it was short, but powerful, bottom line my drains were not enough and some french drains under the road most likely will be needed... Not sure what am I going to do about it. something.

Road was washed like so, compared to not getting at the back in any kind of a car for 1.5-2 month...
it's a big improvement. That's after heavy 2 wood chippers trucks that bring about 20 yards load of chips/logs. My little berm did soak it in. have to do some french drains there for the flood case and some different grading.

After the little berm it's a lot better.

For now wood chip it to make it smooth.

First asparagus sprouted. Have to find some bright things after 'the element' rolled in...

Cucumbers planted, but many did not live, earwig and roly poly are bad this year, way more compared to predators I have

This is rhubarb, supposed to be poison, not so, eaten

But grape transplant lived. So that's good. It will turn around eventually, will take longer to establish so

All the water did help the orchard. Watered once during the heat wave, not really needed...
There is no bad without good. But there is also bad. All these 3 May freezes killed all the fruit. No apples, pears or plums this year,last 2 day end of May freeze did the rest.

New chickens... babies of the current flock, mixes

Feasting on roly poly bugs.

Not sure what will be harvested this year with all the bad weather and rolled in heat wave in mid to upper 90F with nights in 55F... in less than 2 weeks after the freeze... Not sure what to think of this season...

Roly poly did some damages. And if frost will come early there is no way I'll have heirlooms harvest. Maybe I'll have to look for early harvest Siberia tough varieties. It supposed to be zone 5a-5b.

Right now transplants are stunted in the heat wave and bugs are moving in and eating stressed plants big time.

It does fit what BTE

I did see Woodlouse spider several times before the late May freezes, I did not see any after. It is possible they made it, hope I have enough of rocks and other hiding places for them

I found garder snake under one of my row covers, hope it sticks around, I did hear a toad. Still these are not enough to eat enough wood lice.

I see some new birds, red robins do not come often,most often I see this one Common grackle. I thought it could be black bird, but it did sound like a grackle , that screechy kind of sound... This one has a habit of harvesting my watermelon traps with watermelons naturally, flipping them upside down, so they dry in our weather in a day. do not have enough watermelon for that. So diatomatious earth (DE) went on affected the worst areas around bases of the plants, will see what that would do.

I need more traps... I did not use any DE in any areas where I did see tiny mantises. Hopefully they will find a way to avoid spiders and other things... They do not control roly poly but maybe they do among the other things.

It is an unusual season for sure.

2 weeks after the snow ride front bed. Recovered.