Celebrating Mayday the hermit way

Since I just came back from Stockholm International Comics Festival, I thought I could use some solitude before working my ass off again.

So here’s a bunch of photos from my little May 1st holiday …

Morning light.

Dandelions and this annoying weed that spreads everywhere have taken over the future potato patch. Dandelions are of course edible, but I don’t really like their taste, so they will probably have to make room later on.

I sowed corn and sunflowers along the empty spot next to the fence. Unless the slugs munch them all up, maybe they can provide some shade from my neighbours’ curious eyes this year … The bushes I’ve planted there are still too small to make a diference.

Evening light, not enough to illuminate my Andy Kehoe print.

I was pulling weeds earlier in the spring, and somehow I thought that this plant was perhaps too nice to land in the compost, so I replanted it here. And what do you know, it turned out to be this lovely flower. (Next to it is one of the feral chives.)

My plum tree was sneaky and started blossoming just as I left for Stockholm, and finished just as I returned.

A strange yellow flower is growing almost on the step to my shed.

Lovely little blue flowers everywhere. I caught a bumblebee at one of them. :3

In one of the herb pots these strange little plants are growing.

Is this new basil?

The chives in the same pot certainly survived the winter.

And so did the oregano!

Is this mint?

I started a whole bunch of seeds. There’s all kinds of stuff here, various herbs, chili peppers, and four different pumpkins (since the slugs weren’t interested in the one I tried to grow, too late, last year). In the bigger pots there are pole beans.

Now it just remains to be seen if I can be there often enough to water them all so they don’t die. My planning for this year totally failed, since in January-March, when I was living in the city, I had to work my ass off drawing comics, for which I didn’t really need electricity. Now I have to work my ass of with dayjobs, for which I do need lots of electricity. Of course, my big solar panel is busted and I need to fix it, but even with it, I probably can’t generate enough electricity for dayjob computer use.

Anyway, in the two bigger pots I sowed zucchini. In the ten smaller pots there are tigernuts! I just had to try growing them.

My poor goji berry bush. Somebody must like its taste …

This snail looked very guilty.

A bigger bush is blossoming.

This slightly fluffy spider was hanging out nearby.

The first sprouting pea! Of course I accidentally pulled it, thinking it was a weed. I hope it survives …

The piggy beans (i.e. fava beans) are all sprouting, too. The day before there was no sign of them. Then I watered them, and also it rained in the evening. The next morning they were all visible!
Also, the nasturtiums in this bed self-seeded and are already sprouting happily.

Cute little snail.

This is Welsh onion, a perennial that you can harvest almost all year round.

But until next year, when the Welsh onion is all grown up, the main crop of this season is still nettles. Mmmm …

I found this old sink in the storage compartment of my trailer. My landlords had told me that I could bring the things in there to the trash if I wanted to make space there, but I’d rather use them for something nice if I can. :3 So I built a frame with legs for it.

Yay, a complete outdoor bathroom! The bathtub collects rainwater, and the sink is now a planter:

I sowed chard in it (since slugs are rumored to like chard – maybe the height will deter them from feasting too much on the contents of this planter). Then I also sowed some nasturtium in the corners.

Uuh, guys … I agree that it looks cozy, but soon you’ll be in my way.

The red currant already has berries! O_o

At the far end of the meadow behind my garden there is this little disused shed. Is that a doggie house in front of it …?

My next door neighbours luckily weren’t there, so it was a very quiet and peaceful holiday. Apart from another neighbour who kept riding up and down the road on his moped for an hour or so. On May 1st.