07/18/15 Weekend Update

July 15 was Allyson's Birthday. We took her to see One Direction for her Birthday and spent the night in Seattle. After dropping her off at the concert, Bernie and I stopped by Pike's Market on got some pretty good chinese food at the Chinese restaurant below. The following day we decided to stop by Bonsai Northwest. AWESOME place! Right on par with some of the bonsai nurseries you'd find in Los Angeles. Prices were reasonable. Staff was very friendly and approachable. I bought a few items:
2 Japanese black pines
3 trident maples
2 mame sized fuchsia
1 Korean hornbeam
1 shimpaku juniper
All are pre-bonsai with varying degree of starter work performed. I did not purchase any bonsai ready material, as I was looking to keep my costs down. They had a great selection of pots, but I didn't look to see the price. I'm not interested in purchasing pottery, I'm interested in MAKING pottery! Really good selection of bonsai soil, additives, scoria, fertilizer, tools, wire, etc. The staff was very knowledgeable and were true bonsai enthusiasts. I spoke mostly with Gary and I even showed him some of the pottery I make. He mentioned that Bonsai Northwest actually started because the owner made pottery and she was looking for a way to highlight her pottery. Seems like my idea of doing it all yourself isn't exactly all that novel.
The dwarf azaleas are starting to bud out nicely. All are covered in tiny little green buds. Seems like they've survived. My crab apples continue to get eaten by the deer. ARRGH THE DEER! The deer have also started to nibble on Aaron's pumpkin vines. The good ones at that!
.......
Aaron and I sat for a while wondering what to do about the deer. We put up a scarecrow, but it's no longer effective. He put up some soap, but that didn't work. There as 7 foot posts around the perimeter of the backyard... if only we had some way to complete the fence. Fencing is expensive and chicken wire looks like shit.
.......
Then it hit me. Shade cloth! I still have the old shade cloth I had in Phoenix. It's in 6 foot by 15 foot sections. We might be able to secure the shade cloth to the posts. We finally found the shade cloth and began to set it up. There was just enough shade cloth to go around the full perimeter of the backyard!
So we set up the shade cloth on the 14th, the night before I was leaving to Seattle. We finished setting it up around 10pm. Aaron said there was a bit of wind and he had to run out to fix it while were in Seattle. But otherwise it appears to be working. No more deer in the backyard. At least not for now.
Just in time it appears. The squash have begun to flower. Only male flowers blooming so far. We did find the beginnings of a couple of females, which means fruit. Aaron has been working really hard on his little garden. He's also been watering my trees for me. I hope his hard work is rewarded with some good fruit.