Don't give up. Next year try the same thing but with a raised bed. They can be put together very cheaply, and when you add (purchased) soil you'll be adding something that's better for your plants than what you've got now.

I have voles in my yard. They eat the roots of my plants. For that reason I'm planting everything in planters or raised beds.

Do a google search to find out how to make your own raised beds. You could even use old pallets.

Or go shopping. I've found one that's 4' x 4' that I like. I'm going to get two of them for my front yard.

Yes, the soil here is pretty terrible (just clay). I definitely should have done a raised bed! Thankfully no voles over here, just extreme sun and clay!



Looks beautiful Mike!

Nice pics Mike.

The 2nd pic if it weren't for the green plants & the blue sky, Mars has a red sky near the horizon though the farther up one looks, the blacker the sky there is, looks somewhat like Mars.

@ ThePHX264: the soil here is caliche, add water and it is pliable, let the soil dry and it's like concrete.

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Savoir-Faire is everywhere!
The T1 Trust, T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, America's First HST

And another one.

A very nice landscape shot that one; it gives you a good idea of the scale of the area.

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Grant
Darwin NT

And another one.

A very nice landscape shot that one; it gives you a good idea of the scale of the area.

Thanks Grant.

Another one.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

@ ThePHX264: the soil here is caliche, add water and it is pliable, let the soil dry and it's like concrete.

That does not sound ideal for gardens, haha! Over here we have "Soils in the Houston-metropolitan area are an eclectic mix of many components, including sand, loam and clays. Overwhelmingly, dark gumbo clay is the major soil type within the Houston city limits."

@ Mike: Awesome Mike! Still in Utah? I love scenery like that! Share more :D


This might be the second pie I have made in my lifetime. Took the little one out berry picking (shes 1.5 so I did all of the picking) but I'm still telling everyone she helped. We used 4cups of blackberries and 2.5cups of blueberries. We are going fig picking tomorrow!

Did the "little one" discover how nice fruit is straight from the bush?
Great looking pies - shame I'm too far away from you to judge by anything other than the photos and your description otherwise I'd pop over and give you my professional pie eating judgement....

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

An assortment of pics I took while in Shanghai a few weeks ago.

https://imgur.com/a/LFV91Y9

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Seti@Home classic workunits: 29,492 CPU time: 134,419 hours

Did the "little one" discover how nice fruit is straight from the bush?
Great looking pies - shame I'm too far away from you to judge by anything other than the photos and your description otherwise I'd pop over and give you my professional pie eating judgement....

Yes she did! The aunt was giving her a blueberry to take back to the bucket, she would take a few steps, stop, and eat the berry instead. She loved fresh blackberries as well, they made her look like a little chipmunk with the chubby cheeks.

@Ian&Steve looks awesome! How long you spending over there? Theres lots of roaming cats I guess?

Another one.

Once again, another great shot giving a good appreaciation of the vastness of the area.

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Grant
Darwin NT

Another few from recent days

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Awesome Rob! From around where you live, or on vacation?

All but the picture of the APT (Crewe Railway Heritage Centre) were around the marina.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Nice! Had to google that, haha. Looks like a neat place to visit. Their website has live views, looks like a nice and drizzly day in England! https://crewehc.org/finding-way-around/live-cameras/



Surprised to not see any pictures from the 4th in the US. Was not from this year, but a picture I took two years ago at Houston's Freedom Over Texas celebration.

This is the second summer for the sage bushes that my neighbor planted between our driveways. I've never seen this many flowers on it before today. Smells good, too!

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~Sue~

Looks pretty too.

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Savoir-Faire is everywhere!
The T1 Trust, T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, America's First HST

Was not from this year, but a picture I took two years ago at Houston's Freedom Over Texas celebration.

A very well timed and exposed shot.

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Grant
Darwin NT

Thanks Grant! Been wanting to capture more, but its so hard to get out there and shoot for fun sometimes!




This image is quite a few years old, my very first attempt at shooting the night sky. Drove to Ft. Davis, TX paid the $5 to drive up the mtn at night. Definitely worth it! Hoping to head back to West Texas before August...but the only downside it will be over 100f.

Superb shot of the Milky Way
If only we had dark enough skies around here :-(

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Yep, a real dusty shot. Agreed that is a great shot, most places in the US have too much Light Pollution to see the night sky in all its glory.

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Savoir-Faire is everywhere!
The T1 Trust, T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, America's First HST

The other day I was minding my own business next to a clump of thistles which was buzzing with hover flies, bees and other like insects. So I snapped a few frames.







If you look carefully at the centre shot you can see the loaded pollen sacks on the bee's legs - shame with the lens I was using (300mm) and the distance (about 18 inches) there is no real depth of field.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?