Vegetable-loving rat caught!

 An audacious rat has been eating the potato leaves and beet leaves growing in my greenhouse. All the potato fronds are gone! And this gives you an idea of what's left of my dozen beets:

The rascal had avoided my trap for two weeks. Then I set up a second trap, and armed it with peanut butter, and here is the result:

I have been preparing my raised beds, and so far I have planted green lettuce and spinach in one; radishes and green beans in another; and pole beans and arugola in a third one. I've been busy mixing compost and manure and stirring and replacing what's left from last year.

My trees are doing well, especially the pear trees, now coming into full bloom:

And I am hoping that some of the peach flowers that have gotten past the two freezes we've had will turn to juicy fruit. We'll see!