Saturday, May 30, 2009

my backyard

I know, impossibly tiny panorama photo. You can click on it to make it larger.
I wanted to show what I have been working on in the yard for the last few weeks!

On the left is my potting bench. Not a lot of activity going on there right now. I still have to pull out most of my pots.

On the left side of the patio table is the perennial garden. This is where I have worked  most recently, adding and moving things around. And weeding. I still have to lay down some fresh mulch and add some pots, but it's pretty complete. This side also has the birch tree, and in the distance is the hammock. It moves with the sun.

In the middle is a small brick walkway, mostly covered over with creeping thyme.

To the right of the umbrella is our chiminea, where we make smores. Lots of gooey, yummy smores. The huge spruce is right there, slowly creeping into the garden year by year.

Right next to the spruce is the Magnolia tree, which I love. I'm afraid that it will also be taken over by the spruce. Underneath the magnolia needs a lot of work; the dirt level needs to be brought up and there are some killer weeds in there. It's the spot that gets neglected most often. Stuff is hard to grow there.

Near is the front is the pond. I usually have lots of pots sitting around it as well but haven't gotten around to it yet. To the right of the pond is the walkway to the rest of the yard. There's Bart in the distance, under yet another tree planting stuff.

Still needs some work, but it's looking pretty good right now, and it hasn't been too buggy to sit out there.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

things I did this weekend

shopped for plants
planted plants
eat blue cheese burgers
visited with family
relaxed in the hammock
finished a library book
played frisbee both canine & human
went to the drive in
planted some more stuff
slept in
stayed up late
farmtown
finished a pair of socks
ate buffalo burgers
enjoyed the sunshine
pedicure!
thought about planting more stuff
relaxed
swam
removed cactus spikes from the face of someone who wants to remain annonymous
played with the kids
ate hot dogs
laundry
started next pair of socks
and relaxed.

it was good.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

guess who's going to have buttloads of tomatos?

We are!
Here we have 15 varities of Heirloom tomato seeds sprouting. Why 15, you may ask? I don't have a good answer. I just wanted to try a bunch of different types.
I started these seeds for my stepmom, the gardening goddess, for Mother's Day. If I'd have had the idea in say, March, we could just about be putting them into the ground right now. I didn't think of it until late April (natch) so we may have a late harvest.


how can you resist names like Delicious,Green Zebra, Cherokee Purple, Brandywine Yellow, German Red Strawberry, Yellow Marble, Hillbilly W Virginia, & Mortgage Lifter?
I am dreaming of all the delicious BLT's and gazpachos that I will make. Mmmmmm...
And look who has taken up residence in the thyme...bookworm gnome!
Have a beautiful Saturday :)

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Plant or weed?

Hello, and welcome! It's that time of year again...time to play my favorite quiz game...
Plant or weed?

contestant number one-
upon first glance, contestant #1 looks like a weed, all the way. First of all, it was the first thing that bloomed, and it's about 3 feet tall. Nothing I plant ever grows that fast.
but look at the bottom-it looks like something I planted on purpose. Is the weed clever enough to disguise itself and grow directly out of the middle of the on purpose plant?? Plus it's far enough away that I think I planted it.
so is contestant #1 a plant or a weed? I have 3 different opinions so far, and they are split. I just don't want some gardener extraordinaire to come over and go "Hey, why are you letting that huge weed grow?"

Contestant #2
this one is iffy. It's a nice green mound. Could be intentional but for the fact that it's too close to something else.
the leaves look kind of weedy too. Help me out here...weed, or plant?

Not a weed or a plant, it's Buddy enjoying the sunshine...

Contestant #3
compact, bushy. Looks like a plant. This one could go either way. Weed or plant?

And just for fun, look what I bought at the farmer's market today! Isn't it the coolest? The lady there had an old rake & a quilt draped over it. Not gonna happen, but I bet I can find something really cool to put in there! I didn't buy a single plant today. Just pastries and this :)
Thanks for playing this years edition of Plant or Weed! Happy gardening!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

new additions

Played with Kool-Aid dyeing a few days ago and here are my results:

Berry parfait (everybody loves parfait!)

and lime popsicle. yum.


Dyeing fiber with Kool-Aid couldn't be simpler...and cheaper! After I brought the packets home Emma has been on a campaign to make some for drinking. My poor, deprived children. I don't think they've ever had homemade koolaid. I lived on that stuff! The best part- that even after rinsing, the yarn smells a little sweeter than wet sheep!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Monday musings

-Glad to be home from camping. It was a lot of fun, but on the cool & damp side. Also, extremely muddy. I just finished scrubbing out shoes.
-Emma was a total sugarplum all weekend. It ended promptly after I tried to wake her from a 2 1/2 hour nap yesterday. Sigh.
-She had no fewer than 15 meltdowns last night.
-I came home to a 'honey-do' list that is no fun at all.
-How does camping for 2 days equal 27 loads of laundry???
-we have a heron in the yard. Bart thought he saw one while we were gone. Did a fish count. 
Last night while watching Survivor I saw him fly over the pond and land on the neighbor's roof.
Fish count...2 fish. Unless they are really well hidden, the damn bird got 3 or 4. I netted the pond again, but I am really frustrated.
-I am happy that JT won Survivor!
-need to go to the store for bread, milk, etc. Don't want to :(
-another busy week ahead...soccer games...practices...band concert...
-is it ever going to be warm enough to plant?

Friday, May 15, 2009

into the woods

It's time for our annual Girl Scout camping trip. Em & I leave in about 2 hours.
Part of me is exicted, because this is the last year I'll go, and I'll get to see her do some really cool and fun things.
Part of me is less than pleased that our cabin doesn't have a bathroom. Barbaric! Don't they know Moms really need access to toilets at all times? I am praying and crossing my fingers that I don't have a rehash of our trip to Cincinnati, and the period from hell. No one wants that.
Part of me is glad that we have an adopted 'sister' for the trip. This will either keep Emma in a really good mood, or go bad fast. I'm hoping it's the former.
Part of me is scared that I will be forced to do one of the challenges, such as zip lining. I'm not scared of the challenge...I just don't want some 18 year old to ask my weight so they can harness me up. Ugh.
Part of me is annoyed that any of this bothers me, and just wants to go have fun.

Have a great weekend and wish me luck!