Down the Garden Path

Garden Catalogs!

2011-12-29T08:03:00.000-08:00

I've been receiving garden catalogs since Thanksgiving. It seems they come earlier every year. Didn't they usually wait to send them until mid-January? I don't think trying to be the first to get your garden catalog in the hands of potential customers is really a very good strategy. From Thanksgiving time through Christmas, I for one don't have time to sit down and do any serious armchair gardening. Besides, I'm really not even feeling rested up from the last gardening season. Give me a break! For now, all the new catalogs are being tossed into a stack. Probably by the middle of next month I'll be ready to start making plans for my next round of container gardening, but for now, the garden and I would really like to rest.

The Wave

2011-07-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

Having lived most of my life in small towns or the rural countryside, I'm familiar with The Wave. I'm not sure that people who come from larger towns or cities always understand The Wave, or its importance. I'm not talking about The Wave that we do as fans at football games, but The Wave that is as common as corn and soybeans out in the country; or used to be. The wave is something you just naturally share with those you pass as you drive down our little country roads. Men, especially those that wear caps and drive pick-up trucks, can almost always be counted on to offer the wave. For some reason, women tend to be a bit more reserved with the wave, especially if they don't know you. Usually, the wave isn't full of motion, but is just a raise of the hand.

This simple gesture, however, can be packed full of meaning. Most often, it just means "Hello, neighbor." And you don't even have to be a true neighbor to warrant a wave. The simple fact you are sharing a country road with a waver often earns you temporary good neighbor status. Sometimes, the wave means "Thank you." You should always offer a wave when any oncoming traffic pulls over to allow you to cross that one-lane bridge first. The thank you wave was once very common, but these days I sometimes find myself feeling a little bit slighted when yielding to oncoming cars who come on across as though it's their right to go first without offering so much as a polite nod, yet alone a wave.

The wave can also mean "I'm sorry." The "I'm sorry" wave is usually offered when a driver makes a mistake, such as accidentally pulling out in front of you a bit too close, or something like that. I received an I'm Sorry Wave today. While crossing our little, gravel, windy, narrow, country road after retrieving our mail from the mailbox, I was somewhat startled by a very large trash truck suddenly coming into sight and heading toward me at what seemed a very high rate of speed. Our little road will get you where you are going, but it's not built for speed! Upon spotting me, however, the driver quickly slowed down and no doubt caught my disapproving gaze. He then did the only thing he could really do, short of stopping and offering a formal apology. . . he waved. And yes, I waved back. Somehow, that simple gesture told me that he realized he was driving his big old truck too fast, and that he was truly sorry for that. All that, in a simple raise of the hand. And when only a moment prior I was a bit scared and a bit angry, The Wave somehow smoothed things over between us. Best of all, I have a feeling that if our paths cross again on this little road in the future, the driver won't be going quite so fast. But if he is, I may offer up a "Modified Wave," but that's a topic for another day!

Chicken and Noodles

2011-06-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

Chicken and noodles. That should make me feel better. I'm in what I like to call a frump. Some people get in funks, but I get in frumps. I'm grumpy, tired, and simply not my old self. While I don't normally subscribe to emotional eating, I truly believe a dose of chicken and noodles will help. When I have this dish, my thoughts go back to my mother and her mother and the wonderful food produced in their kitchens. My mother is still an excellent cook, and the women in her family could turn out the best homemade noodles you could ever hope to eat. I seldom have time to make my own noodles, which is probably another reason for my frump. I have so little time to do the things I enjoy and wish to do. Tonight I will settle for some nice looking egg noodles bought at the store.

Fortunately, the season is right for me to work in the yard and gardens, the best therapy there is for dealing with my gloomy mood. I manage to carve out at least a few minutes to get out among my plants every day. However, I could literally spend hours pruning, staking, pinching, transplanting, and fertilizing my plants, and yes, even pulling weeds. These activities calm and soothe me and allow my mind to relax and thoughts to wander. Peace.

I know I worry too much about things over which I have no control, but I don't know how to stop. I feel my life going by quickly, with so much left undone and the realization that there are things I'll probably never be able to do. Is this perhaps depression? No, I think it is just reality combined with frustration.

I do know that I can't figure this all out today. For now, I'll just settle for a nice dish of chicken and noodles. With any luck, my dish of comfort will be followed by a good night's sleep which will help everything look better in the morning.

I do believe spring is on its way at last

2010-03-08T09:21:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I've become one of those writers who've abandoned their blogs for outrageous amounts of time. I'll do better -- I promise! Computer challenges are my primary excuse, but it is also a fact that this very long, cold, and snowy winter did much to wipe out my optimism and my joy of writing. At long last, however, the sun is again shining, green sprouts are tentatively peeking out of the earth, and the snow is melting. It seems spring will come again this year after all. It simply must, because this weekend I started my first seeds of the season.

Several seeds of savoy cabbage have been sown. Also in the mix are some heirloom tomatoes 'Rose' and 'Dutchman.' Last year was such a poor year for tomatoes in general that I felt these varieties deserved a second chance in the garden this season. I also planted two peat pots of 'Marglobe' and one of 'Homestead.' Once everything was put away I discovered a pack of heirloom tomato seeds that must have fallen out of the storage box, 'Fireworks.' As soon as I get a spare second I'll sow some of these as well.

I fell victim to a gardening trend that I labeled "silly" last year -- upside down hanging tomato planters. Our local hardware store had them on sale at a ridiculously cheap price, and I couldn't resist the temptation to give them a try. I think it will be fun to hang a couple of these on a shepherd's crook among my other gardening containers. I've decided to plant cherry or grape tomatoes in these. It will be fun to snack on them while working in the garden. If at the end of the season they prove to be only a silly fad, at least I won't be out a lot of money.

Thinking About Thanksgiving

2009-11-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

This year will be the first Thanksgiving that the four of us in our immediate family won't be spending the holiday together. We knew this would happen sooner or later, but I guess we've always hoped it would be a lot later.

Our youngest is spending the semester studying abroad in Italy. For the first few weeks it was novel and exciting, but now I find myself really missing her as well as our oldest daughter who lives closer, but still a couple of hours away.

Thanksgiving has always been a fairly simple affair in our family, as members of our extended family have other plans or live far away, and so it is generally just us four. Some years we have invited students from the department where I work to join us, and that has made the day really special. One year, when my husband was unemployed and I was working two jobs, I actually had to work on Thanksgiving Day. My husband and girls made his day extra special by taking on all the tasks of building the feast themselves, and treating me to a wonderful meal when I returned home.

As I think about it, I realize that the only tradition that follows us from year to year is to gather and enjoy the day. We have spent it in different ways. This year, my husband and I will travel to Florida and spend the days leading up to Thanksgiving with my parents. I have wanted to do this for the past four or five years but we've never felt like we could afford the trip or else had trouble getting enough time off work. This year, somehow, it all worked out. After visiting my folks and doing some touristy things we'll return home on Thanksgiving Day. Our oldest will pick us up at the airport and we will celebrate the day by enjoying dinner at a restaurant and then perhaps taking in a movie. I'm hoping we can use Skype to talk with our youngest daughter and feel a bit like we are really all together. Maybe it won't be a traditional Thanksgiving , but then again, maybe it will. After all, we'll be keeping up our tradition of making the most of the day with the circumstances we've been given, and we will be grateful. It's hard to ask for more than that.

A Walk around Campus

2009-10-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

It was such a beautiful fall day that I hurried through my lunch so I could head outside for a walk on campus. First of all, I wanted to get a closer look at a new bronze statue of a horse that was installed near our building. Here's a picture. I'm not sure what I think of it. Actually, that's not true. I really just don't care for it at all...it's sort of creepy. A skeleton horse might be okay this time of year for Halloween, but it is a permanent installation that will be around for years.

On down the street at the vet school are sculptures I can understand and enjoy.

After critiquing the sculptures, I decided to walk through the horticulture garden to see what is still blooming this time of year and that I might want to consider adding to my own gardens. There were some very pleasant surprises. I especially liked the grapeleaf anenome, the bright yellow strawflowers, and the heliotrope which was still attracting butterflies.

The rain is supposed to return tomorrow, so I'm glad I got the chance to enjoy some outside time today.

Winding Down

2009-09-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

As is to be expected in mid-September, the garden is really winding down. Fortunately, the tomatoes, which were late this year, are putting forth a valiant effort at producing a modest harvest which is quite welcome. My late planting of green beans is also doing very well. The insects don't even seem to have noticed that there is a new crop and so far have left them completely alone. I have one last bright orange Thai melon yet to harvest. Other than that, the garden is pretty much finished.

Even though we really enjoy fresh vegetables all summer, I am not really all that sad to see the garden come to an end for fall. It really is true that to every thing there is a season, and now I am looking forward to the season to rest a bit, then start planning for next year. Truly, I don't think gardening would be as fun if I had to do it all year long.

This was my second season to garden in garden boxes, and once again I have learned a lot that I will apply to next year. The use of trellises with some of my boxes worked very well. My cucumbers and melons grew healthier and were easier to find and harvest by being trained on the trellis. My experiment growing corn turned our very well, too. However, next year I will put two boxes side by side, long ways, so they can support each other and I can grow a bit more corn with extra spacing. This year, the box would tip over once the corn grew tall whenever the water reservoir went dry. This happened several days in a row in late July when the weather was very hot and the corn was very thirsty.

I am still trying to find ways to be able to leave the boxes for more than a day at a time. If the boxes aren't watered daily when the plants are at their peak, the plants really suffer. This means that going away for a weekend is a problem unless someone can be lined up to water the boxes once a day. I am going to have to do some brainstorming this winter to come up with some solutions to this problem.

For now, I am just focusing on enjoying the last of my harvest, and cleaning up the garden boxes as the plants are finished producing. I enjoy garden clean up chores, because I can then look forward to having the boxes ready when I am this spring. To every thing there is a season.

Nature's Bouquet

2009-08-31T18:25:00.000-07:00

While taking a walk after work today, I was struck by the wildflowers, weeds, and grasses that still make a striking display in our meadow. Thistle, dried grasses, goldenrod, and a number of plants that must have names but aren't known to me, are all putting on quite a fine show. My first thought was that these plants would make a lovely bouquet on my desk at work. My second thought, however, was that such a bouquet might activate a lot of allergic reactions among my co-workers. Perhaps it is best to leave nature's bouquet in nature where it belongs, in our meadow and others like it, to be savored on afternoon walks as summer fades to fall.

Good News and Bad News

2009-08-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

Excellent customer service--how often do we get that these days? Not often enough, unfortunately. I was so happy yesterday, however, after getting off the telephone with the customer support people for my Canon Powershot camera. It seems the problem with my camera is a known issue so even though it is nearly five years old they will repair the camera for free. They even sent me a shipping label to make sending it back to them as easy as possible. In about two weeks I'll be able to start snapping photos again. Good news, right?! Right. And the quick and courteous service I received from Canon was a breath of fresh air.

The bad news is that by the time I have my camera back, the garden will be pretty much finished. I regret not being able to take a picture of the bright orange Thai melons, or the first giant red tomatoes. Of course, I should be able to pick tomatoes until frost because they are so late this year, and I will likely still have beans for a few more weeks. My first planting of beans has had it, but my second two plantings are still giving me plenty to eat, freeze, and share for now. However, the cucumbers are on their way out, and the cantaloupe aren't too far behind. The corn and beets are long gone. As is the case this time of year, I secretly don't mind all that much to see things winding down. Even gardening in the garden boxes is quite a bit of work, and like some of my plants, I'm a little tired. To everything there is a season, after all.

Just Facts, No Photos

2009-08-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

I feel like I am blogging in the dark or with my hands tied. My beloved Canon Powershot A70 camera has nearly quit working and I feel lost without it. It still takes pictures, sort of, but they are blurry and pink, and, well, just strange looking. Not pretty. Most of the shots I've taken of my garden and harvest look anything but tranquil and appetizing. They look more like something Salvador Dali would have painted. It is really sad. I really didn't realize how much I liked taking and sharing pictures until I found I am unable to do so. "Get Camera Fixed"-- one more addition to my already lengthening to-do list.

The garden is slowing down in some ways, and just getting started in others. The corn is finished, but not after producing about 10 very tasty ears of bicolor corn. My experiment was a most definite success! I still have lots of beans and peppers to pick, and some days can barely keep up. The Minnesota Midget cantaloupe are just days away from being ready, and we have already enjoyed one of our very delicious Thai melons. Best of all, the tomatoes are FINALLY ripening. Our cool July really set back these heat loving plants and many of us thought we'd never see our first red tomatoes before frost! There is really nothing like a fresh Indiana tomato, and once again they have most definitely been worth the wait.

Thank you for reading and I'm sorry I don't have new pictures to share. Hopefully this will be a very temporary situation.

What's New?

2009-07-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

This is probably the best time of year to be a gardener. The garden is producing well and many of our meals these days largely of what I picked only an hour before the food is placed on the table. I don't have any ripe tomatoes yet, but we've sure had some delicious green beans. I highly recommend 'Masai' as an easy to grow, tasty bean. The beans don't get real large but instead are tender and thin. So, so, good. We have also been enjoying cabbage and carrots. The cabbage are 'Mini Gonzales' and are the perfect size for a meal for two. The carrots are 'Little Finger' and I'm not sure I'll grow them again. They do pretty well in containers, but I've tasted better. The last of the beets have been harvested, and I decided to make another planting of 'Masai' beans in that container. We picked our first cucumber this week, and we are getting lots of basil. The jalapenos and two other varieties of peppers are nearly ready, and I can already taste the fresh salsa! The top picture shows the garden box containing our 3 pepper plants and some basil plants. Our trellis of 'Minnesota Midget' cantaloupe is full of baby melons. There are also 3 of the Thai melon on the vines so far (pictured below). The Thai melon will ripen to an orange color.

Nick told me recently that he thinks this may be the best garden we've ever had. I really am sold on growing the garden in the garden boxes. The amount of work it takes to produce a good quality, bountiful harvest is much less than when I planted everything in the ground. I learned a lot about container gardening last year that I applied to this year's garden. The boxes are spaced further apart, and I've added trellises. I also decided to plant tomatoes in the ground rather than containers. I also found that the zucchini do better when planted only two to a box to give them plenty of room to spread. I have to agree that this year's garden is a good one.

We had another garden surprise this summer outside of the vegetable garden. We were given a couple of large bromeliads that had been thrown out of a commercial greenhouse. Supposedly, bromeliads bloom only one time in their life. (I haven't yet done any research to see if this is indeed the case.) It seems these bromeliads were discarded because they've already bloomed and thus were no longer of interest. Well, either the once-in-a-lifetime bloom theory is incorrect, or someone was mistaken about them already having bloomed, because much to our surprise both plants have produced a beautiful and unique looking pink flower. The flower doesn't even look real. It looks as though it is made of plastic, and it even feels a bit like plastic. We have really been amazed to watch as each bloom slowly made its way out of the throat of the plant. Ironically, for a couple of weeks these plants sat mostly ignored on our front porch because we kept forgetting to buy pots and soil for them. I guess bromeliads thrive on neglect because they started flowering while lying unceremoniously in a box on the porch. Now they have a proper home worthy of their beauty.

This has really been a fun and rewarding gardening season so far. Much more is to come. I can hardly wait to taste the cantaloupe and Thai melons. We are still waiting for two types of beans, 'dragon langerie' and a yellow wax bean (I can't remember the name just now!). We also have two nice volunteer acorn squash plants growing in each back corner of the garden thanks to some seed hiding out in the compost. Ahhh, July...what a wonderful time to be a gardener!

Take a look at the garden...

2009-07-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

This planting of green beans is nearly ready to pick! I think I'll give them one more day. They look fantastic.

The cucumbers I had to replant are finally taking off. The plants in the front are a short vined bush type especially good for small gardens and containers. The variety in the back is called 'Muncher' and is beginning to climb up the trellis.

I love how well the Minnesota Midget cantaloupe plants are doing. The melons only grow to about softball size so they are perfect to grow on a trellis. The plants are loaded with bright yellow blossoms.

Here's my experiment for this year -- sweet corn in a container garden. This variety is called Trinity Hybrid and gets about 5' tall. So far it is looking pretty good!

My favorite part of the day is when I go outside and walk down the garden path. We added the park bench to the back corner because sitting in the garden is pretty pleasant, too.

Berries!

2009-06-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

I made a delicious discovery as I took Toby for an early morning walk on Friday. Raspberries! For weeks I have been watching the wild brambles go from bare, to being loaded with hard, green, and then pink and red berries. At last, some have turned dark purple. Even though we were in a bit of a hurry to get Toby's "business" taken care of so I could head off to work, I had to stop and pick a few. Everyone knows that the first berries of the season are the most delicious, and I wasn't about to miss out. Later today when it is not so hot out I'll go pick a bowl full. The only down side to enjoying free wild raspberries is that many of them are surrounded by poison ivy or poison oak. Chiggers--those invisible buggers that burrow under your skin and make you itch like crazy--seem to hang out around raspberries, too. However, the wild berries are tasty enough to make wearing long pants, long sleeves, and bug spray worth it, even with temperatures in the 80's.

It is somewhat of a tradition for me to make a raspberry cream pie each year. However, since I have become a devoted weight watcher, I think I will work on finding a lower calorie way to enjoy these scrumptious treats. Suggestions welcome!

Finding the raspberries reminded me that last weekend I picked a couple of quarts of sour cherries and put them in the refrigerator to pit later. What happened is I completely forgot about them. I have yet to check on them; I am so afraid I'll find a moldy mess of cherries representing wasted effort and wasted time. Even though I am basically an organized person, I just have not been able to find a way to fully balance working full time and taking care of such a large yard, the house, and so many animals while still leaving time for other things like eating, sleeping, and sitting down for a couple of minutes without feeling guilty about all that is not getting done. Oh well--I do what I can do, and keep looking for ways to simplify. The garden boxes are a good example. It is so great to enjoy wonderful home grown vegetables without all of the weeding, tilling, and hoeing. I'm sure I'll keep discovering better ways to do a lot of things, or learn how to let them go.

How does your garden grow?

2009-06-16T17:08:00.001-07:00

My garden is growing great! The combination of rain and sunshine is working its magic and the plants are really taking off. The zucchini is especially impressive, growing by leaps and bounds within only a couple of weeks (compare the photo below to the one on my post of May 26). I'm also amazed by how the 'tall telephone' peas have grown. After an extra shot of fertilizer they started ascending the trellis at a rapid rate and have already rewarded us with a small harvest. We've also enjoyed lettuce, cilantro, and some beets from the garden.

The silver disk you see on the pea trellis is an aluminum pie tin I tied to the support with a bit of twine. It moves and clanks with even a gentle breeze hopefully helping to startle rabbits, birds, and other wildlife that may damage the garden. Even so, I did have one frustrating setback thanks to the band of rogue rabbits that have an encampment on our property. When I went out to the garden on Saturday morning, I was dismayed (to say the least) to find some of my green bean plants bitten in two, one tomato plant nibbled to the ground, and most frustrating of all, every single basil plant missing as though they had never existed. A quick check of the fence showed that the enemy rabbits had literally chewed through the vinyl fencing on one end of the garden. Bits of fence could be found on the ground as evidence. I couldn't believe it! That very day Nick and I visited the hardware store and came home with 100 feet of 2' tall rabbit guard fence. It took about 2 hours to install. It went up fairly easily as it fit right on to my existing quick stick posts. I'm really happy with how it looks -- from a distance you don't even notice it -- and with the fact that I don't believe it is chewable by even the toughest of rabbits.

Here is a picture of another uninvited visitor to the garden. With all the rain I am having some trouble with slugs and snails. This one received a reprieve, but others have not been so lucky. To protect the hostas in the front of the house from being eaten alive, I have been spraying them with a mixture of 1 cup ammonia to 1 gallon of water. This remedy was recommended by the staff of Stream Cliff Herb Farm near Commiskey, Indiana, that we recently visited. I hope it will do the trick. I hate how my beautiful hosta get full of holes from slug and snail damage this time of year. I'll let you know how it works.

2009-06-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report that my first bottle of chive blossom vinegar has been strained and bottled. It is the most beautiful shade of pink with a wonderful flavor to match. I can't wait to use it on fresh cooked greens or maybe even in some homemade salad dressings. Now I feel inspired to make up a batch of mixed herb vinegar. Perhaps a blend of oregano, basil, chives, thyme, and maybe even garlic would be good.

I also recently made a very good batch of herb butter. Here is the recipe in case you would like to try it yourself. Feel free to modify the ingredients to take advantage of what you have on hand. There really is no one recipe for herb butter. Also, by adding a tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese to this recipe, you would have a wonderful spread to grill on bread. Enjoy!

EARLY SUMMER HERB BUTTER
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons of minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoons minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper (optional)

When butter is soft enough to spread, blend herbs in mixing well with a wooden spoon. Chill in a sealed container. Enjoy on bread, crackers, or cooked vegetables.

A few more pics

2009-05-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here are three more garden pictures. The first shows how I am protecting the cabbage plants from insect damage. The plants are looking beautiful, so to keep them that way I cut a piece of lightweight floating row cover to the size of the box plus and extra 10" all around. I tucked the cover under the rim of the box and secured it with clothespins. My original plan was to secure the cover with bungee cords, but I couldn't come up with the right combination of sizes. Fortunately, the clothes pins work just fine.

Next is a picture of my sole peony plant, 'Top Brass.' I love how the middle part of the flower is ruffled up like a little top knot. I purchased this plant at a small independent nursery in Galena, Illinois. Have you noticed how few independent nursery/greenhouses there are these days? It seems we lose one or more every year. What a shame.

The final photo is of the flower bed at the garage end of the house. This end of the bed features Dutch iris, Oriental poppies, and perennial geranium. It is such a cheerful little garden and nearly carefree. Last year, before the perennials had grown so large, I filled in the spaces with Sweet Alyssum. I learned the secret to successfully growing Alyssum from seed is to plant them early, and only barely cover the seeds. I believe I planted the seeds in mid-April. The display was just as nice as when I started with bedding plants, but of course much less expensive. I love direct seeding whenever possible -- it just doesn't get much easier than that.

Focusing on What's Right

2009-05-26T14:49:00.001-07:00

We have been having the most beautiful weather the past several days. Yesterday and today we had some intermittent rain, but nothing that has come close to spoiling the whole day. The combination of warm temperatures, bright sunshine, and gentle rain has really caused the garden to flourish. Unfortunately, the weeds are flourishing, too, and I spent a good part of yesterday weeding the beds. When I got home from work today I started noticing how much more weeding there still is to do. Even in the vegetable garden where I have spread a pretty thick layer of mulch the weeds are peeking through. How frustrating! It's hard to stay discouraged, however, when the sun is shining and the birds are singing, so I decided to get the camera and focus on what is going right in the garden. Here are a few of the highlights.

Pictured are my white clematis and a riot of golden coreopsis, plus a shot of false blue indigo, one of my favorite small shrubs. In the garden boxes are the beets and zucchini which you can see are off to a great start.

The corn, beans, cucumbers, carrots, and lettuce are also up and doing well. The tomato plants had a slow start and I had to replace one of the plants today. All in all, however, the garden is doing well. I will include more pictures in my next post.

Morning Visitor

2009-05-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

This morning, as Nick was going out the front door to his car, he noticed something unusual in the driveway. He called me to the door to take a look, so I rushed to see what was going on. Unfortunately, I didn't have my contacts in or glasses on, but I looked out anyway. I saw what sort of looked like a rabbit--sort of. Whatever it was looked pretty fuzzy to me, and not because it was furry. Well, it wasn't a rabbit. Nick told me it was a skunk! It didn't look to be in any sort of hurry, and this complicated things a bit since it was time for Nick to leave for work. Fortunately, some quick thinking and modern technology came to the rescue. Nick used his remote keyring to blast his car horn 4 or 5 times. Mr. Skunk turned tail and ran down the drive without leaving any sort of lasting reminder, thank goodness! It was a comical sight. I never knew skunks could run like that! Many times in the past we've whiffed evidence that there are skunks around here, but this was our first up close and personal encounter.

A few minutes later as I was preparing to leave, I heard the unmistakable "gobble gobble gobble" of a wild turkey. Although he must have been nearby I never did see him. We have been surprised by wild turkeys on our evening walks in the past. When a good-sized turkey suddenly flies across the road in front of you, it's a bit of a surprise, to say the least.

Just two nights before, we were surprised when Toby took off down the drive like a shot. We couldn't imagine what was going on, but he was down the drive and across the road (without stopping to look both ways) in a matter of seconds. Soon, Nick saw the reason. Toby had spotted a young deer and was in hot pursuit. He chased her until he was tired of the sport and then came back home. We were quite suprised by our dog's sudden interest in deer hunting, being that we are not hunters, and prefer just looking at deer to shooting at them. I guess Toby just couldn't deny his instinct this day. We've been told his mother was quite an excellent deer hunting dog. She would have been proud.

So, these are my accounts of our recent close encounters with Indiana wildlife. I'm sorry to say I have no pictures of the critters to share, but we won't forget about then anytime soon.

A Busy Weekend

2009-05-17T18:15:00.001-07:00

What a weekend! Saturday started out rainy and cool, and did not look at all like a good day for an opening day program at nearby Fort Ouiatenon. I had agreed to help out by being at the herb garden and talking to visitors who might like information on starting their own garden or who had questions about herbs. I was dreading it because it looked like the storms that started the night before might continue on throughout the day. We were surprised, however, that just after the flag raising ceremony at noon the sun came out and it turned in to a pretty nice day. Even more surprising to all of us, however, was how quickly the river started rising. I had parked my car in the lot without even a serious looking mud puddle nearby. Around 3:00, one of the other volunteers came over to ask where I had parked my car. The river was rising--fast--and so I went to check. I couldn't believe my eyes! My car was completely surrounded by ankle deep water. I didn't know how I was going to wade out to it. The fact I was wearing my 18th century costume made the situation even more complicated. Just as I was contemplating my next move, my husband drove in to the park, looking very much to me like a knight in shining armor! Thankfully he was able to drive me to the passenger side of my car where I was able to climb in with a minimum of wetness and move my car uphill to safety.

Whether because of the unpredictable weather, all the other activities going on in the community that day, or just a lack of publicity, there were very few visitors to the opening day of the Fort. It was disappointing, but we made the best of it. I used the time between visitors to weed the herb garden and contemplate some additions to it. Many of the plants didn't make it through the winter and the beds are looking pretty sparse. We also used the time between visitors to help put up a twig fence around the Three Sister's Garden, and were pleased with how it turned out.

Sunday was spent at home mowing and trimming. There is still so much to do, but it is starting to look nice. When everything is mowed and trimmed, our yard looks like a park and we enjoy it so much. This spring has been so wet, however, that the grass has grown like crazy and mowing has been no simple chore.

Here is a picture of a teacup planter Nick got me for Easter. I filled it with a parsley, Thai basil, and sweet marjoram plant given to me by my youngest daughter. I think it turned out so cute. I will keep it on the picnic table as long as the weather is nice.

I finished planting onions today, and also got the last of the deadheads off the showy sedums. It feels good to get some chores crossed off the to-do list. Even thought there are still a lot more jobs we need to get done, we made a lot of progress this weekend and feel good about how things are coming along. Plus, it's not even Memorial Day yet, so plenty of summer is left to come. I'm glad.

The Hummingbirds are Here!

2009-05-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

I try to put out the hummingbird feeder every year by Mother's Day, which is usually a few days before we actually see one of the tiny flying jewels. This year the hummers were right on schedule. Unfortunately, the first hummingbird we saw was a little dead one found in the driveway. It looked absolutely perfect, so we aren't sure what happened to the poor little thing. Only a few hours later, however, I heard that familiar buzz while working in the garden, and spotted a hummer visiting some wild columbine. The first of our feeders went out that same afternoon. On the east side of the Mississippi we have only one type of hummingbird, the ruby-throated. I remember being fascinated by the other types of tiny hummers we saw while visiting San Antonio one year, and I'm sorry we only have one variety of hummingbird to migrate here.

Most of my garden boxes are planted now, and I'm in waiting mode. The only plants I've put out so far besides the cabbage are three different varieties of peppers that were given to me: Fushima, Slim Pim, and Early Jalapeno. The tomatoes are hardening off on the porch and can go out any time. Of the seeds I've planted one variety of cucumber has sprouted (Muncher), the carrots now look like delicate blades of grass, and the beets are off to a good start. I'm still waiting for the first planting of green beans and turnips to germinate, as well as the Minnesota Midget cantaloupe, and Trinity sweet corn. I am hopeful that this weekend I will finally get the chance to get my onion plants into the garden. Progress is being made, slowly but surely!

There is so much left to do in all the flower beds, but even they are off to a pretty good start. I've done a lot of weed pulling so far, but need to devote an entire afternoon to this not so pleasant task. There are also some dead flower heads and stalks that need to be pulled out of some of the beds, especially from the Showy Sedum plants. I could finish that job in about 15 minutes if I could just get started. Oh well, it will get done in time. At least now I can look forward to occasional visits from the curious hummingbirds as I work among the flowers. It's nice to know they appreciate the gardens enough to nest and stay here all summer. They are certainly welcome.

Ready to Grow

2009-05-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Once spring finally decided to come to our part of Indiana, it really arrived with a flourish. All at once the lilacs and crab apple trees burst in to fragrant bloom, and some of the early iris are already putting on a fine show. I was surprised and pleased today to see how much the hosta have grown, along with many of the perennials around the yard--coreopsis, Oriental poppies, coral bells, obedient plant, peonies, and Dutch iris. Everywhere I look there is a plant up that I didn't notice only last weekend.

We got so much accomplished this weekend, and it really feels good. I am especially happy with the progress we've made on the garden. My favorite new addition to the garden are three trellises we've added to keep the vining plants up off the ground. We started out with 2, and then went back to our local Lowe's store today for a third. I installed them behind the 3 boxes that will grow cantaloupe 'Minnesota Midget', two varieties of zucchini squash, and two varieties of cucumbers. I braced the trellises with some rebar to help insure that they don't get pulled down by the heavy vines later this summer. Not only will they help keep the produce healthier by keeping it up off the ground, I like how the trellises already look good in the garden. They will help add some needed vertical interest. I can't wait to see them covered with vines and fruit.

I hauled about 6 carts of mulch and I think after another two cart loads that job will be finished. I love the finished look it gives the garden, not to mention how it helps to keep the weeds under control. When I dumped one load on to the garden I was surprised to see I had scooped up a small snake along with some mulch. How could I miss a snake? I dumped him on the ground and screamed out loud because this little guy was more than a little upset. He put some distance between us and then started striking at me. If he would have been any bigger it would have been scary!

The garden is also completely enclosed now with my versatile and easy to install fence. I am using 3' tall plastic posts called quickstiks and 2' tall plastic poultry fence. With only a little muscle power and a rubber mallet I had the garden enclosed in less than an hour. I have been really happy with how well this easy simple set-up works to keep out hungry rabbits and unwelcome dogs.

The garden is now ready to grow. In a couple of weeks I'll be able to put out the tomato and pepper plants and then it will really seem like a garden. I'm also waiting a bit longer to plant the Thai melon, green beans, and corn. Even though the soil in the boxes warms up more quickly than the ground, our nights are still pretty cool and there is no need to rush the season. Meanwhile, the cabbage starts I set out earlier in the week look good. The beet seeds have sprouted, and the peas are really starting to grow. I also have radishes, spinach, cilantro, and lettuce planted. I'm really happy to be off to such a good start. Here's hoping your garden is off to a good start as well.

April Showers Bring May Flowers -- I hope!

2009-04-22T17:25:00.001-07:00

It's been cold and rainy the past couple of days but spring is on the way. The weeds at least are growing, that's for sure. The view from our front porch changes every day. The little crab apple tree will be blooming soon, and the oak trees have finally dropped their leaves from last fall and are showing some green. The river is up and we often hear ducks and geese, even though we seldom see them now that the field is no longer flooded.

Inside I have nice starts of basil, tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, and some flowers growing well under the lights. Three of the four rows are full. I probably won't need the bottom tray this year. I love brushing my fingers over the top of the little basil plants. Just a light brush releases their spicy, earthy fragrance. Mmmmm.

There is still a lot that needs done outside to get the garden ready. This past weekend I uncovered the growing boxes and moved them in to place. Some of the reservoirs had water in them despite the tarp being over the boxes all winter. I'll have to figure out how that happened because I'm afraid having ice form in the boxes will crack the reservoirs which would ruin them. It is going to be a bit of a challenge to make room for my six new boxes, but I'll find a way. Once they are assembled and arranged I'll put down the mulch to keep the weeds away. That will probably be the end of my big mulch pile. Maybe Nick will surprise me with another dump truck load this spring. I think he enjoys driving the big customer courtesy truck as much as I like getting the mulch! A chipper shredder may be in our future as well, as our brush piles keep growing. I think it would be a lot of fun to turn all those sticks and branches in to mulch.

I hear the weather is supposed to be nice this weekend. I hope so. It would be great to plant some beets, spinach, lettuce and other greens. I am so hungry for fresh, crunchy veggies straight from the garden!

A Gardener's Workout

2009-04-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't make it to the fitness center today, but it hardly mattered. As it turns out, I got a good gardener's workout at home. The weather was perfect for yard work. The temperature was in the mid 50's and the sun was shining and cheerful. No bugs, no humidity, but much to be done!

Thankfully, nothing else was on the agenda for today so gardening was the priority for a change.

One of the first things I wanted to take care of was emptying the compost tumbler. The compost tumbler is basically a barrel with a removable lid on one end, mounted on an aluminum frame so that you can spin it and mix the contents to help speed the composting process. We add kitchen and yard waste to it throughout the year, give it a spin once in a while, and it takes care of turning it all into nice, black, compost. It had been over a year since we emptied the barrel, so it was getting quite full and heavy. I decided not to bother with sifting out the stuff that was not completely broken down, but instead let the process complete itself in the garden. I dug three good sized holes where I will plant tomatoes once it is warm enough in about mid-May. I filled each hole with about a wheelbarrow load of the compost mixture, then covered them back up with a thin layer of soil. By the time the tomatoes are ready to go in the soil should be rich, fertile, and loamy. Because I'm not yet sure where the rest of my tomatoes will go I decided to pour the remaining compost in one of my original raised beds.

When cleaning last year's vines off the obelisk in the barrel by the front porch I uncovered the nest built by our little running bird. I wonder if she'll be back to set up housekeeping again this year? (September 2008 post.)

Next, I took the loppers to several small Asian honeysuckle plants that had sprung up in the woody area in the back of our property where I have a wildflower bed. I was happy to see a few Trillium, wood poppies, and bleeding heart plants coming up in the bed. We'll be able to better see and enjoy them with some of the invasive shrubs out of the way. There are many more to clear out as I find time.

Finally, I spent a lot of time raking out the flower beds and cleaning out the dead leaves and stems to make way for the new. It is so rewarding to pull off last year's dead plant material and see the new green growth starting to emerge. I was surprised to notice that even the clematis 'Niobe' is starting to leaf out.

As we were outside working, Toby enjoyed having the freedom to roam through the yard. He made countless trips with me to the area where I dump yard waste, and back again, and then over to the other side of the property to see how Nick's trimming work was going. He is such a good garden dog. The cats apparently wanted to be outside, including the new kitten (now named Kit Cooper) who has apparently forgotten how much he wanted to be inside just a few weeks ago. Here are a couple of pictures of Kit on the inside looking out, unlike the first time we met him.

Our orange tabby Ralph, who has cost us a small fortune in vet bills over the past month, did manage to get outside this evening. It took about 30 minutes to find him. We have invested way too much in this silly cat to have him become dinner for some coyote, besides we happen to think he's a pretty cool cat. Fortunately he is safe and sound inside once more.

There is so much more to be done in the yard and gardens, but I think getting so much done today will make later work just that much easier. I know I will sleep well tonight. This gardener is tired!

Shopping with a Cause

2009-03-30T09:45:00.001-07:00

I find shopping to be a lot of fun, except of course when I have to find something with only short notice and it becomes a chore. Just browsing, however, looking for that "special something" is relaxing and even rewarding in some cases. I was visiting one of my favorite websites (listed on this page), the Kindred Spirits Animal Sanctuary, when I noticed something new that appealed to both the animal lover and the shopper in me. An organization called Twin Willows Ranch has decided to create a number of one-of-a-kind quilts and donate the proceeds to some animal care groups in New Mexico. The quilts are beautiful and have been crafted from vintage fabrics. Some are completely stitched by hand. Roberta Vigil and Deborah Archuleta are the artists behind these beautiful quilts. http://twinwillowsranch.com/twquilts.htm.

If you are ever looking for a unique gift, be sure and go on-line shopping at the animal rescue website, or any of their sister sites that also support important charities. I noticed that the animal rescue site currently has a number of unique yard and garden items available such as yard flags, indoor and outdoor mats, and plant stakes, and many are on sale. Also available are apparel, jewelry, and pet items. When you click on an item for more information you are also told how many bowls of food or vaccinations are made possible by your purchase. Many of the items also benefit craftsmen in third world countries who depend upon the sale of their goods for their livelihood. Shipping and handling is reasonable, too.

Why just shop when you can shop and help others at the same time? Be sure to take a look when you can.

Chives

2009-03-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

Even though there is a chance of snow tomorrow, it has been looking and feeling like spring for the past several days. Daffodils are blooming, and the daylilies and iris are really growing. The rhubarb is starting to peek through the ground and of course the weeds are already greening up and growing!

This past week I discovered a nice stand of French tarragon that survived winter in my back door herb bed, and was happy to see that the chives are starting to emerge in the large herb garden adjacent to the vegetable garden. They still have some growing to do before I will start to harvest the green spears, but it won't be long. Right now they are kind of curly and close to the ground, but soon they'll stand upright and be about 11 or 12" tall. This dependable herb is very easy to grow. You can start chives from seeds or buy a small plant at the nursery. Chives are a perennial and also self seed, so your harvest will grow each year without much effort. Use chives to add a delicious touch to many different dishes. A member of the allium family, chives have a mild onion flavor. Most people are familiar with sour cream and chives on baked potatoes, but chives can be used to give a tasty flavor to many other dishes such as vegetables, salads, soups. I really like them on cooked carrots. Stir a tablespoon or two of chopped chives into a softened stick of butter and you have a quick, tasty, and attractive herb butter. Stir in a clove of minced garlic and spread on a split loaf of French bread for a most excellent garlic bread.

I am especially anxious to harvest some of the clover-like purple chive blossoms that will appear later in the spring. Chive blossoms are delicious sprinkled in salads, but I like to use them to make herbal vinegar. I use a regular mason jar and fill it at least 1/3 full with chive blossoms. Next I pour in white vinegar, cover the jar with some plastic wrap, and set it in the windowsill to be warmed by the sun. Within a few hours the vinegar starts to turn a beautiful rosy color and the color intensifies as the vinegar steeps in the sun. After 7-10 days, and the blossoms have faded, I strain the vinegar through a coffee filter into clean, sterilized bottles. You can buy decorative bottles in any kitchen store, or look for them at secondhand shops. I have even found some pretty bottles at the recycle center. Wash the bottles thoroughly, rinse, and sterilize by pouring in boiling water. Let the bottles drip dry. Make sure the bottles are completely dry before using a funnel to fill the decorative bottles with vinegar because any water will cause the vinegar to cloud. If you like, you can add a sprig or two of herbs for decoration, but chive vinegar is so pretty I usually don't bother. Use the stopper that came with your bottle, or plug the bottle with a cork. Don't use a metal lid because these will corrode. Substitute chive vinegar for plain vinegar in salad dressings, sprinkle a bit on green beans, or add a tablespoon or so to cooked greens such as spinach, chard, or beet or turnip greens. Delicious!

Something to Look Forward To

2009-03-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

My husband and I recently enjoyed two really special weekends. The first was a two night get away at a quaint country inn in the southern part of the state. The very next weekend we had an awesome time at an Eagle's concert in Indianapolis. Needless to say, we looked forward to both of these events for several weeks. It got us to reflecting on what a wonderful thing it is to have something special to look forward to. Of course, most of us look forward to things all the time without giving it much thought. All winter long I look forward to spring. During the workday I look forward to going home, and all week I look forward to the weekend. We look forward to seeing our daughters, and we look forward to holidays. All of these things help us stay optimistic and get us through the day. My girlfriends and I have often talked about how important it is to have gal pal events to look forward to. Whether as simple as a girl's night out dinner, or something more elaborate like a road trip to a fall festival, we really look forward to these events. So why not take this concept a step further? Why not make it a point to always have something special to anticipate? I suppose we have just been so caught up by our responsibilities that we've simply neglected to take the time to plan for fun. In fact, I have remarked more than once that it seems like we've forgotten HOW to have fun. When our girls were in school a lot of our "fun" was planned for us with sporting events, 4-H, county fair projects, and choir and band concerts. Now it is up to us. I've decided to take some advice I've heard on TV and "Just do it." If we don't take charge of putting fun in our lives, who will? I am going to set some time aside this weekend and plan some road trips and weekend jaunts for the upcoming weeks. After all, planning is half the fun, and I'm having fun already, just thinking about it.

Getting Serious about Gardening

2009-03-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

It is March 22nd and the weather this weekend has been fabulous. I am trying hard to remind myself that we could still get snow, but it feels like spring. I have been getting serious about taking care of some gardening projects, despite the fact I've been struggling with fatigue and some days have almost zero energy. Fortunately, I am finding that getting outside in the warm, fresh air, or even doing inside gardening, such as starting seeds, gives me a real boost. I now have basil and cabbage seeds up and in the basement under the grow lights. Tomatoes have been started in peat pots and are awaiting germination on the heat mat. It is so hard to wait for those first sprouts! Outside, I have planted a few peas 'Tall Telephone' with a ring of pink radishes further out around the pea trellis. I quickly installed some plastic poultry fencing around the planting to keep nibbling rabbits away.

There was a spot in the garden between two raised beds where I had unfortunately allowed the lawn to move in as I lacked the energy to keep up such a large garden. But now that I have extra garden boxes to fit in the garden and once again need the space, we decided to burn off the grass and weeds and lay down mulch. I think I'll use part of this area to plant some of the larger tomatoes that will go in the ground instead of in a garden box. Since they'll be growing at the edge of the garden I'll still be able to pick the ripe fruit even if the garden is too wet to walk through. My last project of the day was to rake out and weed the raised bed where I'll plant the lettuce seed. I must have hauled 4 or 5 cart loads of dried weeds, sticks, and old plant material I didn't get cleaned out of the garden last fall, into the wooded area where I dump organic waste. The old brush acts as a mulch and helps keep down the invasive garlic mustard that is trying to take hold. I still have two additional raised beds to clean out, but that won't take very long. I'll use one for onions and cilantro. I'm not sure what will go in the other one. Maybe I'll use it for parsley and basil.

Other signs of spring I spotted were the daylilies and irises really starting to show, some grape hyacinths in bloom, the French Sorrel peaking up through the mulch, and some of the lilacs starting to bud. The rhubarb is even starting to come up, even though it doesn't look like much yet! This was a perfect weekend to get serious about gardening. It was a real pleasure working outside in mild temperatures under a warm sun without high humidity or insects buzzing about. If I could, I'd put in an order for several more weekends just like this one.

The Mist

2009-03-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't resist posting these pictures I snapped of fog rolling in across the fields. It looks like something out of a Steven King novel. Unfortunately, it is still sprinkling, and a bit too chilly to stay out snapping photos for very long.

We couldn't figure out why the moon is showing in the photo above, but not in the one below which was taken just seconds later. Then we realized the "moon" is actually a drop of water. Cool!

A few more signs

2009-03-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

What else is there to write about today but the signs of spring? There have been so many signs lately, mostly showing up all at once. The most obvious at the moment is the rain. It is raining now, as it has most of the day, and most of the weekend. In fact, it has rained so much that we once again have lakefront property. Well, the lake is actually a flooded cornfield, but it looks pretty, and the migratory birds think of it as a lake, so for a few days we have a lake. Here is the view from our front porch today.

I was also happy to see the first crocus blooming by our back door. They are a cheery yellow--my favorite. The daffodils are starting to swell and forms buds, and the iris are even starting to send up their pointy leaves. Oh, I love, love, love this time of year.

The only seeds I have started so far are Sweet Basil. The seeds germinated quickly thanks to the heated germination mat I use. The tiny plants are now growing under lights on the plant stand. One more week and I'll start the tomato seeds. Most of my other seeds can be planted directly outside.

I'll leave you today with one more picture of the floodwaters. This is a farm field adjacent to the river. Well, today it is the river. I have dozens of pictures of flooded fields and roads from past seasons. There is something fascinating about water, especially when it takes hold where we feel it doesn't belong. However, I have been told that much of Indiana used to be swamp and wetlands, so perhaps we are being reminded of what our land would like to be, and may be again one day.

A few signs of spring

2009-02-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

Despite a brief, but nasty snow storm that complicated our travel plans on Saturday, this has not been a bad weekend. Today the sun is shining brightly, and despite the cold, some signs that spring is coming are making themselves known.

Earlier this week while walking Toby, three bluebirds flew out of our only surviving bluebird box. What an incentive to get the other ones repaired and put back up! I love bluebirds. The flash of blue you see when they fly by is unlike any other, and their song is so, so sweet.

Even more amazing is what we saw this morning while crossing the bridge over the Wabash river near our home. It was a pair of bald eagles! The large size of the birds and the male's white head made identifying the eagles unmistakable. We know there are nests in the area, and only a couple of weeks ago a friend of mine saw an eagle flying over the river about 8 miles from here. How exciting to know that some of these majestic birds have made this part of Indiana their home!

I also spied some daffodils starting to come up in front of the house. So far there are only a few green leaves, but it won't be long before there will be crocus blooming and the daffodils will follow closely behind.

These signs of spring help a lot to keep me going through the dreary winter I dread every year. My seeds arrived on Friday from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, and I finished off my wish list at Menard's today. I picked up a pack of Trinity Sweet Corn which grows to only 5' tall and will hopefully grow in the garden boxes. I also picked up a pack of Sweet Basil and some extra seed starting supplies. In a couple of weeks I'll get busy sowing seeds to start under the plant lights, and then it will really feel like the end of winter. I prefer these signs of spring to a groundhog's shadow any day!

2009-02-08T16:27:00.001-08:00

What a beautiful weekend it has been. I sure hate to see it end. We have enjoyed temperatures in the 40-s and 50's and ample sunshine--pretty nice for Indiana in February. Of course the nice weather made me think about gardening and how it really is time to finish up my seed ordering. Soon it will be time to get some of the plants started under lights. I decided to place my next order from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. This will be my first order from this company that specializes in rare and heirloom seeds. Their catalog is fascinating to read. They have a large variety of seeds of every category. Each offering includes a good description of the plant's traits, growing habits, and taste, and a brief history of its origins. Reading the descriptions makes you want to grow nearly everything they offer. I primarily was shopping for heirloom tomatoes, and I finally settled on three varieties. First is Dutchman which is a very old pink skinned tomato that is said to produce fruit up to 3 lbs or more and to be very sweet. Next I chose Rose which is also an old variety that produces large fruit. The catalog claims that many prefer its flavor over Brandywine, which is arguably one of the most favored of all tomato varieties. Finally, I ordered Plum Lemon. This seed originally came from Moscow and the plant produces 3" fruits that look amazingly like lemons but are quite sweet. There were dozens more I would have liked to ordered to try out, but I'm trying very hard not to get as carried away as I have in the past, preferring to strive for quality over quantity. Next on the list were melons. I chose Minnesota Midget and Thai Golden Round. Both are small varieties I have never tried. Finally, I selected Detroit Dark Red beets, Lungo Bianco Zucchini, and Pink Beauty radishes. If you are interested in old varieties or simply unique varieties of seed, you really need to check out Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds of Mansfield, Missouri. I ordered on-line. Their web address is www.rareseeds.com and their web site is quite easy to navigate. Another selling point of this company is that shipping is only $3.00, no matter how many seeds you order.

On to another subject, I am happy to report that our kitten's check-up at the vet went very well. He tested negative for feline leukemia (hurrah!) and by all accounts is a healthy little fellow about 3-4 months old. He grows friendlier every day and is starting to feel like a member of our family. I really didn't plan on getting another cat, but it always happens that cats adopt people, not the other way around. I think kitty is here to stay. Even our dog, Toby, and the other two cats seem to have accepted him as a member of the family. Hopefully soon we will have settled upon a suitable name for him!

Tracks in the Snow

2009-02-05T16:45:00.000-08:00

While walking Toby yesterday, I noticed a lot of interesting animal and bird tracks in the snow. Some were so intricate they were almost like works of art. Today I rushed home after work so I could get some photos while the light was still good. Here is a sample of some of the photos. It fascinates me to see the path of the birds, rabbits, and other critters exploring our yard. I hope you will enjoy taking a look at them, too.

In case you've been wondering how the kitten has been doing, here's proof a picture is worth a thousand words. He still doesn't have a name, but you can tell he is feeling right at home.

Snatch and Grab

2009-01-31T15:35:00.000-08:00

Early this Saturday morning with the temperature at exactly 0 degrees, we decided it was time to take drastic action to rescue the kitty. Nick attempted to coax the kitten to the door, but once again it would come close then run away. Later this morning, at the exact same moment, it occurred to both Nick and me that perhaps we could open the living room window while kitty was on the ledge and looking in and pull him in to the house. The funny thing is, I was in the kitchen suggesting this while Nick was in the living room actually implementing the plan (we often have the same thought at the same time--scary). Nick unlatched and opened the window and grabbed the kitten before it realized what was happening. I heard Nick calling "come here, come here" and I came running as fast as I could which wasn't very fast since I was wearing footies which don't have a lot of traction on a slippery kitchen floor. He had kitty, who was protesting rather loudly, in hand and our other two cats circling around trying to see what they could do to help. You know, chaos. I happily took kitty from Nick and held him close and within a minute kitty was purring and acting quite pleased with himself for allowing us to catch him. (Yes, we have confirmed the cat is a boy.) At first the cat would cry every few seconds and our cat Gracie Jane would answer. So I sat down on the steps to allow them a look at each other and Gracie licked the kitten on the head. It was so sweet and the gesture seemed to make our little stray feel safe and welcome.

After only a few hours inside it is hard to believe this is the same kitten that hid from us under the shrubs for days. He is one of the most cuddly and affectionate kittens I have ever met. The girls both came over today and did their part to help spoil the new baby.

Until we can get him checked out by a vet we are keeping him away from Gracie Jane and Ralph, but we will still give him a lot of one-on-one time. Enjoy these pictures of the new baby. If we can find him a good home that would be great, but keeping him is sounding more and more like a good idea, too. I guess we have to get serious about giving him a name because it doesn't seem right to keep calling him shrub kitty! We are so glad the snatch and grab technique worked and the kitten is safe and warm at last.

Slow Progress

2009-01-30T14:16:00.001-08:00

There hasn't been much progress in the weather or with pet rescuing around here. It's still cold and the little stray kitten is still living under the shrubs. We thought we might coax him (or her) in last night. Kitty seems to want to trust us, and comes close, but runs off at the last minute.

We've noticed the kitten has the cutest little black mask on its face. We never really intended to keep the cat, assuming we can ever catch it. We just want to keep it from freezing and find it a good home. But I don't think it's a good sign when potential pet names start popping in to your head...Bandit, perhaps? Have we already begun to psychologically see this kitten as our own? Could it be that this kitten is actually using the old hard-to-get ploy to make us want him all the more? I have to admit, I think it's working.

Our little guest spends a lot of time peering in the living room window from outside--sizing us up I guess. You would think by now it would realize this is a pretty nice place for a cat. Sometimes our cat Gracie Jane peers back out from the inside, and the little stray rubs up against the glass, wanting to make friends. We've even used Gracie to try and coax the kitten inside. We'll hold her at the front door and little kitty does come very close. But soon Gracie gets a chill and squirms away into the warmth of the house, and we are back to the drawing board.

The view from our porch today is shown below. See why we wish the kitten would come in?! It isn't a very good time to be a kitten who lives in the shrubs.

The Kitten in the Shrubs

2009-01-29T09:14:00.001-08:00

I'm at work right now, sitting at my desk eating lunch, but my mind is at home. Living under the bushes in front of our porch is a little black and white kitten who seemingly appeared from nowhere earlier this week. Every evening, he cries and cries, and jumps up to look through our living room window to see what the inside kitties are doing. He seems to find some comfort knowing there are other cats around. We have been leaving food and water for him, but so far he is too distrusting and fearful to let us get very close. I suspect he has every right not to trust humans, but it seems some part of him knows the people who live in our house aren't all bad.

I have fashioned him (her?) a make-shift house from an empty cat litter bucket lined with an old blanket. At least this gives him a waterproof shelter under the shrubs. What I really want to do is scoop him up and bring him inside. Hopefully a few more evenings of cat food and sweet talk will win him over.

I remember several years ago at our first home when a beautiful Siamese cat set up housekeeping under our shed. She would venture out at night and cry outside our window, but like this kitten, run off whenever we invited her inside. Our oldest daughter, who was about 9 or 10 at the time, spent a great deal of her free time talking gently to the cat as it hid under the shed. One day she triumphantly came to the back door with her new friend in her arms. That was Jheri, and she was a lovely member of our family for several months. Unfortunately, we soon learned that Jheri had feline leukemia, and wondered if this was why her original family abandoned her. We loved Jheri anyway, and are happy she chose to live her final months with us.

With winter showing his most wicked side to us these days, I can't help but worry about all the homeless pets left to fend for themselves, and those pets left outside and largely ignored by their owners. I may not be able to save them all, but I'm sure going to try and help the little kitten living under our shrubs.

Climbing out of the Deep Freeze

2009-01-19T16:01:00.000-08:00

At long last, we are experiencing "normal" winter weather with temperature in the teens instead of in the negative teens and twenties as it was last week. Of course other areas of the country in the north had it even worse than we did, which I can barely imagine. Everything is so complicated when the temperature drops so low and the wind picks up. Cars don't start, schools are delayed and activities cancelled, and outside pets and livestock need extra care. I am happy to say we survived the deep freeze pretty well except for some not entirely unexpected car problems.

To help me focus more on the upcoming spring and less on the present cold weather, another one of my favorite garden catalogs arrived, Johnny's Selected Seeds (johnnyseeds.com). Johnny's caters to the market gardener, but welcomes home gardeners as well. One of the best things about the Johnny's catalog is the detailed growing information they provide for everything they sell. Information on plant culture, diseases, insect pests, ripeness and storage are included, eliminating a lot of the guess work when trying something new in the garden. Johnny's also has a good selection of the latest hybrid varieties as well as open pollinated and organic seeds. If you are looking for it, they probably have it. I also enjoy their selection of garden tools and supplies. Theirs is truly a catalog that you can sit and read cover to cover.

My seed order from Pinetree Seeds also arrived in the mail this past week. All of the seeds in this order will be direct seeded, but receiving them did get me to thinking about starting some seeds inside in a few more weeks. I was a little disappointed to see that my order Indy Gold beans was substituted with a different variety, Gold Crop, but I am anxious to try them all the same.

Thank goodness for these little reminders of spring that keep me going as we climb out of this deep freeze and think ahead to greener and warmer days.

Putting the Chickens to Bed

2009-01-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

It is hovering near the freezing mark tonight and there is a fine mist of precipitation in the air. We'll have to put the chickens to bed tonight. Our family has always been surprised at what hardy creatures chickens are. They look small and fragile, but they live outside all year round, tolerating Indiana's temperature extremes very well. This time of year, however, we feel our birds need a bit of extra help. Most nights, all of the hens will bed down in one of their houses for the night. Batosi, our lone rooster, a cute little Japanese bantam, is not always so practical. On really cold nights when Nick goes out to check on the chickens, Batosi can generally be found roosting on top of one of the houses. He is usually alone. Now, you might think that this isn't a problem because he would have sense enough to go inside if he were truly cold. You would think so, wouldn't you? But the truth of the matter is, that bird will stay outside even when when it is so cold that there is frost on his back! Chickens are susceptible to frostbite on their feet and wattles without enough winter protection, so we worry. We don't know if Batosi is committed to staying outside to guard the hens, or if he simply prefers some solitude over being hen-pecked in the coop, but night after night Nick has to put him to bed.

This is a task that Nick has taken on himself. It's a good thing he is willing to do this, because I probably would not. First of all, I am not fond of venturing outside when it is cold and dark (especially disliking the cold part), and number 2, Nick simply cares more about the chickens and their welfare than I do. I like them well enough, but I focus my nurturing on our dog and cats and some nights there just isn't a lot of nurturing left over for the chickens.

It is kind of ironic that it is Batosi who needs and gets this extra attention. We weren't supposed to have him at all. Since it isn't necessary to have a rooster unless you want chicks, we did not plan to keep any roosters. We always requested pullets (young hens) instead of a "straight run" which means you get what you get. But sexing chicks is tricky business, and somehow Batosi (who after all was only the size of an Easter peep when we got him) slipped through. A lot of people who keep poultry turn their young roosters into dinner, but we have never eaten any of our birds. Besides, Batosi is a very handsome and showy bird who has always been quite friendly. He is not at all mean as some roosters become. He also pretty much leaves our hens alone, and so we are happy to keep him around. Maybe this is why Batosi feels it is his duty to stay out in the elements and watch over the rest of the flock. And maybe this is why we think he is worth tucking in at night.

Best Wishes for 2009

2009-01-01T16:43:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I hope the holidays were wonderful for all, and that good things will come to you in 2009. This new year, I am facing the upcoming months with optimism and hope. Rather than focusing on a new year's resolution for myself, I am going to simply focus on doing my best each day.

Winter can be a time of optimism for gardeners; at least it is for me. By now I have pretty much dismissed my gardening failures from last summer and I'm busy making plans for the next season. In fact, today I placed my first seed order on-line from Pinetree Seeds, one of my favorite companies (http://www.superseeds.com/). I like Pinetree Seeds because they sell smaller quantities of seeds at reasonable prices. Why pay for more than you need? I've always received my orders from Pinetree very quickly and without any errors or problems. So far, I've ordered three types of bush beans--Dragon Langerie, which I've grown before and really liked, Masai, and Indy Gold. Masai is said to do well in containers. I also ordered Gonzales mini cabbage which produces softball sized heads, Tall Telephone peas which I will trellis, French Golden Radish, Gold Rush Zucchini, and Little Finger Carrot. I am also working on my wish list from Johnny's Selected Seeds and The Cook's Garden seeds, two more of my favorite catalogs. In future blogs I will share with you my choices of seeds from these catalogs, and the reasons I like to order from these companies. I will also share my reviews of some lesser-known Internet based companies that do not produce a printed catalog. As always, I welcome comments from you on favorite sources of garden seed. Until then, happy arm chair gardening and Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve!

2008-12-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Here in central Indiana we've had a lot of drama in the weather department. It has been cold, rainy, icy, and snowy, all within a week. Just when a white Christmas looked like a sure thing, the rain moved in and washed it all away, replacing the snow with slush and ice. Last night, the parking lots in town more resembled skating rinks than places to park your car. But now, the errands are done, and we are all settled in at home and ready to celebrate Christmas. Here's hoping that you and yours have a wonderful holiday season full of love and promise for the new year!

A Fun Day Downtown

2008-12-07T07:51:00.000-08:00

It was really cold when we got up this morning--only 7 degrees outside. Thankfully it was a bit warmer yesterday when my friends Diane and Lee and I spent the better part of the day enjoying the "Dickens of a Christmas" event going on downtown. We started the day off with a hot drink and conversation at a coffee house on the courthouse square. We enjoyed relaxing in the upstairs loft, chatting and watching the snow fall, so much that we put off shopping for about an hour. Fortified by our fancy coffees, we finally headed off down Main Street to explore what the local merchants had to offer for the holidays. Despite the snow, it was a lot of fun. Along the way there were carolers, brass bands, and even a hammered dulcimer player sitting in a store window with speakers outside so we could enjoy her quaint music from the sidewalk.

We were supposed to be Christmas shopping, I suppose, but my best find of the day was something I bought knowing I would keep it for myself. I have a weakness for vintage kitchen items, so when I found this unique beauty in one of the antique shops I knew immediately it was meant to be mine. I am a terrible bargainer. My fear of rejection, I suppose, usually keeps me from haggling for the best price. Today, however, I made an offer to the shopkeeper explaining that I don't usually try to bargain, but that I am supposed to be Christmas shopping for others this time of year, and was on a budget, but really wanted this item for myself. Much to my surprise and delight she accepted! What I purchased was a vintage aluminum tea kettle. Actually, it is an "Excel Deluxe Whistling T-Ket-L (trademark)", apparently made before 1949, with a patent number and "Made in Muncie, Indiana" stamped on the bottom. It is in excellent shape. On the front at the base of the handle is a unique feature. It is a little gauge showing how much water is in the pot. Also, I read that the design of the kettle allows it to emit quite a loud whistle when the water has come to a boil. I'm going to have to check that out for myself!

A bit of research on the Internet told me that the T-Ket-L was designed by a man named Jack Reichart who had an appliance manufacturing business until about 1949. In that year a polio epidemic hit the area and the local hospital asked for his help in making iron lungs. It seems the hospital had only one iron lung, and about 30 polio patients. Mr. Reichart did his homework, and with the help of local people who donated materials, built his first iron lung in only about one day. I bought the tea kettle for its appealing and unique design, but knowing the story of the man behind it, and the fact it was manufactured in my home state of Indiana, makes it all the more special to me.

Here is the view from my front porch today. The sun is bright today, but it is still only 17 degrees. I think this will be a good day to stay inside and enjoy some hot tea. Hmmm, sounds like a good opportunity to try out the new T-Ket-L.

First Snow

2008-11-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

The view from our front porch is quite a bit different today thanks to the first snow of the season. It is a heavy, wet snow, not much good for building snow forts or sledding, but it is kind of pretty. With Thanksgiving behind us, snow on the ground, and Christmas shopping in progress, it really feels like winter.

I got the garden boxes covered with a tarp just in time. I'm glad I took the time to do this because some of the garden boxes had blocks of ice in their water reservoirs. Even though I haven't put water in the boxes for quite some time, apparently we've had enough rain to fill some of them. I drained them the best I could and they should be OK if I can keep any more water from getting in. I also wrapped the three new blueberry bushes with burlap to protect them from deer and rabbits. The weather earlier in this Thanksgiving holiday was so nice (in the 40s) that I was able to get these chores done as well as trim the hedges in front of the porch. What a difference a day makes.

The first seed catalog arrived before Thanksgiving this year. I think this has to be a new record! The honor goes to Pinetree Garden seeds, one of my favorite suppliers. I have to admit that I've already started browsing the catalog and making a wish list. They have seeds for yellow radishes that I would like to try, and Midget sweet corn that grows only about 4' tall. I think this variety of sweet corn might actually grow well in the garden boxes and I think I'll give it a try next summer. I love browsing seed catalogs and look forward to more arriving soon. Browsing catalogs is step 1 in the gardening process, and probably the easiest step as well. Soon enough the real work will begin again, so enjoy armchair gardening while you can.

It's November

2008-11-12T17:48:00.000-08:00

Cold, dreary, rainy...yup, it's November in Indiana. This is the kind of weather that makes me want to come straight home from work, have some hot cocoa, and simply nest for the rest of the evening. Give me a throw, a cat on my lap and the dog at my feet, add a good book to read, and I'm all set.

My garden chores are finished for the year with two exceptions. The garden boxes have all been cleaned out, but I still need to move the boxes closer together and cover them with a tarp. The company says the boxes can be left out in the winter weather, but I don't think it can be good for them to become saturated and then freeze. I am hoping the tarp will at least keep the boxes from filling with rain or snow and protect them from expanding and cracking.

My final task will be to dig up the English ivy plant that grew in an outside planter box all summer. The annuals in the pot have all succumbed to the cold weather, but the ivy is still pretty and green. My plan is to pot it up and have it as a houseplant for the winter. The whole pot is sitting in the garage for now. Hopefully I won't forget to pot up the ivy this weekend. Once this is taken care of, my physical gardening work is done and I will officially become an armchair gardener for the winter. I'll be content to read from my library of gardening books and magazines, sketch out a few plans, and think about what I'd like to try new next year. To everything there is a season, and I must admit I'm ready to take a break from gardening. I know that once the seed catalogs arrive, and then spring, I'll be ready to get my hands dirty and start the cycle all over again. Not today, however. It's November.

Exercising our Right to a Day Off

2008-11-04T16:59:00.001-08:00

Election Day! I hope you took time to vote. Because election days are a holiday in Nick's office, I followed suit by taking a vacation day. We took care of voting early last week so the day was ours, and what a beautiful day it was. We were treated to sunshine and temperatures in the low 70s--pretty nice for November in Indiana. We felt like it was a day for fun instead of a home improvement project, and quickly decided to go to Turkey Run State Park to enjoy some hiking and the spectacular fall foliage. Even though Turkey Run is only about an hour's drive from our house, it has been a few years since we visited. We need to make a point to go there more often as it is such a lovely place. We hiked Trail 1 which is listed on the trail map as moderate/rugged and 3 miles long. It was the perfect choice. Trail 1 follows the Sugar Creek much of the way, and leads to the Narrows covered bridge. The Narrows bridge was built in 1882 and is no longer open to traffic but you can walk across. It is said to be the most photographed covered bridge in Indiana. The Narrows bridge was about the halfway point of the trail which then turned away from the creek and meandered through the hardwood forest. We really enjoyed the peace and quiet. We didn't see much wildlife beyond some squirrels and a pileated woodpecker, but we could see where beaver had been at work and suspected some deer probably stood quietly still to look at us.

On the way to the park we took a quick side trip to visit and photograph the Cox Ford covered bridge. I really enjoyed the scenery on the drive down the narrow country road to this bridge. This bridge was built in 1913 by the same builder as the Narrows bridge, J.A. Britton, and actually looks pretty similar to the Narrows. You can still drive across the Cox Ford bridge, however. On the way home we stopped at the Rob Roy bridge which is also still open to traffic. It is a humble little bridge, not as showy as the Narrows or the Cox Ford, but still quite delightful for being just what it is.

All in all, it was the perfect way to spend a day off. It was the kind of day that makes the prospect of spending the next one back in the office a little depressing. Oh well. We are already making plans for our next trip to Turkey Run. We may even make a weekend of it next time. Unfortunately, pets are not allowed at the Turkey Run Inn. Too bad, because Toby enjoyed the day at the park as much as we did. He is sound asleep now, lying on the floor behind me as I type, but I swear there is the hint of a smile on his face. We are all going to sleep well tonight!

I think that I shall never see. . .

2008-10-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

Our trees have started dress in their fall colors and look a little bit different every day. One of my favorites right now is our Scarlet Oak. One reason it is a favorite is that we planted this tree about 12 years ago and it has really grown and become quite handsome. It is at its prettiest right now. Before long the leaves will turn a dull, cripsy, brown, but I like how oak trees hold on to their leaves through most of the winter. The oak looked especially pretty as I snapped this photo with the sun shining on it and making the leaves almost appear to glow.

Another favorite is this Sweet Gum which has turned a brilliant shade of red. The maple tree on the left has not yet begun to change colors, but the little crabapple in front has already lost all of its leaves and is sporting only tiny red apples.

As the tree lose their leaves, bird nests, once so cleverly hidden, begin to reveal themselves. This nest must have been built by a mourning dove because it is little more than a pile of sticks. It is a miracle these nests are adequate enough to hold in the little eggs, let alone the baby birds, yet somehow they seem to manage to do both. Mourning doves are certainly not the Einsteins of the bird world, but the sound of their soulful coos are a sound of summer I never want to be without.

The final picture is the view off of our front porch. This scene will change dramatically over the next several weeks. Once the trees have all lost their leaves we will once again have a view of the river. As the trees have grown over the years our front porch view has changed quite a bit. Sometimes we miss having the more open view, but we love the trees and wouldn't wish them away for anything.

Fall Festivities

2008-10-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

Now that gardening season is pretty much over, there is more time to enjoy other weekend activities. This time of year there are many fall festivals to check out. One I have not missed for many years is the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival. Although the covered bridges are a draw, the festival is mostly about shopping. The festival originated as a way to showcase local crafts and handmade goods but has gone on to include flea market type booths as well. I always start my CBF day in Rockville which is the hub of the festival. I love circling the old courthouse, checking out the new and returning vendors. This year I finally purchased some handmade wooden jar lids I have looked at many times over the years. The ones I chose are made of a beautiful Burr Oak. They encase a standard canning jar lid and ring so that you can store pasta, beans, rice, or what have you in a canning jar that becomes a work of art with the addition of the elegant lid. Another stop in Rockville is always the Senior Citizen's Center. A lot of people bypass the Center, which is about a block away from most of the other vendors. The people at the Center really appreciate their visitors and are eager to help. I usually buy a tea towel that has had a top sewn on to it so that you can hang it from your oven door. This year I purchased one from a lady who was only days away from her 95th birthday! I also found pair of earrings I had to have that were handcrafted from a lady that I wasn't quite sure really belonged at a Senior Citizen's Center. However, I think that this is a case of "seniors" looking younger to me every year! My daughter has made a tradition of picking up a jar of pickled okra here as well, and I stocked up on persimmon pulp. There are not many places around where you can pick up all of these items in one stop.

After Rockville, we take a short, scenic drive to Bridgeton. Bridgeton is the home of my favorite covered bridge. Actually, the original bridge was tragically destroyed by an arsonist a few short years ago. However, the bridge was rebuilt using the original plans and is just as lovely as the original, minus the feel of history that you just can't replace. The bridge sits near a stately grist mill which has been continually operating longer than any other mill east of the Mississippi River. In Bridgeton there are miles and miles of booths that are so much fun to explore. There are tents of antiques, yard art, jewelry, purses, artwork, fragrances, kitchen gadgets, and food galore. This year, we discovered another feature of the festival we hadn't really noticed before. Dogs! We saw dogs on leashes, dogs in strollers, dogs in front packs, dogs in specially made backpacks, and dogs with backpacks. We saw dogs of every size, shape, and color. Not only were people out enjoying the beautiful fall weather, hundreds of their best friends were along for the ride. I don't know if my dog Toby would enjoy the crowds and the noise, but the dogs we saw this day seemed to be having a doggone good time, so who knows?

It is nice to have a bit less work to do in the yard and more time to get out and enjoy the cooler weather and beautiful fall foliage. I hope we will be able to take in a few more festivals before it is too cold and all thoughts turn to Christmas shopping. If you would like to know more about the Covered Bridge Festival and the area's many covered bridges, here is a good website with a lot of pictures you will want to visit: http://www.parkecounty.com/gallery/

You don't see this everyday!

2008-10-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

Part of the fun of traveling is seeing things you don't generally see at home. There were a lot of things I saw in Colorado that you don't generally see in Indiana. Here are a few more pictures I hope you will enjoy. The first is a poster that was nailed to a telephone pole, much as someone would post a lost dog poster. But beware! This is no lost dog the reader is being asked to be on the lookout for. Even so, some local resident found a way to inject some humor into the situation by adding a personal note to the poster. If you can't read the note, click on the picture to enlarge it.

Another thing you don't typically see in Indiana is a spectacular view from a shopping center parking lot, such as this view that was found in the shopping center across the street from my Colorado Springs hotel. The view from most shopping centers in Indiana usually involves asphalt. I like how the developer left this scenic area open for all to enjoy rather than extending the shops to this corner. Do you see the snow on top of Pikes Peak to the left? I'm happy to say we don't usually see snow in October in my hometown!

This was also the first time I saw someone rock climbing in person. This was at Garden of the Gods. To me, it just didn't seem possible that someone could actually make it to the top. Then again, I didn't stick around long enough to see if he actually made it, but I hope for his sake this climber was successful. I am also posting a picture of a balancing rock at Garden of the Gods. This park is simply a must-see for anyone visiting the Colorado Springs area. Unless you live in Colorado Springs, you just don't see stuff like this every day!

Home from Colorado

2008-10-15T17:22:00.001-07:00

Like most things you spend a lot of time looking forward to, my trip to Colorado Springs was here and gone before I knew it. It was a great trip. It was a lot of fun to visit with my friend Robin, go sightseeing, and to do a fair amount of shopping. My favorite stop was probably Manitou Springs, shown in the photo below. Manitou Springs is a quaint little town known for its historic mineral springs and funky shops at the base of Pike's Peak. Just walking along the sidewalk was a treat, as well as taking in the vistas and sampling some of the famous waters (which I did not think tasted very good). We also visited a Victorian home and museum that was built between 1895 and 1897, Miramont Castle. Miramont means "look at the mountain" and the home was aptly named as it faces Red Mountain. The home has seen better days and is in need of further restoration, but is nonetheless a treasure that was saved from demolition in the 1970s by the people of the area who knew it was a treasure worth preserving.

It is always good to get away and do something different, and of course it is always even better to get back home again. It was chilly while I was in Colorado and I'm glad Robin told me to bring my winter coat. I certainly needed it! Meanwhile, back home in Indiana, it was sunny and a pleasant 80 degrees. It seems I brought the Colorado weather back with me because since I've been home it has been cooler, and this evening it is raining.

Here are a few more pictures from my trip. The first two are from Garden of the Gods, a beautiful and fascinating place. The third photo is from the Cave of the Winds park. I wish there was a way to also capture the wonderful evergreen aroma that permeated the cool, crisp air that day. The last photo is not very clear, but is the view from my hotel window one evening as the fog dramatically rolled in and hovered about the mountains. With nearly every picture I took I would remark that I knew the photos would not do the view justice, but I had to take it anyway. I spent a lot of time just trying to soak up the view and memorize the grandeur of the mountains. The photographs help you to remember what you saw, but cannot begin to capture the actual sights. The Colorado Springs area is very beautiful, and I am so happy I got to spend a few days there.

Weekend Projects

2008-09-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed staying home this weekend and getting many of my end of the season gardening projects taken care of. The blueberry bushes have been planted, and I think they will do well in their permanent home. Most of the garden boxes have been cleaned out. I have left only one cherry tomato plant that is still going strong, plus a banana pepper plant and the parsley. I am going to try to re-pot one of the parsley plants into something smaller and bring it inside for the winter. I also did a lot of clean up work in the herb garden and it looks much nicer. The unused part of the vegetable garden had gotten very weedy, and while it still needs more work, it looks much better as well. I want to get it ready for next spring because this is where I will place the new garden boxes.

I also took some time yesterday to pick some more apples off our old tree. We bought one of those apple pickers that is basically a basket with "fingers" on it atop a tall pole. For some reason, the biggest and nicest looking apples are growing at the very top of the tree. It didn't take long to pick enough for another delicious pie. One funny thing happened while I was picking apples. Some of the apples are not all that nice, and when I would pick one I didn't want to keep, I would toss it into the field for some critter to enjoy. One apple I tossed didn't go into the field, but somehow got impaled on a neighboring tree. This was one of those things that you could never do if you were trying. It looks so funny--like an apple tree with one lone piece of fruit on it. I just had to take a picture!

While I was outside with the camera, I snapped a few other pictures I hope you will enjoy. The first is the Showy Sedum which has turned to such a pretty rosey color for fall. Next is my buddy, Toby, who kept me company as I walked around the yard snapping pictures. Finally, I just had to take a picture of these Impatiens which have been so pretty in the front flower bed this year.

If it weren't for the last minute...

2008-09-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

...nothing would ever get done. How true is that? Next week we'll turn the calendar over to October, and gosh, it has become impossible to deny that summer is over. I have so much yet to get done! Fortunately, I have most of the upcoming weekend to cross some more items off my to-do list.

I ordered 3 good-sized blueberry shrubs several weeks ago, and they have arrived--a full week earlier than I expected them. Now I really have to buckle down and decide where they'll go. Years ago in Master Gardener training we received a handout titled "First Plan, Then Plant." I'm sorry to say I have never learned to follow that advice. I've always been more of a "there's always room for a good plant" kind of gal. This logic has served me well when it comes to expanding my collection of plants, but that's about it. For now, the blueberries are planted in the vegetable garden area, but I need to get them in their permanent home very soon. I am thinking of transforming the large herb garden which has been difficult to maintain the past couple of years. The blueberry shrubs would look nice planted amongst the herbs, and near the stock tank that holds the strawberries. I may also move the rhubarb to this area because it currently resides at the edge of my flower garden which needs room to expand. I really wouldn't have to give up much space for my herbs, as much of that garden is filled with plants that have spread a bit out of control anyway. Hmmmm, I am liking this idea.

There is always some sort of gardening to do, no matter the time of year, and I like it that way. But with cold weather fast approaching, it is time to finish up my outside projects. It is a good thing Mother Nature gives me a deadline, or I may never get finished.

Good night, little Starlight

2008-09-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

If you did not read yesterday's blog, please go do so now, or this post won't make much sense to you.

I am sorry to say that Starlight made it through the night, but not through today. When I returned home from work she was already gone. I am glad that she was at least able to spend her last hours in a comfortable place and without being picked on. Now it is time to remember that Starlight lived a rare, good life. She lived as a pet rather than as a future entree. She got to leave this life as nature intended.

Now I will tell you the story I promised yesterday. From the day we got her, Starlight humored us with her spunky attitude. She had no fear of our dogs and would simply give them a sharp peck on the nose if they came too close. The dogs quickly learned to give Starlight her space and they got along just fine. She perhaps didn't rule the roost in the chicken pen, but for many years held her own with the other chickens who were about three times her size.

One evening a couple of years ago, Starlight showed her spunk and most likely saved her fellow coop-mates in the process. We were inside when we heard a lot -- a LOT -- of noise from the chicken pen. The flock was squawking and carrying on and emitting the chicken equivalent of terrified screams. We rushed outside with a flashlight to find that somehow a possum had gotten in to their pen, probably drawn by the vegetable scraps we had fed the chickens. All the flock seemed fine except for Starlight who lay on the ground, seemingly dead, with her body on one side of the coop and her tail feathers on the other. It was a sad, sad sight. When we turned around the possum was gone, and all that was left to do was to take Starlight's body into the garage for the night. Just as Nick picked her up, much to our amazement she literally sprang back to life. You could almost hear the cartoon "BOING" noise, she sprang up so fast. Apparently, Starlight was either playing possum herself, or more likely passed out from the shock of having her tail feathers pulled out by the intruder. We'll never know for sure, but we felt certain that Starlight confronted the possum in her fearless manner, much as we've seen her confront the dogs, in an attempt to chase him away. Unfortunately, the possum was not a tame pet but a wild animal, not used to being told what to do by a little hen. What ever happened, we were so relieved to have Starlight spring back to life and go on to regrow a beautiful new set of tail feathers.

Starlight had a pretty good life for a chicken. She must have been at least 12 or 13 years old, possibly more. The two little kids who showed her at numerous 4-H fairs are 1) in college, and 2) teaching first grade. We'll all miss that spunky little bird. Good night, sweet Starlight.

Harvest Moon

2008-09-16T17:40:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful day we had today. Low humidity, sunshine, and temperatures in the low 70s--the perfect mix. Best of all, the weatherman promises more days like this are to come. This lovely day is being topped off with a colorful full moon. It is what we call a harvest moon.

The tomato plants are looking a bit ragged, but we are still getting tomatoes here and there. Most of them are smaller than the ones from earlier in the season, but I picked this giant tomato off one of the "Robert's Best Black" heirloom plants. The picture doesn't really capture it, but to me the tomato somewhat resembles a miniature pumpkin. The shoulders are ribbed like a pumpkin, and there is just enough stem to look like a pumpkin handle.

We have also picked some decent apples off our old apple tree. We don't know what kind of apple tree it is, and we give it only a minimum of care, but every 3rd year or so it produces a bountiful harvest of small, red, and fairly tart apples. Yesterday afternoon I picked some of the nicer ones and quickly put together an apple pie. It was absolutely delicious. I was proud of the fact that the apples went from tree to pie in only a couple of hours. Of course I did have help from the store bought refrigerated pie crusts.

The only bad part of the day came after dinner when Nick went to check on the chickens. He brought our little Silver Seabright bantam, Starlight, inside because she was being picked on by the other chickens and looked to be in pretty bad shape. Poor little Starlight's head had been pecked bald, and one of her wings seems to be hurt. She looks pretty bad, and we can tell she feels pretty bad, too. Starlight is one of our more elderly chickens, and the others in the coop have no tolerance for weakness. Sad but true, chickens can be pretty cruel. You've heard of a pecking order? It appears Starlight is currently at the very bottom. We'll let Starlight spend some time in the chicken crate in the basement and see if she perks up. I hope so. We have had her since we bought her from another 4-H poultry family 8 or 9 years ago. Starlight doesn't really know she is a chicken, and given the chance will follow us around the yard or fly up to sit on some one's shoulder. Starlight is the hen that taught us that chickens can have personalities. Starlight has also proven that she is quite a spunky and brave little hen. I'll share that story in another post. Starlight is special enough to us that all summer Nick would take her outside the coop at feeding time to be sure she got her share of the wild mulberries that the chickens loved and fought over. Hopefully, Nick rescued little Starlight in time. I'm hoping to see her regain her strength and spunk so she can go back to the flock, kick some chicken butt, and re-establish herself at the top of the pecking order. That's my wish for the harvest moon.

Signs of the Seasons

2008-09-15T17:14:00.001-07:00

The rain this past weekend washed away the uncomfortably high humidity we've been experiencing and brought down the temperature. The cooler days are so refreshing and the even cooler nights make for excellent sleeping. In the morning, there is a chill in the air that definitely leaves the impression that fall is on its way.

Because it seems summer is really winding down, we were surprised to discover recently that a sparrow had built a nest within a morning glory vine that climbs an obelisk in a planter near the front door. Inside the nest were 3 little speckled brown eggs. Every time we went out the front door, the poor little mother sparrow jumped from her nest and ran across the driveway to safety. We're not sure why she chose to make her escape on foot, but we felt bad to see her panic and did our best not to disturb her. I didn't realize baby birds were hatched this late in the season. Aren't baby birds a sign of spring? However, the little brown eggs went from tiny, naked birds to youngsters who left the nest in an unbelievably short amount of time. It appears Mother Nature knew there was still plenty of time for our little sparrow to raise a family before the end of warm weather.

Then, this past weekend, I discovered Toby making a game of tormenting a baby rabbit in our back yard. Once again, I was surprised to see such a youngster this time of year. Aren't baby animals supposed to be born in the spring? You may recall that earlier this year, when I was upset that some of my young plants and a rose bush were destroyed by rabbits, I resolved to let Toby do some natural pest control and help keep rabbits out of the yard. My resolve dissolved, you might say, when I heard the little rabbit squeal in terror at being stalked by my dog. I just couldn't stand to think of Toby hurting the baby bunny just for the sport of it, so I sent my buddy to the garage and chased the bunny away. I'm sure I'll be "rewarded" for my kindness by having some more of my favorite plants chomped to the ground next spring. What a choice to have to make.

There also seems to be a sudden increase in the grasshopper population this time of year. All at once, they are everywhere. I hate grasshoppers nearly as much as I hate Japanese Beetles. Every year I consider getting a few guineas to do bug control on our property. I have heard guineas eat enormous amounts of harmful insects, including ticks. I have also heard they are noisy and obnoxious to have around, but would really like to see for myself. Apparently they are pretty wild, sleep in trees, and require little interference from people to survive. If they would really help reduce the grasshopper and tick population, it might be worth the extra bird noise.

So while fall is just around the corner, I am seeing signs that it's not here just yet, which is fine with me. There is still a lot of gardening I want to get done before it is time for the snow shovel!

30 Days and Counting

2008-09-10T15:23:00.001-07:00

One month from today I will be on my way to Colorado Springs, and I am so excited. The purpose of the trip is twofold. First is just to have a break from all the busyness of every day life and to simply enjoy some "me" time. The second and most important reason is to visit my good friend Robin who moved to Colorado just under a year ago, and whom I have missed very much.

One thing I have discovered about vacations, even short ones as this will be, is that much of the enjoyment of the event comes from the planning and anticipation. I am by nature a planner, organizer, and problem solver. Therefore, it has been fun to apply the skills I normally use at work every day to something just for fun. It has been so much fun researching all the details from flight schedules, to tourist attractions, to hotel reviews. I've looked at dozens of pieces of luggage and finally purchased a new carry-on bag. Of course I have already started to think about the clothes I should pack, and which creature comforts I'll have room for in that carry-on bag and which ones will stay at home. Robin graciously offered to let me stay at her home, but I have never been a good house guest and asked her to help me find a nearby hotel, instead. I have to confess I am looking forward to some selfish ME time to simply soak in a bubble bath, read, and watch what I want on TV or simply flip through the channels. After busy days of sightseeing, shopping, talking, laughing, and girl stuff, it will be nice to slip on some cozy pajamas, lounge around, and just listen to my own thoughts. I think they are still in there!

So what does this story have to do with a blog about "gardening and the rural lifestyle"? Maybe nothing, but then again, maybe everything. Because you know what will be the best part of all about my much anticipated get-away? Coming back home, of course. There is nothing like time away from home and those you love the most to make you appreciate everything you have. Be it ever so humble, there is no place like our little home in the country.

Garden Surprises

2008-09-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

The last 10 days or so have been so busy at work and at home that not much time has been left for blogging or gardening. These days I really appreciate how the garden boxes have simplified my gardening chores. About all I have to do is keep the reservoirs full of water and pick the ripe tomatoes. The growth of the vegetables has slowed down enough that the boxes only need filled with water every other day. It is very relaxing at the end of a busy day to loiter about the garden, filling the reservoirs with water and inspecting the plants. Even though the season is winding down, there are still surprises to be found.

One recent surprise was a most unexpected visitor to the garden. I was delighted this weekend to spot a colorful green frog sitting in one of the boxes enjoying the shade of an eggplant. I have to wonder if he spends some of his time swimming about in the water reservoirs? Hopefully he feasts on some of the insects in the garden while he visits as well.

The eggplant I am growing this year is another one of my garden surprises. It is a newer variety called 'fairy tales' and it is a delight. The eggplants are baby-sized and very cheerful with colorful purple and white stripes. The eggplants grow in clusters and it appears one plant will easily produce enough for two or three people. To save time, I marinated some of the sliced eggplant in Italian dressing and grilled them on my George Foreman grill. They were pretty good prepared this way, but I think they would be even better cooked over charcoal. Next time I will marinate them in olive oil with fresh herbs and grill them with some other fresh vegetables. Delicious!

Fairy tales is so cheerful and fun in the garden that I have added another goal to my list for next year's garden. My goal is to find even more colorful and novel vegetable plants to grow such as colorful bell peppers and different kinds of squash and beans. Now I can hardly wait for the garden catalogs to start arriving in the mail. I would also welcome your suggestions!

Garden Notes

2008-08-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

Early this morning I picked a nice mess of green beans. Once again this year I planted the variety 'Provider.' A bush bean, Provider bean pods are long and straight with small seeds and a nice flavor. My only complaint is I wish the plants were a bit stronger and would hold the mature beans more upright. Even though it would be easier to pick the beans off plants that stayed upright, at least with the garden boxes the beans are held up off the ground and stay very clean. The beans are simmering now with some fresh onion and the aroma is nothing less than heavenly!

A few more tomatoes were also ready, and we now have pretty ones in addition to the less attractive heirlooms. Another discovery yesterday were some ripe cantaloupe. I didn't so much pick them as pick them up. They were lying in the garden already detached from their vines. I'm glad I decided to check on the melons and discovered the self-harvested fruit before they started to rot. The standard sized cantaloupe on the left I believe is Ambrosia' (although I can no longer find the plant tag) and the personal-sized melons are 'Loupey-Lou.' I can't wait to see how they taste!

Today I made a decision to remove the Brussels sprouts plants. All season long I have been fighting worms and bugs on these plants. The sprouts weren't growing very quickly, and I decided I didn't want to eat anything I had to put so much Sevin dust on anyway. I might try Brussels sprouts again next week as a fall crop, or an earlier spring crop, but I sure wasn't happy with them this year.

The garden box which had held zucchini and cucumbers earlier in the year now have some little sprouts of spinach poking up from seeds I planted about a week ago. I guess that even though some of the garden is winding down, I'm not quite ready to give up on gardening for the year.

Soon I will cut seed pods off the lettuce and radish plants I allowed to go to seed. I have also collected seed from the banana peppers and acorn squash. Can you tell I am already thinking about next year's garden?

Ugly Tomatoes

2008-08-21T17:15:00.001-07:00

At long last, and after a setback or two, the tomatoes are finally starting to ripen. The first to start turning red are some of the heirloom tomatoes I planted. I must say, these are not the prettiest of tomatoes. Having said that, let me add that in my opinion, these tomatoes taste really, really good. Think about it. Many of the pretty, uniform, picture perfect tomatoes available today look good, but lack the old fashioned tomato taste we look forward to every year. This is because so many of them are hybrid varieties, genetically designed to look good and travel well. Many of them have been bred so that all the tomatoes on the vine ripen at the same time, making it easier to pick and preserve them. Hybrid varieties may have their place in the home garden, but I'll never grow them exclusively. Heirloom varieties on the other hand are just what they are. Good, old fashioned tomatoes are not always big on outside appearance, but are straightforward and unpretentious, offering up honest tomato taste. Who would bother to save the seeds of an ugly tomato year after year, from generation to generation, if they didn't grow well and taste great? Given the choice, I'll take an ugly, great tasting tomato any day over the cover girl variety that is all glam and no substance. If you would like to make room in your garden for some heirloom varieties, ask a friend to share some seeds, or check out the heirloom section of your favorite garden catalog. One of my favorite catalogs is "Totally Tomatoes." I haven't yet visited their website, preferring the paper catalog, but their web address is www.totallytomato.com. I also like to look for unusual heirloom tomatoes at my local farmer's market. Many growers specialize in heirlooms. If you find a variety you particularly like, save some of the seeds to grow in your own garden next year. Give an ugly tomato a chance. I don't think you'll regret it.

Fall is Just Around the Corner

2008-08-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

How do I know? Here are some of the signs.

There are some pretty good looking apples on the old apple tree.

The resurrection lilies are putting on a show!

The gray dogwood shrubs are sporting these lovely blue berries. I don't think they are edible, but aren't they a pretty shade of blue? They dry nicely for use in crafts.

The sedum are getting ready to bloom and will add some fall color to the yard. In only a few weeks they'll be sporting shades of pink and red.

And last but not least, the State Fair is always a sign that summer is coming to a close. As always, summer flew by too quickly.

Gifts from the Garden

2008-08-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

For all the rewards of growing a garden, there are also disappointments. Sometimes gardening can be downright humbling. For example, today I spent some time looking over the tomato plants for signs of ripening tomatoes, and just to see what needed to be done. I noticed that the husky red tomato plants were so husky that in some cases they were smashing their own fruit. All summer long I have talked about what beautiful plants these were and felt they were doing fine. Now that it is too late, I see where I should have staked up stems or pruned away suckers. In trying to make up for it now, I popped 3 nice green tomatoes off the plant. If I would have noticed the need for this 3 or 4 weeks ago, I would not have had this problem. As it is, it looks like we'll be enjoying some fried green tomatoes for dinner.

Some things to add to my do's and don'ts list for next summer:

Don't be afraid to use some Sevin dust (after the plants have finished blooming) on the squash vines;
Do space the garden boxes further apart. Consider some kind of climbing supports for the cantaloupe and cucumbers;
Don't mix different types of plants in the boxes;
Do be more diligent about tying the tomato plants to the stakes.

For all the rewards of gardening, it is also a lot of work. I think that sometimes, people who do not have gardens feel like homegrown vegetables have no cost. The extra tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash your gardening friends share with you aren't really free, however. It takes a lot of planning, sweat, and hard work to have a successful garden. Seeds, plants, soil, chemicals, mulch, fertilizer, and sometimes even water, must be paid for. We gardeners feel these cost are justified and that it is worth the expense to know where our food comes from. We like the ability to be able to enjoy our vegetables fresh from the garden. We have the freedom to choose the varieties of food we grow and eat, and the peace of mind that our harvest is safe. We like to share with our friends and neighbors because we are rightfully proud of our harvest. So, if you know a gardener who offers to share some gifts from their garden with you, be sure to remember the hard work behind the harvest, and smile because they are happy to share their harvest with you.

It's a start!

2008-08-06T17:03:00.001-07:00

Here they are . . . the first official homegrown, ripe tomatoes from our garden! We have some large tomatoes which are starting to turn red as well. All of this hot weather is paying off at last.

Chicken Tomatoes

2008-08-05T18:45:00.001-07:00

What are chicken tomatoes? Tomatoes the chickens planted, of course. Last year, our small flock of poultry enjoyed overripe tomatoes from our garden. Nature ran its course, and now the spot where the chicken pen sat last year looks like a miniature jungle. Not only are there a variety of very healthy volunteer tomatoes, you'll also spot the odd ear of corn (and of course, some weeds). Early this spring we began to see the volunteer tomatoes popping up all over the place near the chicken pen. Even though we realized they are not in a sunny area, we knew the soil there was very fertile--also compliments of the chickens--and decided to leave the plants alone and see what happened. Now, several of the plants are covered with small green tomatoes. I doubt we'll get a whole lot of high quality tomatoes from the chickens' plants because of the low light and overcrowded conditions, but you never know! If nothing else, I am sure the chickens will enjoy the fruits of their labors.

Below is a picture I snapped on impulse this evening. The end of the large flower garden is a bit weedy around the crabapple tree, but I couldn't help but be impressed by nature's colorful display. Technically, the Queen Anne's lace is a weed I suppose, but it sure compliments the purple coneflower and black-eyed Susans. I am going to be sure and pull the wild morning glory vine, however. I hate those things!

Photo Album

2008-08-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures I snapped this afternoon. First are a couple of pictures of an heirloom tomato planted from seeds I brought home from Buffalo Springs Herb Farm. I don't know the variety because they are from seeds I took out of some tomato slices served to us at a luncheon that I put onto a napkin and saved! They may be "Mr. Stripey" judging from the stripes on the shoulders. I can't wait to see how they look when they are ripe, and I especially can't wait to taste them. These will be a good sized tomato.

Next is one of the ice box melons that are coming along very nicely. The vines have grown way out of the garden boxes and are all over the garden. It is really hard to walk between the boxes to fill the water reservoirs without stepping on a vine! We also have two varieties of cantaloupe growing, Ambrosia and Loupey-Lou.

Worth the Wait

2008-08-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

At long last, the first batch of green beans has been picked. There were only a few, but many more will be ready for harvest in only a few days. We will enjoy these cooked with some crisp bacon and a sweet onion from the garden. On the flip side, the zucchini has bitten the dust, victim to the squash vine borer. Despite my best efforts, I could not save the plant. This may be the only year I am ever able to say I didn't get enough zucchini! Something else has been chewing on the Brussels sprouts, and we pulled a nasty tomato horn worm off one of the yellow bell pepper plants, but not before it did quite a bit of damage. I do think it will bounce back, however, at least I hope so. Despite my wishes to stay organic, I broke down and got some liquid Sevin and sprayed the sprouts and also the eggplant which was being attacked by flea beetles. The tomatoes are growing and look great, but are still green. Some of the tomatoes are really interesting looking with striping at the shoulders and I really must take some pictures of them as they ripen.

Oh, my! It looks like someone left their shoes out by the back door for too long!

Summertime Lull

2008-07-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hurry up and wait. That is how I'm feeling right now. I thought the gardenboxes would never arrive this spring, but they did, and now everything is big and growing and all I have to do is wait. I'm not good at waiting. I have tons of tomatoes--still green, mountains of melon--still small, a bunch of beans--almost there, but not quite. The eggplant and peppers still have a ways to go. The last cabbage has been picked, we're beyond tired of lettuce, you can only eat so many onions in a week, and the zucchini is already zonking out. Hurry up and wait. I don't sit well. I'm a gardener between harvests without much gardening to do. . . and it just feels wrong. (OK, I guess I could weed the flower beds.) I won't say I miss needing the tiller or the hoe, but it does feel strange to have nothing to do but fill the water reservoirs every evening. I'm ready to harvest that first ripe tomato and share them with friends and neighbors! I'm ready for tomato and mozzarella salad, fresh homemade salsa, and plain ol' tomatoes eaten from the hand warm from the garden. Hurry up and wait, and wait and wait...

Weekend Update

2008-07-20T09:04:00.001-07:00

We had a bit of rain yesterday, and the temperatures are milder today. I hope this means relief from last week's heat wave. I noticed today a lot of weeding needs to be done in the flower beds, but it just isn't possible to do a whole lot in this heat.

The vining plants are starting to take over the garden area! Today I saw a nice sized icebox melon growing between the slats of the freezer basket I put on the ground next to the plant to give it support so the weight of the melon would not pull the plant out of the box. The plan backfired on me because I didn't notice the melon stuck halfway between the inside and the outside of the basket until it was too large to save. I thought I could bend the metal or push the melon all the way inside the basket, but all I managed to do was pop the melon off the vine. Darn it!

I gave the plants a good once-over for pests and feel we are in pretty good shape. Since there isn't too much more to report from the vegetable garden, here are some pictures I snapped of some of our flowers in bloom.

This daylily is in a neglected part of my herb garden. Talk about an incentive to get out there and weed! Isn't this the most beautiful shade of red? I've always been an herb person, but you wouldn't know it by the state of the herb garden this year. I still hope to get on top of it before the end of the season.

Here are some more daylilies. I am always amazed at how much return you get from daylilies for so little attention and care.

The false sunflower plant, shown below, has to be at least 7' tall and is just beginning to bloom. I recently read where you should avoid planting false sunflower. I can't imagine why. This is our 4th summer with it and it is one of our favorites. It is a beauty in the garden if you have the room.

The fountain was one of Nick's birthday gifts. I think it is so neat that he wanted a fountain for his birthday. We all enjoy it. Not only is it pretty to look at, the sound of the water is so soothing.

Here are some "red" poppies I direct planted from seed. I'm not sure why they turned out pink, but I really like them.

Stressing Out

2008-07-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

Despite the constant supply of water and fertilizer the plants in the garden boxes receive, they are showing some signs of stress. The high temperatures are taking their toll. Most of the plants are holding their own, but the cucumbers don't look that great. I smashed a couple of stink bugs crawling on the acorn squash, and I believe there may be some aphids on the green beans. Worst of all, I found two tomato horn worms this evening, and suspect there may be one or more I couldn't spot. If you have ever searched a tomato plant for a horn worm you know what I mean. I made use of a very effective form of natural pest control and fed the worms to the chickens who find them quite a delicacy. I am a bit squeamish so I simply pinch off the leaf the worm is feeding on and deliver the worm to the chickens leaf and all. I'll give the plants another careful going over in the morning in case I did miss a few horn worms.

2008-07-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

The temperature has been in the 90's most of the week. When I am outside for very long I feel as though I am going to melt.

The garden is holding up well despite the high temperatures. I have been adding water to the garden box reservoirs every evening. The boxes with the different squash plants are usually dry, while most of the others boxes will have at least some water left in their reservoirs. In the boxes with tomato plants, the roots have grown down into the water reservoir itself which looks kind of strange but does not seem to hurt the plants at all.

I still don't have any ripe tomatoes, but there are sure a lot of nice looking green ones. It won't be long now.

The Heat is On

2008-07-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

Gosh, it's hot. It is supposed to be even warmer tomorrow. You can tell it's time for the county 4-H fair. It still seems odd not to be caught up in the frenzy of last minute projects, photos to be developed and mounted, cats and chickens to bathe in preparation for their shows, and deadlines to meet. It is always hot during the fair. Most years we would have to freeze water in 2-liter soda bottles to put in with the poultry to cool them on the most smoldering of days. I miss it, but I don't.

Thank goodness for the garden boxes. I do not miss being out under the hot sun pulling weeds. I do have to fill the water reservoirs in each box every day, even when it rains. The plants have grown large and thirsty. The garden hose is already stretched out to the garden and ready to go making this chore a fairly easy one. Next year, however, I will leave more space between the boxes. As usual, I underestimated how big everything will grow and it can be a bit challenging to pull the hose between the boxes without crushing a vine or leaf. Problems like this I can live with.

One chore that hasn't gone away this year is trapping the Japanese Beetles. I hate how these "June Bugs," as we used to call them, show up in late June and early July and proceed to defoliate our Rose of Sharon shrubs and whatever else meets their fancy. Some people say you shouldn't use the traps because they only attract the beetles to your yard. I disagree. For one thing, I don't set out the traps until the bugs have already arrived. Setting out the lures and trapping the beetles in bags is much safer for the bees and beneficial insects in the yard than spraying poison. Also, by trapping these beetles, thousands more offspring are prevented.

Another indication that it is mid-July is that the raspberries are nearly finished for the season. I didn't get too many picked this year, but did manage to get enough to make a good pie. Now it is time for the blueberries--my favorite. I have only one shrub at home which now yields enough for my morning oatmeal two or three days a week. I hope to add more blueberries next spring. For now, I will pick them at one of the local farms.

The flowers continue to bloom and brighten the yard. I hope you will enjoy these photos.

Gentle Week of Gardening

2008-07-10T17:48:00.001-07:00

This has been a nice week of gardening. The plants are growing well. In fact, they are thriving. The zucchini and cucumbers are offering up their fruit at a leisurely pace, and you can almost watch the acorn squash and melon vines grow. We've had just the right mixture of sunshine and rain. Perhaps best of all, even though I've been carefully inspecting the tomato plants daily for signs of the evil tomato hornworm, I have yet to come across one, or any other pests that need to be dealt with. Everything is growing, blooming, and producing, but at a gentle pace. We are still a few weeks away from the day when bushels of tomatoes and beans will demand to be picked and dealt with now--or else!

Today I saw a toad near the garden, and also a young praying mantis, both natural forms of pest control, and both welcome in our yard. We have always been fortunate to have a steady supply of mantids around the house. We even have pictures from when the girls were small of them posing with mantids on their shirts or heads. There really is something very fascinating about mantids, and while they are deadly to other insects, they are gentle to people, never biting or stinging. Once, a few years ago, I was walking through some tall grass and disturbed a group of mantids. I was surprised as they started rising up and flying through the air on both sides of me. As they rose above the ground, they were nearly vertical and with their large fluttering wings they reminded me of the tiny fairies I've seen illustrated in storybooks. I had to wonder if it was an experience like this that inspired someone to write the first fairy stories years ago.

I also recently came across a garter snake while weeding the flower garden. It startled me, but only because it was in a hurry to get away from me and into the shade of the crabapple tree. I genuinely hate snakes, but Nick reminded me that they, too, are a natural form of pest control. Well, OK, but it had better leave my toads alone.

Our dog Toby would like to be a natural form of pest control, if only I would let him. I have rescued more than one baby rabbit from his jaws and scolded him in the process. Now I realize, sadly, that this has been a misguided effort. Only this week a group of rogue rabbits ate my new yellow rose bush down to a stump. I have heard friends complain of rabbits gnawing on their rose bushes, but we have never had this happen with our other roses. It seems I need to learn to let Toby do his job, and try to look the other way.

Here's hoping you, too, are enjoying a week of sunshine and gentle gardening, free of pests and worry.

Let's Hear it for the 3-Day Weekend!

2008-07-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

It has been great to have extra time to relax and enjoy some home time. Although at different times throughout the day yesterday it looked as though it were going to rain, it never did and we had the full day to spend outside. Our family cookout was a lot of fun. Now that the girls are grown and living on their own it can be difficult to get all the family together, so we were thankful that both daughters plus my parents were able to come over. We have not all been together in the same place since last Thanksgiving.

We had a campfire and cooked seasoned beef patties with mushrooms in foil packets over the coals. We also simmered a big pot of beans on a tripod over the fire. We ended up with a lot of great food, including a delicious dish made with garden zucchini and fresh carrots. You simply cut the carrots into matchsticks, and lightly steam them before adding a fresh zucchini cut into slices. After the zucchini has lightly steamed for a few minutes, drain, and stir in about 2 tablespoons of prepared pesto. The aroma was fabulous and it tasted great. We also had coleslaw made from the cabbage I had picked the day before. In addition, Mom brought over some beet greens cooked with bacon and a broccoli salad. Fabulous! Add to that one daughter's "Avocado Cavier" with tortilla chips and the other's lemon bars, and there was some good eating going on! I love the tastes of summer.

After lunch, the girls picked some raspberries and cherries with their dad in another part of the yard while I showed my parents the garden boxes. We picked a zucchini and enough fresh lettuce so everyone could take some home. We also found 3 new acorn squash--so cute. Many of the tomatoes are blooming now and there are even some green tomatoes on one vine. One tomato plant, a Husky Red, is so sturdy and full. If the tomatoes turn out half as beautiful as the vine, we are in for a real treat.

Today I sprayed Bt on the broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cabbage. These plants were discovered by cabbage moths who left some uninvited picnickers behind. Bt is safe to use even up to the day of harvest, so I don't feel too badly about spraying the plants. I also took some time to spray a calcium mixture on the tomatoes. I decided to take this precaution against blossom end rot since we've had so much rain. I also decided to move 3 pepper plants from the boxes into the ground. Next year I will only plants peppers with other peppers. It seemed like it would make for attractive plantings to mix some different varieties of vegetables together in the boxes. It did, however, the vining crops are so lush that they started overwhelming and shading the peppers. So, even though the pepper plants were a bit large for transplanting, I decided to take the chance. I plopped them in to the ground with some granular fertilizer and plenty of water and suspect they will really begin to thrive with more sun and space to grow.

One final garden note. The purple cauliflower I picked last Thursday turned out to be a fraud! After preparing it to put in the refrigerator, I discovered it was not cauliflower at all, but broccoli! I was simply dumbfounded. I even went outside and pulled the tag. Sure enough, it read Purple Cauliflower 'Violet Queen.' All I can figure is that someone must've tagged the seedlings incorrectly at the greenhouse. What bothered me the most is that I didn't even realize it wasn't cauliflower until I had it in the house. In my own defense, in the garden boxes the heads really do look a lot like cauliflower, especially with the upper leaves shading them. Since the tag read "purple cauliflower," I assumed that's what they were and really never scrutinized the plants. Even after I got the head trimmed and saw it looked exactly like broccoli (except for being purple), I had to taste it before I could believe it. It is a good thing we like broccoli, but I'm sorry not to have any cauliflower.

Garden Fun...or...Can you do the Funky Chicken?

2008-07-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Gardening should never be all work and no play. I enjoy using what I call my garden "do-dahs" to add some fun and whimsy to the yard and gardens. When choosing garden do-dahs, one must be careful to skirt the fine line between whimsical and tacky. How to define "tacky?" Hmmm...of course this is largely a matter of opinion, but as a general rule I would say you should usually avoid items made of plastic. I also shy away from garden ornaments with the look of being mass-produced, and anything devoid of a personality. Here is a sampling of some of my favorite do-dahs.

These funky chickens were a Christmas gift this past year. Talk about personality! I just love them! They are made of metal and have stakes at the bottom of their feet so they don't topple over. I gave them a few coats of polyurethane before setting them out so that they won't rust.

I also love these cast iron frogs. I have a set of three and they reside in the large flower bed which I (now improperly) refer to as the wildflower garden. From time to time I move them around and it has become a game for observers to try and find them all. Here are two of the frogs. I couldn't seem to find the third as I was taking the pictures...

The "grow" ornament adds some height to the gardens which is nice. I also like this do-dah because it is unobtrusive and subtle. It also serves as a sort of silent prayer. Unfortunately, it also works for the weeds!

I'll share more of my favorite do-dahs in a future post.

A Respectable Harvest

2008-07-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

After a week without internet access, I am back to blogging at last! The garden grew quite a lot in the past week. I continue to be amazed at how well most of the plants are doing in the garden boxes. There is a banana pepper plant and an eggplant that just are a bit sluggish, but other than that everything is lush and thriving. This afternoon I was able to make a pretty respectable harvest, expecially when you consider the boxes were only planted only about a month-and-a-half ago. We will enjoy some cabbage, a purple cauliflower, and some sort of a zucchini dish at our 4th of July picnic tomorrow! Tonight I'll be checking out my cookbooks to find a special way to prepare the veggies. A week or so ago I also picked some broccoli and a smaller zucchini from the garden.

The rain and sunshine has done wonders for the flower gardens as well. The first picture is of the big flower bed we still call the wildflower garden, although it no longer consists of only wildflowers. Last year I revamped the flower bed and added several new plants. This was mostly so that something would be blooming in the garden all summer. The bed has filled in very nicely and needs a lot less weeding this year (always a good thing).

Another flower bed sits at the entrance of the vegetable garden. This garden has several plants in it including Shasta Daisy, Rose Campion, Mallow, Perennial Geranium, and Coreopsis. I especially love this Hydrangra 'Annabelle.' Look how pretty it is next to the purple phlox. Aaah, summer.

Thinking of Pets

2008-06-25T14:19:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about our pets a lot today. This is probably because last night we discovered that one more of our original ten 4-H chickens died. We have only one hen from our original flock remaining. It is hardly surprising, given that it has been over 10 years since the little box of furry peeps arrived for us in the mail. When we finally gave in to our daughters' endless pleas to raise poultry, we decided as a family that our chickens would die of natural causes. None of us wanted to raise chickens for food. We do, however, savor their big, brown eggs. We gave them names and a nice place to live. Over time, our hens became pets, as much as chickens can become pets. We discovered that chickens do have personalities, and while they don't garner the affection that dogs and cats do, we've felt sad at the loss of every one of them.

In the past seven months we have also lost a dog, Cruz, and Ozzie, my beloved Siamese cat who graced our home for 16 years. Cruz could be a grumpy old fellow, and some people were afraid of him as he was big and slow to warm up to strangers. To us he was a big baby and a big part of the family. No one misses him more than our second dog, Toby. Without Cruz as company, Toby does not see why he should have to stay outside in the pen. (We have been considering changing Toby's name to Houdini because he quickly escapes from his pen every day. He never does it while we are secretly watching, and we have yet to figure out how he is getting out.) Toby has decided he much prefers being in the house with us and his two cat buddies.

I have grieved for our cat Ozzie more than I ever could have imagined. While there are many people in my life that love me very much, none of them have spent the day curled up next to me when I was sick, regularly appeared out of nowhere to snuggle with me when I settled on to the couch for the evening, or begged me for canned cat food promptly at 9:00 every night. After 16 years of unconditional love and affection, well, let's just say you really, really miss it.

Our family really loves our pets and I wouldn't have it any other way. As sad as it is when they leave us for the rainbow bridge, the fun and joy pets bring to us during their short lives makes for wonderful memories that will be treasured forever.

The Serenade of Birds

2008-06-23T17:37:00.000-07:00

Just yesterday I paid special attention to a song bird that serenaded me as I worked in the garden. This evening, as I went to the garden to pick our salad for dinner, I was aware of the most incredible chorus of birdsong. In fact, the word "cacophony" came to mind. But as I don't use this word every day, I decided to look it up to see if this was indeed an appropriate description. According to Websters, the word means "harshness of sound" which is not how I would describe the symphony I enjoyed. Honestly, I can't find just one word to describe the joyful riot of noise in our back yard. I'm not sure if we really have more song birds this year, or if I'm just taking more time to enjoy them. I do know we have an abundance of mulberries which attract birds, and the sour cherries and sand cherries in our yard are also ripening. We use very few chemicals in our yard and have several mature trees. Perhaps this combination is to thank. One thing is for sure, and that is that I am thankful for the music the birds bring to our little piece of the country.

I found a wonderful website to visit if you want to learn more about the birds in your garden: www.birds.cornell.edu. There are even sound clips of bird songs you can listen to. Be sure to check it out.

The garden continues to do well. I found the first watermelon on one of the ice box melon plants. It is about the size of a small walnut! It will be fun to watch it grow.

That's it for now. Be sure to take some time to listen to the birds in your own yard.

Working Between the Rain

2008-06-22T16:49:00.001-07:00

Today was a strange day; hot and sunny one minute, cool and rainy the next. Repeat. In between storms, however, we got a lot of work done. It was a day of mowing, trimming, weeding, and hauling mulch, and I'm happy to say we are seeing some results. We hauled 3 1/2 carts of cedar mulch to the garden box area and it really looks nice. Next, I took down the odd sizes of plastic fence and that with the most holes in it and put up new. I also put up new posts so all are the 3' size. The fence is 2' high plastic poultry fencing and it works well in keeping the rabbits and dogs out of the garden. I also put in tomato ladders next to the tomatoes which are close to needing staked. At last the garden really looks nice and is a pleasant place to work or just hang out. The whole time we were working in the garden there was a bird nearby singing his heart out. I couldn't figure out what kind of bird it was but my neighbor told me it was a Brown Thrasher. I sure hope our friend has a nest nearby. I could listen to his songs all day!

One month

2008-06-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

It has been a month since the boxes have been planted and I am amazed at how some of the plants are growing. Look how stocky the stem is on this tomato.

The beans are starting to sprout, and there are blossoms on the squash plants. Some broccoli are ready to harvest but I am waiting to see if they'll grow a bit more first.

The flowers are looking pretty too, although I need to trim the grass around all the beds. In the flower bed next to the garden we hung a buoy bell wind chime. I love it. It doesn't make a tinkly sound but more of a mellow tone that just blends in with all the natural sounds. You hear it, but you almost don't hear it, because it just blends in with the background and sounds like it is a part of the outside. It's hard to explain, so I'll just say the buoy bell is a really nice addition to the garden.

My goal for the upcoming weekend is to plant or compost all the plants remaining on the front porch. Hard to believe it is mid-June. Summer goes by so fast.

Steady Progress

2008-06-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

A violent storm blew through last Sunday evening with wind gusts up to 60 mph. Power lines were blown down, tree branches were everywhere, and there were reports of roofs blown away, but the garden held up pretty well. Most of my plant collars were blown off, and one of my pie tins, but these things were easily fixed. The only plant damage was to the broccoli and cauliflower, and it was minor. They didn't hold up well to the wind and were leaning every which way. I rigged up some stakes so I could make a twine frame to support the stalks, and they seem to be doing fine. I really don't know if the plants would have fared any better if planted in the ground instead of in the garden boxes, but I doubt it.

I continue to be impressed by how stocky and strong the tomatoes are looking. The zucchini and acorn squash are growing like crazy. No bean seeds have sprouted yet, but it won't be long.

At this point I would have to say I am enjoying gardening in the boxes!

Getting Back on Track

2008-06-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

I am feeling very pleased with the garden boxes. After a busy week, I finally got to spend some time in the garden today. The rain and sunshine has done its work and the plants are thriving. Today I spread the boxes out and rearranged the fencing so that at last it looks like a garden. I put collars made from soft drink cups around most of the plants to protect them from whatever keeps trying to bite them off. The most vulnerable planter I set up on 4 clay flower pots which I think lifts the box up high enough to protect the plants from most critters. Alumnimum pie tins were hung in strategic locations as well. Their flashing and clanging does help to scare away the critters. I am happy with the results. I still need to tackle the weeds coming up and get mulch down, and do some more work on the temporary fence, but it is coming along.

The plants look great. The tomatoes are growing stocky, strong stems. The zucchini is growing fast, and the cucumbers I planted from seed have really caught up. I decided today to plant green bean seeds in some of the boxes where I have space. I planted the green bean 'Provider.' I believe I will have about 10-12 plants. I haven't yet decided if I'll plant more later. I do have plenty of space to plant some in the ground. I also have one more tomato plant that will probably have to go in the ground. It is a big, yellow variety so I think it will do better in the ground than in a garden box. My hope has been for the garden boxes to make gardening fun again. I'm starting to feel optimistic they are doing their job!

Some Disappointments

2008-06-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

I was in for a shock when I went out to the garden this morning. Several plants were shriveled and dead. I couldn't imagine what happened. Upon closer inspection I found that something, probably a groundhog or rabbit, had bitten off some plants.

I lost 3 tomatoes (Tami G, Robert's Best Black, and a Buffalo Springs tomato), the only Poblano pepper I had, and 2 cantaloupes. Each of them had been neatly bitten off just above planting level and left to die. I decided all I can do for now is wrap some more of the 3' tall plastic poultry fencing around the rest of the boxes to protect the plants. They'll be safe, but I just hate it. The plant boxes look like they are in prison and surely won't be easy to access. I was trying to set up the garden so it would be an attractive place to go visit and work. Now it looks depressing. I need to think what I can do to grow my plants out of reach these nasty critters. I am going to have to try concrete blocks or something else to elevate the plant boxes. If you have any ideas, please share!

One good discovery was how well the cole crops are doing. Earlier in the week I discovered some holes in cabbage leaves indicating slugs were feasting on some of my plants. I took care of them with some es-car-go from Garden's Alive and the cabbage are looking better already. This morning I was pleased to see the broccoli coming along so well. Here is a picture. I have never grown broccoli before, so it is rewarding to see it doing so well. Hopefully this will continue!

So far, so good

2008-06-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

We returned from a trip to Ohio and were surprised by all the changes that have taken place in the yard over only 5 days. Many new blooms greeted us: the white clematis, more iris, Top Brass Peony, Oriental Poppy, the Dutch iris, and I'm sure others I'm not thinking of just now. The plants in the grow boxes are doing very well, and held up just fine through the torrential rainfall we had one night during our absence. I planted two more boxes this evening, and now have only one more to go. I am carefully considering how I want to use my last box. I've decided to plant beans in the garden instead of in boxes since I want so many. Maybe a trip to the garden center is in order for some ideas. I still have some tomatoes left if I can't think of anything else. All that is left under the lights are some small basil plants I started late, and some Jacob's coat amaranth seedlings. It feels good to have most of the seed starts planted.

Beautiful Day for Gardening

2008-05-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying the yard and garden. The temperature was in the mid-70s with a gentle breeze. A number of errands kept me from being outside as much as I would have liked, but I did take some time to snap some photos. The first photo shows how I am hardening off plants on my porch prior to planting them in the garden boxes. The wash tub protects the plants from wind and nibbling critters (bunnies mostly, I suspect). The second picture shows the Sea Holly 'Blue Jackpot' flower I planted yesterday (Thank you again, Amber, it is such a neat plant!). Next is a picture of strawberries blooming in an old stock watering tank and some of our irises in the background. The final picture are some yellow irises I call our "farmhouse irises." This is because these flowers were rescued by my husband from an old farmstead that was being razed for a new subdivision. My husband couldn't stand to see them bulldozed and managed to get them in time. They are beautiful flowers and I just love them. I'd like to think the farm wife who planted them years ago would be happy we have them. They are planted near a bench in the garden which is a peaceful place to sit and relax. What a great day. I wish we could have more days just like this one!

Great Day for Gardening

2008-05-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful day in the 70s and just perfect for gardening. I took advantage of the nice weather to trim grass away from the irises and pull what seems like hundreds of weeds. I was also able to get the sea holly flower my oldest gave me for Mother's Day planted, as well as a Jacob's Ladder plant. The coreopsis plants are showing off their cheerful golden flowers, and there is one open blossom on the clematis 'Niobe' vine. The white clematis is climbing its way up the bird house pole in the herb garden and will be showing off its beautiful blooms in a day or two. I've seen a lot of orange Oriental Poppies blooming in the area, but mine aren't quite ready. All in all, it was a lovely day to enjoy working in the yard.

The plants in the garden boxes are looking pretty good overall. I did go ahead and pull out a couple of cucumber plants that have given up and planted new seeds. I also replaced the Red Star tomato with an unknown heirloom variety I am calling "Buffalo Springs." The name comes from the Buffalo Springs Herb Farm in Virginia that Nick and I visited in September 2007. We enjoyed a wonderful herbal luncheon there which included slices of heirloom tomatoes. Being a weird seed-saving type of person who thinks seeds and plants make great souvenirs, I couldn't resist saving some of the tomato seeds in a napkin to take home. This spring I planted several of the seeds and they all came up. It will be fun to see what kinds of tomatoes the plants produce. I'm especially glad now that I saved the seeds. Earlier this spring we received an e-mail that the farm is closing. We were so sorry to get this sad news because he had hoped to go back and visit the farm again in the future. The stop at the farm was one of many on an herb-themed bus trip we took, and we were not able to spend as much time there as we would have liked. We always thought we would go back again one day soon. At least we got to see it once. Here are some pictures from our visit to Buffalo Springs.

Where's Summer?

2008-05-23T09:24:00.001-07:00

It is still unseasonably cold, and it is raining again. Last night when I checked on the plants, one cucumber and one tomato looked as though they'd had enough. I blame the weather for this, not the garden boxes. If the cucumber plant doesn't make it, I will try direct seeding another one. It will be good to have a younger plant in the box anyway, to extend the season, instead of having them all the cucumbers come on at once. I have some extra tomato plants still under lights if I need to replace any in the boxes. I haven't planted any tomatoes in the ground yet.

The cool seasons crops planted in the garden boxes -- cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts -- all look great. They are being protected from the rabbits by a makeshift fence of plastic chicken wire for now. I want to get some concrete blocks or landscaping stones to get the boxes up higher off the ground. Something keeps nibbling on the pansies in my barrel planter, so I know they could reach the plants in the garden boxes.

Yesterday evening we enjoyed some fresh lettuce grown in one of my raised beds, along with some spring onions. There is no better salad on earth than the one you grow yourself!

This weekend I hope to get some finished compost from our composter and mix it in the garden where I want to plant my "in-ground" tomatoes. It will be fun to compare the traditionally planted ones to the ones in the boxes. I will also be planting beans in the ground, but I'm waiting for the soil to warm a bit more. I can put the "walls of water" teepees around the tomatoes and they'll do fine even though it is still a bit cool, but the beans have to wait. I also hope to get the landscape cloth and mulch down so I can arrange the garden boxes and have the garden area look nice. Right now it looks pretty disorganized. I also want to plant some flowers in the garden around the boxes. Once again, I'm hoping the weather will cooperate so I can cross a lot of things off my to-do list.

2008-05-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

Brrr! It was cold and rainy today. When I took the dog out to his pen this morning there was actually some thin ice on top of his water dish. Some of the plants looked a little worse for the wear after the cold night. The weather is unseasonably cool this spring--normally it is safe to start putting tomatoes and other warm weather plants outside by May 15 in this part of Indiana. This evening I covered all of the more tender plants with clay flower pots to give them some protection against the cold night. I will remove my makeshift cloches in the morning and hope for warmer day.

Making Progress

2008-05-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Today I got 7 of the 10 garden boxes planted. It was a lot of work! It took quite a bit of time to fill each of the boxes with the garden mix. Still, it really was fun, and I can't wait to watch them grow.

Here is a picture of a box filled with soil, prior to planting.

Here is a box planted with cauliflower and broccoli:

Here is the configuration of the boxes I have planted so far:

4 Brussels Sprouts and 4 cabbage (Golden Acre)
4 purple cauliflower and 4 broccoli (Pacman)
2 Husky red tomatoes
1 Orange Strawberry tomato and 1 Red Star tomato
1 eggplant and Robert's Best Black tomato
3 Italian parsley, 1 Banana Bill Pepper, and 1 icebox watermelon
4 Fordhook zucchini and 4 cucumbers

I am still a bit concerned about how full the boxes are, but I think I have to follow the instructions and planting guides that came with the boxes and have faith. I can always change how I plant things next year if I am not happy with this year's results.

Each garden box comes with two tubes of water soluable fertilizer that lay on top of the planting mix, under the plastic cover. The plastic cover itself has a guide on the back that shows you where to cut the holes for correct plant spacing. It was a bit difficult to put the plants directly under where you cut the holes. I also noticed that the holes they show to cut are going to be too small once the plants start to grow, but it will be no problem to cut them larger when necessary. I had to cut some holes larger at the start, such as for the parsley.

Starting Down the Path

2008-05-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 16, 2008

I decided to start a blog when my garden boxes arrived from agardenpatch.com. After years of gardening the traditional way, I decided to try garden boxes to bring back the fun of gardening. Now that I have fewer hours to play in the dirt, and pulling weeds and fighting bunnies has lost some of its appeal, I have decided to give garden boxes a try. Friends, co-workers, neighbors, and fellow gardeners have asked me to keep them posted on how they work. Keeping a blog seems like a good way to share my successes and failures with the boxes, as well as a more fun way to keep records for myself.

I am happy to say the garden boxes were very easy to assemble. I had all 10 of them put together in under an hour. I was a bit alarmed at how shallow the actual planting box is. You can really grow two tomato plants in one of these? We'll see how it goes...

While researching the boxes I read that you should use only potting mix--not potting soil, which is too heavy, and only potting mix that does not contain plant food. We were able to find potting mix without fertilizer at Lowe's. Now that the boxes have arrived, the instructions say it is OK to use potting mix with plant food. The mix with plant food is certainly easier to find. I still need more planting mix, so I think I'll go ahead and get the Miracle Grow kind, and mix them half and half.

I have decided to place the garden boxes in my vegetable garden, so my job for tomorrow is to pull up the early weeds, lay down the weed barrier, and arrange the plant boxes. I hope the rain stays away until at least late Sunday!