Monday, June 27, 2011

Hanging Out!

Well, the dryer went out last week.  Hubby thinks he can fix it, but we have to order the part online.  So for a few weeks, we're 'hanging out'!

The boys rigged up a clothes line for me on the old swingset.  I'm glad I had all my old clothespins saved!  It's comical, though, as it's too high to reach from below so we are climbing on the monkey bars to do laundry!  I seriously hope the neighbors aren't watching out their back windows :D

It did remind me, though, that I do love hanging my laundry when I can.  When the dryer gets fixed I'll probably still hang at least some of the clothes.  I will, however, be very grateful to have it be by choice!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

I'm Getting Excited!!

And why, you ask?  Here's the answer!
Carrots

Cucumbers

Okra

Peppers

Tomatos

Pumpkins

Beans and Corn

Blackberries

Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Cilantro

and Canna lilies!!  Plus, last but not least,

Strawberries!  In fact,



definitely not least!  A little bit of heaven in my mouth - I don't care where you get them, strawberries are always best right from your own garden.

Directly related to that, I don't often buy something simply because I fall in love with it, but a couple of weeks ago I did just that.  I added a new strawberry plant into my already well established patch.  It's a new breed called I believe ABZ, and it's supposed to have delicious fruit.  But the reason I fell in love with it?  Well, see for yourself!
I'm wondering if it will cross pollinate and I'll end up with lots of light pink flowers.  Okay, I'm hoping!

The outdoors is a wonderful thing.  Find an excuse to go out and play today and every day!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

The Garden Is Done.... Maybe...

Well, it's been a lot of work but I got my garden pretty well in in under a week.  I usually take my time and take three to four weeks to get it all in, but since spring didn't arrive until June 4th this year, I was under some pressure!  I'm still searching for two very particular peppers - paprika and orange bell -- but other than that all veggies are present and accounted for!  I'll still be putting canna lilies around the upper garden, so I'm only psuedo-done.  Sigh.  Still, that's a lot better than last week!

Both gardens.  Those little green specks are plants!

The upper garden.  Beans, corn, pie pumpkins, lumina pumpkins, tomatos, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, carrots, watermelon, cantaloupe, okra and peas.

The lower garden.  Onions, thyme, oregano, cilantro, basil, garlic, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, gladiolas and canna lilies.

Why so many canna lilies?  Well, first off, they are an incredibly beautiful flower.  Secondly, the deer hate 'em!  Seriously, I ring the gardens with them and after the plants hit about 9" high the deer pretty well don't come in!  Around here, that's enough to love cannas even if they weren't gorgeous.  But I'll post some pictures when they bloom.  You'll see what a good deal they are!

On a totally different note, Father's day is just over a week away.  I wanted to share a beautiful mosaic Father's Day box created by one of my etsian friends, Second Look Mosaics.  It is incredible!
It's definitely worth a look. 

Have a great evening everyone!