This morning...

The neurotic dog and I went for a walk first thing this morning....

(really, she is neurotic.... she can't let any birds sit on the fence, and barks at the cows when they get close to the yard, and has a love/hate relationship with the UPS truck... and that is with anti-anxiety meds on board)

We are in for some nasty weather... single digits, wind, and more snow...

Honestly, I hope it snows a foot so that the poor plants that are beginning to think spring, will be protected from the cold.  I have tulips, daffodils, and roses starting to wake up.  A really frigid spell would set them back.

I suppose more cold and snow will mean more of this....

Good thing we like each other, or it would be a long winter.

Gardening and other tidbits

Here are a few things we have in the garden right now....luscious green cabbage.... made awesome coleslaw...just ask Nona -- she ate about two full cups of it!

Corn....in a few weeks...

Sweet broccoli served up in a stir-fry.....delish...
(and some to freeze for winter soups)

Sweet onions add the perfect bite to homemade salsa...

And what garden would be complete without a few sunflowers displaying their pretty faces?

Or a lazy kitty napping in the shade of the tomato plants?

And the other tidbits?
Well, let's see.....

~we said "Good-bye" to Randy's parents and we said "Hello" to a stomach virus...not necessarily in that order..... 4 of 6 have spewed the contents of their stomachs..... only Reid and I are left....I am eating cautiously today, trying to only partake in those food choices that would not be too noxious coming back up.....Randy didn't really appreciate tasting tacos the second time around..... we'll see what the rest of the day brings (up)....

~we are still waiting for one more calf.... Scarlett is keeping us all guessing.... Little Bull's Eye is thriving and getting feisty and driving his Momma crazy.... truthfully I don't feel sorry for Luna because her older "child" is totally self sufficient.... try having a baby with 2-3 older children that still need most things done for them... Ha!... and her post baby body looks way better than mine did after any of my babies..... just sayin'!

~in photography news.... I have been shooting in RAW for almost two months now.... I had my doubts to begin with, but I am now a true believer....I also succumbed to Lightroom 3 and between the two changes, I think my editing has greatly improved..... maybe you can't tell the difference, but I sure can.... on the occasion that I blow exposure, my hiney is saved by RAW. Hooray for RAW!!!!

And Hooray for children that make it to the porcelain throne before spewing the contents of their stomach!!!!

With that, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Ladybugs on Dill and Garden Philosophy

Weeding the garden yesterday...
the children were playing somewhat peacefully in the sprinkler....
my mind started to ponder the similarities between gardens and children....

I love my gardens almost as much as my children, really I do. I have been a gardening fanatic since I spent many a hot summer hoeing corn, picking green beans, and carrying buckets of water to nearly 50 tomatoes plants in my parent's 1/2 acre garden. It's true, I swear! It was a very large garden and it seemed more like 10 acres, especially when my little brother would fall asleep on the straw bales and leave me to do the hoeing. Ah, the fond memories of childhood. My memories that is .... the rest of my family don't remember my hard sacrifice.... Am I getting old? I must be..... a sure sign of aging is remembering things that others have forgotten .... (or maybe it's the other way around, can't remember right now....)

Anyhow, as you will remember from this post, I have been mourning the sad state of my vegetable garden this year. As much as I want my garden to be beautiful and produce lots of produce (is that redundant?), I cannot for the life of me MAKE it do it. Oh, I can give it the best chance possible by planting in a timely manner, watering, weeding, fertilizing, weeding, mulching, watering, controlling pests, and more weeding.... but I can't MAKE it produce anything. There are too many other variables I cannot control. This year, the rogue variable has been the cool weather. My garden is SO far behind what it should be, and short of building a huge greenhouse to warm the garden.... I can do nothing.

And that's where I am with my children. I nurture, feed, love, protect, encourage, discipline.... but I cannot MAKE them mature into the happy, healthy, God-loving, well-grounded adults I wish them to be. There are too many variables..... and that leaves me feeling vulnerable and scared and overexposed.

And much like with my garden,
all I can do is get down on my knees
(well I was already there, weeding)
and pray for an extended season.

The gift I am unwrapping today is the truths I discover while gardening
and my sweet shots are these lovely ladybugs.

Mystery solved.....

Our garden is in a sad state this summer..... although we had everything in the ground relatively early, the cool spring and summer have teamed up to make our garden and it's produce at least a month behind. For several weeks in the last month, we have had night time temperatures in the 40s. I guess that is good for sleeping, but not so good for gardening. Our corn is just tasseling, the beans are just climbing, the cucumbers and squash just blooming, the pumpkins not even beginning to grow....

Here is what our tomato plants are doing right now....
the biggest tomato I have found is about the diameter of a dime.
(Have you ever noticed how hairy tomato plants are?)
It really is so sad considering that in a month, we could very easily have our first frost...
I had plans for salsa making and tomato saucing....

If it's any consolation, most of the other gardens I see as I drive around are in the same sad state. I wonder if these people feel as badly as I do?
I still weed the garden and water it and spread the grass clippings out in it.... but it is almost depressing to go walking around within the garden enclosure.... because I know that fall is coming all too quickly.... and I seriously doubt we will have much from our garden before then.

We did have the promise of a good strawberry crop early on, but the lush sweet berries just didn't materialize.
I couldn't understand.... the smothered look to the strawberry plants.... the lack of sweet, red, beauties... even the absence of white berries ripening.....

.... until now. I finally understand.
What I was missing was the black masked garden robber... the strawberry bandit that came stealthily at night and swiped all the sweet red goodness away....
But never fear, the notorious masked bandit made bail this morning in a far part of the county.
It's a good thing that the mystery is solved because the raspberries are just coming on....

Pleasant Distraction

I should be weeding...... I should be planting...... Instead I'm dreaming.....

.....sweet, summery, strawberry dreams.....

......happy, herbal, hazy dreams.....

.....creamy, crunchy, corny dreams.....

.....ruby, royal, raspberry dreams.....

(a little Wendy in Wonderland dreaming.....)

{linked to Mosaic Mondays over at the Little Red House}
{this way to the beautiful pond.......}

What Makes a Weed a Weed?

What is a weed?
(no, not what is weed?)

I imagine our definitions might differ a little depending on the part of the world we live in, and just how particular we are about gardening or farming.

Merriam Webster defines a weed as : a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; especially : one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plant .

I pretty much agree with Webster, with the exception that I think some weeds have their place as a beautiful plant (as long as it stays out of my flower beds and vegetable garden). Dandelions fit that description for me. I really don't want them in the garden or flower beds, and I don't want a lawn full of dandelions -- but in the pasture, or on the outskirts of the lawn, I tolerate them because they are rather pretty (and the kids love them). Sometimes I define a weed is a cultivated plant that just gets out of hand and starts choking out other plants.... then it has to go.

Which of the above would you classify as a weed?
Well, I'll tell ya.... definitely the first.
The top is bulbous bluegrass -- and believe me -- it is not your friend.
Each one of those furry seeds on top is a tiny bluegrass seed already sprouted and ready to grow as soon as it hits the ground.
(Nasty. Invasive.)
The lower is timothy grass, a common pasture grass that makes great hay,
but is choked out by the bulbous bluegrass
(which makes terrible hay)

How about here?
I think all of these would be classified as weeds -- even the violet by some people.
(i really wish I could have found the names of all these weeds -- if I do, I will post them later....)
But the worst offender is in the lower right-hand corner.
This weed is highly invasive and the seeds form prickly pods
that stick tight to anything and everything and are not fun to step on.
We have a bunch of it in one part of the hay pasture -- it makes a mess and the cows don't care for it.
(We usually whack it off in the spring before it can seed..... better get going on that, huh?)

How would you define a weed?

{linked to Mosaic Mondays over at the Little Red House}
{go see the wild roses Mary has for you today?}

Weekend Warriors

We had a very busy, productive weekend.
With Randy being the veterinarian on-call for the high school rodeo, we had to stay home near the phone in case he was needed. But that didn't mean we lounged around and twiddled our thumbs. No, no! We were regular weekend warriors! We planted the vegetable garden --30 tomato plants and the first planting of corn (still need to plant beans, squash, pumpkins, peppers, etc), weeded, weeded, and weeded parts of the garden already planted. Randy mowed the yard (that takes about 2 hours, ugh!), moved part of the fence bordering the front flower beds, and took a load of metal scrap to the landfill for recycling.
I, on the other hand, sat on the back patio, sipped iced tea, and surfed blog-land on the laptop.
Right! (ha ha -- just checking to see if you're paying attention!)

Really, do you think so?
I sat on the back patio and sipped iced tea around planting 9 large flower pots, planting tomatoes, weeding flower beds, weeding the herb bed, cutting hair (x5), and moving perennials in the front flower beds.
(The poor perennials -- they must think that they are called perennials because they are perennially moved.)
Oh -- and I also retrieved a little girl from the barnyard about a million times. She wants to do chores 10 times a day -- play with the bottle calf, gather eggs, chase chickens, fall in cow manure.
(Farm life = healthy immune system.)
honestly -- it's a real battle --
I have to lock all the doors when I am in the house to keep her from escaping without my notice

Do you think we were worn out?
What gave you that idea?
(he fell asleep in the middle of the yard, basking in the hot sun --
so instead of moving him, I put an umbrella over him -- while trying very hard not to wake him with my laughter)

Ahhh..... the peaceful sleep of the hard-working boy.

{linked to Mosaic Mondays over at the Little Red House}
{click to see the beautiful stone cottage she has for you to see today}

Potatoes

It's a good thing we planted potatoes yesterday.
Today, the average wind speed has been about 30 mph. The max wind speed has been 46mph! Ugh!!!!!
I have been trying very hard to think of one single reason to be thankful for such wind.......
.....I'm still thinking on that one.......

But yesterday was a sweet reprieve from the wind and rain.

We spent as much of yesterday outside as we could-- we all needed it.

This year we saved our own seed potatoes. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't.

It just happened that we had nice potatoes still left over that we could save.
I usually plant red, white, and yellow potatoes.
--my favorites are pontiac(red), kennebec (white), and yukon gold (yellow) --
(with some interesting links about them).
I have the best crops with these varieties. I use the red for early potatoes, red potato salads, garlic smashed potatoes, and roasted on the BBQ. The kennebecs and yukons are both good for keeping long term and for all around baking and mashing.
Nothing beats home grown potatoes.

Digging holes for potatoes and putting the "seeds" in the holes was good counting practice for Walter.
Wyatt was the "tractor" that covered up the potatoes. They were both great help.
Reid was disappointed that we planted potatoes while he was at school.
And Nona? She sat in the potato holes and gnawed on dirt clods and potatoes. Lots of help.

After the shoots emerge and get about a foot tall, Randy mounds up soil around the plants to promote potato development and to prevent sun burn on exposed potatoes.
Besides, it's much easier to dig potatoes if the are mounded up.

Keeping our fingers crossed now for some warm weather!

Greenhouse and Facebook

What does greenhouse and Facebook have in common? Nothing really, except they are both compound words. Just some randomness this first RAINY day of spring break. Might be a long week.


Here is a peek inside my shabby little greenhouse. Someday......someday I hope to have a bigger greenhouse to start my little beauties in, but for now, this lean-to greenhouse serves it's purpose well -- and it is usually stuffed full by the time it is safe to plant outside (mid-May). So far, I have cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, broccoli, cabbage, and many different flowers started. The larger flowers I bought in either pony-packs or little plugs from a {friend} that keeps a greenhouse. (She will soon be offering pony-packs and prepared flower baskets for sale from her home.)


There is something so wonderful about breathing in the essence of a greenhouse -- the warm, moist, earthy scent -- makes you feel so alive and just a tiny bit green. I have often maintained, that if I had not been accepted into Veterinary school, I would have continued on in horticulture. I do so love growing and blooming things.

And, onto some more randomness..... here is a {link to an interview given by an old grade school friend of mine}.... in Smithsonian no less (congrats Mark, although I doubt you'll ever see this). I had a ginormous (as we say now) crush on him in 7th grade. Maybe that is why he did not reciprocate my offer of friendship on Facebook. Just maybe. You know, FB is an odd thing. I'm really not sure what to do with it. When I first signed up for FB, I only "friended" family and close friends (sorry Carol -- ask me again and I promise I'll friend you!), but then I got to thinking, I have far more personal things on my blog than I have on FB, so...... anyhoo, back to what to do with FB. I don't participate in any of the games going around, and I seldom post anything. Matter of fact -- I feel rather voyeuristic everytime I log on. People tell me all the time that they feel funny reading my blog -- kind of like they are spying on us. But really, I only put things on here that I don't mind other people seeing -- that's the whole point. And that's similar to FB -- you put things on there that you want other people to see.... but the difference is... other people can post stuff to your wall as well. And that is where it usually gets interesting. Just saying....... I guess it takes all kinds of plants to make the ol' FB greenhouse go 'round.

Kind Friends and the Good Earth

We are so blessed to have really good soil here on the Palouse
-- the good bit of earth we live on--
wonderful loamy earth to plant in.

Last weekend, some good friends so kindly offered to trailer their tough Kubota tractor over to our place and till up our garden. We usually rent a wrestle-behind (I mean "walk" behind) tiller from the Grange Supply, so we happily accepted their offer. They have two tough little boys who love to play in the dirt just as much as our 3 (really 4) dirt monsters.

They all had so much fun playing in the freshly tilled earth.....

and swinging on the tire swing.

Walter even got to practice his tractor driving skills.

I love the simplicity of this photo. It pretty much tells the story of the evening.

Oh, and here is what the garden looks like right now -- it is temporarily being used as a racetrack/roadway for all kinds of John Deere and Tonka vehicles
.... until potato planting.... soon.

Therapy

I started therapy again. It was high time. (Don't knock it until you've tried it.)
....
Mothers need therapy -- especially on days after sleepless toddler nights.
...
My first session was rather long for "just getting back in the swing" of things.
...
I spent 3+ hours out in the warm afternoon sun, raking, pruning, tending, cleaning.
...
It was heaven. It was mind-clearing. It was invigorating.

Sometimes it was group therapy -- which has it's merits, bonding and all.
...
But honestly, it's the one on one with the Therapist when I get the most accomplished.
...
Time spent with busy hands , a full heart, and a pondering head.
...
Cleaning the flower beds of winter crud while cleaning the brain crypts of nonsense and flimflam.

I uncovered these pretty little flowers valiantly poking up through the dead-leaf blanket.

I smelled the sweet scent of these little gems basking in the afternoon sun.
..
And ended this first therapy session of the year with a renewed heart and mind...
....
and a few sore muscles.