May. 9, 2008 Garden Update
After several wet days, the garden is exploding with green. It amazes me. There are a few wholes, but those can be taken care of with some plant starts when I get some extra cash. So far our garden is progressing better than hoped for. Next thing to do is install a fence of some sort to keep the chipmonk from eating all the berries AGAIN.
The Morning Glories have sprouted! They are hard to see in this picture. They are the lighter specks.
Look at all the green!
Here are the poor strawberry-less plants. At least the green beans are doing well.
Up-close green beans
The weather has been cooler than average lately. Now if we could just get some sunshine again, the garden will take off even more. As it is, I am excited to see that everything is still alive. (I am not by nature a green-thumb.)
If you'd like to see more show & tell entires, go to Mary's blog. |
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May. 7, 2008 Spotted at Last!!
Yesterday, we finally caught a glimpse of our little hummingbird friends. Now, we must remember to keep the feeder filled with fresh nectar. (Note to self.)
 This is similar to what we saw, a female, but I am not 100% sure ours is a Ruby Throated. I have never seen a male at our feeders. Usually we will see a couple females who dart about and fight over the feeder. No sharing with these birds! |
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May. 4, 2008 Garden Update
It's been a couple of weeks since we made our planters and planted the seeds. Only two nights have we had to cover the tender tomatoes. When my 88 year old grandfather heard that I had committed the sin of planting before Mother's Day, he was skeptical of my gardening abilities for sure.
Here is my future shade barrel.
 I planted the hosta last year when I accidentally pulled it while weeding. I stuck the then leaf in the dirt and watered it. I figured it would die over the winter. Not so...free hosta! I plan to get a start of a fern from my dear mother soon. Then I will buy something else with color that grows well in the shade. Perhaps I will find a deal on something.
Here is Ryan's Clematis. It too has a survival story.
 We bought it a new trellis when I notice it was growing way bigger than the old one. But it was so entwined in the old one that we dared not move it.
Here is the spot where I planted Morning Glory seeds. Oh, I just can't wait until they bloom!
 The pipes will make a great place for them to climb.
Here is Ryan's flower garden. A few seedlings are starting to appear. Next to it is some basil I bought.
Here is the big 4x6 box full of little seedlings.
These are the cucumbers, the biggest seedlings so far.
Here are the strawberries and green beans. A few green beans have sprouted.
Our next big project is to work on this neglected bed. It needs definition and a few more Hosta.
 And finally the famous Bleeding Heart is doing its thing. |
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May. 2, 2008 A Little More Spring Apr. 29, 2008 Rails to Trails Hike with Daddy
We are blessed to live across the street from a wonderful rails to trails path, the Monon Greenway. This past Sunday, while I made freezer dinners to take to my grandfather, Daddy led the troupes on a hike. Here are some of their pictures.
It's hard to see, but they spotted a Downy Woodpecker along the way... I am so proud of their observation skills, on their own initiative. They are taking ownership!
Then they stopped for some refreshment...
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To be true to the Square Foot Gardening method, we marked off our beds into square feet. If we were purest, we would have made permanent grids out of wood. But since we are trying to be practical as well as thrifty, it seemed to us that using garden twine would get the job done.
The soil mixture is one part sand, one part organic top soil and one part peat moss in layers. When the compost is ready, we will use that for fertilizer.
This is box number one, 3'x3', belonging to my oldest son. It's purpose is to attract butterflies. He planted Aster, Zennia, and Marigold seeds.
Box number 2 is a community box measuring 4'x6'. It contains cherry tomatoes, green bell peppers, lettuce, carrots, cilantro, broccoli and cucumbers.
This last box, 2'x8', belongs to my daughter. It contains 8 everbearing strawberry plants and green beans.
And lastly, here is a close up of the Bradford Pear Tree's bloom. There are three in my neighbor's yard right up against my yard, so we get to enjoy their beauty.
 The trees are nothing but these blooms. Marvelous! |
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Apr. 20, 2008 I never get tired of spring
 My Bleeding Heart came back! It's so exciting to see a bloom. I planted it last year after it had bloomed and so I was not certain what would happen this year.
 The Magnolia Tree is in its splendor.
 The lily I bought at Wal Mart last year for one dollar has come up and is spreading. I can't wait to find more good deals this summer when all the lilies are on sale.
 These lilies were here last year and are marvelous. I gave them a little boost with some organic fertilizer aka manure. I planted the Hosta, and Delphinium last year after we moved in. I am happy to see that they made the winter. My goal for this area is to have an edge dug to separate the bed from the sparse grass. I'd like to plant grass, but this is a walk way for the kids to "their" tree, so it is not worth the effort right now. You can see my son's butterfly garden way back in the background.
 See our new raised bed? The Tomatoes are of the cherry variety, my husband's favorite.
 New, future strawberry bed, everbearing, of course.
 And finally, the composting bin my dear husband made us. I can't believe it is already full. I am going to have to make a bigger bin somewhere else soon. Composting is addicting. |
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Apr. 11, 2008 What a difference a week makes Apr. 8, 2008 Green Housekeeping
My library rocks! It keeps me busy reading, that is for sure. Another good book I picked up this week ...
This is a very practical, down to earth book about cleaning. Not only will it encourage you, you may even save some money by following this book's advice. You'll certainly toss that kitchen sponge once you read how it is the dirtiest thing in your house, harboring more bacteria than your commode. (Actually, I already knew that. I use multiple clean cloths a day.)
(This book was previously published as Organic Housekeeping.) |
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Apr. 7, 2008 More spring pictures
Another survival story... my Delphinium is alive!
Tiny green leaf buds on the hedge are in bloom.
The hummingbird feeder has been up and ready for a week eager for visitors!
And children are flocking to the fresh sand.
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Apr. 3, 2008 Two More Great Books Apr. 2, 2008 What's on My Nightstand
I am devouring these books...
This book has been on my shelf for a long time. It started my dream of one day having a small garden to tend with my children. I got this book when we had our first house. The house did not turn out to be my garden house. It was my baby house with 3 babies in 3+ years! The next house did not turn out to be my garden house either. Maybe this house? Although it has trees and finding a spot is going to be challenging.
A good friend told me about Lasagna Gardening awhile ago. I wish I had read it last fall. I could have had my lasagna baking already!
This book I got because I had already read and loved Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew
So do you have any good gardening books to recommend? |
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Mar. 31, 2008 More tulip pictures
I just could not help myself. These are truly beautiful...
This tulip reminds my daughter and I of a ballet skirt, so light and delicate.
Perhaps a garden fairy would like to wear one like this?
This bloom's petals are curling. Quite a unique color blend as well!
And how I adore the shaggy edges of this lovely bloom...
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Mar. 28, 2008 Observations
Signs of spring...
- Goldfinches are starting to change to their brilliant yellow. We can finally tell the males from the females.
- A fly was in the sunroom when we opened it up one sunny day this week.
- Ants have been spotted. (The battle begins. )
- The magnolia tree is starting to change, just like when we forced a branch this winter.
- Welcome Robins have staked their claims and are finding lots of worms. Have you ever noticed how they seem to be evenly spaced throughout an area? It is as if they have an agreement with one another.
- Daffodils are sending up leaves, no blooms yet.
- Spring bird seed mix was out at Wild Birds Unlimited. They add calcium so that the bird's eggs will be strengthened.
- Ducks are acting crazy near roads.
- A bunny was spotted in our backyard.
- We had snow flurries on Monday. Tuesday it was warm enough to be outside without coats. Today it is cold again.
- Grass is getting greener.
- It's almost time to hang our hummingbird feeder. We check the map daily!
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Mar. 26, 2008 Natural Gift
I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. ~George Washington Carver
I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright. ~Henry David Thoreau
A friend gave these tulips to me last night. What a beautiful gift.
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Mar. 20, 2008 The Common Flicker
What is so common about this striking bird, I want to know? I nearly fell off my chair when he stopped by to grab a little nibble from our feeder this first morning of spring! Oh, how my heart is singing this morning with the sunshine on my shoulders and the birds singing around me. Of course this bird sighting happened so quickly that I could not grab my camera, so if you want to see this bird, go here.
I am quite sure that if I had my camera ready, it would have been a blurred mess of a photo anyway!
Happy spring!
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Mar. 19, 2008 Where are they now? Mar. 17, 2008 Signs of Spring! Mar. 13, 2008 New Photo Editing Available
This is the picture I took of my Red-bellied Woodpecker friend before I used the new editing features on Photobucket. 
Here it is after I used the editing tools.
 They are easy to use and a lot of fun! (Although it may be a little slow.)
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Mar. 13, 2008 Nature Journal Update
It has been a long time since I posted about my paper nature journal . I have been adding entries over the long winter. I finally came up with the idea to record anecdotes about the birds who frequently visit our feeders. These are from February. I drew them using Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and National Audubon Society's Student Workbooks as my guide. I am just not talented enough to look at a bird and reproduce it. But I can look at someone else's drawing and see the lines in order to draw the bird.
 I just wrote random thoughts that came to me about the birds that I wanted to remember.
I added the suet feeder to the one above to give it more of a personal feel, as that is how I see my Mr. Nuthatch, always at the suet feeder. I hope to add some more birds as time allows.
Do you keep a "paper" nature journal you'd care to show others? |
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