Just when I thought I was keeping the house clean (or at least tidy), we discover a little surprise.
Need a close-up of our apparently not-so-clean sink?
Yep, that’s a plant growing in the sink trap. A bean plant, it seems. I didn’t even know a bean had fallen in there. We really don’t use this sink [...]
May your season of harvest and abundance be filled with thanks for blessings big and small.
There’s “spring cleaning,” and I figure what I’m going through now is “fall clearing” — when it’s time to clear the clutter, make some organizational shifts, and make sure my priorities are in line before the long nights of winter set in. (It only seems far off; we know how time gets away from us.) [...]
All the rain we’ve been having reminds us that we are, indeed, in the midst of spring. And the bounty of greenery, in all its shades and hues, contrasts nicely, magically against the gray skies. I had wondered what this spring would look like after the tragic ice storm left many of the trees amputees. [...]
The sunflowers have dried up, the tomatoes are long and leggy and experiencing a resurgence of green after all the rain and cooler temperatures, and my son delights in picking the green peppers. The okra’s still going strong, too, but the squash were devoured by the squash bugs. (I’m sure I’ll be dealing with those [...]
The rewards of the summer are in the bounty of the garden.
I took my youngest to the botanical garden yesterday, the older three being with their grandma, and we got to pick some purple beans (like green beans, only purple). I brought our handful home, added them to our small bit of green beans and [...]
I thought it would be timely to share some gardening tips. Nothing new or revolutionary, just practical tips that might come in handy if you haven’t heard of them before. If you learn one thing, then I’ve done well.
Watering
Rain barrels! Who knew you could collect so much water even from 5 minutes of rain? Making [...]
I watered the plants one day last summer, for they didn’t look like they could wait any longer for the rain that promised to come any minute but hadn’t for days. Little sprinkles just don’t quench a great thirst, though, any more than little pecks of a kiss give justice to great passion. So I [...]
Finally, we have something in our garden besides volunteers, which consisted of some sunflowers — the first of which bloomed this morning — some tomatoes and some sort of squash or melon (we’ll know when it gets bigger leaves or its fruit). Now we have our intentional tomatoes (the salmonella-free variety), squash, zucchini, okra, cucumbers, [...]
Today was Kids’ Day at our local farmer’s market, and we were happy to have an Earth Scouts booth there. Not only were we telling other folks about this great alternative scouting program, but we were encouraging them to participate in The Great Sunflower Project. Do take a look at the site, grow some sunflowers, [...]
