Birdhouse gourds!

I felt like it was a bit early to pick them, but the vine was starting to rot, and one of the gourds had a soft spot. Probably the tall grass surrounding them (who, me weed?) was keeping more moisture close to them than healthy. So I picked a bunch of the birdhouse gourds on Saturday, along with other yummies from the garden, and brought them home. While I was at church on Sunday, Hubs and the kids (who were snotty and ill-tempered and stayed home) put up a line to hang them across the carport to dry. It's pretty festive looking, provided I remember to duck and don't smack my head on a couple of larger low-hanging ones.

Yeah, yeah. This post is useless without pictures. I'll take pictures after I clean up a little, because the carport is looking kind of cobwebby. Invasion of the late-summer spiders out there.

The other stuff was several monstrous sunflowers, eight or so cute little watermelons (which are delicious!), and oodles of tomatoes and peppers. So many tomatoes that I shared with neighbors and even took a big box full into work, where my co-workers descended on them with considerable eagerness. That pleased me. :D

Pretty soon, we'll say goodbye to the summer garden and my uncle will bush hog the whole thing. Then we can plow again and plant a few things for fall. Like the crazy color carrot seeds, and some spinach. Maybe other stuff.

BTS Bulletin

Big Girl loves school. Loves everything about it. Loves getting up early to catch the bus. Loves her teacher. Loves eating lunch in the cafeteria. Loves the playground. Comes home every day full of stories. I wonder if she'll be as eager to tell me about her day a decade from now? Her excitement is contagious and adorable.

Three started back today, a good distraction because he's missed his sister. My sweet boy was somewhat reluctant, but had fun once he got there and saw his buddies. I'm glad to still have him nearby, in the preschool so close to my office. I can peek in and see what he's doing when I walk by.

This really seems far too early for school to resume. Big Girl last week, Three today. Summer was just too short. I never got to do half the things I planned. And we didn't go swimming nearly as often as I wished, partially because of my surgeries and health issues.

Much of the garden is dying off now. The bird house gourds are trying to take over, and there are numerous big promising gourds. The tomatoes are still plentiful, and the peppers too, but the corn didn't fare well. A good first harvest, but then too much rain undermined the second round. The cantaloupe was a flop. The beans were just weird. I think the seed package was mislabeled, because they were not purple hull peas. A few cute watermelons, yet to be harvested, don't seem quite ready. What on earth am I going to do with all of these peppers?

And another one bites the dust...

My kidney stones have proved exceptionally stubborn, but after two lithotripsies and one ureteroscopy, I'm almost finished with them. Praise God.

Tomorrow I have the last lithotripsy - ironically, this one will finally target the stone on my left side that caused the initial pain that got me started on this long road - and I hope and pray that the little thing will be blown to bits and will make a hasty exit. This weekend I've been recovering from Friday's ureteroscopy, and with any luck tomorrow's procedure will be quick and effective.

Then I will start doing whatever I can to prevent stones from forming again. It's hard to find a lot of definitive direction on the topic, but I'll be drinking lots of fluids, particularly lemonade, and avoiding dehydration. There may be some dietary changes I can make as well. I'm still trying to figure out more on the subject. This bout has been the worse kidney stone episode I've experienced, but not the only one by a long shot. I wouldn't wish these on anyone.

My garden has survived and produced well despite my uneven attentions to it this summer. I had hopes of blogging the gardening "experience" more thoroughly, but I've just had too much on my plate thus far. Fortunately the fam and I have enjoyed some delicious squash, fresh corn, and tomatoes, and I've got oodles of hot peppers to use at present, too.

And Hubs is finished with all of his coursework, ready to graduate later this week, so perhaps the two of us can get back to some of our favorite cooking conspiracies in the coming weeks and months! I'm so proud of all of the work he has put into getting his MBA, but I am also incredibly relieved that it's finally complete!

My pretty, pretty garden

All of the little plants coming up in our veggie garden delight me. The blossoms on the tomato plants - those in the garden and the pair planted here, in front of the house, make me smile as I explain to the kids that the actual tomatoes will develop there. We even have a couple of itty-bitty green tomatoes on a couple of plants! I'm excited to eat food that I've grown myself, but also really eager to see if the gourd plants produce some gourds that I can use for birdhouses. And I really hope that some of the sunflower seeds I got for free grow up to produce flowers - the kids will enjoy them, and my grandmother was also thrilled when I told her I had planted them. Everything's small now, but there's so much promise!

Gardening!

The kids and I planted a few rows in the garden at my grandmother's house on Thursday afternoon. Pumpkins, gourds (the kind that make good bird houses), squash (yellow and zucchini), corn, watermelons, cantaloupe, purple hull beans, and sunflowers from seeds, plus small tomato and pepper plants. The kids had lots of fun and were very eager to help - hopefully that interest will continue throughout the summer. I can't wait to see some of the seeds sprouting and growing. It's raining this evening, so hopefully a little rain will kick-start the process. And I'm looking forward to spending fun time outside, with the kids, tending and picking from the garden - and visiting with my grandmother, who delights in visits from her great-grandchildren. Stay tuned for photos of the process, as the plants begin to grow and produce. For now, imagine a swath of tilled red clay. ;)

Itty bitty update

If the weather cooperates, I'll finally get some planting done tomorrow. My dad has offered to help me get the seeds in the ground, and hopefully the red clay that passes for soil here will be dry enough to use the tiller. It's been raining so much lately, without sufficient breaks for the ground to dry at all, that I've been waiting quite a while to get the seeds in the ground.

The mystery pain isn't resolved, isn't diagnosed, but does feel a bit better thanks to a change in medication. I have a new doctor - I really like her so far - and a plan of attack to eliminate possible causes until we find the right one.

To add more fun to the mix, I'm making serious efforts to potty train a certain stubborn, strong-willed three year old boy. He likes Spiderman underwear, but we may need to buy more pairs if he keeps going through them so quickly - hard to keep up with the laundry.

What to grow?!

I've given serious consideration to trying out square foot gardening, and may still give it a try, but my mom has also offered her large containers for my use this spring and summer. I know I will have to water them frequently, but I'm wondering how a squash plant would fare in one of them. I know that tomatoes work well in them - my mother has grown them using these containers in the past - and I know that herbs will also do well. But I would love to grow my own squash and zucchini. Those two vegetables really top my gardening wish list, along with peppers (not bell peppers - never bell peppers).

I wonder what else I might grow? I've got big dreams, a small budget, and limited space with enough sunlight and no meddling dogs. And as soon as the semester ends (almost there!), I can spring into action.

I've been very, very slack.

I haven't blogged much since 2009 began, and not at all since early March. I have plenty of excuses, of course, but the general reason is: life got busy. I'm sure that happens to everyone. I try to make time to read the blogs I enjoy on a regular basis, but I never have enough time to do everything.

Since my last post, I've had a birthday, and Two is now Three. And when I say Three, I mean acting Three, stubborn Three, I-can-do-it-myself Three, funny Three, practical joking Three. I don't think he's a changeling, but he has changed markedly since becoming officially Three.

My Big Girl continues to amaze me with her intelligence and sensitivity. She's getting ready for a ballerina party to celebrate her birthday, and she's been telling anyone and everyone who will listen about her upcoming fifth birthday. I'm in disbelief, but she really will start kindergarten in the fall, and she is excited! I think that going to a new school and making new friends will be wonderfully beneficial for her - the preschool that she and her brother attend has many benefits, but it's small and private. I know she'll learn much from the greater diversity in classmates, teachers, and experiences next year.

I've been plagued by a mystery illness/condition for over six weeks now. Doctors initially thought my pain was due to a kidney stone, since I've had them in the past, but now are unsure and are testing for other possibilities. This has slowed me down, and put me in a truly foul mood at times, but I'm trying to remain upbeat. The opportunity to rest and spend time with the kids this week, while they are on spring break, has been a delightful break for me as well.

I'm going to do some reading on small-scale gardening now - I'll come back and share what I find, in case you're interested too.

Great resource for southern gardeners

Walter Reeves offers a great e-mail newsletter called "The Georgia Gardener" that may interest those of you living in and near Georgia. Walter answers questions sent in by readers, offers gardening guidance, and discusses unusual plants. He also has a radio show on WSB on Saturday mornings, if you're in the Atlanta area. One of my favorite features of the newsletter is the reader q&a, where readers send in photos for Walter to identify a plant, fungus, or insect. The newsletter is always informative and is very accessible. I know some things about gardening, but I have huge holes in my knowledge, and I never feel like an idiot reading this newsletter. Check out the archive of past newsletters, and if you think you might find it useful, subscribe to get "The Georgia Gardener" every two weeks.

Rain!

We had a nice rain yesterday, and a serious thunderstorm today, complete with a downpour of rain that flooded some yards in the neighborhood, so the flowers are looking nicely revived now. I'll take pictures in the morning. Big Girl is quite relieved - she was worried about her pink impatiens in the tiny pots.

I put a number of the tiny tomatoes in the large pot of chicken-sausage-vegetable gumbo-soup-type stuff I cooked on Tuesday. It was delicious - I know I owe pictures and a recipe for that. I actually have some other fun photos that I need to put up here as well.

Two is feeling somewhat better, but is still feverish and cranky from his raw throat. He started feeling sick overnight on Tuesday, and the doctor saw him Wednesday and pronounced it viral. Poor guy hasn't had much of an appetite because his throat is so raw and blistered. I wish I could do more to help him.

Pitiful impatiens

Big Girl's little tomatoes

Pretty flowers

Big Girl sat in my lap this evening and we browsed the Jackson & Perkins catalog together. She loves to discuss the "pretty flowers" with me. I'm an insatiable flower and plant catalog addict. I love to admire all of the new varieties and dream of planting fantastic gardens, some day, at a house that does not yet exist...

So this particular catalog features several of my favorites, including the rose shown here, the Summer of Love Hybrid Tea Rose. I love roses with pink-tipped petals, with white or creamy yellows in the center. Hubs is a smart guy and always tries to find these when he brings me flowers. I would love to have a large rose bed and grow my own, along with others in yellow, peach, deep pinks, and white. If I had this rose bed, I would be able to participate in the J&P Rose Test Panel, which I think sounds like such a neat idea. They send you four plants, all hybrid teas in contention for Rose of the Year, and you get a scoresheet to give feedback on the roses' performance in your garden. My mom did this one year, many years ago, and I've always wanted to have a yard suitable for doing this myself. I would want these hybrid teas, but I would also need to have arches and arbors to grow some fabulous climbing roses as well. And maybe a gardener to help me maintain all of this, since I'm already dreaming extravagantly.

That would just be one portion of my garden, of course. I would need many beds for many, many flowers, plus an herb garden and an area to grow vegetables as well. Including pumpkins for Big Girl and Two to carve for Halloween. And lots of crook-neck and zucchini squash, plus tomato plants. Maybe I'll need a larger staff for these dreams.

Flowers!

Big Girl and I had a delightful time planting flowers in the front yard this morning while Two ran around with balloons and drove his John Deere Farm Tractor & Trailer in the driveway. I'll take photos tomorrow. We planted a lot of impatiens (pink and white) in cute little pots decorated with animal and flower stickers, and then in the ground, in front of Big Girl's herb garden, some daylilies, a lily, a lantana, and lots of petunias. All in yellow, plus some additional petunias in white and purple. Big Girl has a hard time with wanting to help and not being as gentle as she needs to be with the plants, but she's very enthusiastic and loves to feel like she's helping. I try to ask her to do things that help me, that she can manage, that don't result in broken plants and/or pots. She's also a champ with her watering can. She has her own, smaller and easier for her to handle.

We all got hot and dirty, then cleaned up before lunch, and after Two's nap we went to my grandmother's house for homemade ice cream (delicious!) to celebrate her birthday. Big Girl and Two each selected a balloon at the store, and Big Girl also made a picture to hang on her great-grandmother's fridge. Two also got to see tractors, always a highlight of his trip, and he watched my dad baling hay into large round bales. We visited the barn so both kids could pretend to drive the tractors that weren't in use today, and the kids played with their cousin, a cute little blond-curled cherub who's a few months younger than Two, who also stopped by with birthday wishes to get a sample of the ice cream. Aside from a brief dispute over toy possession, they had a lovely time playing together.

The kids were worn out and collapsed soon after dinner. Two was glad to go to bed and gave me an enthusiastic "Night, night, Mommy!" when I put him to bed. Big Girl insisted she didn't want to go to bed, but quickly fell asleep on the floor in front of the television. I left her there until Hubs got home, so he could see her (and take pictures of her). I've heard stories of him doing the same thing when he was little. What a wonderful day!

Photos of Big Girl's herb garden

Not exactly a masterpiece, but certainly fun. All of the plants seem to be faring well so far. The marigolds are tossed in, one or two in each pot, because she liked them so much and because they supposedly deter bugs. I've never found them that successful with the bug deterrence, but they do add a nice splash of color. The pine needles and other debris are courtesy of Hubs, who cleaned out the gutters in typical man fashion - tossing the stuff down on the yard in big clumps and leaving it there. I'll get my cousin to clean it up when he mows the yard before Big Girl's party.

Big Girl's herb garden

After visiting with family this afternoon, Big Girl and I left Two at home to nap while we went to Home Depot in search of more plants for her herb garden. In addition to the lavender that lived through the winter, and the two tomato plants that have survived being napped upon by a neighborhood cat, she now has a sweet basil, a lambs ear, and two pepper plants in her herb garden, plus more pepper plants, cilantro, curly parsley, feverfew, and marigolds in adjacent containers. She also picked out some lovely pink impatiens, added to some dead nettle that I chose, for my hanging basket, which occupies a nice shady corner of the carport. Now I just need some nice ferns to go in my fern stand, and we'll have a nice lush setting around the front porch. I also picked up a package of moonflower seeds and planted them at various choice spots around the exterior of the house. Hopefully they will sprout and flower, but I didn't mention them to Big Girl since they'll take a while, and since they may not be as successful as I want. She had a grand time helping me pick flowers, and then helping me put dirt in the planters and get the plants settled in to their new homes. She'll be eager to help me water them regularly, I know - I had to watch her last summer to make sure she didn't drown plants when I let her control the watering can. We're still under strict watering restrictions here, so I'll use that as a teaching moment with her, and we'll keep track of days and times when we can water using her calendar. Beyond that, I'm excited to get her in the kitchen with me to cook using her herbs and vegetables - I think she'll really enjoy that. Plus I hope we'll be able to enjoy some of the bounty from my aunt and uncle's garden again this summer - I can almost taste the delicious fresh squash.

We have tomato plants!

We planted three nice healthy tomato plants in Big Girl's garden yesterday. It's a little raised planting area next to the house in our front yard. Last year we grew some herbs in it but didn't use any because of the nasty neighborhood cat that kept using the box as a toilet. So this year, we will be taking a lot of measures to keep his gross feline self out of there. Blech. I don't want him anywhere near those lovely little tomato plants. Big Girl is stoked - she loves cherry tomatoes, so we have two of those plus one beefsteak tomato plant. If all goes well, I'll get a few that I can use for cooking and she'll have the tiny ones for snacks. Yeah, my kid's a bit odd with the tiny tomato snacks, but I love her!