Saturday, July 17, 2010
bumper crop
We had a huge amount of basil growing on the side of the house, but it was flowering & the new leaves were so small, so I pulled it all up and made a large batch of pesto & salad dressing for the paleo man in my life. I bought some new from Trader Joe's and will try planting it in the same place & hope it's not too hot there for it to grow. I still have another crop at the top of my garden that I can use when we need it. This has been a good year for basilFriday, July 16, 2010
this is the good news?????
Maggie survived her first week at the YMCA and her first field trip to the Science Center. When I picked her up she said "Mum, do you want to hear the good news or the bad news"
Me: Let's start with the good news
Maggie: Well, I sat on the floor and faced the wall......
No need to give me the bad news Maggie
Me: Let's start with the good news
Maggie: Well, I sat on the floor and faced the wall......
No need to give me the bad news Maggie
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Garden update
We have had a very hot & dry June this year and my garden is showing the signs of abuse already. It looks so lush and green in the Spring, but it can only sustain that look for so long. The harshest environment is the small patch of dirt on the south side of the house in between the house & the sidewalk. I planted some basil there this year and it has done really well, but it's time to pull it up & plant new now because it has all started flowering & producing very small leaves.
I have had my bay tree for 3 or 4 years now. I keep it in a pot because we have to bring it in the garage during the Winter or it would die. It's now just about as tall as I am & I am very proud of it. However, I have to keep in mind that my Dad's 'kitchen bay' that he bought in a 4 inch pot is now a 20 foot tree in their back yard-I miss English growing conditions!!!!
My project for this year was to try to fill in the empty spots in the garden and try to get some tall stuff to grow along the fence. I also decided to experiment & not cut everything back so much as it went over. My plan was to let things grow together so that they could support each other. I have a suspicion that my azaleas will all be dead from lack of light when I cut everything back in the Fall!!!!
On top of the huge number of rabbits and squirrels that we have, we now have a large infestation of Japanese beetles and moles. The moles have become so bad that we had to get someone in to set some traps. Now we have mole traps all over the yard and the moles seem to be happily designing new runs to stay away from them!!!!
This is the part of the garden that always seems to do the best, no matter what is planted there
Another one of this year's experiments is to try to get sweet potato vine to grow down the wall in the corner (came from a suggestion by my friend Prerna who grows it every year). It's taken a while to get going, but a plan is coming together. If I have success, I might expand it next year
I don't have much luck with seeds, but I tried 5 or 6 packets this year & got these few to survive (in the "magic" part of the garden only of course)
This is my new garden at the back of the house that I started last year. I was hoping to plant a bunch of herbs to have near the kitchen door, but most of them are dying because the ground is too wet there. Need to rethink my strategy for next year.
I have had my bay tree for 3 or 4 years now. I keep it in a pot because we have to bring it in the garage during the Winter or it would die. It's now just about as tall as I am & I am very proud of it. However, I have to keep in mind that my Dad's 'kitchen bay' that he bought in a 4 inch pot is now a 20 foot tree in their back yard-I miss English growing conditions!!!!
My project for this year was to try to fill in the empty spots in the garden and try to get some tall stuff to grow along the fence. I also decided to experiment & not cut everything back so much as it went over. My plan was to let things grow together so that they could support each other. I have a suspicion that my azaleas will all be dead from lack of light when I cut everything back in the Fall!!!!
On top of the huge number of rabbits and squirrels that we have, we now have a large infestation of Japanese beetles and moles. The moles have become so bad that we had to get someone in to set some traps. Now we have mole traps all over the yard and the moles seem to be happily designing new runs to stay away from them!!!!
This is the part of the garden that always seems to do the best, no matter what is planted there
Another one of this year's experiments is to try to get sweet potato vine to grow down the wall in the corner (came from a suggestion by my friend Prerna who grows it every year). It's taken a while to get going, but a plan is coming together. If I have success, I might expand it next year
I don't have much luck with seeds, but I tried 5 or 6 packets this year & got these few to survive (in the "magic" part of the garden only of course)
This is my new garden at the back of the house that I started last year. I was hoping to plant a bunch of herbs to have near the kitchen door, but most of them are dying because the ground is too wet there. Need to rethink my strategy for next year.
A very wet day
Saturday was a day filled with water. The Summer reading program had a picnic and water games lunchtime meeting. The kids had pizza & soda and then played with water balloons, sponges, beach balls and a backyard wading pool. 
Then, we went down to the City Garden for Ben's scout pack meeting. They were celebrating their first year anniversary and so the whole place was packed. the kids spent the next 2 hours in one of the pools there. We left there and the kids went to Kids Night Out at the YMCA. Ben went swimming in the pool 3 times before we picked him up. He was in the water all day and in his swimsuit all day!!! When do kids grow out of wanting to be in water all the time?
Then, we went down to the City Garden for Ben's scout pack meeting. They were celebrating their first year anniversary and so the whole place was packed. the kids spent the next 2 hours in one of the pools there. We left there and the kids went to Kids Night Out at the YMCA. Ben went swimming in the pool 3 times before we picked him up. He was in the water all day and in his swimsuit all day!!! When do kids grow out of wanting to be in water all the time?Summer reading program
Our library has a Summer reading program where the kids get a small prize for every 10 hours that they read during the Summer. Because Ben & Maggie have been in Summer school & they read every day at Adventure Club, they quickly got up to their 50 hours this Summer. I took them over to the library to claim their prizes. They got to write their names on one of the boards in the library & add a sticker for each set of 10 hours
They got a plastic fish, a goodie bag, a bendable pirate and a frog beach ball. They will also be getting trophies with their names on them. Summer school is over and they are now at the YMCA, so now it's up to Mum to get them reading every day. That could be quite a challenge!!!!
They got a plastic fish, a goodie bag, a bendable pirate and a frog beach ball. They will also be getting trophies with their names on them. Summer school is over and they are now at the YMCA, so now it's up to Mum to get them reading every day. That could be quite a challenge!!!!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
This was a great idea
There was an article on SLU's newslink about their Walking to Madrid campaign today. I am determined I'm going to keep walking, even after the whole program is finished. Hope they don't want their pedometer back!!!!
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