New Letter Style

This one was not chalked at all, but was left black and white, but it still looks amazing.

This is the craft we did at girls camp this year. It is a calendar holder for all those calendars the girls get from young women's that sit on the counter or fridge or get lost. It has 2 bulldog clips on the bottom to clip the calendar to and hangs by white ribbon tied in a know. We gave the girls a simple white piece of cardstock and then taught them the basics of "doodling" which they then got to do, and add color by chalking. They all turned out so different and cool!

My girls & I made little boxes and decoupaged paper on them with ribbon and then added a wooden letter to the front. It comes in handy and has been very useful.

This is a sample of the new cursive font that I recently finished. As you can see from the measuring tape, the capital letters measure about 14" tall with the lower case letters measuring between 5 to 6" tall.

So today...

I went out into the garden and was watering and looking around. I was actually pretty much just putzing around out there with the excuse of watering, and I found a watermelon (sun, moon & stars variety)  and 2 canteloupes (hearts of gold variety)! So exciting. They are, of course, still very small, and have a long way to go, but they are there. I can't wait to watch them grow! The plants have been vining all over the place and last year by this time, I had a large watermelon. It has been kind of a strange year. I am assuming that because last year was so much warmer, the plants grew a little faster than this year. I also am trying a new variety this year..."NC Giant". (I found the seed packet at the local feed store while I was picking up some hay for my daughter's horse.) It is reputed to be known for it's record weights, with a sweet taste. It has just begun vining so it will also be a while before I see anything on it.

I am expecting a delivery of planters tomorrow for my front and back porch. I have some by my front door and about a month ago, we had a very strange kind of liquid seeping from it. We couldn't quite figure out what it was and then my landscaper who owns "Landcraft" (and they are AWESOME) and has been working on my pool/barbeque area, tasted it for me. We determined that it was honey and that night, my husband discovered a hive on the second story of our home that had begun dripping honey down through the wall and onto the front porch, coming out under the pot.



You can just see it there under the eaves. We had an exterminator come out, who said that they were "africanized", as they had attacked them while they were up there, and that they had been there a while. In which case, we would probably have honey dripping off our house for a month or so. Well, they were right. However, the honey did something to the pots at my door, and now they smell like something has rotted in them. So, needless to say, I have to get something else, and that something else, is coming tomorrow. I purchased some square concrete ones and am going to just change everything out into them. I will post pictures when they are completed. The only down side to the whole thing, is that I have noticed a dramatic difference in the amount of bees out in my garden doing their little work. It's always something, isn't it?

[caption id="attachment_139" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Blanket Flower"][/caption]

So, I found this little perrenial, Blanket Flower, at the local hardware store's nursery and remembered seeing it in my aunt and uncle's yard down in Tucson. Love it! It is such a pretty color! I have it growing right now by my fountain in my front yard, and it is doing ok, surprisingly enough, in a little pot.

I have some tentative plans to clear a little space by the paver walkway that is leading into the entrance to my garden for my zinnia seeds in the early am. Early because it is so stinking hot, otherwise! And of course, it isn't summer without the zinnas. And they grow like weeds. My mom has some that are doing great and only a couple inches high so far in her front flower beds and one has even started to bloom!

So, until tomorrow...the garden awaits.

Let's talk tomatoes!

[caption id="attachment_132" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Oodles of Tomatoes!"][/caption]

It has been such a long time since my last post, but I have been so busy in the garden and canning, with everything else, that there hasn't been a lot of time left for blogging! I have canned a total of 28 quarts of tomatoes so far. My family swears they hate tomatoes, and I have to constantly remind them that they LOVE salsa and spaghetti sauce and homemade soup, all of which require tomatoes. They sure have been wonderful to eat as a salad on their own and on a sandwich. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water...

June in the garden in Arizona is HOT, but today was a wonderfully overcast day and only in the 90's. YAY! So, I did a little cleaning up and found a HUGE armenian cucumber! It was so huge I had to cut it in half to get it out from under the topiary I had them growing on. Of course, since it was about 6 inches in diameter, it was just big and pretty much hollow. So, I gave it to the chickens and they have been pecking at it all day!

Apricots are coming off like crazy right now. My in-laws have one tree that is covered. I received a bag of apricots from my sister-in-law and turned them into jam. That will be pretty tasty mixed with some honey and soy sauce and put over some pork to slow cook. Maybe I will cook that on Sunday for dinner.

Clean up in the garden today:

-pulled out the spent zucchini plants

-cleaned all the leaves out from under the eggplant

-fertilized the bell pepper plants (they needed it terribly)

-replanted cucumber (for pickles), melon & pumpkin

-harvested bush bean seeds for next year

-picked all the tomatoes off that were ripe

-harvested all the onions & few carrots that were left

-gave everything a good soak

-turned the compost pile

I can hardly wait for my new planters to arrive next week so I can put some zinnia seeds in them. It doesn't feel like summer to me without zinnias.

I am on the hunt for some comfrey seeds because my daughter wants to grow some for her horse.  I've never grown it before, but if she is interested in it, we will try it...The things we do for our kids.

Until next time, happy growing.

It's been a while...

So it's been a while since I last posted. So much has been happening in the garden. Everything is growing and getting larger and starting to set fruit. It's so funny, because every day I check the eggplant for new fruit, and have seen a few but yesterday, oh my gosh, found these ginormous eggplants that I didn't even realize were there. That's what I love about the garden. There is always something new happening. So, guess what we are having for dinner tonite? That's right. Eggplant.



[caption id="attachment_113" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Notice the double eggplant on the left. It probably had a double bloom that was fertilized."][/caption]

Anyway, there are tons of tomatoes which is good, because soon it will be getting hot. I have been so happy with these tomatoes this year. I have several varieties, and it will be interesting to see which does the best. I just recently read an article about tomatoes and it did say that if you water them too much, they become tasteless. So, I guess there is a happy medium to watering...not too much, not too little, but just right.



The snap peas are just setting blossoms, which is just in time. The bunching onions are some that a friend of mine gave me out of her garden last year. They have done so amazing, I can't even believe it. I just chop some off the top and use them in salsa, kind of like chives, and let them keep growing. However, some of them are starting to flower and need to be used up, even though we have been eating salsa about twice a week and are starting to small like garlic. You know you've had too much, when several of your kids reek like garlic when they come to kiss you goodnight, or good bye to go to school. Not good, but delicious!



[caption id="attachment_118" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="The peas are growing like crazy!"][/caption]

And just for fun, I love this little guy. I have him set at from front door, but I think now that Easter is over, I am going to move him into the garden for a while!

[caption id="attachment_119" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="The mantra of every gardener!"][/caption]

The baby chickens are now 6 weeks old, and it is starting to stay warmer at night, so I thought I would introduce them to the other hens. Unfortunately, it has become very apparent that 2 of them are roosters, so only one will be staying, but I feel so bad for her and don't want that little hen to be alone with the bigger hens, that I have decided to leave the roosters with her until they get a little bigger. Or, at least until they start crowing, in which case, they will be out of here. But they seem to be doing ok.

[caption id="attachment_120" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="The new babies with the hens."][/caption]

On a side note, the chicken in the middle, went to chicken heaven yesterday. She had been eating all my eggs and was starting to pull feathers off one of the other chickens. It was a sad day yesterday. Very sad.

I have noticed some little birdies at the bird feeder that are very pretty. I don't know what they are, but they have red all over their head and chest. Check them out!

[caption id="attachment_125" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="The birdies have found the bird house!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_126" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="The potatoes are doing amazing."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_127" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Zucchini are starting to flower."][/caption]

Just a side note. It looks like finally the black eyed susan vine might be finally starting to germinate and sprout. I think it has been about 2 weeks since I planted those seeds. I'm not entirely sure that that is what it is, so we shall see. According to the literature I have read, they only last for 3 years, and they you have to replant.

I so love this time of year.

The Garden Is Growing

This morning I noticed how much the tomatoes have grown. There are small to medium tomatoes everywhere and they look the best they have ever looked! I'm always on the lookout for horn worms. Haven't seen any so far. Thank heaven! Last week I did a foliar spray of fish emulsion on everything. I have noticed a little difference. I think everything definately needs it again. One of my pepper plants is nitrogen depleted. I need to do something about that today. Despite that, one of the plants has 2 peppers on it, which is wonderful. I found 2 small grasshoppers today, and relocated them to heaven, since a couple of years ago I didn't do that and learned the hard way that they LOVE cucumbers. I lost all the plants. So, needless to say, that is not going to happen again.

I did have to replant okra today as only about 50 percent of the seeds ended up germinating. I don't have real good luck with okra. I need to do some research into that. The seeds look so much like sweet pea seeds and maybe they would do better if I would soak them overnite.

Other seeds that were planted today were: lettuce, sunflower, nasturtium, pumpkin, lemon balm, black-eyed susan vine and carrot. This was done in an effort to stagger the maturity rate of the plants, or in other words, so I can have plants continuing to mature and not all at the same time. What is the word for that? My brain just can't remember it this am.

Loving the SFG method, though. I do have a few squares empty for some more of something in a few weeks.

Yesterday, my hubby and I made a day trip to Sedona, AZ to pick up some wonderful tiles from Sid Dickens, which has absolutely nothing to do with gardening. However, the store where we were purchasing these at, had some other wonderful items, which were gardening things. The store is called, Hummingbird House, and is located in what used to be the very first market store in Sedona. They have restored it and carry gardening items as well as other home decor things as well. I happened to pick up a wonderful green iron tripod garden trellis with a cute little bird on the top. I love it!

I also picked up a beautiful little mexican redbud in a 5 gallon size at the Ace Hardware on the edge of Sedona. I've been looking for one of these for several years now and excited to get it into the ground.

Sounds like I have my work cut out for me in the garden for the next week or so, especially since I noticed the weeds are enjoying the weather as much as the everything else in the garden.

[caption id="attachment_104" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="A new addition to the entrance of the garden."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_105" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Tomatoes"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_106" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Pepper plant"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_107" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="The iron tripod trellis from Hummingbird House."][/caption]

SFG layout

[caption id="attachment_91" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Overal view of left side of garden"][/caption]

Overall view of right side of garden

Smart Pot

Zucchini

Planning a semi-permanent garden style and layout is definately a big decision. I think that more than anything, it's important to read as much as you can about a certain style and gather as many opinions from different people as you can, as well as attend some gardening classes if they are available. And even then, the only way to learn how to garden is to get out and garden!

For such a long time I would buy books, magazines and just dream about gardening and what I would do if I had a garden. And then one day I realized that if what I really wanted was a garden, I was the only one who was going to do it! It just really hit me that sitting around dreaming and thinking about it wasn't going to get it done. I needed to get up and do it. Now, our back yard has been through a few phases in the short 4 years that we have lived here. I have been a fan of Mel Bartholomew's book, "All New Square Foot Gardening", after purchasing his previous edition off of a sale rack at the local book store. I have pored over those pages at night and carted it around in my car to read when I had spare time. So, I knew that I wanted to try it. So, I carted home some cement blocks from Home Depot and made a 4 foot by 4 foot square and filled it with soil and started a garden. It didn't look very pretty. And I discovered that black widows loved to get up in the brick. This freaked me out and freaked my kids out. So, we moved the garden to the back corner of the yard.

My husband took all spring and into the summer 2 years ago to put the fencing in. That was a definate chore. But, necessary, considering that we have a crazy dog who likes to run through everything. And, it does look nice. But the general layout was done by me, with cedar boards screwed together as directed in Mel Bartholomew's book. I did one bed at a time, because it was hard work. And I filled them with garden soil, one bed at a time, for the same reason. So, now I have 4 long beds measuring 4 ft by 12 ft. and 2 beds measuring 3 ft. by 12 ft. I don't find the thinner beds easier to work with. They are both very easy to garden and plant and turn the soil over in. I have loved this style. I rarely get weeds in them, for whatever reason, I am not sure. I do get weeds in the pathways, which are now covered in small pea gravel. I do have to water every day, though. But the soil is so wonderful to work with, I can handle that. And I really have no tilling to speak of. My opinion of the square foot garden is all positive and if I had to choose all over again, heaven forbid, I would do the same thing.

I am trying a new thing this year. I purchased a "smart pot" from www.gardeners.com and put some russet seed potatoes in it. It is a pot that is a permeable fabric. It definately waters well. We will see how it does. I am kicking around the idea of purchasing another one to put some red potatoes in it.

In the picture above of the overall view of the left side of the garden, you can see that some of the broccoli has gone to seed. What happened was that in the fall, I planted some cabbage and broccoli in that bed. I then proceeded to schedule our family up so much with holiday activities that I was pretty worn out and just couldn't muster up any energy to garden. I don't think I watered that garden more than a handful of times. So, it was extremely nice of the weather to cooperate with me and give us all that rain. But when I went out to check out how the garden was looking a couple of months ago, I found the broccoli all gone to seed and covered in bees. And because I really need those bees, I have kind of left it that way for them. They really don't bother me at all when I am watering. They are just busy little bees...

As you can see, the zucchini have gotten so much bigger since the previously posted picture. Seeds are the way to go! So easy, so much cheaper, and if they don't sprout, put another seed in! No big deal!!!

[caption id="attachment_84" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="The new baby chickies at 2.5 weeks"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_85" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="The birdhouse my son & I built a couple of years ago for scouts now has it's permanent home."][/caption]

It is a gorgeous day! I am so loving this weather. It's too bad we can't have this all day, every day. Because life would be just about perfect as far as I'm concerned.

First off, the little chickies are getting pretty cute. I was over at my father-in-laws yesterday, and he only has 3 little ones left out of the 5 I left him with. I do think he has 2 baby hens, & 1 rooster. Of course, it is hard to tell. We'll have to see if I am right.

And the garden is coming right along. I really love to put a seed in the ground and watch for that first little disturbance of soil with a little peep of green shooting through. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I just can't stand it and I did a little to see if the seed is sprouting.

A couple of years ago, my then 9yr old son was needing to make a birdhouse for display at a pack meeting. We looked for a while online for a good design. He wanted to do something cool. Finally, I just told him that while he was at school, I would design it out and them he could help cut it and put it together. So, when he got home, that's what we did. He actually did all the putting together and them also painted it. We hunted all over for something to do the roof with and then came up with cutting thin aluminum flashing and fashioning a roof from that. So, he & I cut the pieces and I held them while he nailed them to the birdhouse. It even has a hinged door so it can be cleaned out if needed. Then he painted the whole thing himself. When we took it to pack meeting that nite, of course, all the other birdhouses were ones that were not quite as ornate.  And no one believed that he did so much of it himself. However, I am very proud of him and the birdhouse we made together. I think it looks amazing in the yard. The tray around it is for bird seed. It just needs an occupant...

I finally got the hen house painted. I love the green color. Yesterday, I was in the car with my daughter and I had the idea that what it needs is some shutters to each side of the window with a rooster cut-out. I found a picture of some today and I might start work on those this afternoon if I have time. I can hardly wait. It will be so cute! My husband & I built this last year with some help from some of the kids. We bought the plans online. Then this winter, he and my brother put the shingles on the roof. He loves to talk about how much it costs, but I think the best thing is that even in the summer, those chickens have some glorious shade, as well as the fact that I can walk into it and clean it out. The chickens seem to like it but of course, they love to come out of it just as much.

[caption id="attachment_99" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Front view of hen house."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_100" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Back view of hen house."][/caption]