Radishii

A freshly plucked Radish from the Garden.

The first round of radishes are coming to an end (I just planted a second crop, but a bit late, so we'll run out of radishes, or radishii as I call them, before the new ones come in).  I thought I might finally take a picture or two of them, since we've been enjoying them for over a month now.

The squash are going crazy up here.  We have two plants, and they are double the size of the same plants I grew down South.  They are way more prolific, these two plants producing in two weeks what four plants produced in two seasons down there.  Ca-razy. 

For some reason, the tomatoes took a long time to start growing after being transplanted.  Like, 6 weeks.  It was weird.  So, they're a bit behind, but I've also heard that others around here had the same issue with tomatoes not growing once transplanted.  The first little green orbs have just started to show on the bushes.  So, hopefully, we can keep the watering even and the blossom end rot away and have a bumper crop of tomatoes in August and September.

We also had a "mystery" plant growing in the garden.  It kinda looked like a pepper leaf, and it kinda looked like a tomato leaf.  I finally figured it out yesterday...they were the Tomatillos I planted!  I'd never actually grown them before, so I'd never seen the plant.  But it too has little green husked orbs growing on it.  Bring on the Salsa Verde...in September. ;)

These radishes are destined to become roasted radishes and greens - a recipe I found but have never made that uses both the radish root and the green - both roasted in the oven with salt and olive oil.  Mm...sounds good!

It's funny how much easier gardening is here - things grow!  Whereas they hated that southern humidity, they love the sun here (with only the occasional humidity).  I must say, plants aren't the only ones that like the weather better! ;)

I could never grow radishes down south...I tried, but they hated the heat.  Ditto lettuce, cauliflower, etc. etc. etc.  Tomatoes did well, though. 

Anyway, I'm getting all excited to start my Fall garden...if only we could get a house and soon!

Happy Days.

Aren't they pretty?

Lots of Firsts

Leif loved his first pony ride on Ginger at the local historic farm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leif has been accomplishing a lot of "firsts" lately.  He had his first horseback ride, above, which he absolutely adored.  He even said today (weeks after the fact) that he loved it and wants to do it again. 

He has also been doing exceedingly well with his learning.  He counts everything in sight, loves to do basic math, and is basically numbers obsessed.  I'm counting my lucky stars - it is so much fun to work with him when he is really in to what he is doing!  

We've been using workbooks (or activity books, as I call them) which I had originally not been very keen on for various reasons (although I loved them as a child myself) but Leif loves them.  He spends many hours a day with his activity books and we have all different sorts: numbers, writing, reading, history, cutting, etc. as well as the standard tracing, coloring, matching, patterns, etc.  He loves them all.  It's an ongoing lesson to me that just because I think something will not work doesn't mean it won't.  And thinking that something will work for me isn't the point, it has to work for Leif, since he is the one learning.  (All this obvious stuff isn't so obvious when you're in the thick of it!)  Lesson learned, though.  Leif loves his workbooks and they're doing him a world of good. 

Very proud of his 4s, which he wrote out several weeks ago, I'm just slow.  Four is his favorite number right now. :)

He's been writing a ton as well, hot on the heels of his coloring extravaganza where he colored everything he could.  It is so neat to see him come into the phase where he is clearly ready for writing, reading, and 'rithmetic! 

Leif drew a picture for his Daddy, and then wrote "Daddy" (as you can see) underneath - his first word!  Again, he did this a while back, and I'm only now getting to it.  Slooooow Momma.

He's also read his first book, "Mat" of the Bob Book Series.  And see, even before I was able to blog about that first, he's onto his second - "Sam" in the same series.  So he's read two books!  So, we're making a ton of progress there!

It's funny because at this point, it is all fun and games - and yet he is still learning at astonishing rates.  I feel like I hardly do much, but the little that we do has such a huge impact.  We may work on activity books or other activities for 15 minutes to a half hour at a time, a few times a day and that is all.  The rest of the day is play and explore time (and with Leif, exploring almost always includes water).  That's all, and yet he is learning at exponential rates right now.  So cool.

Our house hunt is going.  We've found several houses we like, but so far have yet to make an offer on anything (for various reasons).  Hopefully we'll be in our own place by the end of the summer, though!  We try to include Leif as much as possible, asking what he would like to see in his house (he wants a red house, but will settle for a red shed or playhouse), and what he would like in the yard (chickens, cows, garden, and cutting garden so that he can bring me flowers everyday - that I'll definitely agree to!)  He brings me flowers everyday now...sometimes pretty weed flowers and sometimes real flowers cut from Grandmom's garden (with her permission).  Love that! :)

Baby is doing well, kicking me every time I lay down in bed, and lately, kicking me in the morning when I wake up.  I love the little kicks and rolls.  Leif adores Baby, giving Baby hugs, kisses, and raspberries 50x a day if he does it once!  He will go very far out of his way just to come by and pat Baby (my belly) and say hello and whisper some big brother tidbit to her.  He calls Baby Her since he is thoroughly convinced that Baby is a She.

I have the 20 week sonogram this week, so if we want, we can find out Baby's gender.  I'm shockingly undecided on this point...I don't care if we do know or if we don't.  And if that is the case, I'll probably wait to find out when Baby is born since I'm not too gung-ho to find out now.  Jason is as ambivalent as I am on the subject.  We're as bad with names - neither of us have thought about it at all.  Halfway through the pregnancy, and I can't think of names.  Terrible!  Names or not, I love having the little squiggle pop around in my belly - it's best when Jason and Leif can feel it, too! :)

In other growing news, I pulled up the first radishes from the garden.  I'd been waiting until they were a little bigger to thin them out so I could actually eat them, and yesterday, they were! Some were still a little small, but edible.  They were peppery and hot, but very good. They were the first radishes I've ever successfully grown (the Southern heat killed my crop last summer!) so that was exciting.  I have a few more new types on my "wanna try" list when it comes to radishes.  I love radishes.  And now, I especially love them fresh from the garden and into my mouth.  Oh Happy Day.

Leif pumping water at the historic farm.

So that is about the size of it. 

Homeschooling, pregnancy, house hunting, and  radishes.  That's our life right now.

Not too shabby, eh?

Happy Days.

 

Ebleskivers

Leif is happy to see a plate heapin' full of Ebleskivers (filled pancakes) on the table for breakfast.

We've recently acquired a cast iron Ebleskiver pan, and have fallen head over heels for these little filled pancakes.  Ebleskivers (say it with me: able-skeever) are a Danish breakfast treat made of light fluffy pancake surrounding (or dipped in) a tasty sweet (or savory) filling like Jam, Nutella (stars align, angels sing), or even ham and cheese.  If you drool over the Williams-Sonoma catalog on a regular basis like I do, you're well familiar with them.

This was my first attempt making them.

Hmn...Not so pretty.

They really aren't as burnt as they look - the Black Raspberry jam oozed out of them and created that mess (and a huge mess in the Ebleskiver pan, which I then burned myself on trying to clean!  What I go through for the love of a filled pancake!  Luckily, a dab of Magic Medicine administered by Leif made the pain (and the scar) fade quicker than you can say, "Danish Filled Pancake!")

This was my second attempt:  Better, but still not pretty.

This was my 3rd attempt: Much better!  You can see little ones in the mix there - Leif likes his food "Leify-sized" :)

Sorry for the lack of bloggage lately.

We've been crazy busy on numerous fronts, and I am going on a mad decluttering spree the likes have ne'er been seen before!

The AC on the one side of our house finally kicked it the other day, so I'm sitting here pouring sweat (TMI, anyone?) at 9:15 at night because it is 90 degrees in my living room!!!

I ain't complainin' though (well, okay, maybe I was, but I'll stop now) because the other side of the house has a finely functioning AC unit, and that is where we sleep.  That's all I care about.  I can swelter all day, but when night comes, I want to be cool as the cucumbers that I used to harvest.

Speaking of cukes, I pulled the majority of the cukes, all the zukes, and all of the squash plants and threw them into the compost.

They had completed their lifecycle (in part due to my sudden desire to NOT water them due to an unfortunate mishap the week prior (long story, don't wanna get in to it now!)) and in part due to the fact that they were getting old and not producing as much.

The volunteer tomato seems to be coasting in to her final days, although with those things, you never really know.  They're uber-producers and could keep on producing late into the fall if I let them...But I don't feel like letting them.  I'm in a root-rippin'-up kinda mood, if ya mean what I know.

We've been spending some good time at Nana & Papa's, lazing in the pool for countless hours.

Well, not lazing exactly...more like an intense workout for hours on end, swimming with Leif on my back, pounding the water with my hands to give him a "jacuzzi" and tossing him countless times into the air.

We have a lot of fun, though.

He likes to straddle a noodle and I lift him up and down around the pool, like a carousel seahorse ride.

He loves it and I'm pretty smitten, too.

Anyway, I'm going to stop my suffering and go to the cool side of the house now.

I guess that ends your suffering too because you don't have to read anymore boring rants from me.

Guten Nacht!

Today's Harvest

Today's Harvest.

The ruler on the right to measure the long beans. 

The longest one (the one that curls in at the bottom of the picture) is 21 inches long.

From the top: Thai Long Beans

Middle Row from Left: Zuke, 6 mystery cukes, 2 Telegraph Improved Cukes

Bottom from Left: Basil (Holy and Siam Queen Mixed), White currant Tomatoes, Rattlesnake Beans (shelled).

Most of the tomatoes are eaten before they come in the house.

They're small and tasty.

And for those of you interested, the wooden tray that is holding the veggies is a new multi-purpose tray.

I bought it for Leif's Montessori activities, but it serves multiple duties in addition: holding fruit and vegs (as you can see), and also can be a serving platter for parties (since we have so many of those, y'know!)

And Leif, happy with the harvest (he helps me in the garden most mornings!)

Last night, I started planning my Winter Garden.

Yesterday, I planted more rattlesnake beans, too.

Might as well face it, I'm addicted to gardening! :)

Weekending

Yay! The Thai long beans are out and about!

Let's not mention the fact that they were out the other day, when I posted that I couldn't find any beans from them.

They were, and they looked pretty much like they do there.

Foot-long beans hanging in the air that I completely missed.

Kinda like this guy:

The smooth-skinned Telegraph Improved Cucumber that I had said hadn't made an apparance yet, in that same post.

Clearly, he had, and I just hadn't noticed.

Miss Observant, apparently, I am not.

But oh well.

A gardener is constantly learning.

Ain't that the truth.

This weekend, we caught crabs.

We gardened.

We worked.

We played.

We had a nice Sunday meal:

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak (after eating that recipe my whole life, it still makes me swoon - how many things can you say that about?)

Homegrown Squash and Zukes, broiled in the oven because our little grill is too small to hold all of it.
 :)

And homegrown cucumber salad - Mildred's recipe.

And homemade bread.

MmmMmm, it was good.

And it was fun to have a meal that mainly (aside from the cow) came from the garden.

I just had to take a picture of these crabs because they were just so brilliantly BLUE.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Love Mesome Crab.

One, maybe two people that read this blog will get that sentence, but that's okay.

It makes me laugh.

I can't believe it's Monday.

You know what else I can't believe?

This:

Fait' and Begorrah!  Are those White Pelicans?  In June?

Yup, we saw them yesterday, fly overhead - we both sputtered as we were eating, "Whi-wh-white Pelicans!" and then they landed at a little sand bar out in front of our house.

We've only ever seen them in Winter - generally late winter.

They're supposed to migrate up North to breed.

But apparently some of them didn't want to.

So here they are.

Making my day.

:)

A good week to Ye!

Bread + Cukes + Bike Rides

Leif enjoying breakfast this morning: Black Raspberry Jam on homemade bread and milk.  We bought him new Leify-sized glasses - mainly in part because I was tired of handwashing the metal ones he'd been using prior!

The cucumber jungle.

It creeps out from the trellis and into the driveway...

the watermelons creep on to the driveway from the other side.

I've got to be careful when I park the car! :)

First beans on this plant...I think this one may be a Christmas Lima. 

The only other option is a Thai Long bean...and this looks like a larger pod type, not a long Thai Bean!

I can't tell which plant it's on, because the plants are all intertwined, both on the ground and up the trellis.

The Thai Long beans have really shot up and have big dark green glossy leaves.

I've yet to see a bean produced from them, but they're Thai, so they like the heat and humidity of Summer here.

Well, at least, that is what I'm hoping.

Our days have been in the upper 90s, and "feel like" 104, according to the weatherguy.

A Cancer Update:  I went to the Dr. this week, and they don't like how the skin graft is scabbing.  If it scabs too heavily (it is heavily scabbed now), the graft won't take.  I told them the reason it was scabbed was because the bandages weren't sticking at all.  The last time I was there, a nurse put a bandage on it, and by the time I got to the checkout counter, a man was telling me my bandage was off.  The counter was all of five steps away where the bandage had been put on. 

Anyway, the nurse this time didn't believe me that bandages weren't sticking at all.

Then she tried to put a bandage on my ear.

4 attempts later, I think she believed me.

She finally switched up the type of bandage with a roar of frustration (okay, maybe that's a bit of literary license on my part) and it stuck enough for me to get out of the Dr. Office.

Either way, it's funny the things that have changed due to this.

Not things you'd expect, but odd little things.

Like the fact that I can't use my ipod.

And I can't sleep on my right side, or even lean that way when I'm sleeping on my back.

Funny the little things you don't think of and take for granted everyday.

But soon, I'll be healed up and good as new.

And then I'll be rockin' that ipod.

:)

I'll leave you with a Leif story:

Jason and Leif took a bike ride as I was putting the final touches on dinner.

They rode out to the airport, and then turned to come back, riding alongside the runway.

"Daddy, go faster!" said Leif.

"I can't go faster, Leif.  I'm pedaling against a headwind." Jason said, and explained about headwinds.

"Wind?"  Leify called out into the breeze,

"Can you stop slowing us down? We need to get home to Mommy and dinner!"

:)

Greenery

The cucumbers are taking over. 

They're all over the beans, and as you can see in the right center of the picture, snaking up a baby oak tree.

Our first watermelon!

The watermelon and cukes (in a different garden patch than the first photo above) are also intertwining.

So, the little watermelon is sitting on a cucumber leaf :)

Tiny baby gourds growing!

These have taken over the edible flowers, but oh well!

I have great plans for gourds!

There is a little tomato plant that snuck in to this pot o' basil...do you see him?  He's on the left side of the pot- in the center of the picture.  He's a volunteer.  I just noticed him today.

This is the 6' wide volunteer White Currant Tomato.

See all the little tomatoes growing?

I can't really get a good shot of his width - he's diagonal in the garden and that makes pictures tough!

This is a wonky shot of the Rattlesnake Beans.

They are the dark long pods hanging down - they're diagonal in the picture.

I think I counted around 11 in this picture.

See them?

This is a big beautiful cucumber growing in an oak tree. :)

He's growing off that cuke runner in the top picture of this post.

This was yesterday's harvest.

Yes, that is a ruler.

The three smaller squash are normal sized.

Like you'd buy in a store.

The big one.

Well, I spend over an hour a day in my garden.

Not sure how I missed him!

But I did!

That one is almost a foot long!

In other harvesting news, Jason checked the crab traps and he said we have a dozen good keepers from their first day out! 

Not too shabby for two traps!

Little worried about oil contamination, but we'll just follow the guidelines for everything else around here.

When the oil is 24 hours out, all clamming, etc. will be shut down.

Until then, it's all good.

On a happier note:

I'll leave you with another Leify story:

Yesterday,

as I was pouring myself an iced tea, Leify came up and said,

"Momma! Momma!  I need some water, I'm all chuffed out!"

(you know, from puffing and chuffing down the track!)

:)

Welding, Crabs, and Summer Skies

Leif wearing his welding helmet.

He spent a good deal of last evening welding.

I think his workbench needed a little repair, so that is what he is doing here, welding his workbench.
Note the welding gloves he has on - he has all the proper welding equipment, thanks to Grandmom and Granddad! :)

Thank Goodness not all welders weld in their underwear, though!

Today, I'm going to the Dr. for a "wound check" - to see how the skin graft and stitches are doing.

We changed the bandage on Sunday, and it seemed to be doing fine.

I didn't faint this time.

In fact, I was singing.

Leif has been doing well with his "Leify School" so that is good.

Yesterday, I set up three new homemade activities and he really took to them.

The first was color clothespins where he attached the clothespins to corresponding color cards.

The second (which he is actually doing again right now) is using a dropper to transfer water from one cup to another.

That one is a prerequisite of another color activity.

The third is simply cutting strips of paper and using glue to attach them randomly to another piece of construction paper.

Rocket science, it is not.

But it is his first time using scissors. And glue.

And he loves it and is working on his hand-eye coordination.

In garden news, I've harvested around 10 cucumbers, 1 yella squash, and 1 pattypan squash.

And I've eaten around 20 Rattlesnake Beans right off the vine.

On Friday, I fed the plants with some organic plant food, and Zounds! What a difference!

Lots of vigorous growth, lots of flowering.

Next time I'm at my {new} favorite gardening store, I'm getting the BIG bag of that stuff!

I also sprayed the squash with powdery mildew with a copper spray for organic gardens.

It seemed to wash the mildew right off, but the mildew seems to be recurring.

Not sure what to do anymore with that.

My volunteer tomato (a White Currant Tomato) is taking over the entire tomato section.

It is 6 feet wide.

I kid you not.

I measured it.

It is 6 feet teeming with tiny tomatoes and flowers.

Those things are pro-lif-ic!

Another welding shot.

Yesterday {Memorial Day}, I asked Jason to put out the crab traps.

I've been wanting some crabs lately and thought that the official start of summer was a good time to start! :)

Jason and Leif pull a trap out of storage and get ready to bait and toss it!

I wanted to get some good pictures of the big event, but the bugs were pretty atrocious, so I quickly came back inside and left the boys to their work.

The good news is that the summer skies are back. 

I've always loved the big billowing cumulonimbus clouds.

And the streaky cirrus clouds above them.

Cloud Nerd Alert!

Love me some summer skies.

Anyway.

We're off to do more fun activities.

Have a good day!