Springtime, the Only Pretty Ring Time

My seeds are sprouting! What Joy is Mine!
These are Rattlesnake Beans (isn't that a great name?) and the little greenery in the background are Thai Long Beans.

Everything is starting to sprout that I planted a few weeks ago, so that is a wonderful sign. The peppers, which I planted last, are the last to show, but that's okay. I learned from last year's garden that peppers will keep growing well into winter here, so I planned to plant them last.

It took several weeks of preparing the beds, digging deep to till the soil, then adding in wheelbarrows full of peanut mulch to the turned dirt. After that, I added wheelbarrows full of composted cow manure to provide more nutrients. The peanut mulch should continue to break down and add nutrients (as well as water-holding capability) to the quick draining, nutrient-poor soil.

It took several days to plant all the seeds - this is the largest garden I've ever had, I think (haven't figured out square footage).

The garden this year is very experimental. I planted many items several times in different areas - sometimes in part shade, sometimes in full sun, sometimes trellised, sometimes free. I'm going to look at their progress and see what works best for the plants.

I don't have too many types of tomatoes, but I should have a lot of plants (if they survive) so hopefully I'll get a good production this year.

I'm interested to see what the difference in soil will bring about for the plants. Last year, they were planted in straight mulch. Some plants I even planted right next to each other this year, but some were planted in the prepared soil mix I made, and some were planted in the plain ol' sand, literally within inches of each other.

Here is a list of everything I'm growing this year (for those of you interested - I know some people definitely are, and some definitely are not!):

Maters
Early Wonder Tomato
Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge Tomato
Floradade Tomato
Homestead Tomato
White Currant Tomatoes

Beans & Peas
Chinese Red Noodle Bean
Chinese Mosaic Bean
Thai #2 Seeded Long Bean
Rattlesnake Pole Bean
Christmas Lima Bean
Shelling Peas #9
Shelling Peas, Oregon Sugar Pod

Cucumbers
Thai Green Cucumber
Telegraph Improved Cucumber
Yok Kao Cucumber

Squash
Luffa
White Bush Scallop Squash
Black Beauty Squash (Zucchini)
Early Prolific Straightneck Squash
Gaggle of Gourds

Peppers
Ethnic Sweet Carmen Pepper
Hungarian Wax Pepper
California Wonder Sweet Pepper
Serrano del Sol Pepper
Thai Red Chilli Pepper
Jimmy Nardello Pepper
Tam Jalapeno
Anaheim Pepper

Greens
Rainbow Swiss Chard
Arugula
Pepper Cress
Garden Cress
Siamese Dragon Stir Fry Mix
Lettuce Mereille de Quatre Saisons
Rocky Top Lettuce Mix
Mesclun Mix

Miscellaneous
Tomatillo Verde
Saxa 2 Radish
Lemongrass
Edible Flower Mix
Wilson Sweet Watermelon
Onions
Garlic
Yarrow

Herbs and Spices
Sage
Dill
Genovese Basil
Italia Large Leaf Basil
Rosemary
Parsley
Wild Zaatar Oregano
Thyme
Culantro
Cilantro
Slo-Bolt Cilantro
Thai Sweet Basil
Siam Queen Thai Basil
Thai Holy Basil
Turmeric
Chives

The herbs growing in their pots.

Tomatoes, Lettuce and Squash in their little planter.

The azaleas are blooming!
My whole laundry room (they're right outside of the laundry room window) is pink from the light filtering through their petals. My very own La Vie en Rose. :)

I've got Spring Fever so I've been listening to a lot of madrigals and classical music that celebrate Spring! Love it! (And hence, the title of this post, which is from Shakespeare's As You Like It, and written by Thomas Morley. I sang it in college choir.)

Happy Days.

PS> This post was written yesterday and due to some technical difficulties, didn't make it up til today.  But, that allows me a side note about today: 

I went outside this morning and was greeted by sweet, fresh, flower-scented air.  It was so delicious, I called the boys out to smell it.  I don't know what it was, but it was definitely Spring in the Air! :) 

So, I spent all morning in the garden, weeding, planting (flowers), and re-stoning the garden.  I swept up the front walk, swept out the garage, tended the compost, and raked the leaves from the "shade" garden - which is directly under an oak tree.  I set up stakes for tomatoes, and devised a system to plant more maters with fewer stakes (I'm low on bamboo stakes for some reason - can't find the ones we had last year)...so hopefully that will work.

Anyway, the garden is really taking shape, moreso than it ever did last year, and I'm really pleased with its progress.  Yay, a tidy front yard garden that isn't an eyesore of neve- finished-ness!

Happy days!

Springtime Mantel

This is my new Springtime mantel.  If you click on the picture, you can see it more closely.

(I had to look up the proper spelling of mantel/mantle...it is, in fact, mantel!) 

I have been wanting to do a bird theme on the mantel for a while now, to celebrate Springtime, and today, I finally got it done!

Pardon the horrid photos - my living room is a dark hole that sucks out every bit of light, including flash.  It's a bit of a cave, really.  Another reason I really want to paint that brick white.  I love white-painted brick fireplaces (almost as much as I love painted stone fireplaces) but Jason said I have to wait unti the house is finished until I can use the leftover paint for the fireplace.  Smart and prudent he is, and so I wait.  But I'm chomping at the bit to get it painted because I think that will help reflect light in the room and make it far less cave-like.  It would make my little spring mantel downright splendiforous. 

Anyway, I did a bird theme.  Grandmom had given me an old birdhouse to use for the front of the house birdhouse project, but I thought it was so cute that I couldn't bear to spray paint it, so I decided to use it indoors instead.  Voila - instant cuteness on mantel!  I had to go around the house, trying to find bird-related items (I don't have many knick-knack items in the house, since I hate to move all that stuff hither and yon) and everything on the mantel is what I came up with. 

The pictures in the middle are actually Audubon prints (I have a soft spot for Audubon prints) that I found free online, printed on regular ol' printer paper, and stuck in frames I already had (for another project that I haven't gotten around to).  I couldn't go check to see if I had more frames because Willie is fast asleep in the room where I need to look, so I'll look later. :)

The wooden boat is something we picked up at Uncle Jonny's house yesterday.  An old deckhand of his made it for him, I think out of little wood scraps, and Jonny didn't want it anymore, so we took it.  I don't know where to put it yet, so on the fireplace it sits, waiting for its new home.

 

The only non-bird themed item is the little mouse that I received in my Easter Basket many many many moons ago.  It's Easter, so she's out and in the spotlight :)  Voila - my one single solitary Easter decoration.

The birdhouse, feather in a bottle, and metal bird.

 

Leif with his new train table (just set up this morning). 

His cousin didn't want it anymore, so we took it home yesterday from their house.  It is practically new, and hardly used, and Leif is loving it.  I'm loving that it has its own storage underneath, and a little cushioned chest (also storage) for Leif to sit on as he plays at the table.  Ooh, snap! 

He's playing with his Mallard Duck (He says, "It's a duck.  His name is Mallard.") that was in his Easter Basket this year.

Anyway, I'm ver' pleased with my little mantel...now if only I could get it painted!

Happy days!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you and yourn! :)

More pictures

 

Down to the Water with Grandmom

Taking in the scene.

 

Silly fun!

 

Touching the Ocean.

More Pictures

 

Frolicking in the Waves

Looking at the view.

 

Leif found the Moon!  I don't think I got it in he picture, though - it was only a faint sliver.

 

Kaboom!  Firing the canon at the fort.

Weekending

 

 At St. Augustine Beach

Grandmom and Granddad flew in on Saturday morning, and we drove the very long way to get them (it took us longer to drive there than it did for them to fly!) - but that's life when you live no where near an airport!

We spent all day Saturday in St. Augustine, exploring the sites, and made a quck trip to St. Augustine Beach to see the Ocean.

On top of Castillo de San Marcos.  Three generations of handsomeness, eh?

 

Inside the lookout turret atop the castillo.

Looking out over over the view and being a little silly.

On Sunday, Grandmom and Granddad took Leif to the Jacksonville Zoo.  Leif told everyone he met with, "We're going to the zoo!" all excitedly.  And I mean EVERYONE he met with - hotel staff, strangers walking their dog, you name it.  It was rather cute.  Not only did he get to see all of the animals, but the zoo has a train ride around the zoo.  Naturally, Leif rode it three times.

While they were at the zoo, Jason and I went out to a quick lunch, then to Penzey's, then to Whole Foods to fortify our pantry with whole grains, natural sweeteners, and other such lovelies. 

Then we all drove home, fell in to bed, and spent Monday recovering.  We're all a little zombie-ish today, but hopefully tomorrow we'll awake bright-eyed and bushy tailed!

I have more pictures, but honestly, I'm too lazy to post them right now. 

You like the new header? (Reader/Email subscribers, hop on over to the site to check it out!)  On Thursday, I chanced to glance out the window, and there were hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of birds - mainly white pelicans and flocks of cormorants, feeding and flying just beyond our island (and stretching across our entire view).  They moved around, following the fish, eating, flying, eating, flying.  I've never seen anything like it.  My camera didn't really do it justice (didn't have a zoom lens on me), but still, you get the gist of what it must have looked like to see birds as thick as that almost as far as the eye could see!  It was truly spectacular. 

Anyway, off to bed now.  Happy nights.

Weekending

The sunrise on Saturday morning, all a-blur thanks to my ever-wobbly hands. I thought it looks rather like a watercolor painting, though, don't you?

We had a wonderful busy weekend.

Jason was home the whole weekend, which is a rarity among rarities.

We spent the whole weekend working around the house, trying to check things off the giant list I'd created (all due for completion by today, the Ides of March). Most of them were not completed, as I expected they would not from the beginning (I'm not a pessimist - the list was to light a fire beneath us and get us to act!)

We scraped walls, patched them, washed them, and primed them.

We amended the soil of the old garden bed by adding gobs of composted manure. Gobs, I tell you, gobs.

We dug up three new garden beds.
Later in the week, we'll mix in composted manure and peanut mulch and smooth it all out to prepare it for planting.

We'll also be building trellises from bamboo poles to help the tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, luffa, and anything else that likes trellising, grow.

We completed the "Birdhouse Project" which is basically a slew of birdhouses nailed up to the front of our house in a row. Here is a straight on view - I'll post more pictures later that give you a better idea. That's the main garden bed - all that dirt piled up in front of the house. :)

We made two big batches of Granola. Then we ate it for dessert with Greek Yogurt and fresh Strawberries while watching silly movies. Heaven.

We decluttered the yard from all the debris that had collected after several straight days of rainy windy weather. Some of the fallen branches were heavier than Leif, but they're on the burn pile now, ready to burn!

We planted herbs in terracotta pots. I decided to grow herbs in pots this year instead of taking up too much space in the garden. I may still plant doubles in the actual garden where other plants didn't take. The pots, otherwise, would sit empty in the garage, and that seems like such a waste!

Talking on the phone to Grandmom and Granddad. We've moved on from the 80s and have a new phone now - a cordless wonder (ooooooh!) so maybe now we can hold an entire conversation without buzzes, breaking up, or muted tones interrupting the call. What a dreamy thought!

We pruned all the Hibisci and tossed the prunings on to the burn pile (we have at least 6 hibisci, plus we pruned everything that looked as if a pruning might do it good. We'll see whether "good" is actually what happens.)

We made and froze chicken broth. Isn't that exciting?

When I say We, I mean WE scraped the walls down. As Leif always says, "We allllll woorrrrrk TOgether!!!" Notice the artwork - Leif and Willie did that some time ago with painted toys - apparently they leave their color behind when rubbed on the wall. Who knew?

When you're 3'3", you need a little boost to reach those high spots! (Yup, we measured the little guy this weekend, too!)

So, now we're on in to the week, and we're still keeping busy. I have loads more of things to check off my to-do list before Grandmom and Granddad arrive this weekend. Then, after their visit, I have a large NEW to-do list to complete. Will the fun never cease? :)

Hope you had a good weekend and enjoy a lovely week!

You Want a Piece of Me?

Below is a video (does it work, does it work?) of an example of some very bad mothering on my part: Leify eating Doritos while singing his version of Britney Spear's "Piece of Me" - one of my workout songs. He's never actually heard the song, he just hears me singing it while I am listening to my ipod. Her version says, "You want a piece of me?" in an angry tone while Leif's version is a sing-songy, "You want a piece of Leify?" over and over and over. Normally, he sings more clearly, but the excitement of being on video and the cheese Doritos being stuffed in to his mouth make him a little mumbly. Enjoy!

What We've Been Up To

Leif comforts Willie, who had just been dropped off by his Momma, and he was missin' her terribly. I was holding Willie, trying to make him feel better, and Leif said, "Mommy, let me hold him!" Leif is only and inch or so taller than Willie, so that didn't seem so feasible. So, I sat Leif in the chair, set Willie on top, and Leif held and cuddled him, saying, "Don't be sad, Willie, your Momma will be back later" and other comforting things. He patted him on the back, rubbed his head (ooh, fuzzy!) and gave him kisses. After around 90 seconds of this sadness, they both were up and being chased by "Ghosts" around the house and they played happily the rest of the day.
:)

It's been a pretty dull week around here (I LOVE dull weeks!)

Leif and I have been working on projects together, playing trains, reading books, and cleaning (he likes to put the silverware away from the dishwasher, as well as his own dishes) and having a jolly good time.

I scraped down the bedroom walls, finally. Then I'll be needin' to spackle and patch the bare spots before priming and painting. All very scary for me because I've neve done that on my own (or really, much at all) but I'm resolved to start getting more things done myself without relying on Jason, who is crazy busy right now. I'm capable of doing it, so I'm just trying to focus on getting it done. We only have the bedroom, living room, and kitchen to do, and then we're done - finally!

I have a whole list of projects that I'm trying to finish by a certain date (an arbitrary date I picked at random - coincidentally, the Ides of March - cue the Twilight Zone music!) Since that is only 9 days away, I'm pretty certain a number of them won't be accomplished, but I'm pleased that I'm getting so many done, little by little, every day! If I hadn't had a goal, none of it would have gotten done, so I'm happy that most of the projects WILL be done by then. After all - If you aim for nothing, you'll hit it!

We had a day of really high tides this week - I think it was the highest I've ever seen it.

I think it was just the wind blowing it in, so I wasn't worried about it - it still had a long way to go to reach the house!

I took these pictures an hour or so before it peaked - it still came in quite a bit more after this!

The line of little shrubberies (Bring meeee....a shrubbery!) marks the end of the yard.
As you can see, the water came up well past that and engulfed our Burn Pile, the pile of yard debris in the middle there.

This is what was left of Hawk Bath Key - the little island right off of our dock.
A few tops of plants were left out of the water - that's it!

Taken from the dock toward the house.
Where I was standing is where the yard ends, which is where the highest tide normally reaches.

Fun, Fun!

It was actually a very pretty day (I love wind!)

There have been little signs of Spring popping up - we saw our first blossoming tree the other day, and a second one a few days later, near our house! Yay, Spring!

Anyway, I'm off to work on some projects - Happy Weekend!

Leif at Work

Here he is, working the garden soil yesterday.
We've been spending most of our time outside, digging. Today, though, is a rainy stormy day, so we've spent it inside, drinking tea (me) and trying to get over our colds (both of us - and Jason is sick, too!)

Working my arch-nemesis, Play-Doh.

I love it because he loves it (and so do I - really, who doesn't like Play-Doh?) but I can't stand it because it crumbles all over and gets mushed into the carpet, where it dries in to the fibers or the rug, never to come out again. And, it stains things. Sorry, I'm ranting now. But really, total love-hate relationship with that stuff.

Leif uses cylindrical crab mallets to roll out the dough, cookie cutters to cut it out.
We have precious few cookie cutters (I'm so picky about them that I never buy them, which is rather odd of me) but the heart one he is using is from Aunt Katie's Bridal Shower, I think. He's been lovin' makin' hearts lately! Dig that concentration!

New haircut, chubby belly, sweet little pinchable cheeks - working his play-doh while the rain pours down outside.
Love that little guy!

PS.  While I was typing this post, he took the time to dump all of those crumbly pieces of Play-Doh on to the carpet and then stomped on them with his feet.

Night. Mare.

But I still love 'im!

Things I love:

Things I Love:

:: The smell of freshly dug earth. Almost as good as frying bacon, or a freshly-washed babe. Mmm...

:: Sore muscles created by hard work.

:: Calloused hands. 

:: That deep deep sleep caused by physical work.

:: Being outside when the birds are twittering on a bright sunny day.

:: The prospect of new things springing to life by your very own hands.

:: The thought of fresh summer tomatoes.  The smell of a tomato vine is up there with bacon, babies, and dirt!

:: The funny stories and giggles coming from a certain three-year old who is "helping" his Momma dig.

Hmmn...can you tell the Gardening Fervor Season has begun around here?

While most folks are still buried under the snow, we're turning earth and prepping the soil for the summer veggie garden. 

The picture above is one part of the garden where we've been digging.  All day.  Yesterday, we dug for over an hour.  2-3 feet deep in spots. 

What comes up when we dig that deep is pure beautiful white sand. 

Absolutely gorgeous. 

Looks like snow. 

Of course, I go and mix it in with the darker sand, the mulch, and the composted mulch. 

Not as pretty anymore.

But I'm thrilled.

Because that mixture means new possibilities in the garden this year.

Last year, in a rush, we scooped loads of peanut mulch onto the ground and planted directly in that.

This year, I'm digging below the mulch, deep into the sand below, and mixing it up.

Then I'm going to add composted cow manure and mix that in, too.

Never thought I'd be so excited about cow manure.

But there you have it.

I am.

Ver' ver' ver' excited.

Desperately want some chicks to go with it.

Not so much for their eggs, although that would be good, too.

But for their garden-cleaning ability. 

 Snatching up weeds, weed-seeds, and buggies. 

Dropping their waste on the garden, fertilizing the soil. 

O, Pioneer!

I haven't decided exactly what I'm growing yet this year.  

But I am expanding the garden.

And working on the compost pile.

I can't get my hands on enough gardening info right now.

Magazines, blogs, websites, books, you name it. 

I'm all over it.

I'm practically foaming at the mouth for a new subscription to "Organic Gardening" to arrive.

My potting soil will be here today, so tomorrow, Leif and I will spend the day planting.

And then we'll work more on the soil. 

 Digging, mixing, dumping.

Leif is in his perfect element!

Leif + Dirt = Perfect Happiness

Play trucks, diggers, and excavators are all just bonuses.

:)

What are you planting this year?

Mulch Pile Fun

Leif loves playing on his mulch pile.  He plays there every day, scooping mulch with the digger, loader, and dumptruck.  Then he moves it all around the yard with his wagon, wheelbarrow, shovel and garden rake.  Yesterday, he played for hours outside, and I decided to take a few pictures :)

 

He's also been very in to stacking things...again.  Here, he's ver' pleased with his water tower he built on the coffe table (aka piano bench).  I think it's interesting how kids become interested in something, then drop it like a bad habit.  Then, much later and out of the blue, they're all over it again.  Kind of like the progression and regression in learning.  Ver' interesting.

 

This was a loader that he ripped the loader bucket off of and now uses like a tractor.  It isn't broken, thank goodness (these are toys from Christmas, so they're new!) and when he is ready for the loader again, we'll pop it back on.

More...

Giving the tractor/loader a good inspection.

Love those ears! :)

I think he got the hands on the hips thing from me.  Looks so much cuter on him! :)

This morning, he taught me how to make coffee.  I had never ground the beans (in this grinder) so Leif showed me how to do it.  He helped me through the whole process!  I couldn't have made the coffee without him.  He stayed and watched it brewing (by sitting on his old high chair tray!) - he was fascinated by it today! (That's the coffee machine right behind his head).

Leif funnies:  When he gets something caught between his teeth and needs to floss, he'll go into the bathroom, get out the floss, and take care of it.  He says he has "chicken bones' in his teeth that he needs to get out.  Doesn't matter what it is, it's always chicken bones!