Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Flutterbies, Missing Fairies and Pink Polka Dot Grosgrain

Flutterbies. Bees. Lizards. Hummers. Ladybug beetles.
Things you want to see in the garden.
Little Red-Haired Girl is always welcome; although she does have a propensity to walk all over things, looking, presumably, for lizards or other edibles or things to chase...
Fairies might be found in here, none have been spotted yet; but it looks like a wonderland of sitting on leaves spots, with lots of filtered sun...

The prolific cantaloupe have actually started rounding out, it'll be Farmer's Market time for sure, no way to eat them all (though there has been a recipe spotted on Steven Coyne's fabulous Facebook page for dehydrating them, and there is always juice...)
They are all over the yard, if bugs don't get them, there will be tons...
(it's rather infuriating that blogger won't keep pics horizontal when you want them to??)

Peppers seem to like pots. They didn't do well in the ground but perked right up once they were confined??? (no good pics)



It's been monsooning, the plants are loving what little water they get from the sky. They like it from the barrels of saved rain too..
But, with water come mosquitoes and welts appear before you know they've punched you with their punchers..
And since this is an old town, it is very hard to find a sky view without a wire running through it, darn.
Ms. SpoolTeacher hasn't had much time to sit in the Purple Plastic Adirondack Chair, but it is enough to wander about watering for a nature fix and catch a glimpse of a flutterby or look for missing fairies.
She's been working 'bout five days a week as The Cleaning Lady and a little sewing here and there too. She even managed to squeeze in a re-hem for herself. Her mother's old bathroom curtains were a little too long; so she turned up the hem and added two rows of pink and black polka dot twill tape grosgrain ribbon to spruce it up. Now they don't catch as much shower water...


It's nice getting things the way you want them...
Even if it takes longer than you meant...
(Paint Brush Monster is at it again with the bathroom floor. Wasn't happy with the first fix, trying another one...stay tuned..)
Does anyone have a fix for this horizontal issue?














Check this out, Paint Brush Monster has an alter-ego somewhere in England.
http://www.paintbrushmonster.com/

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Strawberries, Cherries and An Angel's Kiss In Spring

Food security.

If you grow your own, you gain a little independence from the big M. If we all do it, we can really leave an impression.

A hummingbird was visiting these pretty pink flowers yesterday.

Lizards are everywhere. Pretty turquoise ones too. Big fat guys that have probably been around a couple of seasons fattening up on bugs.
There was a lone lady bug beetle on the prowl, her relatives need to be invited to come for dinner too, is she just being greedy?
Squash seem to grow like weeds. Cantaloupe too.
This was the beginning of the raised bed. Leaf mold had been turned into the existing "soil". 

Then the tomatoes that had been started inside were hardened off. The first one went into a pot to test. It grew very well until the heat intensified.
Another had been transplanted into the raised bed shortly after the potted one.
It grew luscious, large leaves while the potted one's leaves remained small.
It became clear that it would be seriously stunted to be left in the pot so it was transplanted to the bed next to the luscious leaves. They are both growing along steadily; however the lush leaved one has the first tomato growing.
The rest were set out all over the yard in raised hoops, and in strategic locations where ever soil had been amended and there would be good sun exposure.



Cantaloupe was seeded into the bed after the zinnia sprouted. Without a diary of things done, it's hard to keep track of whether they sprouted or the transplants are now the ones growing there or both.

Either way there is a riot of growth going on. And everything loved the first downpour of monsoon rain, that rained on the forth of July Parade.
Stawberries, cherries and an angel's kiss in spring






Let's hope the going growing keeps going growing good.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

America The Beautiful

Happy Birthday America.
All the more reason to want to stay, problems to solve. Running never does anyone any good. Nor avoidance, nor denial.
Head on. Hit it with your best shot.

Bird in the trees.

Beautiful skies.

Dreams of things to do with soda pop cans.
  





A Quonset Hut laying in wait of a designers twisty dream.





Pallet idea of ways to build on the budget wise.

More beautiful skies than anyone deserves.

Cute Little Red-Haired Girl to help with work. Sure.
Or go on walks...
To their lovely neighborhood park and home again, giggity gig.

They think they are pretty darned lucky to be born in a country with this many problems to solve while there is still all this beauty, hope and good around.

They just want to keep it simple, and wish everyone else did too.

No animals harmed in the making of this meal.
It wouldn't hurt if everyone became vegan on the way....
Happy Birthday, again, America The Beautiful.