April 28th

Today is bittersweet.
I'm remembering Leia
Its been a month since she passed.
Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought of her,
or grieved for her.
I still find myself expecting to see that wagging tail.
But then I realize, she's not there.......
It is also fitting that I post this on this particular day.
Its National Pet Parents Day.
So, I just remember what a great dog she was and
content myself with our feathered pets.
Those girls make me smile.
You simply can't be in a down mood and watch their antics.
Sometimes just the way they cluster around us when we are outside,
or when they waddle-run after an unsuspecting bug, makes me laugh.
Just recently a Meter Reader was attempting to look over our fence
and was startled by the sudden clucking of our Guard Hens.
I went outside to ask if he needed to get into the back yard
and he politely declined.
I think he was wary of the chickens!
They did kinda look homicidal.

This pic was taken at 9:30am!

Last week we had a bit of stormy weather.
We put the hens in the coop because there was a threat of tornadoes.
All I could envision was the scene from The Wizard of Oz where
the cows and chickens are caught in the whirl wind!
It turned out to be a deluge worthy of Noah, but no tornado.
Thankfully!
So, we let the girls back out to scan the yard for bugs like
feathered metal detectors looking for gold!
It was still windy, but not on a caliber of making them airborne.
They weren't happy about the forced lock up.
They tend to exhibit a sort of Napoleon Complex.
Short and sassy!

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Cucumbers,

or as we call them,

Pickles!

Summer squash

Blueberries.

Our bushes didn't produce much and

we were worried about it.

So, I looked it up.

(yay Google!)

Turns out a blueberry bush needs to mature.

It'll be about 3 or 4 years till they really produce

Potatoes.

We've harvested 2 russets, and can't wait

till the others are ready to pick.

Bell Peppers.

If you look closely you can see the small buds.

 

Kale

We've gotta watch the hens with these plants.

They love them!

They'll even get their heads into the wire fencing

to grab a bite,

and we don't want the stuck in there.

Celery

This was grown from the end of a bunch from the grocery.

 

Hosta

It blooms!

This flower will probably be purplish.

Gardenias.

I love this bush.

The pity is, it only blooms once a year,

but, oh when it does,

it's magnificent!

 

I loved the scent so much I brought some inside.

Now the whole kitchen smells wonderful!

 

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We love veggies.

I use them any kind of way possible.

They are especially great if you grow them, but

I bought a bunch of Brussels Sprouts last week that

I was going to roast.

Ours didn't do so hot this year.

But,

I found a great recipe on Pinterest

that I wanted to try.

First, wash and cut the sprouts in half.

Then put them into a bowl and add,

olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder

parmesan cheese and a bit of breadcrumbs.

Mix all this together well and spread onto

a greased cookie sheet.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Bake for 20 minutes, then flip them over

and bake for another 20.

They are fantastic!

And as per my criteria, very easy!

I saw another recipe for Brussels Sprouts

that I'm going to try.

This one says to add olive oil, 2 tablespoons of basalmic vinegar,

2 tablespoons of honey, salt and pepper.

Put them onto a greased cookie sheet.

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Bake for 15 minutes and turn them over,

then finish baking for another 15.

Sounds yummy!

I've done the sprouts with balsamic vinegar, but not this way.

I'll let ya know how these turn out.

 

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Oh, well, its a beautiful day outside.

I don't want to spend it indoors.

But,

I've gotta fix something for lunch.

I'll see what I can put together.

Then off the work in the garden.

It calms my soul.

 

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Winnie the wise one........

April 18th

Chilling on the patio with a fine feathered friend,

namely, Pepper.

She and her sisters love to be near her humans.

 

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It is the 18th of April.....

Reminds me of the poem by Longfellow,

"The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere".

I had to memorize it in high school.

I still can remember most of it.

 

Seems that Longfellow took some artistic license when writing it.

It was written almost 100 years after the fact.

The actual parts are:

1)Patriots did ride to warn the towns.

2) Two lanterns were hung in the Old North Church.

3)Paul Revere ordered the lanterns lit.

What is wrong, is that Revere wasn't alone.

There were several riders, probably up to 40.

They still considered themselves British subjects,

so they didn't yell "The British are coming!"

They probably didn't even yell at all.

They wouldn't have wanted to give themselves away.

They went door to door to give the warning.

They most likely said,

"The Regulars are coming!"

because that's what the army was called.

The British were there to arrest John Hancock

and Sam Adams, who had already bugged out to
Lexington.

Revere and a few of the Patriots did get arrested.

He told the British that they "were all dead men!"

He said that so they wouldn't approach Lexington

because the Patriots would be ready for them.

So, as you can guess,

 they ignored Revere and during the trek toward

Lexington, they hear several shots ring out.

The few British guards freak out,

thinking there are way more Patriots out there,

 retreat and release

our hero Paul and friends.

So, back to Longfellow.....

His iconic poem reads better than the actual events.

He climbed the tower of the Old North Church

on April 5th 1860,

and was inspired to write the poem.

I love history!!

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Petunias.

 

English Ivy

(and a curious Nugget looking on)

 

a rescue Hosta.

It was just a leaf last week,

now it looks great.

 

Gardenias are blooming like crazy!

The scent is wonderful.

 

Summer squash blossoms.

They are edible but I'd rather the veggie.

 

Cabbage

 

Pepper,

 helping me weed around the Muscadine

Grapes.

 

Our wind chimes.

 

Since I couldn't get much done with

the girls underfoot,

So,

I gave them a dried worm treat.

That lasted as long as the worms did.

They have short attention spans.

 

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The burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

was such a heart wrenching thing to watch.

I've never been to Paris, but I have always wanted to.

Seeing the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame would have

been highest on my list to see.

 The damage to that 800+ year old building has affected

the entire world.

 

Years ago I was intrigued by the gargoyles on the Cathedral.

That encouraged me to make my small collection.

I've put them in the highest point in my house.

Here's my homage to them.

 

 

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Just remembering........

 

April 11

I haven't had much to blog about in the past weeks.

Not that it's changed today, but I need to get back
to putting words to "paper" to rewire my brain
and get back to some sense of normalcy.

This morning was trash day and recycle day.

Mundane everyday needs to be removed from the house,

But,

when I looked up, the sky was beyond beautiful.

Makes you want to get up everyday to experience this beauty.

 

So, that gave me an idea for this post.

The small blooms and plants that sometimes

get ignored because of the spectacular

beauty of some others.

Marigolds

Not a sweet smelling flower by any means,

but such a beautiful small bloom.

I googled marigolds and this simple little

flower has a meaning that spoke to me.

It symbolizes the beauty of the sun,

grief over the loss of a loved one, and

remembering and celebrating the dead.

Now, that's appropriate for me.

I grow them to use in making soap, lotion and

aids in keeping pests off the tomatoes.

And yes, they're edible.

 

Impatiens.

This little purple flower is another in the

not so great smell department.

Yes, you can eat it, but the flower petals only,

The rest of the plant isn't edible.

The petals have a kind of sweet taste.

I googled this plant too.

They are called Impatiens because its the

Latin for "impatient".

When you touch the seed pods they burst open.

 

 

Geranium

I only have red ones.

The other colors don't interest me.

This plant symbolizes happiness and hope.

There's also a tie to the book

To Kill A Mockingbird,

in that one of the characters

grew them.

One of my favorite books!

This flower is edible.

It can actually be brewed into teas,

dried or eaten on a salad.

 

Mint

This entire area is a variety of different flavors.

Notice they are in pots.

Mint can be invasive so we

curb their tendencies.

Mint can "cross pollinate" with other species

of plants and tend to take on its "flavors".

Example is planting it next to some veggies,

it'll begin to taste of that veggie

That can result in a good or bad taste.

We keep ours together to retain the MINT taste.

Our mints are: peppermint, spearmint, pineapple

apple, chocolate to name a few.

 

Sunflower

The girls don't eat the leaves, but they'll

east the seeds.

Sunflowers are a beautiful flower.

This plant can be eaten in its entirety,

from the roots to the seeds.

The dried petals make a wonderful tea addition.

That's Nugget with her curious self.

 

Rosemary

We are starting new plants in small pots.

They are looking very healthy.

These are from Rosemary and are literally,

Rosemary's babies!

We have 2 healthy rosemary bushes that were both rescues.

Here's an odd fact....

Rosemary is of the mint family, but it's woody

and evergreen.

Its native to Greece.

It also has edible flowers that can be white to purple.

Ours have small white and light blue flowers.

One of its ancient uses was to reduce asthma attacks.

(don't know the truth of that, but it is

an anti-inflammatory)

 

Hosta

I just love these guys.

They do best in partial sun.

They are edible too!

The Japanese boil the leaves or eat raw ones.

It has a flavor like asparagus.

They have a lavender colored flower.

 

Succulent

I have no idea what these actually are.

The CEO picks a leaf whenever he can and I plant it.

They live in bowls on my bay window sill.

Succulent propagation is simple,

pick a leaf,

put it in soil,

Voilà!!

you have a new plant.

 

This is a close up of a couple of leaves.

One looks like it is dying,

but it's still blooming,

so we'll wait and see how it turns out.

Pretty, tiny, delicate flowers are still blooming on the leaf.

Another bowl of succulents, that go nameless.

Our granddaughter loved them so now we

have a small collection.

 

He's our mascot.

We've had this baby angel for a long time

He's a garden staple.

 

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Well, now I'll go back to my current book....

Although I'm reading two,

I never get confused.

Books are part of me,

I did a DNA test,

and I found out that I'm

100%

Bookworm!

Ha!

 

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Just an observation....

I was talking to my grandson in the car yesterday.

When, after a lengthy discussion of his day at school,

he informed me that he no longer eats boogers.

He's 11.

I was thankfully relieved at that statement out of the blue.

Unsure of my response to this revelation, 

 I asked......

"Do you use a tissue?"

"No, I flick them"

"Ok, flick them.... where?"

"Everywhere, like my room, classroom, your car......."

"No! Don't do that! Use a tissue!"

"Oh, its ok Grammy, they are dried"

So, now I make a vow to vacuum the back seat!

We are driving along, still chatting,

and I glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

No!

He was excavating his nostril like he was digging for

lost Privateer gold dubloons!

He was so into it his eyes were closed!

"Stop that!

"Use a cockadoodie Kleenex!"

Then I hear a heavy sigh from the backseat.....

"I wasn't gonna EAT it Grammy!"

So,

just like that I was re-introduced to little boy logic.

 

P.S.

His sister wasn't in the car or that conversation would have

gone entirely different!

Kids!

 

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Remember,

Live life how you choose

because this is the oldest you've been

and

the youngest you'll ever be again.

And don't sweat the small stuff.

Hugs!