Garden Clean Up In 10 Parts

Part I. Time 1:28 pm.

The weather looks like it will finally cooperate and not scald our skin whenever we try to step outside. The forecast shows that we should have five days of cooler cloudy weather with the possibility of rain.

My little garden and flower beds around the house are in pitiful shape. The heat has kept me inside or severely shortened the amount time I can stay outside. I love to garden, but I am not willing to risk heat stroke for it.

I intend to use these next five days well. Today, I want to clean up as much of the little garden as possible. So far I have done one of ten sections that need to be cleaned up. These sections are seven raised beds and three borders. So far today, I finished one section. This is were Senor Werm lives along with the Mexican mint marigold, leaks, comfrey and a strangely still living stand of collards.

I will update this post when I finish part II. I hope to get the whole garden weeded and mulched as well as cleaning up the paths all in one day. Wish me luck.

Part II. Time 2:33 pm

The last of the four squares of the knot is cleaned up. Wish I had enough Austin rock to finish the edging. Maybe after I pay for all the back to school stuff. Once I get the three borders and the walkways cleaned up, half of the garden will be finished. This is the first part of the garden that is seen when we walk out on the deck. It is also the part of the garden I take pictures of most often.

Taking a break to eat veggies and steal a couple of stumps.

Part III. Time 3:59 pm.

One of the borders is now cleaned up. It was full of hack berry suckers. I hate hack berry suckers. This is one of the borders were Middle Monkey grows his hardy hibiscus. The two on this side are pitiful looking because of the weed infested dry soil in the beds. Hopefully, they will be happier now that the weeds and hack berries are gone and that there is a nice thick layer of grass clippings mulch put down. Back out to do border #2.

Part IV. Time 5:22 pm.

I weedeated the walkways. Is weedeated a word? I think Nola used it last week so it must be a word. I think completing the whole garden in one day was a little ambitious. I will finish the last border and maybe call it a day.

Part V. Time 6:21 pm.

Uncle, I cry.

The Bermuda grass is so awful in that border that I am going to have to go back out there and water until the ground is soft enough to pull that stuff out. I've got a blister on my index finger from yanking on it. Plus, the rose bushes kept pulling my pony tail and poking my fingers. I think I may have gotten into some poison ivy and I definitely have a sunburn. Am I pitiful enough yet?

Tomorrow, I will get back out there and finish it up. The other part of the garden should not be nearly as hard to clean up as the side I worked on today. There are no stinking hack berries on the other side of the garden.

Enough for today, have a nice evening.

Thank You for Being My Friends

The recent medical revelations and acknowledgment of my body's need for care has made me a little nostalgic and reflective today. I have been imagining and preparing for the next stage of my life for a few months. They boys are not little anymore, I am back to work and Manly and I have discovered our love of traveling together.

Priorities are shifting. Plans and dreams are changing. I no longer want a big house and acres of land. I don't see my future self as rich or influential. I want a pretty home and to be involved in our community. I want to get on a plane and go far away with my man to see and experience different lands and cultures. Instead of taking on the debt of a huge new home and land, I want to pay for college for my boys outright and saddle neither myself nor them with debt for their education.

I want to be thin and healthy again. I want to live as much of my life as I can without physical limitations. Yes, vanity plays a little into this, but I will take advantage of that motivation to reach the goal of a healthy body.

I've been thinking about all the people that have touched my life virtually and face to face since I have started this blogging thing. I count people from all over this country, England, Australia and Japan among my friends. Many of you have shown me opportunities to think outside of my life and into a larger world community. Some of my plants' babies are living and growing in far away gardens and some of your plants' babies are living and growing in my garden right now. Several of you offered support and reassurance regarding my medical situation. For that, I offer a special thank you. (At this point I should begin linking everyone, but there are just too many of you.)

Thanks for being part of my life. I am really looking forward to the future.


Okay, I'm finished being serious now so-

Why do melons have fancy weddings? Because they cantaloupe.

Please forgive me for leaving out my friends in Canada. That we are all "north Americans" thing just let me slip up. Apologies

Medical Issues

Went to have blood work done as part of our efforts to control my blood pressure and get myself healthy. I had gestational diabetes during each of my pregnancies. Now it looks like the blood sugar monster may be back. My fasting blood sugar was 138. It should be less than 120. This is the highest it has ever been. Now I've got to reevaluate my diet and lifestyle. My knee jerk reaction to this news was to stop at the farmers market and pick up what ever vegetables that we like and didn't already have in the house.

I just had zuccini, yellow squash, tomatoes, onion and garlic braised with just a little montery jack cheese melted on top at the end. It was really good.

Saying bye bye to simple carbs.

Starting the Fall Garden

My summer garden essentially burned up. I put in the spring garden late again because I cannot seem to make myself pull up the winter veggies when they are not quite done yet. After more than thirty years as a gardener, you would think I would be made of tougher stuff. I still have way to much hope for half producing plants. Maybe this year, I will get over myself.

There are a few corn plants still alive, but the only thriving plants are the peppers, okra, black eyed peas and yard long beans. I started a few tomato plants from seed about three weeks ago. Many of the seedlings were killed off by the 100+ weather and extreme sunlight on our deck. There are four Ladino di Panacchio, one Avivvi and one Mr Stripey still among the living. There are a few stragling survivor tomatoes in the garden. I will clean them up, give them compost and mulch. If they live great.

Today, I am going to start tomato seeds again. I have packets of Avivvi, San Marzano, yellow pear and Ladino di Panacchio. I am going to place the flats in full shade, shift them to morning sun and gradually move them to full sun as they get bigger and stronger. On September 1st, I will put them in the garden and try again. These are going to be the most spoiled tomato plants in the history of Aunt Debbi's Garden. They are going to be diva tomatoes. They will be fed a special diet of worm poo and fish water. Come November, I should be begging for green tomato recipes again. Get ready.

Claire's Quilt

 

I finally finished Baby Claire's quilt. She was born last winter and is the youngest daughter of my youngest brother.

We believe that the nine patch squares were pieced by our great grandmother, but nobody knows for sure. It took me months to get back to work on this. I quilted hearts and butterflies into this quilt because I like them and think they are nice in a baby girl's quilt.

I Have a Gallon of Figs, Now What?

I managed to get the computer working. I had to do this restore thing. It took a long time, but it worked. I haven't tried to use the printer yet, but having the internet back is a relief. What in the world was I going to do with a gallon of figs and no instructions from the webiphere?

If you had a gallon of figs, what would you do with them? Really, I need to know. I've got no clue.

I Joined a CSA

So here I am in the library. My puter still won't get the interweb, stupid puter. You'd think after several non blogging days I would have something very important to blog about, but no. Seems like I have the heat of summer doldrums.

We did get a little rain and the weather has dropped from a bazillion back into the 90's. Several people in the area of have had serious heat related health issues. I don't go outside after lunch time anymore.

I did join a local CSA farm with a working share membership. What this means is I will work a few hours ever week on the farm for my share of the produce. The farm is Eden's Garden in Balch Springs Texas. They also run a Saturday market. CSA (community supported agriculture) are farms that are supported by the local community. This one is run to provide a living wage for the farmer and provide organically grown produce to members. They also have meat, eggs, and dairy available from other area farmers and ranchers on the market days. I am looking forward to this as our little garden just doesn't give us enough food and I want to concentrate on herbs and cut flowers in it from here on out.