Crunchy Peas

This is not good

It snowed yesterday. All day.

My tall tomatoes, who are ready to burst out of their little pots (sitting in the window center left) whispered to the overflowing and claustrophobic herbs sitting across them "this is not good."

The zucchini overheard and began to panic.

Leave it to the girls to make the best of it.

WIPs

Works-in-progress:

My first crochet sweater is going veerrry sllloooww- so I hope it turns cute.

Sleeping studying for my upcoming certification.  This has been difficult because the subject matter (and photos in the book) are somewhat disturbing.

The seeds for my garden should be coming next week. The girls and I have been making pots for all of our starts from newspaper (thanks to Melissa for this idea). When it is time for planting them outside...you just tear off the bottom and stick them in the ground.  The newspaper decomposes. Cool huh?

Yay, for Friday!

seeds, dirt and tiny hands

I love fresh herbs. Over the summer I was swimming in basil...how I miss it!  I was gifted a beautiful kitchen window garden last Mother's Day (thank you Carl) and it came with seeds to grow herbs de provence- which I did.  It was wonderful to watch it grow above my sink- and even better to clip some foilage for cooking.  Once the summer was over I unthinkingly packed it up.  I guess I just figured that the growing season was over- inside and out. So a few weeks ago I thought about it getting it out again (when I paid $2.99 for some fresh dill).  There isn't any reason that I shouldn't be able to grow them inside- even if it it winter.  While the ground outside is covered in about 10 inches of crusty snow, it is a balmy 70 degrees inside.  So I put my helpers to work.  They loved getting their fingers in the dirt.

We planted cilantro, lavender, and basil yesterday.  This morning Hannah asked if there were any sprouts yet.  She is quite patient like her mother. 

Grow little seeds grow!

winter daydreaming

This was the scene coming down the hill into town this morning. 

 

Quite beautiful I know, but also losing it's novelty (by the way, I do not recommend being the photographer and the driver. simultaneously)  My seed catalog arrived the other day.  Fantasies of growing a bigger better garden than last year are hovering about in my mind. I know my space, my sun, and my soil all a little better this time around.  The planning has been in early stages for a couple of weeks now. (below: how I spent the my time this afternoon while the girls napped)

I am a complete novice.  The only things I have learned about gardening have come from this book. It is a quick easy read with lots of helpful charts and drawings.  I am a chart/drawings kind of girl. So now, the only things standing in my way are about 6 inches of crusty snow (with more on the way) and temperatures that are about 30 degrees too chilly. Is it too early to have spring fever?

nite, nite, sleep tight

Well, after I got up to post about the hat I had made...I never made it back to my comfy spot on the couch.  It was such a beautiful day--I couldn't let the sunshine go to waste.

A bittersweet chore, I yanked up what was left of our garden. I felt like I was betraying these poor cantaloupe.  For so long I had been begging them to grow, faithfully watering and thumping them. Now, with the first frost looming, I knew they wouldn't have the chance to ripen.  So sorry my sweet melons- thanks for trying.

"So long" forgotten tomatoes.  My arms couldn't reach to you hiding way inside the bush.  Even though we didn't eat you, your beauty was not lost. Now resting under a cozy blanket of compost- we said goodnight to our little garden.  We will not be sad, for we know she is only sleeping and will awake again in the spring.

The sunflower heads have been drying in our garage for almost a month now.  Knowing what a tedious chore it would be, I put the girls to work in plucking the seeds out.  When they started complaining about the "boring-ness" of their assigned task- I promised them that their hard work would pay off when we would enjoy the salty seeds for a snack later.  It seemed to work.

 

Did I get all that I had intended to done this weekend?  The answer to this question is, of course, no.  But did we get a healthy dose of fresh air in our garden and in the local pumpkin patch?  Did we have some good laughs while mazing our way through the corn?

 

Was I thankful for the excuse to romp through the fields, playing outside like a child?  The answer to this question is, of course, yes!  Happy Monday to all!!

a long time coming

This moment (1 year in the making) was brought to you by Carl, six bags of seed, 12 bags of peat moss, 30 yards of horse manure, and very very helpful friends/family.  Who needs sod?

Not a Frog

He is a real prince! As requested here (in the comments), this is a shout out to my husband.  Not only does he love us fiercly- but he does yard work too!  Praise the Lord because we are ready for some grass.  It just might grow in before the first frost! Isn't he wonderful? Let's all clap for Carl (and for grass.)

happy days

Our garden has been such a great teaching tool.  It has amazed the girls (and me too) that with a little dirt, some warm sun, and a lot of water- things grow!  It has afforded us opportunities to talk about hard work, reaping what you sew, planning ahead, sharing with neighbors, and things of the like.  Each one of the girls has their own work ethic.  Emma loves to harvest. She digs the glory of brining in the biggest cucumber or ripest tomatoes. Hannah likes to go behind me and find the green beans that I have missed or the tomatoes I couldn't reach. Laurel loves it all.  She is perfectly content eating the leaves off the sunflowers or the blossoms on our squash.

I was talking with my Dad today about how there are different times during the day when I wish I could just freeze a moment- so that I could enjoy it a little longer. Wouldn't that be great?

For example:

Popsicles on the deck after dinner (and before bath- messy... note to self)

Or:

Reading books before bedtime.

As the children get older, I have begun to realize that they are growing so quickly.  I look around me and wonder where the time has gone?  Part of this blog, I guess, is in effort to document our days.  Our happy happy days!