Because I don't want to disappear

I never meant to stop blogging just because I had a baby. I've skipped over numerous interesting NASA items, quotes, seasonal items, and other topics that made me think "I should blog about that"...and yet my blog sits silent. Good grief.

So while I turn into a suburban-mother-with-no-time-on-my-hands, I'll just go through some things that I'd like to do now that it's spring. Spring is like a new year anyway - it makes more sense to start new when the rest of the natural world is starting new, rather than in the middle of death, stagnation, and hibernation. :P

• I need to work on the yard. Now that I'm not feeling sick and/or carrying all that extra weight, maybe I can get something done and not pass it off to someone else. There's lots of cleanup to do, roses to prune (I missed Presidents Day :/), and planning for the garden.



• I should get back into yoga. I'm sure it would help the constant aching from carrying around a hefty baby, as well as give me some time to myself. I have a hard time taking time for myself because I seriously want to spend every moment taking care of the baby...or sleeping! But I'm sure that's not good for me and it's running my body down anyway.



• I have a few books to read. I got Confessions of a Shopaholic and The Audacity of Hope in the same shopping trip. Heh. There's another book I want to read upon recommendation of another new mother friend, Allie at Wardrobe Oxygen, but I have to go look it up again because my mommy brain does not remember what it was.

I suppose it doesn't help that I don't get on the computer much for anything other than work lately. And I used to live on that darn machine! But I'll exchange it for the little one anytime. I still manage to catch my favorite shows like Lost and Heroes, and I have plenty of opinions about them, so I could write about that too!

So I hope to get back to blogging from time to time. I need to stop putting it off when I see so many things about why I heart the internets or what I want to do in the yard or what I find so fascinating about motherhood. If I only had the time. :)

Garden Update with Photos

How's that for a catchy title? I should have had the hubby take photos, but here are some anyway!









As you can see, the beans are doing a little too well. One mental note I'm making is that I probably don't need to plant as many, as much as I love beans. The green onion and carrots (bottom left) seem to be coming along nicely. The watermelon has a few melons on it. The tomatoes and peppers are doing well. I've got 1 lonely cucumber. Haven't seen any cantaloupe yet (unless they're hiding). Some pics....













Isn't that the cutest little watermelon?? I planted Sugar Baby, and I can't wait to see how the melons turn out.













My lonely cucumber - it's a pretty good size though!













Chili peppers










Bell peppers are also kind of cute when they're small. Maybe I just have baby on the brain.










I will enjoy consuming these beans.










Willamette tomatoes













Roma tomatoes


One funny thing about me - I don't like tomatoes (neither does the husband - these will be used in cooking or salsas or something), but I LOVE the smell of a tomato plant.

I think things are coming along nicely for our first garden. It certainly wouldn't have done as well if my husband didn't water it almost every day for me. What would I do without him?

I think next time I will do a little rearranging. I'll probably also do 1 bell pepper plant instead of 2. Lettuce will be somewhere else (probably a planter) just so I have more room. (Side note: the lettuce did really well - Red Leaf lettuce is mighty tasty!) I may choose 1 variety of tomato as well.

Hope all your gardens are doing well!

Sweet Peas and My Garden

I finally have blooming sweet peas!



I've already cut a small bouquet, and there are tons of buds, so I'm expecting some good results! Next year I'll spread them out much more. I kept them in a small group because I didn't expect all the seeds to develop. I could have thinned them out, too, but oh well! I'm just going to enjoy them. :)

Also, here's an updated picture of my garden.



Everything seems to be doing ok! I added green onion, sweet onions, and carrots in the bottom left. I only used some of the seeds; I'll plant more later for a staggered harvest.

Some of My Roses

A lot of my roses are in full bloom right now, so I felt like sharing some photos I took. I have over 30, I think, so this is only a few. Most of them are English roses, whose names I always forget. I'll just go ahead and blame the black spot on my pregnancy because I haven't had the energy to go out and care for them like I normally would. :(


Here are a couple of climbing roses on a trellis right by our patio. I think the hubby could do without them right there, but I love eating with roses right over my shoulder. ;)


This is Hot Cocoa, one of the more interesting roses I've seen. I got a wimpy little plant from a going-out-of-business sale, so I've only had the one bloom so far. I'm hoping to bring a little life into it.


Awww. The Love rose. :)


The Diana, Princess of Wales rose. Perfect name for it because it's a beautiful rose with a lovely scent.


The Iceberg rose is one of my favorites. It's hard to see in the photo, but it's full of the prettiest little buds. The rose itself seems pretty hardy because it has some of the nicest green leaves of all the roses, and I haven't done anything to it.


No idea what this is. Previous owners put it back in the middle of nothing in a shady spot. Terrible location - I just haven't moved it yet. It didn't bloom at all last year, but I cleaned up around it and pruned it with all the others in the winter. What a nice surprise!


Joseph's Coat is a neat rose. The buds and blooms go through many colors - no wonder it's called Joseph's Coat.


One of my favorites of the English roses. I think this one is called Pat Austen. I'm so glad I inherited all of these English roses with the house because they are so beautiful and smell DIVINE.


Finally, a quick (bad) photo of my garden. The back left wet spot is lettuce, the next long wet row is bush beans, the two tomato cages on the left are tomatoes, while the one on the right is for cucumbers, the plants in front of the tomatoes are bell peppers and chili peppers, and the two mounds in front of the cucumbers are cantaloupe and watermelon. The little bush against the fence is sweet peas. There are also blueberries and raspberries to the left of the lettuce, out of view. In front of the lettuce, I'll be adding my root crops: carrots, green onions, and Walla Walla sweet onions.

Don't Miss Tonight's Full Moon (Then Plant Your Root Crops)

Tonight (Wednesday, June 18) around sunset, you should see a pretty spectacular full moon. It'll look enormous due to the "Moon Illusion". According to this article from Nasa it's related to the Summer Solstice happening in just a couple days. When the sun is high (as it will be during the solstice), the moon is low. Also in that article are some neat images to illustrate the concept. Enjoy the full moon before ringing in summer with the Summer Solstice.

I've heard that you should plant crops that produce above ground between the new and full moon, and then plant your root crops between the full moon and the new moon. You're also supposed to use the new and full moon days as days of rest and celebration, so no need to do your gardening today! I finally got my garden started by putting in cucumber, cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, bell peppers, chili peppers, beans, and lettuce. After the full moon, I'll put in the onions and carrots.

I did the garden in stages with the help of my husband because I get exhausted so easily now. We started by adding a layer of compost (compost bins are so awesome!), then I prepped all the holes and mounds I would need. A few days later :| I put in those above-ground producers.

Happy Rose/Strawberry Moon, Summer Solstice, and Planting!

being green in early spring

We have forgotten our former states, except in early spring when we slightly recall being green again.
-Rumi

Another great quote, as seen in a Mutts comic strip here. Hope everyone's having an enjoyable spring so far.

understand through nature

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
-Albert Einstein

This was featured in the Mutts comic strip for April 24, 2008. I love that comic strip and thought this quote was great, especially considering who said it.

My Veggie Garden May Soon Be Underway

Had some more help from my personal gardening expert (aka Mom) this weekend. I've finally figured out what will go in my garden:

• bell peppers


• tomatoes


• lettuce


• carrots


• green onions


• cucumbers


• green beans


• spinach


• watermelon


• cherry tomatoes


• chili peppers

and where. I'll post a picture after it's all planted.

Some of those things are for fun (watermelon), some are requests from my chef/hubby (chili peppers), and most are to enjoy our own homegrown goodness. I've always wanted to see if I could have a successful garden, so here's hoping!

My parents also gave me a couple of hanging baskets (fuchsias) for my birthday. I love them! I think they look so nice hanging up. One is called "Pink Marshmallow", not sure what the other is (white base with a purple center). I'll post pics soon I hope!

heaven under our feet

Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.
-Henry David Thoreau


I hope everyone had a lovely Earth Day!

Of Course I Did Gardening This Weekend

Due to a cold I was fighting and some weird weather, I didn't do much gardening this weekend, but I still did some. The hubby finished the paver patio we'd be working on with the help of a friend. It looks quite nice! The reason I mention it is because I put some magenta, blue, and white petunias in a nice new planter to frame one side of it. ;P I also added some soil, fertilizer, and grass seed in front of the patio area to fill in some empty patches. I also added some more grass seed to that big empty bed (from moving the roses)...we'd already put some down but I want it to be nice and thick with lawn rather than weeds. ;P Hubby mowed the lawn too! What a nice guy! Now I think 99% of my focus will be that veggie garden. Oh! And my sweet peas are sprouting! :)

I also got another kangaroo paw - this time it's a yellow one. It didn't have a tag, so I'm not sure of the variety. I think there's one called "Bush Gold" - that may be it. They're pretty cool looking plants!

Today we saw a blue jay attacking a squirrel. I don't know what that squirrel did to deserve that! Got to close to a nest, I assume.

How's everybody else's gardening going?

The Weekend: Torchwood and Gardening

Torchwood was really cool this weekend. It was sort of a flashback episode explaining how Captain Jack Harkness collected or hired the current members of Torchwood (aside from Gwen, whose beginning we saw with the beginning of the show). Owen's background was particularly touching and interesting. I'm excited for the finale! It should be good.

This weekend the hubby gave me a lot of help with the lawn (mowing, spreading fertilizer, seeding). My sweet peas are starting to sprout! :) I cleaned off the patio furniture to get ready for any future warm days. I'll see how the seeding goes with the lawn, but aside from that, I think my last major project is the veggie patch I'm trying to plan. It's exciting when things are coming together! My hubby will soon be doing a lot of work on the patio extension, and I think it'll look great when it's done. Maybe one day we'll be able to just hang out and enjoy it all. ;)

Oh...I still would like to get a mason bee house. I had a bird house hanging in a tree but the twine broke, so I need to get that back up, too. I'd love to have a little bird family in the yard!

The Joy of Gardening....Between Showers

I didn't do much today thanks to the weather. I'm a little late in pruning the blueberries, so all I did was trim off any dead or scraggly looking twigs or canes. That alone was enough to make the plants look better, but I'm hoping it'll also allow the plants to put all their energy into the good canes and not into trying to resuscitate the bad ones.

I also pruned the Cape Fuchsia, which is huge. I didn't worry too much about how much I was pruning back because I have a feeling it's one of those plants that just comes back stronger. I didn't cut off all the new growth, but I cut a few stalks down to the ground and tried to shape it so it wasn't quite as overgrown. I also pruned a couple of branches on a nearby butterfly bush so it wasn't spreading into other plants as much.

I have this big patch of weeds (mostly clover with some other yucky weeds peppered through it), which is, of course, where I want to put my berry bushes. I hacked a big section out, dug a couple of holes, and put my berry bushes in. (Finally!!) Clover is pretty, and some argue that it's a beneficial plant (I certainly don't want to harm the bee population), but I also don't want to have to watch where I'm stepping constantly or have it spread around the yard. I'd also like a little sitting area in that spot someday. Maybe putting up a mason bee house will balance things out. ;)

My hubby was nice enough to do the mowing and weeding in the front yard (mowed the back yard a little while ago). Yay!

Next: spruce up the lawn and plan the veggie garden. The yard is still progressing even if the weather is creating some challenges!

Some Critter Pics

Here are some pictures I just felt like sharing after all the chatting with My Inner French Girl about critters in the yard. These were some of our friends at a previous house. We've already got hummingbirds and goldfinches hanging around, and I'm hoping to attract frogs again. They're such good (if a little noisy) neighbors. All the good hummingbird shots were done by the hubby, who has a much steadier hand than I do.



In Flight



Little one warming itself



Beautiful color



Can't I eat in peace??



Sexy redhead



Flock of Goldfinches



Froggie!

the life cycle

Birth and death are not two different states, but they are different aspects of the same state. There is as little reason to deplore the one as there is to be pleased over the other.
-Gandhi

More on Gardening

New Plants In The Family
There's nothing like shoveling dirt to get you out of a lazy funk! I purchased a Pink Jasmine today, which I put in the ground right away. I chose a middle-sized one with the idea that it will be somewhat showy and off to a good start right away. I tried the small pot once before and it went kaput. :/

I also purchased a Kangaroo Paw (Garnet), which I've learned is a great container plant and cut flower. It also attracts hummingbirds. It'll stay in the container (for now at least).

Now's The Time!
St. Patrick's Day is the time to plant Sweet Peas, so I've got mine soaking now so they'll be ready to plant tomorrow evening. I've chosen Royal Family for variety and Flora Norton for its lovely lavender-blue color and because it's an heirloom variety. I haven't had much luck with sweet peas in the past, but I'll just keep trying because they're my favorite flower!

Now (mid-March) is also the time for me to prune and care for the Blueberries and Cape Fuchsia (I don't know which one I have - it's one of the red/orange/coral ones).

Planning For The Future
I've still got the lawn and veggie garden to go. Instead of attempting to dethatch the lawn, I think I will do some localized dethatching, aerating, and weeding (along with a second dose of Weed B Gone), then seed and fertilize. I don't think I'll be able to dethatch, aerate, seed, and fertilize the whole lawn, no matter how much determination and gusto I have to do so, but I don't want to know how much it would cost to have it done professionally. Maybe a more "natural" lawn is a good thing! ;) I need to plant some berry bushes I have in pots and plan out my veggie patch.

Stewardship

There have been a lot of items in the news lately about animal abuse and neglect, both locally and internationally. I'm not going to rehash any of it here because, well, it sickens me. It sickens me physically to see and hear the disgusting and cruel things humans are doing to animals, just because they can. It sickens me emotionally to think that these people (if you can call them that) are capable of doing things that churn my stomach just to hear about.

As humans, we are fortunate enough to be in a position where we can act as stewards for animals (and the environment as a whole). We can protect them from the useless, pointless, cruel pranks we see in the news by seeing ourselves as part of the same natural world the animals exist in. We can teach our kids how to be kind to animals as well as each other. We can support causes and politicians that support the protection and humane treatment of animals. We can simply be an example.

On April 10, you can show your support of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals by wearing orange for ASPCA Day. If you don't have orange clothing, you can do what I'm going to do and buy a t-shirt from the store to show support in public and donate to the cause. Use the code ADAY08 to get 10% off.

Anyway, I'm not trying to be too preachy or "bleeding heart" because I know that puts a lot of people off to causes like this. I'm just trying to point out how easy it is for humans to be kind...or at least not cruel...to animals. It SHOULD pull at your heart or make you a little queasy to hear about cruelty - we are not meant to be solitary creatures looking out only for ourselves. We get along best as a community when we look out for others, especially those who can't defend themselves as easily.

Update
I forgot to mention another animal-related deal. I was notified by email that if you spend more than $25 at the Animal Rescue Site store TODAY, "you'll automatically vaccinate a homeless companion animal--at no extra cost to you! That's in addition to the bowls of food you fund with every item."

Other helpful purchase options:
Protect 10 Shelter Dogs with Vaccinations
Protect 10 Shelter Cats with Vaccinations

Why I learn from Astarte

Astarte was the goddess of fertility, sexuality (love), and war for Semitic tribes. She was also known in other regions as Ishtar, Inanna, and later as Aphrodite and Venus. I love the duality: the combination of what we might consider 'feminine' (love) and 'masculine' (war) traits. I think everyone has some of this duality to some degree, and I don't think women should be expected to be all feminine, all the time (and vice versa for men). I also think it's better to see sexuality, love, and conflict as natural aspects of humans and deal with them accordingly in balance, rather than trying to suppress any one of them. Astarte is one of the lesser known of the aforementioned goddesses, in my opinion, and that's part of why I chose her. I wanted the emphasis to be on the goddess and the complexities that she represents, rather than a romanticized focus on love and beauty. I still love (sorry) that part of her though - I love depictions of Venus in art and have a copy of the Rokeby Venus in my bedroom.

I've always been interested in world religions and mythologies, as well as the anthropological history of women. It seems as though a lot of the ancient (and 'female') deities have been demonized or cast off by more recent cultures, so I think it's interesting to learn about the original meanings and beliefs in these deities. This is also why you might see me posting about the pagan (or other) histories of holidays. It's a good time to talk about the goddess of fertility, considering we're moving into the seasons of Spring, Easter, and fertility! Plants and animals will be seeing new growth and life, decorations with brightly colored eggs will be all over, and we'll all start to wake up out of our winter naps.

Gardening Progress

This post is pretty much just a pat on the back to myself. ;) With a lot of help from my hubby and mom, I got around 20 roses planted and transplanted. I've pruned and pulled out plants till my fingers were raw and my back ached. I've enjoyed watching the birds swarm in and eat up all the bugs and seeds I've uncovered. I've planted seeds from little packets I've gotten in the mail (Red Poppy, Baby's Breath, and some 'Bouquet Garden' - a fancy name for generic flowers). I've taken out plants to make room for a small extension of the patio (pavers of some kind). I think next we'll be working on that patio extension, borders for the beds, a small pathway through one of my beds that my mom created and one of the puppers just LOVES, and laying new bark down. I will also be planting berry vines and prepping my garden area for some veggies. Doh! Gotta remember to get Sweet Peas going!

Can I just say that I am SO excited to see this place come to life! I have so many bulbs coming up and buds forming on different flowering plants - can't wait to see everything bloom.

Gardening Season has Started for Me

Armed with allergy medication and anti-inflammatories, I have been tending to my garden recently (as evidenced by my aching muscles and filled bins of yard debris hanging around the yard). I've done lots of pruning and clean-up; today I'll continue pruning (roses) and prepare for some serious transplanting. The blueberries can wait for pruning but I can transplant them at any time. My cape fuschia can wait on pruning too. I should probably get started with the sweet peas soon. I have a whole slew of roses to transplant and plant (new ones still in containers) as well. I hope I'm getting good exercise and not putting my body through the pain for nothing. ;) Anybody else doing any gardening-related activities?

Happy Planting!

The Animal Rescue Site needs your help

I've heard that The Animal Rescue Site is in need of more people clicking their button to help animals in shelters and rescue so I want to make sure I get the word out. It's one of those things where all you have to do is click the button for them to receive assistance from advertisers. You can also shop at the store where your purchase will help provide food for shelter animals.

I'm very happy to support this cause - I signed up for the email reminders years ago and have clicked on the site every day since. I've also bought several items from the store and am happy with my purchases. The store has everything from products with the site logo on them to handmade products that also benefit the groups making the items. You can find clothing, jewelry, household items, etc. You can also purchase "gifts" such as shoes or schooling for girls in other countries, feeding families in the U.S., and contributing to natural habitat funds. They also have a Daily Deal where one item has been chosen each day to have an even deeper discount than normal.

Please consider supporting this site with just a click each day! They are also partnered with and link to causes for Hunger, Breast Cancer, Child Health, Literacy, and Rainforests if you'd like to support them as well.