Hahaha!
Everyone have a restful Sunday! Be back Monday.
Well, it has really been a wonder-ful week for the children and nature, highlights being finding the bunny and saving the bird. Just a few more quickies, and next week we'll get back to some other subjects! Corn-husk dolls: Christina and Anna-Grace eagerly husked the corn I brought home from a local farmer, then quickly set about making their own version of a corn-husk family, complete with braided hair and a baby. Captured Cricket: It was Anna-Grace’s turn to be breathless. "MOM! We caught a cricket!" She presented the container to me in the kitchen. As I began to lift the lid, she stated, "Watch out! He jumps REALLY high." BOING! Right out of the coffee container onto the kitchen floor. "See? I TOLD ya!" Then came the joy of catching him, scooping him up carefully, and putting him in a jar with a tinfoil lid. Anna-Grace and her little friend began hopping around, with much the same excitement as after they picked strawberries. "What if you could keep a cricket as a pet?" "Yeah, and what if you could pet him, and then he crawled up on your wrist?" "Yeah! And then, he JUMPED!" Off they went with more what ifs, putting grass and a little bit of water in the jar. After a time of observation, we convinced them to let him go, but it was a fun and memorable find! We found the Ent-wives! A post to come on trimming the wisteria, but I just had to share this picture! The giggles and silliness that accompanied the wisteria mess was well worth making it! This is a "Hawaiian Ent-wife". OK, for those rare few unfamiliar with Lord of the Rings, the Ents are talking trees. And they lost their wives. Literally. Can't find them. I guess they didn't look under the wisteria. That's where I found my... Oh, well, we'll wait for my wisteria post! Lastly, probably my favorite, Geese in Need of a Garmin: Angela and I were outside, when a small flock of geese flew by, really low, honking loudly – going west. Angela looked up, and after a moment’s reflection, called out some un-solicited advice. "You’re going the wrong WAAAAAAY! A little to the left!" Hahaha! Everyone have a restful Sunday! Be back Monday.
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WELL! I really DO have other things I would like to write about, but when the moments of wonder and learning come in the garden, they must be cherished and shared! This one was almost a tragedy. Christina came running in, breathless. "Mom! We found a baby bird in the pond! It was stuck, with its wings on the rocks and its head under water!" Sure enough, wrapped in a kitchen towel (ew!) was a small, shivering, wet bird. I simply cannot figure out how it got in that predicament. It may have fallen from the side of the pond and was trying to get a foot hold on the rock to climb back out, but got its wings stuck while flapping. However it happened, I told them, "Well, get a box and line it with a rag. It’s probably just stunned and needs some time." I expected it would be able to fly off once it dried.
But when the girls put it in the box, they called again. "Mom! Look at the tail feathers! They’re almost gone!" Sure enough, its little bottom was bare. Feathers had clearly been removed. Had it been attacked by a larger bird and escaped, only to land in our pond? It was something to ponder. Whatever happened, it seemed clear to me that the little guy would probably not make it; it would not be able to fly again and would be easy prey, or we would not be able to care for it well enough and it would die. But Christina and her friend were going to do all they could to save this bird. They put water in a milk cap and gave it some sunflower seeds. Then they went out to the compost heap looking for worms. No luck. (I’m sure they were there, but two 10-year-olds probably couldn’t dig deep enough). So they pulled out a Butterfly Field Guide, looking for plants that caterpillars live on. "Mom? Do we have any milkweed around here? How about poplar?" I suggested the broccoli, since there were three little green critters in the last head I picked. Christina had thought of that, too, but had found none. Well! I told her to check the beans. "Turn over the leaves and get some of the little yellow bugs." Bean beetle larvae ought to be good for something! Success at last! They gave them to the frightened little bird, who of course ignored it all. Then they pulled out a Bird Field Guide to try to identify it. However, a small brown and beige bird could be almost anything. My guess is a young female chickadee, but we’ll never know. Having done all they could, they went about their play for a couple hours. When they returned, they asked if they could take it outside. "Yes, but stay with it! You don’t want a hawk to get it." Out they went. Moments later, that most wonderful word in the world was heard again –"Mom!" What now? "Mom, he flew away! He’s all right! He flew away!" How he flew with that tail I’ll never know, but Christina’s little friend said she saw its tail feathers spread, so it must have had enough left after all. An unexpected happy ending! And a terrific opportunity to learn and experience wonder. They will always remember saving that bird. A tiny baby bunny startled me as I was cutting the rosebushes in the Blessed Mother garden. Now, normally I would be moved by such a sight, but we have TOO many bunnies in our yard! Nonetheless, I did not want to hurt it, and I called Angela who was nearby as I tried to decide what to do. "Oooooo! He’s so CUUUUUTE!" she crooned. Well, yeah. But he eats my flowers! "I’m going to catch him with the net!" She ran to get the big butterfly net that is always near the pond for catching frogs. Now it will catch a bunny. I don’t remember it ever being used to catch butterflies. The poor little thing was shivering, and trying to appear invisible, when the great orange net swooped down on him. The first effort failed – he ran out from under. But the second try was a success. By then Christina had joined us. Carefully we scooped a pan under the net, and I told them, "Take him WAY out into the back field!" Off they went, now with Teresa joining them. They were gone for some time, then returned triumphantly and told me of how he let them stroke his back. "We named him Apollo. Because of his great size." Haha! Definition of temperate: moderate in degree or quality; restrained. After suffering weeks of drought and scorching temperatures, followed by a tremendous thunderstorm last night, the line of this sonnet, "thou art more lovely, and more temperate" has been repeating in my mind. Our summers are definitely not temperate! But honestly, ladies, wouldn't you just melt if your honey wrote such beautiful words for you? Even if you had to read his poem with a dictionary in hand, it would be worth it! Sigh... Sonnet #18
By William Shakespeare Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And Summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal Summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. My sister-in-law sent me the greatest quote, to encourage me to keep at it: "Sharks and blogs need to keep moving to live." HaHa! Or, in the 'texting' parlance, LOL! Every blogger has the best of intentions when starting, but how does one make sure it happens? I am a person who NEEDS schedules. I don’t know how anybody gets anything done without them (I also don’t know how anybody gets anything done if he watches TV regularly, but that’s a different topic!) So even in the summer, I have made a schedule, and it is helping me get things done, including posting to my blog. In case it will inspire anyone, here it is: 5:30 am – Art drags me out of bed before he heads off to work (and I do mean DRAGS! I am NOT a morning person!) 6am – prayer and religious reading, getting ready for the day. 7-9 am – Out in the gardens (I keep a list of what needs to be done and when. I also come in a few times to rouse the troops!) 9am – Family prayers 9:15 – Reading with Anna-Grace, then giving her copy work for the day (a few sentences a day.) The rest of the day is a blur of activity, with various projects and errands as all mothers know. I keep a day-timer for this stuff. 7pm – Dinner (Art gets home late. Long day for my over-worked hubby!) Do more stuff. 9pm – Start work on blog or books or editing job. This is how I’ll make sure I post frequently and also work on my books. (I am also going to make a schedule of different kinds of blog entries to make regularly, so I am sure to discuss all the topics of my blog on a regular basis.) ???? Bed (I’m a night person. I feel guilty going to bed before 11pm, so I’m usually up past midnight. It does NOT make it easy to get up at 5:30am! So I am going to work on going to bed closer to 11.) I even made a loose schedule for the kids! (oh, they loved me for that!) Here’s theirs: 8am – Up, get dressed, eat. Whoever’s job it is, feed the bunnies; whoever’s job it is, empty the dishwasher. 9am – Family prayers 9:15 – Anna-Grace, read with Mom; Christina, practice typing; Angela, practice piano After lunch – Clean kitchen; Teresa, practice typing. (Arthur has his own detailed schedule, Maria works full time.) There are variations on the theme, of course, but a little structure makes sure the important things get done while still relaxing in the summer! Do you keep any kind of a regular summer schedule, or just go with the flow? Let me know- share what works for you in the comments section! I know many people are stopping by my website and I am very happy! Please leave a comment when you like something, or have something to share; it's very encouraging, and others may be very interested in what you have to say. A couple people asked questions, and I will try to answer them here.
Victoria, you asked about homeopathics and ADD. I have a cousin out west with a PhD in natural medicine. I will contact her and find out some good websites, and link them here. So keep posted! Mary, you asked how to keep parsley for your little bunny. Well, the summer is the perfect time to turn your brown thumb green! See my post regarding planting seeds, but here are some minor adjustments: Visit your local Agway or some such that doesn't just stock seed in the spring. Buy some potting soil, or some soil especially for sprouting seeds. Follow my instructions about preparing soil and filling pots. You can plant in individual packs to grow individual plants, or you can sow the parsley like grass seed, all over a flat, and give it a haircut every now and then to feed the bunny. I would probably do both. Keep the flats or pots outside, by the door you come in and out of every day, so you see them and keep them moist until they sprout. But keep them in the shade! A bright window will also work, one you will see daily. Since it's so hot you will have to water several times a day, or keep water in a pan under the pot, so it will soak it up. Once they sprout, let them dry out between watering, but only for a few hours. They're still babies! When they grow a few inches, snip the tops (the ones in the flat. Let the individual plants grow bigger before harvesting). They should still grow back for you. The bunny will love it! It may be trickier in the winter - you'll have to get grow lights and keep in a warm spot. But if you are attentive to watering, you should be able to keep your bunny fed on parsley at least half the year. Try basil, too. That sprouts easily. Good luck! Well, it was only in the mid-90s today! Almost comfy in comparison. They SAY we're supposed to get rain, but I'll believe it when I see it. My poor gardens... If you read my previous post about saying yes, and my post about creating wonder, you will know why this poem is in a garden blog!
"My Favorite Word" by Lucia and James L. Hymes, Jr. From Sing a Song of Popcorn (poetry collection) There is one word – My favorite – The very, very best. It isn’t No or Maybe. It’s Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, YES! "Yes, yes, you may," and Yes, of course," and Yes, please help yourself." And when I want a piece of cake, "Why, yes. It’s on the shelf." Some candy? "Yes." A cookie? "Yes." A movie? "Yes, we’ll go." I love it when they say my word: Yes, Yes, YES! (Not No.) And may I humbly submit two more verses? (by me) "Oh, yes, pick all The blooms you want, Eat berries from the patch. Sure, hang your feet down in the pond, And there’s a frog to catch. "Yes, pick some reds. Sure! Pick some whites. Pick flowers pink and blue! Eat peas and beans right from the vines; These gardens are all for you." Beautiful Butterfly This morning was the nicest morning I have had in a long time. My purpose in going to the gardens this morning was just to collect flowers for bouquets – no work, after being out in the sweltering heat from 6:30am until 11am yesterday! I happened to have my camera, and I took many pictures of busy garden visitors, then my youngest came to visit me, too. "Mommy, can we do something special together?" she whined. "It’s boring inside." No one else was up yet, and she was still in her jammies. "You can help me pick flowers," I offered. "OK." So she went and got the waiting bucket and some scissors and began joyfully cutting. "Can I cut these?" "Yes." "And can I cut these pretty ones?" "Sure!" "Oh! These! I want to pick these!" "Go ahead." What joy she had picking whatever she wanted! I realized then what we had been missing all those years, not having a cutting garden. When flowers are around the house, there are often not enough blooms to cut many, if the garden is to remain looking nice. I often had to limit the bouquets the girls collected. But with a cutting garden, I could say yes, yes, yes, something my children RARELY hear from me! It reminded me of a poem, which I will post next, about how much our children love to hear yes. As we picked, we enjoyed our busy garden visitors together, especially the butterflies! "Butterflies are so beautiful," she whispered, as she watched one on a zinnia near her. "Mommy, when is butterfly catching season?" she asked wistfully, as two flew away. "Oh, take a picture of them both!" she cried, when they both came back and landed near each other. "Hey, butterflies collect pollen, too, not just bees," she discerned, as she watched the butterfly seemingly "eat" the pollen, and noticed the collection of pollen on its body. So, even though I had tripped on a stick in the garden and fallen flat on the ground, hitting the bucket with my head and receiving its contents all over my face and shirt (how refreshing!), it was nonetheless a truly beautiful and productive morning: flowers collected, nature observed, bond strengthened with daughter, and the wonder of Creation further embedded in a little heart. Here are the visitors to our garden this morning. Enjoy the show!
It said 104 degrees at 3pm. I came back with my camera at 4:40 to take this shot. This is the second day over 100, and tomorrow should be another. For those who are not from this area, we frequently have heat waves in the high nineties, but maybe once every few years does it actually go over 100. Three days in a row? Has that ever happened in Southeast PA before? Let me state this up front: I do not believe in global warming in the sense that the activists mean - a permanent increase in temperature, caused by man (that loathesome parasite on the planet!) But there is no doubt that over the past 20 years or so the weather around here has gotten warmer. It is one of the natural cycles of heating and warming the earth endures. Around 1000 AD the Vikings settled Greenland because it was actually nice there. The world was in a "global warming." A few centuries later the weather had gotten so cold that they had to leave Greenland to the polar bears and a few natives. During Charles Dickens' day, Britain was going through some extremely cold winters, thus all the snow and freezing children in his stories. Closer to our time, back in the 70s they were predicting a New Ice Age! Does anyone remember that? I even have a book to prove it, somewhere on my shelves. It's called A Creed for the New Millenium, written in the mid 80s, telling of a near future in which the whole world is covered in snow most of the year. Our future. Now. Anyone miss the irony? Well, we did have a ridiculously snowy winter, and an extremely cool and rainy summer last year, but this summer is making up for lost time. I did some research, finding statistics from the National Weather Service and Stormfax.com, and listed the avg temp, avg high, avg rain and avg snow by month for the region, then listed those facts by month for all of 2009 and 2010 so far (yes, I know, that's a bit extreme, but I was curious!) Some interesting statistics arose. Keeping in mind that the averages were taken from chilly 1971 to balmy 2000, I was very surprised to find that last year's temperatures, cool as they were compared to recent years, were very close to the average. But the difference between last year and this year was striking: from April to June 2009, 13.27" rain fell. This year, same months? 7.23". The average high temperature in June last year was 78.9 degrees, with only one day over 90. The average for June 2010 was 87.6, nearly 10 points higher, with 15 days over 90! Last summer we had a grand total of 11 days over 90 degrees; so far this year, only half-way through, we have had 20, with another dozen or so nearly 90. Boy! Tough year to start a flower farm! "When in the course of Human Events..." Thus began the document that was signed on July 4, 1776, declaring the colonies of Britain to be independent. The great experiment began nearly 235 years ago, and has grown into the greatest and most prosperous nation on earth. But it was a spirit of independence, a spirit of self-determination and self-discipline, a spirit of responsibility and faith that built America. We must be careful not to lose that spirit and become dependent on the government, or we will go the way of the Roman Empire. My humble beginnings as a "flower farmer and arranger" (I'm not sure what I want to call myself yet) is our attempt to provide for ourselves, in the spirit of self-sufficiency, without depending on the government to give us anything. I realize now that I won't make much this year. I am experimenting to see how long different flowers last in vases, and trying different preservative recipes. I am also going to develop several styles of flower arrangements, so I have clearly defined products to offer. This is my most recent design, for the holiday! I made it full circle, so it can be enjoyed from every angle in the center of a festive table. This is a shot from the back of the shot above. Pictures don't do it justice. The flowers included are bachelor buttons, forget-me-nots, lobelia, snapdragons, zinnia, ammi majus (false queen anne's lace), shasta daisy, gomphrena, nigella, and baby's breath, as well as heuchera and lace-leaf japanese maple foliage (I think that's it!). I will be creating a tab for my arrangements next, so customers can view them. My new business is my contribution to the entrepreneurial American Spirit. I hope you, too, find a fitting way to celebrate the birth of our nation, safely and joyfully! God Bless America! |
AuthorWelcome to Growing Goodness! This website is dedicated to growing good things, both plants and children. It's a gardening blog with maternal overtones, as I discuss the goodness and value of plants, both wild and domestic. In the process I hope to help you pass a love of nature on to your children. Happy Gardening! Archives
August 2011
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