Budding : May 24

As I work to get in the vegetable gardens and weed the ridiculously overrun perennial asparagus and strawberry patches, I thought I would give you a few glimpses of my flower circle...

As you can see, everything is in bud, so swollen and ready to burst into color.  It is time again for my morning and evening jaunts around the flower circle to see what has popped.  

And when I do, these are always at my feet:

A New Recreation : May 23

 The neighbors to our left are very kind. They bring the children bags of licorice sometimes and let Judah come calling (almost every day).  They let the children enjoy their woodland swamp frog pond and most recently, passed along a bow to the children which has provided plenty of entertainment around here.  

Particularly for a certain boy who is getting pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.

Weekending : May 22

For your information: I noticed that Judah was bringing his bike to the garden while looking through the camera.  I heard him shout "Hey Mama!  Watch this!" and I just *knew* he was planning on dirtbiking through the garden walkways.  I caught him just in time to end that before it began.  BOYS.

The moon was gorgeous last night.  Just like the sun the other day, but a bit more muted.  I was playing with exposure out of my bedroom window last night, trying to photograph it, when I heard the terrifying scream of a mountain lion somewhere close by.  Too close for comfort.  Three times I heard that piercing scream and boy, did it give me the shivers.  That is a frightful sound if I've ever heard one.

I spent the weekend outside every possible second.  When the motivation strikes, you have to go with it.  The garden was tilled and the next day I went to the cheapest greenhouse around here and got tomato and pepper plants. (No.  I didn't start seeds and No.  I don't want to talk about it.)  I went into greenhouse/planting mode when I got there and became a little overzealous in my plant nabbing.  When I came home and started planting them, I realized I had overshot the tomatoes by about 40 plants.  143 tomato plants at last count.  I was *planning* on downsizing to 100 tomato plants this year but... yeah.  Too late.  Hello roadside stand!

While I planted green things in the garden, the baby laid on the porch and between planting/weeding/mowing/etc. I laid with her.  Birds were flying.  Leaves were bursting.  Buds were swelling.  Rain was pattering.  It was bliss.

Putting the plants in this year was one of the most pleasant 'putting in' years I've ever had.  It was overcast and gray and a soft, misty rain would begin and end every hour or so- not enough to stop my work but enough to keep me cool and content.  This is the first year, I think ever, that I did not get a major sunburn or need to take sweaty breaks in the tree shadows every couple hours.

Seeds are still left to plant and that is a big job in itself (and one I hope to finish in the next two days- before the rains come again!) but the garden is starting to look all clean and bright and hopeful.

And that leaves me feeling the same way about things.

Sunspot : May 21

The sunrise yesterday morning was brilliant, but not because it painted the entire sky glowing as it often does.  No, yesterday's sunrise was incredibly beautiful because it didn't do that.  The sun just sat, perched in a tree, as red as a blood moon and as burning as the sun, surrounded by the cloudy grey of a new day.  

It was quietly brilliant, humble-like, but the intensity of its' glowing seemed to seer my insides. 

Little wonder moments.  People miss them.  Some people snoozed right through this sunspot.  I miss them.  How many moments have I missed?  So many.  

An ant colony under my feet, creating a santuary, Sequoias, standing stalwart through the ages, beavers nawing homes and woodpeckers (literally) wracking their heads for their supper.  Everywhere.  Little wonder moments that declare the glory of God.  

A friend linked to these Fairytale World Macro photos the other day and my breathe was taken away.  I just had to share them here.

We are surrounded.  If only we have eyes to see.

The Cheese Man : May 20

It's pizza night.  The fresh mozzarella is made and frozen just long enough to shred beautifully, then Andrew is always the one who comes in and does the shredding.  

I call him my Cheese Man.  And I love him.

Makers : May 19

A few projects the children have been doing lately...

What?!?  You don't have a ten year old boy storing every old, dirty, rotten deer bone he finds in the woods in your mudroom in order to eventually recreate an entire deer skeleton?  

I bet you are green with envy right now.  Or for another reason.

Yarn Along : May 18

Yarning is getting to be pretty much impossible when holding a baby these days.  But I'll take those chubby little hands over mine on any day of the week.

I haven't been doing much with yarn- the gardens and upcoming book sale (Tomorrow!  So much to do!!) are winning out on my 'free time' these days- but I have started on two more pinafores.  Because I love them. Two at the same time because I wasn't sure which color I would prefer. (And still am not.)

I finished Deconstructing Penguins and really, really enjoyed it.   A book about how to 'deconstruct' the hidden stories within stories (and particularly within the juvie fiction genre as they created a parent/child book club to do it), it has me a little bit excited about implementing this sort of 'story sleuthing' with the children.  Now I am reading Good Advice on Writing during little snippets of time I find- it is a collection of quotations so it isn't difficult to pick up and put back down a few minutes later.  Just right for this crazy busy week.  Also, I have been listening to The Real Crash by Peter Schiff on audiobook.  (I am kindof an economics junkie.)  This has been perfect for me because I can listen while sorting our too many books on our too many bookcases.  I am really happy with the efforts though.  Last year I made about $120.00 selling books at this particular book sale and I hope to make this years' efforts worthwhile too.  If not, at least I have made some space on the shelves.
(for new books).

Twice is Nice : May 17

Another set of eyes always helps

May 16

You and me both, kiddo.  You and me both.

Plowman : May 15

Last fall, when I was great with child (a total excuse, mind you), I did not add any hay to the garden.  I did not pull any weeds, take down any cages/stakes or add any manure to the garden.  I did nothing but say good riddance when the harvest was over. I know that no-till lasagna gardening is amazing but the fact is, I am kindof a failure at it.  Thankfully, I have a neighbor who doesn't mind coming and plowing for me when I slack off on my fall duties.

Before he came, I spent quite a bit of time weedwhacking the garden of the well-past-the-knees weeds and grasses everywhere (do you know how depressing it is to weedwhack a garden bed before getting it plowed?!) before I had a major 'duh moment' and staked our mini-horse there to feast.  Sheesh.  Sometimes I wonder about myself.

So- garden season begins.

I have been thinking about all my little garden beds lately and how overrun they all become so quickly without constant tending.  Is is hard to keep up with it all and yet I find myself constantly wanting to expand.  Add more asparagus, a larger strawberry patch, an actual perennial herb garden, more blueberries, more fruit trees, more grapes!  More, more, more!  I want to be able to produce more food here- particularly the expensive things like asparagus and fruits.  I also think of all the grass that Matt mows- pretty much every three days right now- and I'd like to use up more yard so he has to mow less.  But one person can only do so much.

I am trying to find the balance between what we need, what I want and what I can actually handle.

It's like when you go shopping and haven't eaten all day...you start grabbing food by the armfuls because you are so starved for it and but can still only actually consume a small portion of it.

I've been starved of the glowing shades of green, of the new life and living things, of the going out the kitchen door to the backyard for snacks and sustenance, for flowers and that glorious feeling of being outside, covered in warm sunshine, the whole world golden and growing.

I grab it by the armfuls and plan for yardfuls and am totally oblivious to the fact that one person can only do so much.

The temptation of a whole garden summer sprauled out before you...it's a powerful thing.