Catherine Love~ Ramblings from my Heart and Home

Beating the Heat by Preparing for Fall

My Spring/Summer garden did not fare well, at all .  We got a late start, planted without doing enough soil preparation, and just didn't have a good season. 

The pepper plants are hanging in there, and actually look great.  The okra is trying to produce, but as soon as a tiny pod appears, the ants swarm it and cover it up with little bits of "grass" or something.  Very strange.....  I've decided they must need it more than I do, so it's all theirs; this time. 

I still have a few chard plants that are growing ever so slowly, and a few other things are trying to survive the heat.

The heat is making me long for Fall!  I love the cool, crisp days of Autumn. 

In the midst of playing the "waiting game" regarding our upcoming move; one that is coming just 4 short months after our last move...I'm planning for Fall and planting seeds to get a head start.  I've already got seedlings for cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and chard.  They really sprouted fast- I guess it was the heat.  I also rooted  suckers from the tomato plants in the garden.  I just cut off healthy stems, plopped them into a jar of water, and put them in the kitchen window.  They rooted in just a few days and are going into containers a.s.a.p.  I plan to attempt to transplant the peppers and eggplant from the garden into containers.  I don't yet know whether I'll have a "real" garden this Fall, or whether it will be limited to the flower bed and some containers.  Either way, I plan to grow some veggies! 

I was inspired by the sustainable backyard garden video to try growing at least a few little patches of grain, too.  I'll have to do some research to find out more about growing those.  But, I love an adventure, and it should be fun, as well as educational, for us all.  I really want to work on growing as much of our food as possible in the coming days. 

The guys plan to do some work on the lot we are going to use for a community garden tonight.  Once they've gotten some of the weeds and poison ivy  under control, I can get in there and see how many raised beds we'll be able to make.  I also want to do some small fruit trees and, oh, lots of other things there !  First we will have to do some fencing to keep the deer from devouring everything we plant.  Poor things are hungry this year because it has been such a dry season; just not much for them to graze on.

OK, that's a little update from the Love home.  More on the move when I have something definite.  Should be within the month for sure.

Blessings,

Catherine

Just Popping In...

to say "Hello"!

I've been busy in the garden these days.  The heat has just about done in the green beans and cucumbers.  The squash are holding their own, and the okra and eggplant are just "getting growing" good .  I have lovely tomato plants, but sadly it is too hot for them to set fruit.  My herbs are doing well, and I'm having great fun making herb teas and just smelling them!

When it's too hot to garden, I've been attempting to keep cool by hanging out in the room with a/c and reading lots of books!  My office/storage/junk room does not have a/c, and it's not a pleasant place to be once it starts to heat up outside; which is just about the time the sun comes up! 

Once again for our family.....change is in the air!  We're fairly certain that we will be moving again shortly.  Yes, we've been in this house all of 3 months, and will be on the move again probably in another month or two.  I do seriously think we're nomads!  We'll just be moving "down the road", but even just down the road requires packing, loading, unloading, and unpacking!  The good thing, or really I should say the "God thing" in all of this is we're moving next to what our small group plans to turn into a type of Community Garden!  That will be so much fun.  It is just an uncleared lot at the moment, but the guys have big plans!  For those of you who "know" me, a community garden has been my own little dream for years; and the Lord is not only providing that, but with the added benefit of help from some of my dearest friends.  Psalm 37:4 says, Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.  I have to believe that not only did He put that desire in my heart; but He brought it to pass in His timing and by His own means.  God is good!!!

OK, more about our move, gardens, etc. when I have details.  For now, I'm heading to a cooler spot...like out on the front porch for a cup of tea!  The "new" house has central heat and air, oh praise the Lord! 

Herbs, How I Love Them!

I've been having the best time with my herb container gardens this year!  My sweet family bought me lots of new "pets" for Mother's Day-

Applemint

Kentucky Colonel Spearmint

Peppermint

St. John's Wort

Feverfew

Marjoram

Thyme

Lavender

Dill

Pineapple Sage

Rosemary

Pennyroyal

I've probably left out something, but you can see I have quite a collection of herbs now.  It  has been several years since I've had this many herbs to play with.  I'm having fun making teas and just smelling the fabulous scents of them while I water, pinch, and prune . 

I planted Basil this spring, and it not only makes the front flower bed look pretty, but provides a spicy fragrance (and a quick nibble or two) to those passing by.  My Lemon Verbena that moved here with us is growing well, and finding its way into the teacup almost daily.  The Bay tree (it's really a sad excuse for a tree) is holding its own, though still a stunted, tiny thing.  A pretty white Moss Rose somehow sprouted in the pot and is just about to cover up the poor little tree.  I've had that little thing for at least 3 years and it hasn't grown much at all.  My husband teases me and says that it's because as soon as any new leaves appear, I pick them for the pizza sauce pot !  Not so, but I'm obviously doing something wrong.  Anyone have any suggestions???

One more new thing I'm attempting to grow- Malabar Spinach.  I bought a little seedling to try it out, and just put it into the garden yesterday.  I hope it does well because real spinach can't take the summer heat here. We eat LOTS of spinach in our family, and it makes my favorite smoothie! 

OK, time for me to go pet the herbs and see which ones are thirsty.

Garden Blessings,

Catherine

My All-Time Favorite Garden Tool

is the Stirrup Hoe!  I just love mine . 

Weeding  is by no means my favorite gardening activity .....that would be planting, which leads inevitably to more of my less favorite....weeding! 

When I picked up my trusty stirrup hoe at a garage sale for less than $1.00 , I had no idea what a bargain I was getting!  New ones cost somewhere around $30.00, I think.   But, if I couldn't find a great deal on a used stirrup hoe, I would gladly pay for a new one!  

It is simply amazing how this tool allows me  to zip through weeding the garden in a snap.  No bending, squatting, back-breaking pulling necessary.  Just pull the hoe lighly through the soil and it cultivates up all those freshly germinated weeds and they are gone gone .  Our garden is small this year, just about 15' X 30' .  I weeded the entire garden (except for the spot where I seeded some greens) in less than half an hour! 

If you love gardening, but not the weeding ; try a stirrup hoe, you'll be glad you did!

Wild Wednesday

We're finally moved into our new home.  This move was frustrating and just crazy start to finish, but it is behind us now, Praise the Lord!  There is much that must be done before this resembles a peaceful Home Sweet Home, though!

I honestly had no idea that we had accumulated so much "stuff" until I attempted to move a large 3 bedroom, two bath, with a storage shed household, into a small (very small) 2 1/2 bedroom, one bath (that is taking some getting used to), with no storage mobile home .  I have thrown or given much away, and still have more waiting to be taken to the local homeless shelter. 

I still have most of my kitchen things in boxes, due to a "critter invasion", yucky...you really don't want to know... and the cabinets still have to be repainted and caulked before anything goes in them. 

Cooking is quite the adventure with having all of the food and cooking utensils stored in totes, just finding the correct spices can be almost maddening  .  I also had no idea how much I used my oven- until I didn't have one.  This is a temporary thing, just until my overworked dh finds time to find out what's wrong with it and repair it, or have it replaced.  I honestly think that I used my oven every day- Oh to have a fresh-baked biscuit or scone!

These are the normal "everyday" things, but today has had it's own store of "stuff" for us to deal with:

1.  To start off the day on the wrong foot, my dh announced "Time to GET UP!"...which I did, of course, and went into the kitchen and started coffee....only to realize his alarm clock and his wake up call were ONE HOUR EARLY !  Oh well, 4 a.m., 5 a.m. what's the difference? Ha!

2.  8:00 a.m. my phone rings,  my friend (actually 2 friends within 5 minutes) called to tell me our kitty cat had been hit by a car and was in the middle of the road.....he is now in a box awaiting my dh to get home and bury the poor creature.  NOT a good second start for my morning .

3.  Before 10:00 a.m. the toilet overflows (for the second time in 2 weeks) and soaks all of the towels I could find, runs under the unfinished linoleum and into my bedroom carpeting .  Which means my first load of laundry......which brings us to:

4.  I cleaned the lint filter on the dryer (my dh would be proud, since I usually forget) and when I tried to put it back in it wouldn't go.  I finally located the "battery free" flashlight (made a mental note to get a "real" flashlight asap) and discovered a purple pony bead lodged in the space where my lint filter should slide.  I tried every kitchen utensil imagineable and a piece of wire coat hanger all to no avail.  It is STUCK!  Is it safe to run a dryer without that silly little filter thing??? (another mental note- clothesline asap)

5.  I am having no luck reserving a park pavilion to have my littlest Love's birthday party at this weekend, soooo..... it may be a mad dash the rest of the week attempting to create enough order to actually let friends come near this place !

OK, those are the not so good or terribly sad things...

But, there are always more good than bad, right?

1.  Being awake an hour early gave me more time to snuggle with my sweetie and to pray.

2.  It was a kitty and not a kid who was hit by a car!

3.  Fans dry out water...even toilet water.

4.  DH does industrial maintenance for a living- a stuck pony bead should be no big deal.

5.  A crockpot does a pretty decent job of cooking a roast, and uses less energy, I'll bet.

6.  Cooking simple meals has quickly become a habit, and at this point my family is thrilled to have anything besides Taco Bell and Jack in the Box .

7.  The garden should be tilled today.

8.  I have seedlings just itching to be planted- tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, squash, and seeds for lots more! 

9.  My children are apparently not allergic to Poison Ivy, as they've been in enough of it lately.  (Poison Ivy spray added to the shopping list)

10.  The sun is shining (for the moment) and the birds are singing.

11.  I can always find the tea, honey and a teacup.

12.  HIS Grace is sufficient, and HIS Mercies new every morning.

Blessings,

Catherine