Tag Archives: flowers

Thursday August 8, 2013

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” Happy Birthday” to my Brother.  Have a wonderful day.

Ramblings

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There is always something beautiful in nature. I love being able to see the sun rise, the moon, storms in the distance and this year I've seen so many rainbows. Sights like these make you slow down and let you reconnect with the beauty that surrounds you.

There is always something beautiful in nature. I love being able to see the sun rise, the moon, storms in the distance and this year I’ve seen so many rainbows. Sights like these make you slow down and let you reconnect with the beauty that surrounds you.

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I'm really enjoying the garden this year. The tomatoes are slow in setting on, but when we get some they are so delicious. The cucumbers are doing well, and we are enjoying them with vinegar,sugar and some oil. The basil is really doing great, I put in 7 plants and I have made a lot of pesto. The other night I combined basil, parsley, garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and oil as a marinade for shrimp and grilled them. The beets are almost gone, have pulled all the onions, the peas were wonderful, that season doesn't last long enough, and we are just waiting on the okra. See the dill right behind Wylie, that was where the rescued caterpillar was relocated. I was so disappointed that I missed seeing it come out of its cocoon.

I’m really enjoying the garden this year. The tomatoes are slow in setting on, but when we get some they are so delicious. The cucumbers are doing well, and we are enjoying them with vinegar,sugar and some oil. The basil is really doing great, I put in 7 plants and I have made a lot of pesto. The other night I used basil, parsley, garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and oil as a marinade for shrimp and grilled them. The beets are almost gone, have pulled all the onions, the peas were wonderful, that season doesn’t last long enough, and we are just waiting on the okra.
See the dill right behind Wylie, that was where the rescued caterpillar was relocated. I was so disappointed that I missed seeing it come out of its cocoon.

This is one of the windy day dust storms. Thankfully we've been getting some moisture and now the soybeans are up and he field is no longer blowing.

This is one of the windy day dust storms. Thankfully we’ve been getting some moisture and now the soybeans are up and the field is no longer blowing.

To The Rescue

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Most people rescue dogs, cats, horses, even chickens, ferrets, the list sadly goes on and on. I haven't heard of very many caterpillar rescues, but that is what I was involved in the other day. I had gone to visit my aunt and we were out looking at her fennel. It was a big plant that was a couple years old , but it had quite a few caterpillars on it and they were feeding heavily. She wanted the fennel more than the caterpillars so we put them in containers along with some roly polys that the grandkids wanted to move to a new home too. I was more than happy to bring the caterpillars to my garden as I had planted dill and butterfly milkweed, just in hopes of attracting monarchs!

Most people rescue dogs, cats, horses, even chickens, ferrets, the list sadly goes on and on. I haven’t heard of very many caterpillar rescues, but that is what I was involved in the other day. I had gone to visit my aunt and we were out looking at her fennel. It was a big plant that was a couple of years old , but it had quite a few caterpillars on it and they were feeding heavily. She wanted the fennel more than the caterpillars so we put them in containers along with some roly polys that the grandkids wanted to move to a new home too. I was more than happy to bring the caterpillars to my garden as I had planted dill and butterfly milkweed, just in hopes of attracting monarchs!

This is what it looks like now. I can't wait to see a monarch butterfly! They are such amazing little fragile creatures.

This is what it looks like now. I can’t wait to see a monarch butterfly! They are such amazing little fragile creatures.

What’s Happening

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I love mint, but it is too invasive to plant in the garden. This year I put my mojito mint in this beautiful orange ceramic pot. Mojitos are my favorite summer drink, looks like with all this mint, I will have LOTS of mojitos! I planted the colorful ornamental peppers and a yellow canna to further accent the pot.

I love mint, but it is too invasive to plant in the garden. This year I put my mojito mint in this beautiful orange ceramic pot. Mojitos are my favorite summer drink, looks like with all this mint, I will have LOTS of mojitos! I planted the colorful ornamental peppers and a yellow canna to further accent the pot.

I planted a white water calla lily, a chameleon plant and papyrus around the bubbling rock.

I planted a white water calla lily, a chameleon plant and papyrus around the bubbling rock.

The baby House finches are hatching. They look like little fluffy dandelions. A couple of days ago we had a storm with 60 mph winds, and I was so happy that they were able to ride out the storm.

The baby House finches are hatching. They look like little fluffy dandelions. A couple of days ago we had a storm with 60 mph winds, and I was so happy that they were able to ride out the storm.

Coop

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The chicken coop is still a work in progress. The fencing crew sat the poles and after a couple of days were able to put the fence up. The gates should be in this week and they will also put the barb wire around the top.

The chicken coop is still a work in progress. The fencing crew sat the poles and after a couple of days were able to put the fence up. The gates should be in this week and they will also put the barb wire around the top.

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I planted honeysuckle along the fence on the north side of the chicken pen. Honeysuckle are excellent cover for fences, fast growing, attracts hummingbirds, and so fragrant. I chose 3 different varieties, Hall's Japanese, which has whitish-yellow flowers, Goldflame honeysuckle with a beautiful purple to deep pink buds open to golden yellow tubular flowers that are bright pink outside, and Mandrin honeysuckle that are orange red flowers with pale orange interiors. What hummingbird could resist that!?! Luckily I didn't have to dig the holes, Austin (the fencer) used his Cat skid loader with a post hole digger. Thank you so much Austin!

I planted honeysuckle along the fence on the north side of the chicken pen. Honeysuckle are excellent cover for fences, fast growing, attracts hummingbirds, and so fragrant. I chose 3 different varieties, Hall’s Japanese, which has whitish-yellow flowers, Goldflame honeysuckle with a beautiful purple to deep pink buds open to golden yellow tubular flowers that are bright pink outside, and Mandrin honeysuckle that are orange red flowers with pale orange interiors. What hummingbird could resist that!?!
Luckily I didn’t have to dig the holes, Austin (the fencer) used his Cat skid loader with a post hole digger. Thank you so much Austin!