Thieves and bandits

We've been watching a peach tree in our front yard with great interest. I thought it had died last summer, but it turned out to be resilient, and we had a mild enough spring that lots of peaches started growing. They've been the perfect peach color for several weeks, but not quite ripe enough to come off the tree. I thought it started looking like there were fewer peaches, and so I started checking more regularly, finding some on the ground and none coming off in my hand.

A couple of days ago we drove in, and I went into the house to put my things away and then went right back out to pick a particular peach. When I got back outside, the peach was gone, and over in the neighbor's yard, this guy was sitting there enjoying it.



I picked every last peach off that tree and put them in the kitchen windowsill to ripen a little more. We've been snack on them ever since. Yum.

Did I mention that Jack Jack and his Pa built a "squirrel feeder" together the last time they were here visiting? I now understand why all the corn was on the ground under the tree. Who needs dried corn kernels when you can have a fresh peach?

Gardening

So, gardening. We have had such interesting weather this spring that the first round of seeds I planted (1) didn't sprout or (2) died. Actually, that was probably more due to laziness on my part than the actual weather.

So, gardening. I decided that if sunflowers can grow on the side of the highway with no help whatsoever, they would probably do all right in that patch of my back yard where nothing but dirt grows.

Also, the neighbor removed two trees along the fence line and replaced her chain link fence with a wooden privacy fence, but the people who came to grind the stump only took care of the roots on her side of the fence, so the root section in our yard started sprouting all kinds of foliage as soon as it rained. And, we have about an inch of dirt and then lots and lots of "chalk rock". You all probably know what it's actually called, but there's a lot of it around here, and that's why I didn't plant a nice row of sunflowers along the fence. And because it didn't occur to me at the time. [Lazy gardener]

The package said dwarf sunflowers, but they're as tall as Elijah and still growing.

Since the plants are so big, I didn't see any harm in leaving the caterpillars to their meal.


So, gardening. Until a couple of days ago, we had a large patch of thistles and dandelions that I didn't do anything about, and then it rained several times, and they exploded. Then Jack Jack came home and identified several ladybug larva after studying the ladybug life cycle in kindergarten, so I left the weeds alone and called it our "ladybug garden." This was literally a breeding ground for my favorite insect. I didn't mention it to Jack, and he took a weed eater to the patch the last time he mowed the back yard, so the ladybug garden is no more. We still have plenty of snails, though.


So, gardening. Jack gave me a potted rose for Valentine's Day this year, and I repotted it and hung it outside the kitchen window. It hasn't died yet, so I feel good about that.


So, gardening. While many people consider honeysuckle a weed, I have many happy childhood memories involving honeysuckle. Good thing, because this stuff cannot be killed, short of chemicals. I'm opposed to chemicals in theory. In practice, I'm just too lazy to buy and apply them. However, with the removal of two trees, fence, and installation of a new fence, I didn't have very high hopes for the honeysuckle. Turns out, they don't call it a weed for nothing.


So, gardening. Today I found two flowers on one of my tomato plants!! These babies started from seeds, and it seems like it's taking forever for them to get growing. And I almost killed them when I repotted them into bigger pots. Not pictured in my "actual" "vegetable" "garden" are the tiny plastic strawberry containers with sprouting kale and chard, and the pots in my kitchen windowsill with sprouting basil, onion, and chives. That's because they might still die. [Lazy gardener]


This was the second time I saw this guy in my yard. Unless there is more than one large lizard wandering around with a missing tail. Also, we have seen squirrels, birds, garden snakes, and never ending snails.

We got lots of pecans from the trees in the front and back in the fall, and the peach tree in the front yard has fruit on it, but I'm not getting my hopes up. . . . Okay. Maybe I'm getting my hopes up a little.

In my lazy defense, I do water my plants daily. But if they need more than regular watering and sunlight to grow, and an occasional application of liquid miracle grow, That's beyond my lazy gardening KSAs. [I don't plan to be lazy forever, for the record.]

Garden casualty

Lost: One flowering tomato plant.
Found: One tomato hornworm.

Luckily, I found the caterpillar before it had moved on to the other plants in my row of pots. Luckily, I found the caterpillar before six cousins came over so they could experience the excitement and horror of the monstrous hornworm. Luckily, I now know that The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a non-fiction work.

Planted

Before Mom came home from the hospital after her last surgery, the Relief Society sisters came over and planted flowers everywhere. They brought pots and lined the driveway and the back patio with an explosion of color. When Mom and Dad drove in, Mom sat in the car and just cried because it looked so beautiful. On days that she felt strong enough, she would walk out or have someone help her out to the side of the house where we put some patio chairs in the shade so she could sit and look at the flowers.

Jack asked me if I wanted to visit the cemetery on my Mom's birthday, and I actually hadn't even thought about it. We grew up far from extended family, and all of my grandparents and even some of my grandparents were living when I was in high school. I went once to see my grandfather's grave in Idaho while we were there on vacation, but that was about it. My grandmother talked about going every Memorial Day to "decorate graves." She took flowers to her parents' graves, cleared away weeds, and remembered.

Jack and I took the kids, found a lovely little sage that will have brilliant pink flowers, and planted it to remember my Mom on her birthday. The cemetery is filled with huge trees and is well-kept and watered, and they provide water hoses and encourage family to plant things that will last longer and stay more beautiful than plastic bouquets. It felt good to remember that it's just Mom's body resting there. There are green, growing, living things all around it. Jesus lives. She will live again, too.

Before and after

This is my porch before we decided to move. My planter box was still hanging on, and I had three tomato plants in a flowering frenzy with tiny green tomatoes starting to appear.

This is my front porch after we got the move-out checklist from the apartment office. Remove rocks from front porch. Remove planter box.

Jack spent the better part of an entire morning working on this with his faithful side kicks and hard working partners.

The best part of the whole process was hearing Jack Jack every time Daddy lifted a shovel full of dirt or rocks into a bucket to be taken away. With the most awe I have ever heard from a three-year-old, the reaction every time was "Wow, Daddy!" with a super slow, drawn-out emphasis on the wow.

The planter box was relocated to live with friends, along with many of the plants I had there. I hope they are enjoying it!

Ahhh, summer is around the corner.

Ice cream on the porch. Yummy. It was seriously hot that day, so the kids are all scrunched onto that one patch of shade.

And that is why the only things actually growing in my garden are also pushed as far into the shade as they can go. We get a lot of sun here. A lot. Since it's really flat here, too, there's nothing to block all those rays.

From front to back, we have "Bright Lights" Swiss chard, dill, onions, basil, and chives. A caterpillar found the dill and has eaten most of it, but that's what I planted it for anyway. I heard dill attracts caterpillars that eventually turn into butterflies. I think I probably need a lot more dill, though. So we'll see.

While the past two days have included sun, thunderstorms, and full-sky rainbows, the forecast for this coming Saturday is 106 degrees Farenheit. WHAT?!???!? We're not supposed to have that kind of a summer here, where there are (on average) more days below freezing that over 90 degrees. Ah, Texas. Ah, Lubbock.

Preschool at the nursery

Ellen's preschool class recently took a field trip to a local nursery. These are just a few of the 100+ pictures she took of the flowers, grasses, herbs, and gravel.

I'm glad she decided to take this one, too!

In all, it was a wildly successful activity. Ellen loved it, and she loved showing us all the pictures she took!

My garden box

This garden box was a Valentine's Day gift from Jack's dad. We grew dwarf peas in the spring to the great delight of my kids, who discovered that peas straight from the vine are delicious.

In the summer I planted herbs and a bunch of vegetable seedlings I started in the house. What with the hot, dry Lubbock summer, neglecting to water, and leaving town, everything pretty much shriveled up and died.

I finally got tired of having a box of dirt surrounded by rocks that ended up in the dirt or all over the grass and went and bought plants. I went for the most colorful, some perennial, and resistant to cold weather plants I could find. The kids and I planted them that night, and then it rained for the first time in months. Beautiful.

These flowers have not disappointed. As long as I snip off the spent blooms, they keep blooming. I love how bright the pinks are. And I love that Jack Jack knows which flowers are dianthus.

We've had several freezing nights, and you wouldn't even know it from the look of my flower garden. I love growing things.

West Texas precipitation

Last weekend I heard thunder, so I opened the front door to check out the situation. It started raining and cooling off the apartment. Ellen and Jack wanted a front row seat.


Mom, I found and ice cube!


I got one, too!


That's not just rain, folks. At this point Jack sent me a message to tell me he was in the basement of the law school and no one was allowed to leave because of a tornado warning issued. Tornados in Texas are the number one reason we will never live in a trailer. I can think of several hundred reasons besides that one, but just so you know.


You can see my little pea plants getting pelted. Fortunately, the plants were small enough to dodge the also small hail pellets. I was not worried about my car or anything here. Sorry, William and Rebecca.


For us it was the first rain in probably two months. Hooray! Eventually they let the law students out of the basement and Jack came home. We spent the evening watching "Run for your life Ron," the weather man, because one of his on-location storm trackers is a friend of ours from church. Good to know that Ron was sending him looking for funnel clouds where the indicators were the strongest -- he drove right by our apartment complex.

On a golden springtime

We had our quarterly Primary activity day at the Arboretum. One of our teachers described Joseph Smith's experience in the Sacred Grove and then shared his testimony while we listened in a grove of trees. We picked up trash, snails, pinecones, and watered plants. Then we ate lunch. Jack Jack and Ellen's favorite part was watering the plants!

A gift and a garden

Except for the one day that it snowed, we have had a very warm winter. Here's Ellen riding her tricycle on our porch.

What's that in the background, you ask?


Why, that's my Valentine's Day gift from Jack's dad. It's a garden box. He brought the wood and assembled it, filled it, and even added the decorative white rocks around the outside. Currently I have little pea plants sprouting. They survived the snow, but we're supposed to have a hard freeze tonight, so we'll see what happens. Around Mother's Day we'll be well past the danger of a frost, and then we'll really get serious about planting. By "we" I mean Ellen, Jack Jack, and I. Those two take their watering duties very seriously.

Back to Ellen.

Rivals

Today I had some peas picked straight out of a friend's garden. They were so good. Chelsea and I were looking at the plants and trying to decide what they were: tomatoes, squash, onions, etcetera. We were also taking a break from watching our kids splash in the kiddie pool and eat popsicles for Memorial Day at said friend's house. When we came to the peas, I suddenly remembered the last time I had a close relationship with pea plants.

We lived in Oklahoma and my mom and a friend decided to plant a garden and share the work and the dividends. They also determined to share the work with their kids.

So on a hot day we went over to work in the garden. My mom handed me a hoe and directed me to a row to weed. I was pretty sullen about having to hoe a row in a garden on a hot day, but I quickly discovered that the weeds on this particular row surrendered under my hoe quite easily.

When I triumphantly announced to mom that I was finished with my row, she came to check and immediately exclaimed, "Oh, no! You dug up all the pea plants!"

I wondered why they were all coming out of the ground so nicely. And I was crushed and never wanted to work in the garden again.

Fortunately, I can now tell the difference between a pea plant and a weed, if nothing else. But I also like gardening and vegetable gardening in particular. Last year I grew tomatoes from seeds in pots on my porch, and even that was crowded. But we had cherry tomatoes and herbs all summer and fall.

Then a friend in our stake invited me to go and pick tomatoes at an experiment station last September. She said I could have all the tomatoes I could carry (and anyone else who wanted to).

Ellen, Baby Jack, and I hitched a ride with a girl out to the plot and ended up with these:

And that's only one of the three basketfuls of tomatoes we ended up with. I gave some away, froze some, made salsa with some, and then I decided that I would can some. Vaguely remembering canning with my mom and how easy she always made it seem, I didn't think I would have any problems. Thanks to Freecycle, I came up with jars and loaned canning equipment.

General Conference weekend I spent listening to conference and boiling tomatoes, jars, lids, and over 20 beautiful quarts of Roma tomatoes. Most of them sealed perfectly. Oh, and I read the canning instructions for tomatoes about 100 times.

Ellen was really good at wearing her apron, posing for photo shoots, and staying very far away from everything hot. Which was everything.

Then I gave away some more and put the rest in my cupboard, until a few days ago when I found myself with a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and a recipe that only called for one.

I ended up with a rival to my salsa verde:

Chipotle Salsa (smoky and spicy)
1 quart canned tomatoes, drained
2 chipotle peppers
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons lime juice
3 pinches kosher salt (or to taste)

Blend everything in a blender or food processor and enjoy with a bowl of tortilla chips, a plate of quesadillas, or a dish of fried potatoes, eggs, and sausage. (I had to break my "no salsa picante before lunch" rule, for that last one, and it was well worth it.)

Next up: Why I had a can of chipotle peppers in the first place.

Lubbock

Here we have Chelsea, Bentley, Braden in red, Maria holding Nadia with Anya in front, Ellen, and Jack. I'm taking the picture after "gardening" at the temple.

A couple of weeks ago we all met up, but no one came to open the gate so we walked around and around the temple, picked weeds, and picked up trash. Ellen pushed Jack right off the sidewalk over the curb. It was really scary for him and me, but he didn't even end up with a bruise.

Did I mention it has been really light gardening? Deadheading (pinching off spent flowers), and today I found two weeds. It hasn't rained here in a while, so the flowers are getting a little dry. At least the weeds can't grow either. We were there for about 45 minutes, which is about all we can handle before Ellen wants to start jumping off benches and things.

In a couple of weeks the real fun begins! We get to dig up all the flower beds and plant all new flowers. I'll have to break out my gardening gloves then.

Reach out and touch someone

This is just too much to resist.



Hey! That tickles!

Dear Grandma,

One of my favorite memories of visiting you when I was little was probably when I was ten years old. I remember that being a red letter year because we went to visit family that summer and I had three birthday parties to celebrate my "magic" birthday. Turning ten on the tenth was a big deal.

But I remember the garden behind your house in Mud Lake and being able to walk through the rows of corn. I also remember you teaching me how to shuck corn and snap the ends off of the green beans. Then we got to eat those yummy vegetables.

What I wish I were doing right now

Yesterday Ellen, Jack and I went to the Lubbock Temple to help in the temple gardens. This marks the beginning of spring for me, and the beginning of one of the most fun things I like to do with my kids.

Here are the top ten reasons I love our Monday morning activity:

10. There's a huge yard for the kids to play in.
9. The yard is surrounded by a huge metal fence.
8. There is only one way out of the yard.
7. We get to meet and play with other kids and moms.
6. My kids get to play in the dirt.
5. I get to play in the dirt.
4. I get to practice gardening in someone else's garden.
3. We learn the names of the plants and flowers.
2. We have an opportunity to serve and be blessed. (Sometimes we get to take home flowers!)
1. We get to go to the beautiful Lubbock Temple every Monday morning!

Beginning to garden at the temple make me want to go right home and plant something. I haven't quite gotten there yet this year, but Ellen and I did get to help plant a garden in Waco.

Here are some beginning-of-spring pictures from last year. Note the egg cartons -- seedlings that actually did survive graduated to larger pots on the porch, and we enjoyed herbs and tomatoes until November last year.



It's raining!