Garden Update

As one would expect for this time of the year. .

Lots of things are going on in the yard too! The spring flowers are still showing off. .and the summer flowers are getting flower buds in preparation of their own displays.

The grass is green. .and is starting to fill in the bare spots. .but there are plenty of green weeds doing their part of coloring the landscape too! As in many other parts of our country, the weather has been unusual, to say the least. .and we go from unseasonably warm (like 98 degrees two days running) to unseasonably cool (frosting many areas). 

The goldfish are active. .eating water bugs and playing games with one another.  A few weeks ago, Cami and I picked out a small yellow Koi and a black, google-eyed goldfish to add to the collection.  The boys spotted the two new tadpoles Sunday evening, and they have also found a ton of snails. .which I did NOT place in there. .how they got in I will not know. The one large snail that Cam and I bought a couple weeks ago has resurrected itself after 4 days of laying belly up at the bottom of the pitcher pump water feature. .and got relocated by Grant. .to his indoor fish tank.

The plants given to me by friends, the new ones I ordered, and my own shrubs that got a new location this spring are all holding their own.  The yard is perfumed by honeysuckle, iris, and dianthus.  I FINALLY saw a hummingbird Saturday buzzing around my orange honeysuckle vines.  I have not yet been able to get close enough to get a good look at it. .but hopefully soon. .I pray he will make himself at home and spend the summer with us.  Devin also spotted another bluebird out the window Saturday. .so I am hopeful that they are using our nest boxes.

The knock out roses are in full bloom and are quite striking! As are the peach iris. We enjoyed a bouquet of them on the kitchen table for the BBQ.  In fact, I was able to quickly collect 4 bouquets of different things to set around the house. .I LOVE fresh flowers!! The peonies have also had a great year. I bought a cheap grab bag of them a few years ago. .and this is the first year that they have had more than one bloom apiece. They smell divine. .and have graced several vases in the house. There is a white one, probably Maxima variety, a middle pink and a bright pink plant.

The dianthus and pink snapdragons that I planted around the stone bench that used to sit by the fire pit have made a comeback.  We started the antique metal furniture project 2 months ago and haven't gotten back to them. I hope to have them done soon to put back in this area for seating, especially since we started with the firepit the other night to fix some mallows!!

The veggie garden is doing very well!! I mentioned once that I was going to plant without tilling this year, and so far that is working.  After I got back from my mom's the weeds in the unmulched back half of the garden were taking over. I had Grant haul the tiller out there so I could make quick work of getting rid of them.  Unfortunately, the tiller shot crap. .and I still had to pull weeds.  So, I guess I was 100% tiller free this season.  Because of that method, there has been some remaining straw to pull across and protect some of the plants.  The beets have been thinned, and the carrots (visible right behind the beets in the photo) will need thinned soon too. .I am still amazed that they even came up!!

Here are the potato plants. .and as I dug out some Johnson grass last weekend, I noticed that the reds are making taters. Can't wait!! Saturday I managed to get 5 varieties of tomato plants, 2 types of pepper plants, 3 squash, 3 rows of baby corn, 3 rows of okra, 2 types of cucumber seeds and 2 varieties of watermelon, plus a small stand of dill planted.  I was beside myself with joy, because I was afraid that I wasn't going to have time to do it all. Things went in quickly. .and we are hoping for some rain this week.  Grant is pleased that his strawberry plants are setting fruit now. .and I am trying to find a place to put some raspberry bushes when they go on sale.  We'll still need to lay some newspaper down and cover it with straw in the back as the seeds sprout.  The ground covered with mulch from last year was significantly better than the harder, sunbaked soil in the back. And the weeds are much fewer throughout the previously mulched part, as you might expect.

the larkspur stand is adding some character to this weedy patch

The greenhouse is being cleared out slowly. We are still picking tomatos. .and the plants have had a lot of new lush foliage and blooms start again.  I know that it has everything to do with the abundant sunshine and added warmth.  Most of the house plants are moved out to the decks. .which leaves the house looking empty, but the outside entrances look inviting. 

It's hard to believe that May is more than 1/2 over now. School will be out for the younger ones next week. Devin is playing baseball this summer which is getting underway.  The big boys have been to tractor safety and will be helping our families with farming this summer. Everyone is looking forward to the first trip to the lake and the pool.  And I am eager for a morning warm enough (and unscheduled enough) to enjoy my coffee on the deck.

Penstemon strictus (Rocky Mountain beardtongue) is show stopping this year!!! It is supposed to be 24 inches tall by 36 inches wide. .and is just gorgeous! It is also holding up well in the vase with the peonies.

The window birding has been VERY good this week too.  And I consider my discoveries to be an encouragement for my soul from my heavenly Father!! Last Saturday in the midst of a particularly stressful day, we sighted the hummer and the bluebird.  Monday, while on the phone begging my sis in law to come watch the sick one for graduation, I spotted FOUR cedar waxwings in the elm tree next to my pond. I have NEVER seen one of these beauties here. .despite our abundant supply of cedar berries for their dining pleasure!! 

photo courtesy of cornell web site

I discovered in my birding book that they migrate out by the first of June. .so I was REALLY excited to have seen them here!! I am especially pleased with how our backyard habitat is shaping up. .and find pleasure daily at the sights and scents available to me right out my own door! Thanks for joining me today on the mini-garden tour.  Have a great week. .it's about over!

High School. .Here HE Comes!!

So I have certainly spent a lot of time lately wondering how my kids have grown so fast!! I've been excited, unnerved, sad, proud, and triumphant. .depending on which day it was.  This week, I have finally decided to be ready for this new adventure in our lives!! I hope someone has missed my ramblings over the last couple weeks. .it has just been THAT crazy here!! First things first. .my mom is doing well. .and the hip is undoubtedly going to heal well. .as will her spirits!! I thank anyone who may have offered us up in prayer!!

Now, on to this guy!! He survived his 8th graduation tonight. .and what a fun event!! Of course. .the thing that has been on all of our minds around here for weeks. .was WHO was going to tie that TIE!! Thanks to his principal. .who has assuredly tied thousands of boy ties in his career!! Last night we hosted a smallish BBQ to celebrate. We enjoyed the company of our family and a few of our long time friends.

Tristan and his great friend Jonah

He had some of his best graduating buddies come too. .along with their families. .and we had a very nice time!! The bathroom had enough stature to be admired. .but no door yet. .so it really couldn't be used!! Bless Kelsey. .he has been working VERY hard to get it accomplished. .and is down to the cabinetry that he is building and a few finishing touches.  

Tristan and his girl of the year, Taylor (isn't she cute??)

So today, the boys (who spent the night) went to school for a breakfast cooked by the principal himself, locker clean-out and graduation practice.  Thankfully he was home before lunch. .because he got to help take care of his little sister. .who puked on herself. .right after my toilet decided it was no longer flushing waste, filling itself right up to the top of the rim with more water. He was more than thrilled to help out. .especially since his mother had postponed her postponed hair cut and color until today. .and REALLY needed to get that done!! Because she looked REEEEAAALLLYYY bad!

Um, last week he was shorter than me. .this week he is not. .but I had on my tall shoes tonight. .and he IS standing on his tip-toes!!

This afternoon (since Cami had eaten lunch and then managed to jump on the trampoline) we decided her puking was a fluke. .and we went to town so he could get his graduation gift from us. .a cell phone. .and a new checking account. .and a driving manual to study so he can get his farm permit to drive. However, her puking was NOT a fluke after all, and she managed to puke in the trash can at the phone place. .and then got to stay home with Aunt Lisa tonight instead of making us all miserable at the graduation! Some times our blessings come in the form of vomit!!

He is one excited kid. .to have his own phone and texting capabilities. .and the thing rang twice just on the way to graduation!! Grant can't WAIT to graduate next year and get one too!! And Devin is trying to convince Tristan to sell him his ipod touch. .since he can use his phone to call people now! It's hard to be little :-) 

The kids go to school in the smallest division of schools in Kansas. .a 1A school. .so his entire graduating class consisted of 24 kids. They are a neat bunch of kids too! So at this  moment. .they are celebrating with a junior high dance until 10:30 tonight.  They had a very neat packet of stuff for the parents after graduation. A booklet that the kids have been writing about themselves throughout the year, in addition to a REALLY cool booklet with a page written by each 8th grader, formatted the same way.  I thought it was a very concise portrait of each kid. .and I wanted to share Tristan's with everyone. .I especially knew that his grandma who couldn't make it tonight would LOVE to read it!!

Tristan Michael

Nickname :Stone hands; Justin (since everyone thinks he looks like Justin Bieber)

Hobbies: shooting guns, hunting, facebook

School activities: football, basketball, track

Outside school activities: 4-H, hanging out with friends, working

My name is Tristan. I'm 5'9" (taller this week than when he wrote that), have brown hair and greenish brown eyes. I participate in football, basketball and track. I spend some of my free time shooting guns at my house. Any other free time I spend on Facebook. Those are just a few things about me

Quote: A lot of people are afraid of heights, not me, I'm afraid of widths (he is totally random like that)

Tristan

Always in trouble, funny, talkative, tall

Son of Jeremy and Melanie

Lover of football, guns, girls

Who feels spazzy, energetic, happy

Who finds happiness in football, shooting guns, making people laugh

Who needs music, friends, excitement

Who gives laughs, joy, headaches

Who fears teachers, strangers, rattle snakes

Who would like to see Hawaii, Canada, ocean

Who enjoys Canadians, football, guns

Who likes to wear shorts, muscle shirts, socks

Tristan

To our first born. .whom we love dearly

It seems like just yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital, wondering what we were going to do with you next. We have practiced on you and learned from you. We've cried over you and laughed at you. We've enjoyed watching you grow and develop into a real person. .with a great personality. Your life has seemed like both an eternity. .and mere seconds at the same time. In a few short years. .you will be ready to spread your wings and fly. .and hopefully we will be ready too!

Congratulations and best of luck!!

Checking Things Off the List

Track is finished. .

Check!

Seems like this time of year is when we start checking things off of our proverbial list.  That started this week! School physicals, track meets, youth group, spring music programs. .those are some of the things being checked off.  The boys have had a good year in track.  They enjoy the competition. .and social aspects of the sport.  Tonight was the last meet of the season.  Tristan sprained his quad muscle in his leg during his first relay today and had to scratch out of his last two events.  Grant is learning how to hurdle (or turtle has Cami calls them. ."they are jumpin' over the turtles!!") and he is more frustrated than anything. .he is a little bit of a perfectionist. .I think he has done well for only running them a few times. 

See, Tristan's track clothes fit me perfectly!!

We were in the schools this week doing free sports physicals for next year. That is always dramatic/traumatic for the younger kids, and maybe the adults doing a hundred of them in short order!! And also presented the dreaded STD lecture to the freshman class.

I have signed half a dozen permission slips for field trips. .and those will start next week!! Tristan only has one week left of junior high!! Notes are coming home to advise us of all of the graduation information.  The big boys are taking a tractor safety class this Saturday. .missing out on the school carnival that Devin and Cami still get to go to. 

Then there are birthday parties, school dances, 4-H activities, and a youth group party. 

These two little guys just follow along. .and make entertainment for themselves where ever they might find themselves!!  Devin's class went to the plant store this afternoon to pick out flowers for their moms. .I know this. .because I was in there when they showed up. .luckily I was just finishing up with the plants I needed to pot into my front containers. .Devin was pretty sure that I had NO idea what they were up to!! I LOVE innocence!!

I survived my first afternoon with patients and a computerized record system.  It was quite stressful. .but I think I will be much better tomorrow as I muddle through day two!! My carpenter and my husband were both sick yesterday with fever and body ache nasties. .so the house is still a bit of a frustrating wreck! Tristan came in from youth group last night and lysol-ed everything that he THOUGHT they may have touched!! A boy after my own heart. .he did the toilet handles, door knobs. .and EVEN the refrigerator handle. .just like his OCD mother would have done! Yes!! Those two men were teasing me horribly. .and causing me gray hairs. .So I threatened them several times that they had better be careful when eating my cooking. .as I may slip them something they wouldn't like!! Now they are CONVINCED that I poisoned them. .and I am sure that Kelsey will never eat another meal here again!! (though they mentioned being impressed that I was able to ONLY cause illness to them. .and not to anyone else) That'll teach them to mess with the cook!! I am amused that the bathroom plans change subtly as he begins to lay things out.  It's not the way we initially thought it would go. .but I must say. .I am getting excited for the way it turning out!! It will be great!

And, to top off the week. .Tuesday night I got a phone call from my sis-in-law that my very young mother had fallen and had to have an ambulance come retrieve her from the driveway. As it turns out, she broke her left hip. .which she had surgically repaired late yesterday.  So what a crappy mother's day present for her!! I am anxious to finish some things up here and head up there this weekend to help get her home from the hospital. .and teach my dad how to do his own laundry!!

When it rains. .it pours!!

But, I guess God was feeling my crunch. .because He miraculously cured the ailments of my dishwasher. .and yes. .it seriously did have issues!! But for whatever reason. .I am REALLY glad that it works. .I just couldn't have handled one more thing this week!

Please keep my family in your prayers. .and wishing everyone a safe and wonderful weekend!

Thanks for checkin' in on us!

May Flowers

In contrast to the mess INSIDE the house. .the mess OUTSIDE the house has been nice to look at. Among the many weeds and undesirable things starting to flourish, are plenty of flourishing things that I incorporated into the landscape!

Finally, good luck with a clematis.  I picked this one up at Walmart 3-4 years ago. .and it has verged on death since then. .you know. .won't live. .won't die?? It's mate has already succumbed, but this one lives AND blooms this year.  If I remember right, it is Nelly Moser. .a pink and purple variety. .Camille just loves it. .it has her two favorite colors, and it blooms where she can see it from her favorite swing!!

The orange honeysuckle bushes are LOADED with blooms. .as you can see. I keep hooking more of the vines into the new trellis. .I think one of my next projects will be to make a small container water garden on the deck side of these.  I saw a photo that had a face sculpture hanging amidst a vining plant.  They snaked clear plastic tubing through the vines (completely hiding the tubing) and attached it to the spitting face and a water pump.  The face "spit" water into a galvanized tub a couple feet below the face. .it had a lot of cool factor to it! These honeysuckle would be just perfect for a project like that!

The iris are beginning to bloom.  These yellow ones have really taken off. .I don't even remember having that big of a clump!! And there are two clumps.  The peach ones won't be far behind them. I also noticed some white ones blooming. .but no purples or blues yet. They are great for making indoor bouquets.

I mentioned the other day that Becky and I had gotten new plants for our water features. .I am trying to turn the south end of the pond into a bog-like area. This will allow for some interest to the sides. .and the ability to grow some different types of plants.  The roots also work at "digesting" fish waste, and serve to clarify the water in the pond. I came home with quite a few things to try. .including some rush, variegated cattail, sweet flag, papyrus, parrot feather, ferns, bog lilies, lizard tails, and two shades of pickerel. Now. .surely SOMETHING will survive!! I knew that the initial plant stocking would be an investment. I don't like the looks of pots in the pond. .so I am trying to plant part of them in the pea gravel. I'll let you know how it works out. The nice thing is that all but 1-2 of the plants purchased are hardy here. .the other ones can go into buckets in my greenhouse for the winter.

I didn't think about the ferns being planted right in the water. .but my research and the pond lady said you could make it work.  I bought a couple to try out!! If they work. .that will be the best success ever, since I really LOVE ferns!

My purple columbine plant is blooming it's little head off!! I think next year I will try seeding some columbine mixes and see if I have any luck there.

Mr. Lincoln rose is showing off a bloom right next to the inferno garden. .which has really started blooming.

The Napeta Walker's Low (catnip) is smothered in bloom, as is the Cardonna blue sage (salvia). 

The new grass is starting to look pretty good.  And we even brought the mower out last weekend to clean up some areas.

I am hoping that we can get our garden veggies planted this weekend!! This is really a busy time of year in all aspects of life!! Many jobs and activities and little time! I know you all know what I'm talking about!! Wishing you all a few moments of peace and serenity today!!

The Saga of the Shower. . .

. . .and why I need anxiety medicine!

It's been 2 days.  My house is a mess. .

We have 6 people in a 4 X 4 ft bathroom. .

I can't find ANYTHING. .

The only toilet we have left has suddenly developed an incessant drip. .

And my 9 month old dishwasher has gone on strike. .

As of TODAY!!

The saga of the shower began when we couldn't find a decent two piece shower (2 piece so that we could get it into the house) that had shelving built into it.  I looked, Kelsey looked. .we found nothing that I felt like I could live with for the next 30 years.  The whole goal here was to get a NICE shower. .one easy to keep clean. .one that would stand up to 4 men (and 2 princesses). .and one that I could put all my beauty treatments in!! Really. .does that sound like it would be too much?? The day that I was going to go get the 2 piece shower in Wichita that we had found. .I read some consumer reports about the floors cracking out!! More than one report saying that!! That freaked me out. .so Kelsey came out. .re-measured some stuff and reported to me that he was pretty sure that we could make a one piece work. .and was PRETTY sure he could get it into the house.  Hmmm.

Last night the shower came in the house. .but not without stress and a price. There's the door it must come in. .the door going out the west deck.

There's the two head haunchos trying to figure out how to gain 1/4 inch.

Here was the solution!! A sawzall blade. .you may now note the crack above Kelsey's head. .it's where his little blade is sawing through my aluminum siding.  I'm sure my face was as green as the trim by this time. .but I have learned to stifle myself and keep quiet. .I usually don't see the big picture. .nor would I understand the big picture if I did see it.

My door and window came out. .

They are SURE it will fit now. Can you see the smug satisfaction on their faces. .or maybe it was the excitement of destroying something? I'll never know!!

Note the big, gaping hole in the side of my home!!!

I was supposed to be watching for clearance. .which is why the photo is a little fuzzy. .I clearly can't do two things at once.

Shower is in. .big gaping hole is gone. .door has been re-inserted. 

This is a rare week where I will have to work M-F. .two family planning clinics. .school physicals for two mornings. .and clinic the rest of the working hours. The clinic is making the final step to computerized charting. .so I will have geek squad following me through clinic patients to show the REAL geek how to enter data on the tablet.

I am SOOOO glad to be working. .cause I am sure. . .

What I DON'T know WON'T hurt me!!

And I DO know. .

That the bathroom will be great when Kelsey finishes it. .

And everything else will be returned to normal. .

Except maybe the dusting. .

He doesn't dust!!

Up next. .on a happier note. .all the lovely things going on around my yard!!

Have a blessed day!

The Difference a Day Can Make

My friend Becky mentioned several months ago that we should enjoy another plant shopping trip to Wichita this spring.  Several weeks ago, we decided on today. .April 30.  Even though we drew the short straw and got to take Camille with us. .we had a GREAT day!! We did a lot of shopping!! And both found some new plants for our water features. 

I also found out this week that our carpenter would be arriving to work this weekend.  Happened to be that he started today. 

So THIS is what my bathroom looked like this morning when I left. . 

Pretty naked!! 

And when we got home this evening. .a few things had changed!! 

Including the location of the light switch. .which now sits on the floor next to the toilet hole. EWWW. 

Some extra large holes in the wall. .to accomodate the new one piece shower unit! 

If you look cleeeeeaaaaarrr to the back of the photo. .you may notice the chair I am currently sitting at as I type on my computer! 

Leisurely soak. .anyone. . .Anyone??? 

A lot of house guts are ready for a dump. .mmmm. .no pun intended there! 

Too bad I didn't pick up another can of Pledge in Target today. .

I think I'm gonna need it!!