Make Mine Raised

May is two days away and my seed packets are still setting in the garage. It was my intention to get a few early crops planted but that hasn't happened. Spring has been cool and damp—and icy and snowy—so it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. I've planted as late as June in past years and the plants caught up with those that had been planted weeks before.

A few packets of seeds for this year,
with rain-drenched soil as a backdrop.

My favorite plant supports. I like
 a little whimsy in the garden. 

This is the first year that I tried
Square Foot gardening.

Cucumber beetles are a problem but,
 as I found out, beer wasn't the answer.

As much as I like large vegetable gardens, I appreciate the convenience that raised beds offer. A few benefits are better drainage and weed control, and an easier harvest. They also produce like nobody's business. For some great raised bed gardening information, check out the Modern Stead website. There's a link to the site in the sidebar under Blogs and Such. Let the gardening begin!

"You can grow this card!"

The front of the card.

Every now and then, I come across something too cool to keep to myself. This time it came in the form of a birthday wish. When I opened the envelope, I found this inside. It may look like a typical greeting card but it's more than that. Dozens of wildflower seeds are embedded in the paper, making the whole card a vehicle for planting. This particular card happened to include a really sweet message inside:

Hi Mom! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you and I hope you have a great day and a great year. You are an amazing woman. I am always delighted to hear about your many endeavors. If I ever beat you at Scrabble, it's because I over compensated...out of fear. 

The back of the card.

This card should have been planted last spring but I'm hoping the seeds will still germinate. Now it's just a matter of finding a place for my wildflower garden.

These handmade cards are a product of the Green Field Paper Company in San Diego, California (www.greenfieldpaper.com) and distributed by King Features Syndicate under the Mutts label.

Let the Cracking Begin

The eggs are boiled and the colors mixed. Ready. Set. Go. Let the cracking begin! I think every Easter egg needs its own handle. There would be more survivors at the end of the day.

The Easter egg hunt was over by the time these eggs received
their "coat of many colors." No cracks found here.

We had all the colors of the rainbow for our Easter eggs. A couple of
nosy "bunnies" came to check out our work.  ;- )

When I said, "show me your favorite egg," Ellie chose this one.

There are a lot of places to hide Easter eggs on a farm. It's not as crucial
that all of the eggs are found though. The dog is in for some unexpected
treats. The girls were quite focused on the end-of-the-hunt count.

Things I Love: Richard Scarry's Puzzletown

Richard Scarry's
build and play
world of
Puzzletown
circa 1976

I've done a lot of de-cluttering over the past several years but this toy is still part of the household. It's been a favorite of mine for decades. I got it for my children when we lived in Florida many years ago. There are pieces missing and the box is held together with duck tape but it's still mostly in tact. There were five sets available at that time. Two are represented here: Set C Farmer Alfalfa's Farm and Set D Mayor Fox's Town Center.

The back of the box reads: 

"Mayor Fox's Town Center provides children with the opportunity for creative building. There are playboards into which children fit walls and fences, signs and lampposts, trees and bushes and other storybook pieces. There are roof pieces that turn over and double as bases for the building pieces. And there's a motorcycle for Sgt. Murphy to ride, plus a car so Mrs. Murphy can run errands or visit Mayor Fox. Children use all these pieces to build and rebuild the Town Center any way they wish!"

Mud or Beans

This is something I found in a local resale shop. It is approximately a foot and a half in length and five inches wide. I immediately liked its interesting shape and the material that it was made from. I naturally assumed that someone had taken a trip to Hawaii or some other tropical paradise years ago and brought it back as a memento. Perhaps they had seen one being used at a luau or similar celebration and simply had to have it.

My intentions were to hang it up or group it with a few other "natural" things. Instead, I've had it leaning up against my piano. Every once in a while, I catch sight of it and admire it all over again. 

It just so happens that it caught the eye of Samantha, my six-year-old granddaughter, this week. She was heading for the front door, with it in hand. When I spotted her and asked her what she was doing, she replied, "Can you scoop something with this?" "No," I said, "it's a decoration." "But can you scoop something?" Samantha asked. "Like what?" I responded. "Like mud...or beans," she replied. 

"Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!"

I'm a good Keeper of Secrets. That is, unless the secret could possibly lead to injury or death; or the destruction of someone else's property. My rock solid loyalty begins to waiver when a person's dark side surfaces.

What does that have to do with this plate of food? Well, its contents were going to be "my little secret." In other words, I wanted to keep you guessing. I was fairly certain that my seven "followers" would think it was a plate of chocolate chip cookies. I pictured them drooling over the very thought of the fresh-from-the-oven sweet treats.

I then wondered if they'd have the same reaction if they knew it was Fried Green Tomatoes. I suspected not. How many people relish the thought of eating hard unripe tomatoes dipped in thick batter and fried in two inches of fat? That's a little too Southern for most people.

But, like Gomer used to say on The Andy Griffith Show,"Surprise, surprise, surprise!" Fried Green Tomatoes aren't from the South after all. I did a bit of research (I'm way too curious about things that don't really matter.) and discovered that they originated in Italy in the 1600s. They made their way into the American culinary scene in the Northeast and Midwest in the early-to-mid 20th century. There may be a link to Jewish immigrants since recipes were found in a number of early Jewish cookbooks. I've yet to research the Italian/Jewish connection but it's on my list of things to do.

Hello Bud

Yes, winter is paying a visit this weekend—or so they say—but it was definitely spring today. I know because bud came to visit. The Red Maple is loaded with these little beauties. I got the tree as a birthday gift two years ago. I've enjoyed seeing it change throughout the seasons. It makes fall even more enjoyable.

Although there's work to be done everywhere you look, I never grow tired of the farm. It was built in the 1800s so work's to be expected. The milk house is one of my planned projects this summer. It'll be perfect for my garden stuff. I'm going to start with a few sheets of peg board, a couple replacement windows, and some barn red paint.  

Outside My Window

An ever-changing landscape...that's what you get when you

live in the Midwest. I'm hoping to add more perennials 

this year. I sure could use a gardener.

 

Einstein Say

"If a cluttered desk signs a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?"                                                          —Albert Einstein I wonder if that also applies to drawers? In a previous post I shared a photo of one of my neglected bathroom drawers. Its actual contents are shown here in this photo. I'm amazed that all of that stuff fit into that small 3" deep space. Based on Einstein's analogy, it's no wonder my brain feels overwhelmed much of the time. What do you think?  Is there a correlation between clutter and the mind?

Do you have any questions or thoughts about the contents of my drawer?

Eagles of Decorah

I took this screen shot from my Facebook page a few moments ago. I've been intrigued by the Eagles in Decorah, Iowa. The babies were being fed here. It seems like they eat at least every hour. There is one more egg in the nest. It should hatch at any time. Mama's going to be one busy eagle when that happens. Some interesting facts are that the nest is 80 feet in the air and was built in 2007. The previous one was lost when the branch it was on fell. The nest is 5 1/2 to 6 feet wide and weighs 1 1/2 tons.

Somebody Pinch Me

Have you ever had the feeling that something good is happening but it could end at any moment? That's the way I feel when I step on my scales and see a lower number than the time before. After struggling for so many years, this experience feels rather surreal, especially since I'm down nearly 10 pounds in what I consider to be a short amount of time.

Healthy eating is the reason that I am finally succeeding at weight-loss. That simply has to be the reason. And so I'd like to share a good healthy recipe with you. It is Macadamia Pear Salad. The ingredients are: 3 cups baby spinach leaves; 1 tablespoon raisins; 1 small tomato, diced; 2 teaspoons sesame oil; 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and 2 tablespoons macadamia nut. It is not quite as flavorful as one of my favorite Flat Belly salads, Chicken and Apple Salad, but it is very satisfying. The macadamia nuts are a nice touch.

Spring has definitely sprung here in the Midwest, despite today's mixed "precip." (I think someone is playing a bad April Fools joke.) Thoughts of spring cleaning have consumed me for the past two weeks. I so want to rid my life of clutter. Yesterday's post was a loose representation of a few areas I'd like to work on. I don't have nearly as much work to do since I've been de-cluttering for years but there's always room for improvement—as you can see by my top bathroom drawer.