m.o.M - mother of Michael

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

I'm going to be a grand-bird!

"Calling: Lucky, Party of One"

I can't wait for lunch today! Fresh from the garden: The last of the radishes, the first of the tomatoes, a large handful of purple beans and a snip of fresh basil to round things out!

Not only that, but a centerpiece to boot!

This is my kind of restaurant!

 

Location, Location, Location

Who remembers the P.D. Eastman story: The Best Nest? I read that story to Little M so many times that I can recite Mr. Bird's song verbatim:

"I love my house.

I love my nest.

In all the world

My nest is best!"

Well, if you do remember that story, you will appreciate my response to Big M's comment last Friday when he said, "There's a bird in the ficus outside the front door. I think she's building a nest."

"That's stupid." I said. "That skinny tree next to the front door is just a stupid place for a bird to make a nest. Don't you remember the story 'The Best Nest' that we had to read over and over to Little M?"

Apparently, this Mrs. Bird didn't read the book.

Nest last Friday.

Nest on Monday.

Mrs. Bird getting ready to do some more...nesting?

It would appear that we're on lock-down until some time in early June!

 

Finally! A Club for People Just Like Me!

The Sharon Lovejoy Grimy Hands Girls' Club!

Sharon's written several wonderful gardening books. My personal favorite is Trowel and Error. After all, isn't that how most of us garden? That title certainly describes my technique!

Wormie the Poo

Ahem. My name is Julie and I'm a bad vermiculturalist. It's been three years since I set up my worm bin and I've never harvested any worm castings.

Until yesterday! Yipee! Go me!

Worms are cool! Think about it: Kitchen scraps, shredded paper, dryer lint and old cotton towels go in their little mouths and bits of nature's most perfect fertilizer comes out their little butts! (do worms have butts?)

Unfinished tier.

Finished tier.

 
And check this out! I just learned yesterday that these little seed-looking things are actually worm capsules! Each of these capsules contain between four and twenty blackbirds baby worms! Again, how friggin cool is that!

This could have been a scene from Close Encounters had Richard Dreyfuss been a vermaculteralist instead of an electrical lineman.

So now I repent for the errors of my ways. I fully commit to doing more for these marvelous little creatures. I will use their poopy goodness to amend my soil and create foliar sprays for my plants. Thanks to them, my garbage will create beautiful fertilizer which in turn will create nutritious and delicious food for my family.

With all that having been said, I offer to you my Serenity Prayer:

Grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know

that when those plastic bag using, synthetic fertilizer spraying, non-recycling, Monsanto supporting people piss me off, I can go out and play with my wormies

the difference.

 

 

A Quick Funny

Last night at Cub Scouts, the boys were asked if they a) knew what the time zones were and b) how many there are.

Michael's hand shot up. "That's easy. There are three: the Past, the Present and the Future."

Do You Ever Get the Feeling that You're Being Followed?

Happy as a clam, in my garden, I am! That's my lousy Yoda impression.

This morning I was happily spraying seaweed emulsion in the garden. This is one of my favorite things to do because it gives me the opportunity to visit each and every plant. I was thrilled to see buds on the gardenia and truly believe there's hope for my easter lilys to bloom at the appropriate time.

I kept getting the feeling though, that someone was following me. There are too many little twigs still in the grass from last week's storm for anyone to sneak up on me, but the feeling persisted. I kept spraying that fishy smelling concoction high and low and low and high, yet I couldn't shake the sensation of being followed or at least closely watched. I reached the end of one long bed of roses and lilys and turned to head to the backyard. Imagine my surprise when I turned around and found myself almost eye to eye with a big white heron! He must have been following me around trying to find those fish that he thought I was tossing around in the yard!

And me, without my camera!

Other sights in the garden today included:

My little buddy from yesterday hasn't moved!

An onion that seems to have thought about blooming and then changed it's mind!

Irises that astound me! (I can't seem to take enough pictures of these beauties!)

Strawberries that I will fight the squirrels, mockingbirds and small children for!

And, of course, my veggie garden. I know everyone's absolutely sick to death of pictures of this, but I'm really getting a kick out of it!

Petals and Pupae

I'm glad I stopped to smell this beauty (Radiant Perfume) because there was a Japanese beetle sneaking it's way up the stem. Ugh! I squished it and then stomped it just to make sure it wasn't only mostly dead.

I guess I'll have to be more diligent about checking around the roses.

 

Yesterday, this little ladybug was definitely in his larval stage. Today, he's much more of a pupae! Live is short, my friend. I hope he doesn't waste any time going forth to multiply!

Hyacinth Bean