around here.

luna (the cat) has been extra homebody-ish lately.
sailor, plus tj & sheena, came to visit.
one of the kids across the street drew us a rather awesome picture. it is now hanging in the living room.
i finished some placemats for a friend to give to friends for their wedding. always love these kind of projects.
of course a puppy wandered into our yard the other night. he is literally skin & bones with a swollen belly. we are looking for an extra good home for him. at the moment his name is "boxcar".

garden update: a handful of cherry tomatoes, one good-looking pepper and lots of kale!

[p.s. please excuse the crappy photos. our new camera is in the shop and we are "patiently" waiting for a replacement.]

we had friends over for dinner the other night.
it was so nice to be able to sit outside.
we had greens & beans tacos with tomatillo salsa and jalapeno-cheddar cornbread. for dessert, silje made a fantastic blackberry-peach pie.
i picked the flowers down the street from our home at the entrance to the greenway. they are still going strong on my dining table. i have loved finding flowers this year throughout the "common" places of the city. sweet peas growing uptown were my best find by far.

today we have spent time in the yard tidying up the messes we have made over the past few weeks.
i especially focused on the flower bed where all sorts of unwanted green things were popping up.
i am happy to report i have a handful of tomatoes growing. there is one pepper growing steadily and i think another one is on his way. the kale is still growing despite the heat.

i am beginning to really savor the seasons and to learn to live my life by them.
winter was good this year with its snow and cold, cold temperatures.
spring was faithful once again with its rebirth.
now summer has arrived and the harvest is growing.

today is heavy with summer.
cicadas in the trees. a thunderstorm rolling up. heat weighing you down.
there is something slightly exciting about this time of year.
i think it is the lingering feeling from childhood of school being out and the whole summer being before you.

out of order.

life has been out of order recently.
having your main source of information taken away can be a bit debilitating.
on the other hand, it can be freeing.

i want to push myself so far away from technology but i seem to find myself falling only further into its grasp.

due to my mother's generosity, we are "connected" to the rest of the world.
this is a photo i found in her picture library.

two years.

5.9.09

5.9.10

5.9.11

planting time.

 

i finally was able to get some veggies planted this weekend...heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, basil, oregano & thyme. i am crossing my fingers that they will grow. our yard gets almost no afternoon sun which worries me a little & explains why i have pots sitting at the very edge of my yard (trying to soak up as much sun as we can). 

jeremiah got a hammock hung for us! i thought one belonged between those trees & he just happened to have a hammock. i plan on spending many an hour in it. jeremiah also proposed that he build a chicken coop today which he has now almost finished. i did not think we would have chickens this summer but it looks like the plans have changed and i am eager to try something new!

my little brother graduated this past Friday. he now has his B.S. in Construction Management from ECU. i am very proud of him! my older brother will be graduating from Elon Law later this month. who knew my parents would end up with three college grads & one with his doctorate? 

dandelion forest.

waiting for warmth.

chico.

selva.

lettuce seedlings. 

future flower/squash patch.

day lilies.

easter lily.

creeping jenny.

mum.

hostas. one of my absolute favorites.

azalea bush. future herb & flower plot.

future vegetable & flower plot.

handmade branch fence.

luna.

how lovely it is to watch all the bulbs come breaking through the soil. because we rent our home, and one never knows what they will get from a renter's garden, i have been pleasantly surprised to see some lovely bulbs arise from our flower bed. hosta has been by far my favorite along with the jenny creeper. the azalea bush is so lovely to look at and is the only thing besides wild violets that is blooming in our yard. the easter lilies were a big surprise too. i hope, hope, hope they will bloom! and as far as the day lilies, i am so happy to see they are coming up since i planted them rather late in the year. i also happy to see the mums looking so lush. i finally decided to plant them when i saw new growth appearing. at the moment i also have a two beautiful pots of pansies and dusty miller. to my great joy, i planted sweet pea seeds and they are coming up in the pots as well. i also have a rosemary bush that i rescued from a dumpster and it is doing rather well! i also have a ton of kale seedlings. unfortunately i have not done too well with the lettuce seedlings but the kale ones are flourishing.

i have so many high hopes for my garden this year. this will be my first vegetable garden so i have decided not to get too crazy. i am not doing a traditional garden layout (rows) but am just letting everything grow together. that is why i have left all the flowers that are coming up in the beds now. i love the idea of the tomatoes growing beside the easter lilies and the basil growing alongside the hostas and so on.

here is what i ambitiously hope to grow...
tomatoes...lots & all different types.
beans...if i can get them planted soon.
yellow squash & zucchini....maybe butternut.
eggplant.
peppers.
swiss chard...possibly.
lettuce & kale.
basil...tons and tons and tons. i love this herb.
thyme.
oregano.
mint...but only in a pot!
chives.