Around here yesterday . . .

Yet again, I have no computer but I can thankfully use my husband's laptop!
Lots of work is going on around here and I need to *work* to make some time for relaxing before the hurried life of school starts back.

Yesterday, I got an early start in the garden and wished I hadn't let so many days slide without going out there. My husband does the nightly watering unless he isn't home and he gathers the new day's harvest each morning. I hand weed little areas at a time, every so often help check for produce ready to be picked and make sure everything we bring in gets eaten, preserved, processed and/or stored properly.

I was concerned about my basil plants (sweet and cinnamon) bec they have done SO well but are the ONLY things surviving from the area I planted them in. It is here, in front of my writing window and has formerly been an herb garden, a flower garden and a place for miniature roses. Now? It seems to be doomed for any healthy plant growth! Well, the confederate rose thrives here .... bigger than any we've ever seen every single year. . . the heirloom roses do just as well. Morning glories are fine but doing even better on the other side of the porch and the basil are making it. The parsley, cilantro, wild flower seeds, cucumbers, dill, and whatever else I planted here are all gone or almost gone. I got all the weeds away from my basil and will plan to mulch it in the next few days.

My jasmine is getting surrounded and almost covered by weeds! These are hard to pull so my husband has agreed to try the Roto-tiller around those, our green beans (can't even get to the beans!) and the edges of some of the other little gardens.

We surveyed each plant before having our morning coffee yesterday morning and there are things getting ready to bloom or blossom all over the yard!

Once back in, I made our coffee, took my thyroid medicine, did quiet time and started the laundry. I got about five loads done and should finish the other three up today!
It isn't backed up laundry --- we just have to wash sheets and blankets way more often than some bec I cannot stand pet hair on them and we have two indoor beagles and two indoor cat with a six month old cat I've been trying to keep OUTDOORS.

I washed and trimmed a HUGE bowl of radishes from our garden and cleaned our fridge! Took everything off the door shelves and took the door shelves out to soak in hot, soapy water while I went through all the bottles and smaller items to see what to keep and what to throw away.

When that was all done, I cleaned the rest of the fridge ...shelf by shelf. Got it all scrubbed and wiped down and all the drawers cleaned in the sink, dried and put back in their places. It was wonderful to SEE the produce drawers and to have everything organized again. I have a thing about refrigerators being neat and clean an d every time ours isn't... I dread getting it back that way. DEFINITELY not my favorite household chore!

My daughter helped cook yesterday (recipes and food journal at http://www.nutmegnotes08.blogspot.com/ ) and had dish duty all day along with helping to clean the counters, helping with laundry and a few other things. The youngest (seven years old who thinks he is at least 32) cleaned the cabinet fronts, made one of the beds, and cleaned the toilet inside and out.

I ended up with no computer for the better part of the day so I did some Bible studying and journaling and even took a short nap!
There is our little catch up for the time...smile.

Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, teh Son of the Father, in truth and love. 2 John 3

Homemade Tick Repellent and more

Thank you to a dear friend of mine via email who sent this to my inbox and I couldn't wait to share it with my readers! We have ticks BIG TIME where we live so I was excited to see these tips and this natural remedy for possibly warding them off.
While this isn't University-based research (that I know of) but this site for Morel hunters has a tip about Jewel weed and poison Ivy/Oak rashes. www.thegreatmorel.com go to FAQ and to the bottom of that page. Another site: for Jewel Weed is this one:

http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/hydro/jewelwed.htm



What I know personally......When one of the professors, now retired took us on a walking tour of the Arboretum as part of our Tree Care Advisor Classes he mentioned that wherever you find Poison Ivy you will find its antidote...Jewel weed close by.



Lyme Disease is no fun. Protect yourself. Learn about it.

A good homemade recipe tick repellent for on your clothes and your pets follows (from the USDA forest service):

2 cups white vinegar

1 cup Avon skin so soft bath oil

1 cup water

1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil.

Put this mixture in an old spray bottle. No guarantees but it works for some with success.

Another suggestion gathered from The Great Morel's message board: "If you haven't been told yet and you live in an area with ticks like we do in Kentucky, put fabric softener sheets in each sock and a couple in your back pockets and you won't have the tick problem. Works like a charm. Happy hunting!" - Courtesy of Annie in Kentucky.

July 2, 2010 Garden Tidbits

I did my FIRST canning (by myself) ever! Jars of bread & butter pickles are lined on my kitchen work table for 12-24 hours after processing. We are going to keep a jar or three and give the others as gifts to some special people in our lives... ones we have been waiting to bless!

Cucumbers are everywhere and we need to look closely in order to not miss them and end up with dino sized harvest! Lots of pickles, relishes and more planned. Zucchini is the only other food we've brought in but a lot is getting ready to arrive by the looks at the plants.

I have been severely slacking on hand weeding and it sadly shows in a lot of places. Our green beans, basils, and kids gardens still have no mulch and the weeds are getting bad. I am scribbling it down on my to do list to hand weed a few minutes every single morning.

I am having a time gathering, editing, and finding a way to record all the pictures to keep recording our progress so I am considering doing the garden scrapbook/sketchbook/notebook/journal I started last year.

Here are the latest photos: