Monday Monday

so good to me.

Playing with Painter

I know it's not as simple as that. But it's a good reminder for myself. Yesterday was sunny and breezy, a gorgeous day to be outside. I could barely move for some reason. I wasted the day away holed up inside and didn't even enjoy wasting it. Feeling better today so far and I'm about to go for a walk before any kind of cloud can decend. Played around in Painer IX late last night, digital art program. So fun. I haven't done that in ages. Everything I make when I try to paint and draw digitally or in real life looks like a 5 year old made it. But who cares. I'm sick of feeling stiffled because I can't make the art in my mind come out on the page. I need to just allow myself to play and be 5 again, if that's where I need to start. So here are my 5 year old flowers. Happy Sunday everyone.

Climbing BHG

A couple days ago, on Facebook, Trenton posted a photo of the Birdhouse Gourd plant I gave Kristin and him, with blooming, white flowers already. This morning I took this photo of one of my healthier gourd plants climbing up up up. Still no flowers, until tonight when I got home and spied one. The hard skinned gourds have night blooming flowers. Made me smile after a long day of helping patrons and lots of conveyor belt, mindless, type work.

I read that you should cut back the vine when it is about 9 inches long, to get more gourds per vine. It will supposedly send out side shoots. But I can't bear to do it. I only have the one gourd plant that's doing especially well and I am afraid to mess with it. I am leery too because I remember reading last year about people who had cut their vines and the entire plant died. But I think those people cut it AFTER it already was growing profusely and had gourds hanging on it. I don't know why I'm struggling so much. I'm a big fan of pinching things back now. Especially after watching the Zinnias get so many more flowers after pinching away last year. Pinch your Basil, Cosmos, Coleus and Zinnias. They like it, really.

Lime green Zinnia (Envy) blooming below. And below that a ruffled Pansy. I find Pansies so easy to grow from seed. And they are perennial. Last year's are back and blooming profusely by the mailbox. Next year I am going to try some funkier varieties, bright pinks and oranges. I'm also going to start seeds earlier so I can grow my own Petunias and Impatiens. Not the same ol' same ones you find everywhere. The choices in the seed catalogs put the nurseries around here to shame.

Turtle card

I was hyped up to have some sort of card challenge for myself this weekend. Maybe make 3 cards a day for 3 days. Tons of people I want to get cards out to and I have all these fun stamps and supplies. I made one. This one. One is better than none. I had fun drawing the little pebbles at the bottom with an embossing pen. It's a marker type pen where the ink comes out clear and wet. After you draw, you shake whatever color embossing powder you want over the area. It sticks to the design, you slide the extra powder back into the little jar and then heat your design with a heat tool (like a hair dryer). Really fun. You get a raised image of your own making, instead of having to rely on stamp shapes. The little bauble stickers were on clearance at Michael's. I couldn't resist.

Irish cream coffee this morning, black. Rain again (after three amazing summer days), so must do an extra slug patrol before work. I am sad to report I am now finding cucumber beetles and squash bugs, just a few so far. You will probably all think I am mad, but I am really struggling with what to do with these bugs. I hate killing them. The slugs I just gently pluck from their banquet, collect and then add to the slug picnic I've created in the woods. They are happy there, with my old watermelon rinds and a pile of rotting potatoes. I don't think those particular slugs will ever make it back to my garden. In fact, they probably think they were lifted up to heaven, seeing a bright light (my flashlight) and then being transported from my measly cucumber plants to a huge, lucious watermelon rind where all their family and friends are hanging out.

But you can't relocated the beetles and squash bugs in the same way. They will just fly back. I try really hard not to harm anything. I just don't want that karma. I feel strongly that if I can help it, I should not harm any sentient being. I catch and release all kind of insects in my home, at the library, where ever I happen to be. But so, the night before last, I panicked when I saw the squash bug. I took a deep breath, said a little "so sorry bug" prayer and squished him in my paper towel. I did the same thing last night, with two squash bugs and a cucumber beetle. I felt like I had no other option. But I really did feel awful, and it made me realize just how long it's been since I've done such a deliberate thing, years and years. I can't take it back now. But I don't have to keep doing it. I realized I could collect them in some kind of jar with holes at the top. And then I can just release them in my enemies' gardens. I mean, I can release them far away in the woods, on my way to work. More involved, but I think it'll be better for my conscious. (Please don't ask me if I eat meat, because then you will discover that I am a jumble of horrible contradictions, and that I certainly do play a big part in harming sentient beings. I hope someday to be posting here about my venture into Vegetarianism. I have two Vegan brothers, who I admire enormously).

He's back...

We call him Douglas, his people who owned him for three days called him Spike. His adoptive family will call him something new. I let Susie bring the poor guy home from the shelter for the weekend. He is adopted by a wonderful family. They already have a big, beautiful, adopted mutt dog named Opal, who drives around with the woman in the backseat of her convertible and spends the days hanging out with her in their family Limo business. Douglas is going to be more for the husband and 10 year old son. They are reading lots of books on Min Pins and getting ready for this little monster. They know puppies cry and chew and are tons of work. He is sort of like a puppy on speed. But I think he will fit in just fine.

He needs to get neutered before he can go home with anyone, that's the shelter's policy on pure bred dogs. For some reason they are not able to get an appointment anywhere until July 17. So this poor little, 3 pound puppy is spending his formative weeks in a run at the animal shelter. Susie does let him play in the kitchen while she is working. But she doesn't have much time to spend with him. He's been having a blast all weekend, playing with Roscoe, chasing the cats, digging out every single toy from our full to the brim doggie toy bins (from days when our dogs were much younger) that usually just gather dust. Oh and eating my flowers.

I can tell I'm feeling much more agreeable after having some time to relax this weekend. I spied one of my seed started Pansies about to bloom yesterday. Told myself to remember to check it today. Today, as I'm reading outside with my coffee, little Douglas brings me that exact Pansy, in full bloom, plucked from it's stem by his little puppy mouth. He just could not resist. I'm glad I was reading this book: Plant Seed, Pull Weed by Geri Larkin, sort of a Buddhist take on life and gardening. Was able to laugh it off.

Below is naughty Casey. At 16 years old, with only one eye, barely any sight or hearing, she is still able to be her naughty self at least once a day. She must've smelled something edible in the trash basket. I kept herding her away from it, telling her no. She couldn't hear me, but sheesh, can't she feel my negative energy? I got distracted doing something else and found her like this, basket top around her neck, bucking like a bronco trying to get it off. I suppose it was a bit cruel of me to stop and get my camera, but she gets herself into so many situations like this and I never get a photo. I did calm her down before I took the pic.

Got a bale of hay and Casey's special food and meds this morning. Cleaned the bathroom just now. Still need to load all the bunny supplies into the basement, work on mulching the gardens, wash all the seed starting supplies, and make a few cards. We'll see what I can manage. I spent a good chunk of the early afternoon reading my book outside, which is rare for me and felt wonderful.

Bad hair day daisy

I love these flowers, Marguerite Daisies. Got them in the library plant swap last year. They bloom all summer and don't seem to need deadheading. I have three happy clumps of them.

Zulu Prince Daisy blooming below. Got this at The Good Earth, same as last year. Someday I'll get around to growing my own from seed. I did grow Painted Daisies from seed this year, but they aren't doing anything yet. The Cone Flowers are just about to bloom. This year is so different because of all the rain. Mostly everything is behind.

The veggie garden was so joyful today. I could feel all the plants breathing a big sigh of relief at the warm sun, a chance to dry off, stretch out and perhaps GROW a bit. I will still go slug hunting tonight. But it hasn't been as bad since the rain stopped.

Library gets the Independence Day holiday tomorrow, so we are closed. I just realized that this is probably going to confuse people. We should've put a sign on the door. We've had one up inside for over a week. Sorry patrons, I'm home swinging in my hammock, reading my book with my summer peach coffee close by (Okay, I really have a huge list of chores I will be working on tomorrow, but the peach coffee at least will happen, and I hope outside in the sun).

Happy 4th!

Independence Day slushie for you. It was red, white and blue, but by the time I photographed it the blue had melted into the white. Oh so tasty and refreshing. I love my Hawaiian Ice Machine. I recommend one for anyone with children, or anyone who loves snow cones and fun drinks. Super simple to use. You just add ice into the top part, press down on it and voila, beautiful shaved ice. They sell the flavoring at Target. I think they have a different brand of machines for sale too. I brought it to work one summer and made everyone snow cones.

I dug out these pics from when Susie and I rented a cottage on a 50 acre farm in Chepachet. A family of 5 lived in another rental, directly across from us. The place was more like a commune. Once the girls got wind that I had this little machine, I had lots of little knocks on my door or hints about how hot it was, how THIRSTY they were. They were sweet kids, really fun and silly and good mannered. I loved sharing. And on super hot days would make them for the whole farm. I am sure I always had at least one dog (not mine, Lila had over 10 dogs and all the renters had pets too, it was paradise and mayhem) lounging on my deck. This is Magic, an Australian Shepard, looking funny because he was clipped down for the summer.
Idget with the girls below.

In this month's Organic Gardening magazine there's a fantastic little article about Lindsay Laricks, a woman from Kansas City, Missouri who sells snow cones out of a renovated Airstream trailer, made with fresh fruit and her organic home grown herbs. Some of the flavors include Blackberry Lavender, Lemon Prickly Pear, Lime Mint, Ginger Rose, and Watermelon Basil. Yum. I looked her up online and found a piece about her on Design Sponge and her own blog Fresher than Fresh Snow Cones. I am smitten with the whole idea of this and am fantasizing about doing something similar. I bet adults just go crazy for these, especially at Gardening type/Green events. New England needs a Fresher than Fresh snow cone trailer too. Move over Dell's.