dragonfly days

the garden

My herbs are really taking off this year.   From top to bottom: feverfew, mullien, comfrey, goldenrod, milkweed, and calendula.

Time to get to work harvesting and more making goodness.

 

the garden

My herbs are really taking off this year.   From top to bottom: feverfew, mullien, comfrey, goldenrod, milkweed, and calendula.

Time to get to work harvesting and more making goodness.

 

the garden

Today we:

• had phone call about our online school plans for next year- more about those to come.
• watered the gardens
• practiced playing baseball
• played with a friend
• tried new foods
• had dessert
• bought solar eclipse glasses
• ran long overdue errands
• did lots of laundry
• did a light homeschool day
• made necklaces
• went for a walk
• cooked  a new dinner
• enjoyed the views.

 

 

scenes from the weekend 5/13

Mothers Day brought flowers. 

This weekend was:

• short
• the last rugby game. They lost, but did much better than the last time they played this team.
• lunch  with the grandparents
• redbox and pizza date night
• breakfast for mother's day with the smoke alarm only going off 3 times. ;)
• the hubby running errands with me to keep me company
• dinner with grandpa
• a late night walk with the hubby during which we saw the most amazing shooting star
• time in the hammock relaxing.
• menu planning
• planning for the week trying to get all my ducks in a row.
• laundry

 

This coming week is:

• beginning of baseball for Jack which means practice Mon(maybe more), and games Tues and Thurs.
• dance- two classes, two dress rehearsals and two performances.
• end of year swim party with our online school.
• the solar eclipse.
• the end of year lacrosse party
• end of year school projects galore.
• family in town this weekend.
• planning phone call with online teacher

I am thinking that school will be light this week. I try to keep my schedule so that we aren't that busy or out of the house that much.  It kind of bugs me, but we are going with the flow. We'll do what we can to have enough downtime to make it livable.  I ran all my errands this weekend to try and make it possible.  The laundry is caught up.  The menu is planned. Any paperwork is already filled out and in my planner.  All I need to do is get glasses for the eclipse. Yes I am kicking myself for not buying them last week at the visitor's center when I saw them. 

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's day. I am so thankful for all the mother figures in my life and all that they have shared with me.

 

 

the garden

We've been on some marathon garden kicks here. I think we are finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That is, if I stop finding things we just need to plant. Today I took a moment to enjoy while I did the watering.

The milk weed is starting to bloom. We started with one little seed and now we have quite a patch going. Love this. I hope it attracts some butterflies this year.

The roses are in full bloom right now. I have a love hate relationship with these roses. They are so beautiful when they are in bloom, but it only lasts a week or two. 

Today we made a quick trip to the nursery. I was looking for a valerian plant. I had one last year and think it might have seeded, but if it didn't I wanted another. I couldn't find it but I did pick up a pineapple sage, another comfrey, and some seeds.  The most exciting find was the quinoa seeds. Can you imagine? So excited to see if it will grow here.

I also have another big project involving gardens in the works. It started with a conversation with one of the neighbors at the wild edible class. I'm hoping I can make it come to fruition.

 

his garden

While we were at Grandpa's house last week, Jack was able to pick out some seeds for his garden.  This past Friday, he planted them. 

First he went through his stash and picked out what seeds he wanted to plant. He brought home a lot of seeds. Way too many for his four foot by four foot garden.

Then he started to read the packages and figure out how deep he needed to plant things and how far apart they needed to be.

Dad and Sweetie came in for a consult.

He was worried that Sweetie was going to use his garden as a litter box.

He was really intent on reading the directions and following them.

He brought out a ruler to help and had a few last minute questions before he got to work.

This year he went with all flowers.  I can't wait to see it!

Spring

Spring is officially here. We are welcoming it with open windows and doors.  We are also re-instituting the nightly walk.  The bulbs are getting planted, the chicks are getting bigger, and the grass is growing.   I can't wait.

spring is coming.

Today we made the first of many visits to the garden center.  We are hoping to start planting tomorrow.

We have two bedrooms painted, one left to go. I'm not sure when we'll do that. We are fighting some serious project burnout. It's all looking much better, but we also want to enjoy some of the break.

See the paint on her right ear? She just couldn't stay out of it. Sweetie is missing us all. Every time someone sits down she jumps in their lap ready for some love.

scenes from the weekend 8/28

A wildfire we watched while at the park.

That is the only picture I have from this weekend.  Hmmmm...I need to be picking up that camera more. :)

What did we do this weekend? Coffee date, yard sales, breaking my phone, yard work, project shopping(can't wait to show what is in the works),  school planning, another 4 hours at the doctor (Steven hurt his foot...again),  and the usual stuff.

What on the list this week:

• freezing all the corn I picked up on Saturday
• getting my phone fixed, hopefully
• orange raspberry muffins.
• party prepping!!!
• Learning: India and electricity
• a new project for the bedroom wall
• swimming again hopefully.
• library
• park
• hopefully getting the rest of our homeschooling supplies
• finishing up some yard projects while the hubby has some time off.

What's on your list?

 

This final week before school starts is flying by. I've been working from morning until night trying to get everything I need to finished. There doesn't seem to be enough time-- which also seems to be the theme for this summer in general.

We're still trying to get in with the school counselor and make sure that Alex gets into the right math class. The district is changing their math program and since Alex is ahead of most kids her age, we have to make sure she gets in the right class. Apparently the school is just waiting until school starts and then separating the kids into the classes they should be in, but  their own website says that she should be in a different class than her schedule does.  So tomorrow we'll try again.

Steven went to the doctor and has a diagnosis of tendonitis.  We left with a  two week treatment plan and will go back if it is not better by then or gets worse in the meantime.  Then we will talk crutches.  At least he isn't starting school on crutches. :p

I've almost dealt with all the tomatoes. Phew. Between the garden and the co-op that was a lot of tomatoes, but come winter I'll be glad.  I also made muffins with fresh blueberries and today's treat was some frozen banana bites.

Other than that we have been steaming mattresses and bathrooms, moving furniture,  going through everyone's clothes and decluttering those, finishing projects, and getting the homeschool stuff  ready.

Tomorrow we'll start to finish up the school shopping, hopefully make it to the fair tomorrow night, and deal with the last of the tomatoes. And hopefully Thursday I'll get pictures up of some of the changes we've made and the projects that have been finished for homeschool this year. :)

 

 

scenes from the weekend 8/07

Temperature at 9pm.

Garden tomatoes.

This weekend was filled with: good deals, laughter, lots of talking, late nights, early mornings, an unheard of nap, school shopping, cooking, baking, lots of cuddles, cleaning, having my phone off almost all weekend,  and lot of coffee.

On the list for this week:

• more cooking, freezing and processing tomatoes.
• a doctor appointment for Steve
• a counselor appointment for Alex
• more school shopping
• the county fair and chicken show
• yoga
• a not-back-to-school party with the homeschool group.
• ordering the rest of our homeschool supplies
• making a chalkboard
• finish decorating our school space with Jack
• helping the kids fit as much as they possibly can into the last week before school starts.
• getting up earlier in prep for school starting-yuck.

What is on your list?

 

garden update

A litte update from the garden. Our first tomatoes this year! The first pepper! I'm thinking some homemade Italian is in order this week. we also have pumpkins and jack-be-littles coming out our ears. And speaking of ears- corn! Yes lots of corn this year.  The cabbages have also made it and cabbage salad is on the menu for this week. 

The flower garden is slowly changing. The early blooms are dying off and new flowers are appearing daily. Love that.

 

 

scenes from the weekend 7/10

Giant pumpkin plants sprouting up.

Marshmallow blossoming.

Hanging out in the treehouse.

Tomatoes.

Corn, almost ready.

Projects in the works.

More peaches waiting.

A baby watermelon.

Watching the bees work.

We spent the weekend catching up with everything! Work, canning, garden, kids, etc and we are still catching up on sleep.

On the list for this week:

• more canning~ donut peaches, maybe some more cherries and anything else I can get my hands on.
• processing zucchini. I'm thinking muffins for some of it.
• library visit. We haven't been going near enough this summer.
• yoga
• Alex is getting her wisdom teeth pulled this week. :(
• That means I need to finish up any major projects within the next few days so we can focus on taking care of her.
• Which also means a special soft food shopping trip.
• Harry Potter marathon. Yes this week I want to watch them all. :)
• ease back in to shome gentle learning with Jack.  More on this later.
• Harvest more herbs.

What's on your list?

 

garden update

First of all, we are loving all the surprises in the wildflower mix we planted this year.

The herbs have gone wild! I am loving them!

But our main outdoor activity lately involves...

Watching all the baby birds learn to fly. We were able to observe this baby robin and it's mama interact and feed just a few feet in front of us.

Today it was this trio of youngsters.

With mom coming in to feed them.

A little sibling rivalry.

So neat to witness these moments. This last nest has been about 10 feet above the tree house which has made a perfect spotting place.

 

scenes from the weekend

 

Alex got 15 stitches in her hand this past Thursday.

Boat races.

More oil to  make.

More flowers to cut.

Back from scout camp. Exhausted and happy.

 

On the list this week:

• hoop making
• learning to hoop
• yoga for all
• drivers liscense...finally
• hair dye
• resume decluttering
• catch up on the photo class
• which means I need to fix the computer. :(
• Soul Restoration 2- loving this so far!
• Serious garden work- since we've had the heat snap there is a lot to do out there.
• wisdom teeth- hopefully we will get the pre-approval this week and get the ball rolling on that.
• Cherry picking- need to call and check price and see if we can fit that in.
• in the kitchen: granola, freezing chard and kale,do some baking for the freezer.
• try and get back into a routine this week.

What's on your list?

 

finally

Can you tell how much I love my flower garden? Thanks hubby. :)

snapping away

I've been delving back in to photography lately and having tons of fun. Here are some of my favorite shots from this week:

 

 

 

 

catching up

We finally have flowers!

Still recovering from the weekend.  Talisa is done with school for the year and Steve and Alex finish up tomorrow.  We're at that akward stage of working the older kids back into our daily routine-- Jack will still be doing homeschooling over the summer.  But we are all looking forward to catching up on our sleep. ;)

scenes from the weekend

Messing around with the new phone while out on a date.

A date always includes a stop at the bookstore.

A visit to the duck pond.

Chasing butterflies.
Two watermelon plants.

milkweed in bloom

 
a bike ride to the park

On the list for this week:

• girls lacrosse practice- I guess we aren't as done as we thought.
• yoga
• tennis
• art lessons
• end of the year band concert
• contractor school
• honors society program
• park day
• eagle court of honor for a friend
• two more out of town lacrosse games- like I sais, not as done as I thought.
• pick up gifted second hand bikes
• write out some new goals
• write up a new schedule
• prepare for a new photography class that starts next week
• baking: granola, breakfast bars
• more pendant work
• get books out to the garage for sale next week- we made a good dent in sorting stuff this weekend.
• finish up our China geography study
• rearrange some furniture again.

What's on your list this week?

the garden

- left half of veggie garden. Front part has chard, calendula, cilantro and lettuce. Back has onion, lettuce, tomato, chard.

Right side of veggie garden. Front- lettuce, tomato, potato,  and chard.  Back part has beans, lettuce, kale, and cabbage.

Marshmallow

feverfew

evening primrose

lemon basil and lime basil

borage seedlings, lemon thyme and lemongrass.

red clover. The box with the red clover and calendula has been having a hard time. We're not sure if it is birds or bugs, but something is enjoying it. I put bird netting over it yesterday and it is already doing better.

peppermint.

Jack was thrilled to see this watermelon seedling in his box today. :)

Stevia, chamomile, lemon balm, zinnias.

lavender, fnger jade, zinnias, aloe, pineapple, freesia, false ocotillo, moon cactus.

The valerian, comfrey, pineapple sage, and lemon verbena all seem to be doing well after a week of rough wind.