Home Gardening

One of the things we love most about summer is our organic garden.  All of us love veggies, and nothing beats fresh ones right out of your very own garden.  This year, we've all taken turns watering, pulling weeds, and carefully picking.  Little G and Reezle both planted flowers along the perimeter and they did a fabulous job.  I was really impressed because it's the first time they've done that without any assistance from us.  With everyone assigned to a task and working together, our planting went quickly. 

Little G waters newly-planted seeds, tomato plants, and flowers

It was a slow summer in terms of garden growth.  Our weather has been strange this year, and we think that the decline in the bee populations isn't helping matters.  But Reezle and I love our zucchini, and once it starts to yield, it's the gift that keeps on giving.  Well, unless you get squash bugs like we did last year.  So this little one was a welcome sight!

Delicious organic zucchini

The other day, Little G asked if he could check the garden to see if any more zucchini had grown large enough to pick.  This is what he found!  Needless to say, we've been eating lots and lots of zucchini!

Little G's proud zucchini harvest

For perspective on how gigantic these bad boys can get, this is Little G holding the zucchini that is in the far right of the picture above.  He said he got his exercise picking these, and he wasn't kidding!

Little G and big zucchini

We're also getting some delicious cucumbers, and the rain over the past couple of days will no doubt move things right along.  No tomatoes or peppers yet, everything is still very green, but hopefully soon.  I wish we could garden year-round, and I've been looking into hydroponics and various greenhouse setups.  Our winters get blistering cold, and stay that way for long periods of time, so I need an option that will be able to withstand occasional sub-zero temperatures without failing.  However, even if I could have an option to extend our growing season so we can start earlier in the spring and continue enjoying fresh produce even after the first frost, I'd be very pleased with that.

Summer Days

My latest little obsession is Instagram. Typically, other than Facebook, I'm not much of a fan of social networks or having my information or photos splattered across the interwebs. But Instagram is just too fun to ignore.

Couple that and an adorable little moment where my son is reading a bird book like it's his job, and mommy can't resist the photo op. Doesn't he look comfy, all snuggled up on the couch among big pillows with a cozy blanket over him? It's miserably hot here in the Midwest, but we're staying cool inside and enjoying some lazy afternoons with some old school Star Trek reruns and piles of good books. Outside, the birds have been largely absent from the feeders and our grass is turning a parched shade of pale yellow. The garden, however, is producing some tasty organic treats in spite of the heat.


That picture is of one of the most perfect zucchinis I have ever seen. Delicious. If last year is any indication, we should have enough for ourselves and half the neighborhood. And, if we could get some rain, there's a variety of other delicious vegetables out there, too.

On an unrelated note, our new school materials will be shipping soon! We're very excited about this. I still have to hammer out some details about the upcoming school year and the foreign language Reezle is hoping to take, but this is so much better than the typical back-to-school circus each year. We don't miss it. At all.