New Beginnings

Ever since I graduated from college, I have wanted to attend graduate school to receive my master's degree. Throughout my career as a nurse, I have had many roles, each with its own specialty degree offering.  They all sounded tempting, but none of them stuck with me as something for the long term.  I have finally taken my plunge and after much, much, much research, (did I mention that I really researched this decision?), I have chosen my program and my school.
Anyone that knows me really well knows that I agonize over decision making.  I rarely make spur of the moment decisions.  Everything is researched to the nth degree.  We don't even buy household items without me checking ratings first.  My DH has laughingly adapted to this.  Thankfully.  Even after all that planning and researching, I continue to second guess the decision.  There is probably some syndrome name for me.  Yes, I think it mirrors perfectionism.  :)
I am starting with just one class since it has been over two decades since I graduated from college.  I need to get my feet wet first.
Excited and scared to death.  Just the beginning of a new journey for me.  Moving right along....  :)

Box Elder Madness

Awhile back we had groupings of box elders.  I haven't ever seen them like this before.  Not sure why some look different that the usual box elder bugs.

 

Tomatoes!!

Busy picking day today!  There is canning in my future.

Fungi

I saw this while picking tomatoes.  Fungi are fascinating to me.  I think all of our recent rains after all of the drought has caused them to sprout.

 

Fun picture of the underside

 

 

Out with the door...in with the window

Another post of improvements.  This time on the house...not the garden.

Jackhammering out the old concrete steps.

The concrete was totally solid...

Removing the old door

Open air access

The new window.  No more drafty old door.

First tomatoes

Look what I found in the garden tonight!  The first tomatoes of the season!  Minus a couple that were eaten directly off the plant.  There is just something about eating a tomato in its element.  Yum!


The red tomatoes are Juliet.  The yellows are Yellow Pear.  Somewhere the pear part was left off....
The Zucchini is Costata Romanesco.

Update....the yellow tomatoes are now gone.  As well as more reds.  They are so good!  ;)

Change is good....right?

I have seriously considered changing the focus of my blog to incorporate other areas of my life as well.  I love gardening, but it is but a piece of the quilt of my life.  There are so many things that I would like to share with others without having to have multiple blogs.
Currently my struggle is to change the url of my blog.  This has been something I have wanted to do since I noticed what comes up when a search is entered for "seed and weed".  In all of my naivety, I did not even consider what those words would conjure up in a search engine.  Yikes!  Not the image that I want to portray at all!  Now to figure out how to change the url and continue to keep my followers.  Anyone with suggestions?  
In the meantime, I am in the process of thinking of a new name for my blog...
I am looking forward to sharing many of the other "pieces of my quilt" with all of you!

My Singing Frog

I found this little guy hiding behind the window basket.  For such a small guy, he packs some punch with his vocals.

Break in the heat

Per the local weatherman, yesterday marked the fourth day of 100+ degree heat in our area.  The last time that occurred was in 1988.  I remember that year well as the year that the corn was literally brown between the heat and lack of rain.  Many fields in our area are now irrigated as we sit on top of a large underground aquifer.
Today's forecasted high?  A cool 89 degrees...

Garden update

I had known prior to the growing season even starting that this was not going to be a big year for the garden.  So far, I have been surprised that as much is in the garden as there is.  What there is was planted later than usual, but we will just enjoy the harvest a little later.
The heat wave we have been experiencing is supposed to break tomorrow.  Now to break the drought...

Tomatoes.  These had been damaged by our previous hail storm but so far so good.  

Section of Roma tomatoes.  The blue tarp is in place to heat the soil underneath and kill the grass that keeps trying to grow there.  The goal is to add more raised beds in that area.

Baby Romas

Our greyhound, China.  She could easily walk over the fence, but tends to not.

Debby Downer vacation

We are in Gulf Shores at the start of our vacation and under a Tropical Storm warning.  Who would have thought?  I love storms and have often said that I would love to be in a hurricane.  All I can say is, be careful what you wish for. 

Hail storm

I enjoy a good thunderstorm.  We don't seem to get them like we used to in years past.
Last night it started to thunder so I went out to the porch off of Bill's shed to read and enjoy the incoming storm.  Little did I know what I had gotten in too.
The rain started and then we got pea to marble sized hail.  The hail on the metal roof was deafening!  Then came some wild wind!  For a split second, I was actually a bit worried.  That quickly ended and I was grinning like a kid.  :)  The porch ended up being no shelter from the driving rain, and I was soaked.
The fascia was peeled off of the neighbor's house, a trampoline blown over a fence into another yard, patio tables and basketball hoops blown over, trees down, and shredded foliage. 
An exciting night!

They're back...

I have started to see the first Japanese beetles of the year this week.  I really wouldn't be upset if they didn't come to visit.  I must say that I like them best when I find them drowned in the pool skimmer.  Harsh,I know, but true.

Tree to Table

This was the first yeat that we got to the cherries on our young tree before the birds.

Waiting to be pitted.  I don't have a cherry pitter, so it was done by hand.  Needless to say, the t-shirt that I had on is now in the garbage!  Stained forever by errant cherry juice.

The result.  Boy, was it good!

Red Poppy

 

 

Tomato and Pepper seedling update

Not too bad of a germination from some seeds that were 4+ years old.

Tomato seedlings

Johnny Jump Up

A single Johnny Jump Up found its way into my flower bed.  Its parent plant was likely in my flower box.
I love these flowers!
 

Nesting Ball

For Christmas I received a nesting ball from my in laws that was filled with alpaca fur.  Is that correct?  Fur?  Wool?  Not sure...

My sister in law made me a nesting ball for a gift.  From the look of the yarns, it seems to have generated some interest from the birds.  I am watching for a local nest sporting some vividly colored yarns now.

 

Flower bed extension

Since Bill trimmed up the spruce tree, the next step was to create another flower bed, right?  :)

The work in progress

Partially bordered with rock.  We need to make a trip to the gravel pit to pick through their rocks.

My beautiful assistant, Lauren.
Our next door neighbor passed away last spring, and her husband is wanting to get rid of her perennial bed. Their daughter offered me whatever I want after their granddaughter comes by tonight.  We did get one plant that they knew that she would not want.

Before....

 

The finished product.  For now.