~Say What?!?~ peas

This is entry #1 for the Gardening Hall of Shame. Note: Remove bird netting before the peas go wild otherwise you will end up with:

Ok, snicker away at my expense. Every year has to have it's failures so we can LEARN, right? We have learned from our mistakes, fixed the problem, updated our gardening journal and now, publicly humiliated ourselves. Now that we have that out of our systems, CHECK THIS OUT!

Peas! Can you believe it? All of the drama and now we have sweet peas. If I see a certain Towhee, I might even offer him one as a peace offering.


We are up to our elbows in spinach, lettuce, peas and strawberries right now and we should have some zucchini by the end of the week. I had to prep my better half about the beginning of zucchini season at dinner tonight. His response was very neutral.


If you are a neighbor and you are reading this, come grab a head of heirloom salad greens or some spinach! (Keep your fingers off the strawberries. A certain 4 year old doesn't believe in sharing these.)

All photos are taken by Val Curtis and can be used with permission only.

~Say What?!?~ 062111

Somebody is busy chomping my radishes. Any ideas on who it could be? Any suggestions about how to conquer them? Interestingly enough, they aren't bothering the radishes themselves and we haven't jumped into the world of eating radish greens. As a result, these little pests are leaving us unscathed for the most part, but I am worried about the damage they might do elsewhere in the garden. Thanks for your suggestions!

All photos are taken by Val Curtis and can be used with permission only.

Keep Your Eyes Open

Gardening and I are relatively new friends. I would consider us to be in the courting phase. We both surprise each other with new revelations upon each encounter. We are learning about ourselves through our interactions. And there are those frequent "Say what?!?" moments when you have to call your best girlfriends to see if the latest manifestation is "normal" or if you should run for the hills.

Every Tuesday, I will be sharing my "Say What?!?" moment of the week with you in hopes of finding some answers.

See you tomorrow!

A time for Purpose. A time for Fancy.

My children remind me that there are times to be purposeful (parading the crew out the door to pick up the one forgotten item at the store) and times to be fanciful (looking under forest debris for signs of fairies). Just when I am immersed in the throws of purpose, I will be reminded of the importance of fancy.


This week we experienced our first real summeresque day after a long winter of cold, wet days spent indoors taking care of our newest addition. My calendar was chock full of events and tasks to complete, but I opted to ignore the list for a couple of sun-drenched hours at our local beach with a friend and her son. Somehow this "spontaneity" turned me into a taskmaster yet again. Gather blankets, umbrellas, sunscreen, snacks and oh, yes, the kids, before completing our shopping at the Farmer's Market so we can THEN enjoy the sun. During my preparation / frenzy, my son kept asking me to come see his new trail (we often create new paths for adventures around our house) and I kept nodding and smiling and saying, "Ok Buddy, just let Mommy get the van packed so we can go have some fun." "But Mommy." "I know. Go pack yourself into the van Buggy."


Scurry scurry. Rush rush. Ugh. Where are his sand toys? So, I ran into the garden to grab his gardening tool bag when I stopped dead in my tracks. There before me ran a beautiful path of purple to the garden. Cole's trail. Dozens of zinnias and lavender buds were placed carefully to create a gentle carpet of purple (our favorite garden color) to the raised beds. I had to sit down and catch my breath and then I ran inside to grab my camera. After brushing away a few tears, I approached my little man and told him I found his trail and that it was beautiful and special and incredibly thoughtful. "I made it all purple for you." Yes, he made it all purple...for me.

As you catch yourself hurrying with purpose this week, do not forget to look for/appreciate/acknowledge the fanciful trails made, with love, for you.