Silent Sunday
Yay for the Farmer’s Market!
Once again, we attended the weekly evening market. Mr. Nature was stilled signed up to sell his wares, so this time we took Amilia with us as well. 
We set up her special area next to ours, and she was the talk of the event. People loved her house, and often stopped to discuss it amongst themselves, or to ask her about her butterfly adorned abode.
This week, we chose a spot that was shaded by a building so we weren’t facing into the summer rays all evening. He did not come home with profit, but he made enough to pay the fee and purchase a few treats. The ladies who had the yummy raw kale wraps were there again, this time with Vietnamese raw spring rolls with spicy dipping sauce. Yum!!!
There was also cherry cobbler, but the photo did not do it justice, so I will leave it to your imagination. The spring rolls were filled with snow peas, lettuce, mint, coriander, carrots, cucumber, red cabbage, and probably something else that I am forgetting. We make these at home sometimes, but the ones we ate yesterday set a new standard.
The man next to us had some great bird houses, bird feeders, wall art, and wood sculptures. We had to have one because I have similar objects in my yard with which I have been thinking of making little landscapes. Amilia chose these because her favorite color is green. They are carved to resemble Parrot Mushrooms.
And the best ending to the evening was that we got 5 pounds of produce FREE! Well, Mr. Nature traded two aloe vera plants for it, but no money was exchanged. The local organic produce lady from whom we purchase our weekly vegetables said she would like a plant or two, and would be willing to trade. Mr. Nature took her two medium sized plants and told her to choose what to trade for it. She filled his bag with Italian eggplant (2), basil, garlic, yellow squash (2), a bunch of beets, a bunch of carrots, and some cucumber (2).So, we had another fun and productive LOCAL living evening. We met more local people. And Mr. Nature and the bee man had so much in common that we have been invited over for a visit.
We set up her special area next to ours, and she was the talk of the event. People loved her house, and often stopped to discuss it amongst themselves, or to ask her about her butterfly adorned abode.
This week, we chose a spot that was shaded by a building so we weren’t facing into the summer rays all evening. He did not come home with profit, but he made enough to pay the fee and purchase a few treats. The ladies who had the yummy raw kale wraps were there again, this time with Vietnamese raw spring rolls with spicy dipping sauce. Yum!!!
There was also cherry cobbler, but the photo did not do it justice, so I will leave it to your imagination. The spring rolls were filled with snow peas, lettuce, mint, coriander, carrots, cucumber, red cabbage, and probably something else that I am forgetting. We make these at home sometimes, but the ones we ate yesterday set a new standard.
The man next to us had some great bird houses, bird feeders, wall art, and wood sculptures. We had to have one because I have similar objects in my yard with which I have been thinking of making little landscapes. Amilia chose these because her favorite color is green. They are carved to resemble Parrot Mushrooms.
And the best ending to the evening was that we got 5 pounds of produce FREE! Well, Mr. Nature traded two aloe vera plants for it, but no money was exchanged. The local organic produce lady from whom we purchase our weekly vegetables said she would like a plant or two, and would be willing to trade. Mr. Nature took her two medium sized plants and told her to choose what to trade for it. She filled his bag with Italian eggplant (2), basil, garlic, yellow squash (2), a bunch of beets, a bunch of carrots, and some cucumber (2).So, we had another fun and productive LOCAL living evening. We met more local people. And Mr. Nature and the bee man had so much in common that we have been invited over for a visit.
Wishing you all a safe and happy weekend.
Featured Artist Friday: Amilia
Today, our featured artist is Amilia. Her works are currently on display at Deer Palace, and are being kept in a private collection. She plans to make some works available for purchase in the future, and to further develop a current series on which she is working into a gallery showing.
(the whale)
She loves the use of color and line shape in her drawings. She likes to experiment with movement, line depth, and shading to convey expression.
(robot #6)
She draws inspiration from daily occurrences and the images she finds all around her, and rarely passes a day without working on a creation.
(Mom,Dad, & Scarecrow)
(missing mom)
She is currently working on a series about hands and the many ways they interact with the world.
(loving hands)
(marriage of hands)
(loving hands)
(marriage of hands)
Upcoming projects include illustrating a childrens’ tale, and rewriting and illustrating her own first book.
If you have artwork by a budding artist that you would like turned into a wearable piece, visit Analiese on Etsy! Or visit Deseta.net where you can have a picture of your child’s turned into a hand embroidered pillow.
Etsy shops by child artists:
Age 9: Lauren’s Castle
Age 9: Little Banana Bug
Have you viewed the world through your Artist’s eye today?
Attack of the Ladybugs! (I hope)
In any ecologically balanced garden, there is a need for hired thugs, er…bugs. The most fun of these, in my opinion, is the celebrated Ladybug. Who doesn’t love a ladybug? Through anthropomorphism, we often give ladybugs sunny happy faces and show them in all manner of kid friendly poses on home decor, throw pillows, desk accessories, greeting cards, etc…
Ladybugs are known as “beneficial insects” and are very useful against aphids, thrips, spider mites and whiteflies. They will also eat other small, soft-bodied insects. Follow this link to see the photo of ladybugs ganging up to eat a slug. Amilia said “eeeew, what are they doing to that poor slug?!” This link will get you to a wild, aphid-devouring shiny spotted beetle of the highest degree.
So far, we have shared some leaves with pests, but we have not lost any of our mature food to them. The sacrificial and companion plants have detoured other pests from our main plants. We have a healthy number of wasps helping in the balance. The chickens diligently patrol outside the garden bed fence barrier. Yesterday, we added ladybugs to the fight. Hopefully, our plants will continue to thrive, and the ladybugs will help destroy any pests we might have missed.
If nothing else, they were fun to release, and fun to watch as the reluctant sun set over our fair garden. Next, I believe I am going to have to manually pollinate my summer squash. The little fruits are either suffering from blossom end rot, or inadequate pollination. I think (but I wasn’t looking that closely, so will have to check again tomorrow in the light) that the problem is not at the blossom end, so fingers crossed that it is the latter.
The plant is healthy, and the squash looks healthy, until it reaches a couple of inches in length and begins to shrivel and turn leathery on the end. We have several varieties of bee bzzz bzzz bzzzing all over the lavender, but I am not certain any honeybees have made it over to the garden…
Have Q-tip and paintbrush, will travel.
Now, to get that pollen from the anther to the stigma…
Now, to get that pollen from the anther to the stigma…
Flower Magazine
Do you love flowers? I do. All kinds. I am not really marvelous at growing flowers, but I do have several hardy varieties around Deer Palace. Mostly, I require the kind that will grow despite neglect and abuse. Like geraniums, poppies, roses, irisis, daffodils, daisies, and some lilies. Let us not forget LAVENDER! Looking forward to the day when my hive bees will be using this floral playground to manufacture honey for the Nature Family.
Today, I was found by an assistant editor of Flower Magazine and asked if I might be willing to add a link from my blog to the magazine. (This is not a sponsored post.) One: I am flattered that she thought my blog to be a good fit with the magazine. Two: I would not link or endorse something I could not “get behind” myself, so I went to check it out. I had never heard of the magazine before.
Turns out, I will be happy to add the link, and I liked the magazine site so much that I am writing a little post about it so you all might find the beauty and serenity that I found there. This magazine has gorgeous photos, and very useful tips and information. I really liked this “sneak peak” from the current issue about flower arranging in a variety of vases. The magazine is a wonderful resource for wedding planning, and the current issue features a beautiful New Orleans inspired wedding.
Based in Birmingham, Alabama, Flower made its debut in March, 2007. It includes monthly “perennial” sections from how-to tips for the amateur to trade magazine information for professional florists and floral designers. I took the “What flower are you?” quiz from the home page, and I turned out to be:
You are an Iris!
The legend goes that when an ancient king found himself trapped between a river and the enemy, he cleverly used irises growing in the river as a guide to safety across the shallowest part of the river. Perhaps this is why the iris is now considered to be an emblem of wisdom. You are a rational and observant person, and therefore are an excellent problem-solver. You enjoy learning about how things work and often prefer to work alone. Independent, analytical, and a lover of learning, you stand out for your competence and intelligence.
This quiz has been taken 1358 times.
Your personality type matches 15.32% of the people who have taken this quiz.
What do you find irresistible at Flower Magazine?
Seedling Down, SEEDLING DOWN!
As mentioned, on Monday I put in my late seedlings of zucchini and pumpkin. Yesterday, they were very happily soaking up the filtered sun through the sunscreen covering that we use over new plants. They are protected by circles of wire fencing and then covered with the screen.
Mr. Nature was up early giving them a morning watering directly into the soil, since it has been getting warmer and warmer here, and the garden plants are parched by evening. At the noon hour, they were all happily reaching for the sky. In the early evening when we went to do the second watering, we found a catastrophe! Screen knocked down, two circles of wire cage knocked over, earth dug up in several places, CHICKEN SCRATCH TRACKS, AND:
Funny that they ate more of the paper peat pot than of the plant. Silly birds! An acre of succulent bugs, grasshoppers, grasses, weeds, wildflowers, breadcrumbs, and their coop supply of organic poultry food at their disposal, and they want to eat the SEEDLINGS?! I will be able to share much more of the bounty with them if they allow the plants to mature…
More heavy guarding is in order…scarecrow holding a big stick is in the works!
Change the World Wednesday
It’s time again for Change the World Wednesday, brought to you by Reduce Footprints.
Here is her challenge:
“Earlier this week, President Obama announced a plan to make lighting our homes and businesses more energy efficient (you can read about it HERE). So, let’s do our part: Replace at least one incandescent bulb in your home with either a CFL or LED bulb.
OR … if you’ve already replaced the bulbs in your home with energy efficient varieties, write a post about CFLs and LEDs and then … contact five (5) new blogs (blogs which you’ve never visited before) and invite them to join the challenge by visiting your site.
Okay … just a quick reminder on the “rules”. The idea is to get as many people as possible joining in … I believe if we all do the same green activity during the same week, we’ll have an impact. So, let everyone know … advertise … post about it … email your friends and family … talk about it … snatch the “Change The World Wednesday” badge on my site and post it on yours … encourage everyone you can reach to join the challenge. And don’t forget to leave a comment so we can add you to the Honor Society. We’re changing the world … one challenge at a time. Are you ready?“
Personally, I am not behind CFLs because they use mercury, and their disposal is difficult and possibly dangerous. I don’t think there is enough awareness of the fact that you CANNOT just throw them in the trash, and [many] people are not often willing to hold items for any length of time just to figure out how/when/where they can offload them. The reality is that MANY MANY MANY of these will end up in regular trash bins and landfills. While they use less energy, I do not believe their benefit outweighs their risk.
But, I do like LED technology, and they seem to be more environmentally friendly on the back end. However, their cost is currently offputting to people. So, I am off to do more research, and I will update the post when I find some good information…
Here are some initial findings:
This is why LED’s are the light bulbs of the future
Don’s Green Store for a 5 pack of LED bulbs: http://www.shop.donsgreenstore.com/main.sc;jsessionid=907335275A11185C6683D3E3544C9FB2.qscstrfrnt04
$3.00 LED bulb: http://cleantechnica.com/2009/01/29/new-3-led-bulb-lasts-60-years/
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Squashaphone, anyone?
I have two of these goodies fattening on the vine, and I am waiting for some of the stalks to be big enough to make a squashaphone. What is THAT, you ask? Well, in my new book called Log Cabin Cooking, there is a photo of two girls playing this “instrument” called a squashaphone that they made from squash stalks. I believe it to be similar to a pennywhistle (except, not made of tin). Instructions are included in the book and can be found by following the Log Cabin Cooking link in this paragraph.
I have about 20 of these ripening on the vine, and I cannot wait until they are a succulent, juicy, perfect red so I can pluck them for salsa, sandwiches, sauces, and simply eating fresh in the garden. There are also cucumbers flowering, okra flowering, zucchini ripening, and watermelon almost flowering. I just put the 4 week old butternut squash and pumpkin seedlings out today, and, though they were seeded late, I hope they were in time to fruit before the first frost! The lingering cold of spring caused my lateness…
Baby bird is poking itself further and further out of the house to get a look at the wide wide world. It is so cute, and I WISH I had a better camera with which to capture it in more close-up fashion! I almost caught it with its mouth gaping open and calling for mom, but the delay made me miss. Mom, however, was only circling above and looking nervous because I was too close. She wouldn’t come in until I stepped away. The part I am nervous about is that last year, this was the age at which we lost the baby birds from this house to a large bird of prey. They stick themselves out there too far, and then SWOOOOOOP, SWOOOOSH, they are lunch.
Also, if the sweet birdy happened to lean out too far and fall out of his safe and cozy house, Striper Striper the Wondercat (who is learning his lesson and staying very low key these days) is hanging out in the wildflowersturnedweedpatch just under the apple tree - - - waiting for some excitement.
He loves succulent young birds.
Here’s rootin’ for baby bird to make it to maturity,
and all the veggies to ripen quicklike…
Here’s rootin’ for baby bird to make it to maturity,
and all the veggies to ripen quicklike…
Making…Nature With Me
Talk about self-sustainability! This guy has accomplished upcycling to the ‘nth’ degree:
Amazing! If I were the tropical climate, island sort of girl, I might get ideas…
(Almost) Silent Sunday
Happy Birthday to my dear Nature Boy! 15 years already???
New flowers for the vase from around the homestead:
Fun little Saturday project: flip-flop embellishment!
New flowers for the vase from around the homestead:
Fun little Saturday project: flip-flop embellishment!
Wishing you all serenity on this lovely Sunday…
