Hunting Birds

Hi, my name is Charlie. You can call me Dog Breath. I like frequent naps, short runs beside a long board, and chasing the birds out of the garden.

I tried hard to catch her in the act all morning but I either had no camera or no birds. Here she is busily surveying the yard. She is so good; she will chase the birds out of the garden but will stop short of running into it.

Latest additions to the garden:
Second round of sugar snap peas
Ed Hume Carrot Rainbow Blend - Colorful mix of red, purple, white, yellow and orange - 70 days to maturity. When plants are 2 to 4 inches tall, thin to 2 inches apart. Germination - 2 weeks in temps of 60 degrees.

I also re-potted (for lack of a better word) my merigold starts using the technique here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8qPAV-LDnM Tip to remember: Use two layers of newspaper for each little pot. My merigold starts this year are less leggy than last year, and the roots were already starting to sprout out of the tiny peat disc I started them in. My merigolds and money leaves look good, but the chinese lanterns haven't yet germinated. I added more seeds to the peat discs as well as made a few extra newspaper pots. Then I decided to read the package: germination takes 20 to 25 days. Woops. Guess I just needed to wait a little longer on that one.

Megan, this one's for you :)

A few weeks ago I went out scouting around garage sales. I couldn't make it to an estate sale before I was meeting up with Megan, so after we had completed the day's check list, I asked if she would want to run by this estate sale. (If there's only one thing on the check list, is it ok to feel accomplished when it's finished?) First lesson learned: if you want something, or think you might want something, or are thinking about thinking of wanting something, pick it up. You can always set it back down, but you can't snatch said item out of the hands of another lucky son of a gun. :) Anywho, I had picked out this specific sale because it stated that it had a "large collection of hankies." Megan thought I was crazy, but I told her I had plans for the hankies. So, Megan, here's what I did with them:

Hankie flower:

I also made a hankie baby bonnet but being that it was the first attempt, I will spare you the pictures.

Unrelated to hankies, but still a sewing project: I apparently have also become a prude. I have a polo dress that I absolutely love, but I always felt like I was tugging on the bottom. I used to think anything past the fingertips was sufficiently long. Sigh. I guess this is what happens when you get old. (Hear that, Family? No one can utter the words, "But you're still so young!" any longer. It's been disproved. :) So what is a lady to do?

Add super cute eyelet fabric to the bottom, of course!

1st official day in the garden

Onions and the first round of sugar snap peas are in the ground.

Sugar snap peas: Burpee, Sweet & Early. Plant another round March 20th.

Onions: Zamzow's Onion Sets, yellow. For big onions: When the tops fall over, pull onions and allow to dry on top of the soil for several days. Remove from garden and store in a cool dry place.

I didn't get the peonies moved last fall, so when I saw they'd popped up I got right on getting them out of the grass. Unfortunately, I think I hacked up the tubers in the attempt to locate and extract them. I'm hoping for a limited number of casualties, but we shall see. . .

This is a rough sketch of my garden plan for the year. (No one would ever look at this and believe I did this or this. Yes, this sketch is why I do not label myself 'artist'.) Anywho, on to the plan. I just now decided what to fill my garden with. I have on there Sugar Snap peas, letuce, spinach, carrots, garlic, tomato, pepper, onion, melon and a squash. Figured it'd be a good year for a salsa theme since I already had the garlic in the ground - and popping up! What I realized though is that it is now the perfect time to not only plant the peas but to also get the onions in the ground. On the to do list for the weekend: Get and plant onions, stake the trellises and plant peas, get pot and soil and transplant the peonies from the middle of the grass, and on the non-gardening side of life: refinish a little side table.

I discovered this little gem of a website today: http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/ Even though it's a British website, it allows you to put in your city (UK, Australia, or the US) and it shows all sorts of neat things like what to do this week, when to plant plants, etc. I will poke around more when I have a chance.

If April Showers Bring May Flowers, What Does February Sunshine Bring?

Yes it is still Frebruary, at least through the end of the day. The pretty little white flowers above are actually up in a friend's yard.
Since today was in the upper 40's, I took the opportunity to get out in the relative warmth and sunshine to work on the garden. I needed to turn the soil as I had added all natural, the-real-deal horse manure compost to the entire bed last fall. (Mmmm, horse poo.) While I was there and very much to my delight, I discovered this:

Do you see them? Yes!!! That is garlic!! I have been mulling over the idea planting my spinach and sugar snap peas, even if it is still two weeks before the earliest 8 weeks recommended before the last average frost. So, if my ground is definitely not frozen and the garlics are venturing into the world. . . Hm. I did start my flower seeds today; the marigolds like planned as well as a few intersting little things I just couldn't pass up: Chinese Lanterns and Money Leaves.

*Sigh* I love spring.

Ridiculous Cuteness

We just refinished our floors. It was quite the process ripping up the three layers of linoleum (in the kitchen and bathroom), but what can you expect when the house is 70 years old? We now have the original 1940's, two-inch, hand nailed beautiful wood shining throughout the upstairs. And here is Charlie to help me show them off:

Ok, ok. So I really just wanted to show off how ridiculously cute (even if she is in need of a bath) my dog is!

I also snagged a sweet steal from the Bench Commission this week:

I am determined to stock my house with quality furniture rather than the cheap, veneer stuff, so it's one piece at a time. Maybe it's just me, but I can't get over the character -- cute cute!!

Sugar Snap Peas

I discovered Sugar Snap Peas a few weeks ago. Sugar snap peas have an edible pod similar to snow peas, but the pod is round instead of flat and, like the name implies, are slightly sweet. I. Love. Them. They have been added to my definite gardening list - along with tomatoes, lettuce and spinach so far. They are a cool season veggie and frost tolerant -- plantable as soon as the ground is workable. (Hm. . .weather's been warm this winter. Think the ground is workable now?)

The real reason for this post though, is that while googling the scrumptious little pods, I found out that they were created right in my childhood home town of Twin Falls, ID in the early 1980's by a Dr. Lamborn and a Dr. Parker at the Gallatin Valley Seed Company.

Way to get yourself on the map, Twin Falls!!