Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner

or anytime in between. 

 Nutribullet smoothies. 

 You can get all of your vegetables and fruits in one glass!

I would never have considered adding spinach to banana, 

but it makes a lovely green smoothie.  

Add cinnamon, even better. 

 To be able to get a helping of greens and fruits 

at the same time encourages me to enjoy these smoothies.  

Sometimes I add blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, yogurt--

depends on what is in the fridge. 

 And ice--because I like 'em cold.

When the bananas start to lose their fresh look, 

I peel them, slice them, and freeze the slices. 

 Same with strawberries.
Above--frozen bananas and strawberries and spinach and milk.

 Healthier and not as fattening as ice cream,
but almost as good!

Gardening in the country has taken something of a back seat

as frequent rains make it impossible to get much done.

Except for weeding.

Weeds are simply amazing.

Especially on land that has been neglected for years.

I can weed in the morning,

and there are new weeds by the afternoon.

Where I put down cardboard and really thick newspapers

before adding the ecomulch,

there are fewer problems.

But if the layer of papers is thin or not fully covered,

weeds grow sideways and find an opening.

I've also forgotten my camera on most sunny days,

but we have had plenty of salads from lettuce,

spinach, and swiss chard.

The above pics don't show how much things

have grown because I took them nearly 2 weeks ago.

Then my battery died, I put it on the charger,

and kept forgetting the camera.

Reading, reading, reading. 

Really good:

I've reviewed The Boy Who Could See Demons 

on my book blog and have The Changeling scheduled.

I take frequent breaks at whatever I'm doing

and sit down to read.

I've been reading Barbara Kingsolver's

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle for a while now, 

a little at a time, then mulling it over.

I've read 4 or 5 novels since I started A,V,M.

Nonfiction is always slower.

Home Garden

The dianthus is doing well, except for where it looks

as if something lay down in the middle of one.

I love Heuchera or Coral Bells;

the flowers are delicate and not very showy,

but I love the foliage.

I pulled the pots of begonias up to the patio

and covered them in cold weather.

They survived the winter.

Yesterday, the Dragon Heart had 2 blossoms,

but this morning, none.

I see I've typed leaf instead of petal.  Oops.

The guara has a few blooms, 

but is being crowded right now by the succulent.

The succulent has bright green leaves and magenta flowers.

The guara leaves are darker and kind of purple,

and the flowers are pink.

And the garlic always enchants me.

I've been so busy lately.

Days at the cabin, then home, then back.

I have not been keeping up with posting 

or with reading my favorite blogs.

Will try to do better.

Have a great weekend!

Tabby Cats and Phrenological Figure

We have three cats, the Triad,

 (think Chinese criminal societies--

although none of our cats

 have  any exotic blood in them). 

They were stray alley kittens when Fee brought them home

 after their mother was run over.  

The Triad, while neither Chinese, 

nor criminal,
 nor, for that matter, 

 even kittens any longer, 

are often destructive.

We love them and forgive them, 

but let's face it, 

we have lost any sense of Alpha control

 in our relationships with them.

For three siblings, 

they couldn't be any different

in size or in personality.

Which got me thinking one day,

about Edgar.

The only male, and more than twice 

the size of his smallest sister,

Edgar has always been more canine
 than feline in some ways.

He will fetch, come when you call,

is genuinely friendly with family and friends,

loves to curl up and just BE with you

without expecting to be worshiped and curried to.

The ladies are more snobbish.

Stinker is reserved, but occasionally demands attention.
Lucy, well, Lucy demands everything at high volume.
Food, attention, whatever she wants,
she wants NOW.

When I read or hear about other people 

and their feline companions,

it is often Tabbies that seem to have 

the friendliest personalities,

the most engaging and charming habits,

who are the most gregarious and outgoing.

Edgar is so patient with Bryce Eleanor.

I wondered if I might be making up the "tabby affect" 

based on our own experience with our three

and a few anecdotal stories from others.

No conclusive answer found,
although there have been several studies
about color and temperament.
Some articles leaned toward tabby cats being
more sociable, but several articles
disputed the claim.

In our household, Edgar the Tabby, is
most definitely the most sociable, but he is
also the only male and much larger than his
two sisters who tend to stick together more.

Here's a link:  Tabby Cat Personality

---------------

I stuck a collection of watch parts into this figure's head,

 oh, at least four months ago.  

The body is an old curling iron, 

the kind people stuck into the top of a glass lantern to heat;  

this one has a very small barrel.  

Someone wanted tight little curls.

He remains neglected.

But perhaps he could be useful

in helping Map the Brain Initiative.

source:  Hogret- Phrenology Brushes

I think he looks a bit

like those advertisements in the early 1900's.

He will be a hanging figure

as a stand would be distracting.

Not that I'm in the mood to finish him.

I'm going down to the cabin

and garden.

Have a great weekend!

Mud, Homely Plant #2, Musical Swings

Mud.  Not just mud, but red clay mud,

 an adhesive mud that sticks like glue,

 so that your boots get heavier and heavier,
accumulating layer after layer. 

 Monday was beautiful, but the ground was still soaked 

from Sunday's rain, and low spots were pools of muddy water.
Soooo,
didn't get much done yesterday.

-------------

Homely Plant # 2

Comfrey.

  I posted about it here, in 2009,
 in my lost to the tornado garden,

  at that time, I couldn't imagine not having any comfrey.  

 Or that I would have
such a difficult time finding it locally.  

Why do I love comfrey?  

Part of the reason
may actually have to do with the name--

so close to comfy;

 the plant has that homely
(in Tolkien's sense of the word) feel for me.
But my love for this plant also lies
 in the plant's benefits for the garden.

Comfrey mines nutrients from the soil (deep tap root) 

and is designated a dynamic accumulator, 

cycling nutrients through the soil.  

It can be used as green manure and as mulch.  

It will help heat up your compost pile,

 which was the main way I used it in the past.

Comfrey attracts bees and butterflies, good pollinators.

For thousands of years, comfrey has been used medicinally, 

and many people today swear by its properties 

as a poultice  for healing wounds.  

The plant is also knows as "knitbone" and "bruisewort."  

Comfrey contains Allantoin, 

a protein that promotes cell growth.  

While I love the fact that comfrey

has healing benefits,

I've never actually tried them.

On the other hand, this plant

is capable of healing the soil--
 as a mulch and by mining nutrients 

too deep for most plants to reach.

It can become invasive, 

and I ended up with much more comfrey 

by accident when I tried to move it.

The transplants were more than successful,

and the original plant grew back and prospered.
I can only wish that I had access now.
But now that I want it for a new garden...
may have to order online.

-------

via Green Renaissance - relax and enjoy these musical swings.

Easter Sunday Rain

Fee went to Baton Rouge on Friday,
as did Chris and Amelia,
to join Erin and see the Elton John concert.

Sisters.

Guess Amelia and Erin 
were gearing up for the concert.

I stayed at the cabin.
Have never done concerts well.

The inside of the cabin is a huge mess

as we have tools and chargers and so forth
scattered all around,

but here are photos of the only

part that looks decent.

The pillows I made several years ago.

The dog in the middle is 

from one of Mila's drawings.

The quote says,

"No outfit is complete without dog hair,"

which was appropriate at the time.

Now, I should make one about cat hair.

Besides gardening, shoveling, and hauling,

I've been reading.
Mysteries mostly.
Although I did finish, and thoroughly enjoyed, Nick Hornby's More Baths, Less Talking 
a monthly review of the books he read
and reviewed for The Believer.

New to me mystery author,
Chris Knopf provided me with several hours
of intense reading in Dead Anyway.
After being shot in the head,
Arthur awakes from a long coma
and decides to dedicate himself 
to discovering the assassin and the man
who hired him.
After the first few pages,
I couldn't put it down!

I've reviewed both of these on my book blog:
A Garden Carried in My Pocket.

After making my purchases at the 
Master Gardener's sale on Saturday,
I tried 2 nurseries for comfrey.
Maybe I'll get lucky at the
Herb Society sale.

 I went back down to the cabin
and spent the night.
From about 7:30 - 11:00 AM Sun. morning,
I got some weeding and planting done.
Then the rain and wind hit.
Quite a storm--knocked out a power line
and we lost electricity.

I finally gave it up and came home.
Sunny this morning, although rain is
predicted for the next few days.
Going to the country.  Again.

Home for the day...

I spent most of the week at the cabin.

Wednesday, Bryce Eleanor spent the night with me,
so we spent the day playing in the sand,
taking walks,
collecting wildflowers for an arrangement,
building fairy houses, etc.

Here she is telling me the story
of how she fell out of the moon,
lost her unicorn horn
and
her Pegasus wings.
It was sad.

She loved the "valley of flowers."
Evidently, valley was a new word
as she used it A LOT.

And did you know that violet is another word for purple?
And that white flowers, especially with ruffles
are called wedding flowers?

The kid always has something to teach me.
Anyway, here is the "valley of flowers."

Chris picked her up on Thursday,
and since it had warmed up I mowed around the cabin.

Some of the trees we've planted.

I seem to have a thing about purple and green.

The row of mustard greens really appeals to me.

Below, the peach tree inside the fence is showing some blooms.

Still have not decided where to put the quince.

A thorny affair that needs a lot of room,

quince is also one of those plants 

that despite its drawbacks,

must be included because of memories 

of other quinces, of other gardens.

These pictures were taken early in the morning.

Here is my hourly snack.

Pistachios.  Mmmm.

Came back home last night so that I could attend the

 local Master Gardener's Sale at 8:00 this morning.  

In the rain.

Left the sale with a trunk full of (mostly) Louisiana Iris and 

re-connections with two friends who have recently finished 

the Master Gardener's course

 and were having a great time, even in the rain.

Thanks, Denise, for helping me choose the Louisiana Iris.

Homely Plants

Do you have plants that you love more than they, perhaps, deserve?  Plants that have some special meaning to you for any of a number of reasons?  Homely plants, in the way Tolkien used homely means something that makes you feel at home.

I love beautiful plants, but there are also some homely plants that hold my heart and that must have a place in my garden.  One is Wandering Jew (tradescantia pallida).  Early in my marriage, my Aunt Janice gave me one as a houseplant.  At the time, the plant itself didn't especially appeal to me, but it was a gift from a lovely woman, and I treasured it for years.  While I'm not sure what actually happened to the mother plant, cuttings abounded, and through several moves, W.J. followed in all it's lack of glory.  At some point, the plant itself (or maybe the symbol it represented) made its way into my heart, and there will always be W.J. somewhere in every new garden.

:) A post on Plants Are the Strangest People made the point that tradescantia pallida gets no respect and used this term in connection with it:  Schlub. n. (slang) A stupid, clumsy, or unattractive person.  From Yiddish.

Mr. Subjunctive, however, goes on to list some of the plant's merits and is obviously a fan, aware of both the flaws and attributes of the lowly W.J.  And paired with Marguerite sweet potato vine, W.J. is a winner.  Well, in my humble, but decided opinion.

You can't even really see W.J., it's deep purple blending into the soil, but the lime green Marguerite sweet potato behind it will  complement and highlight the purple.  I took this with my Ipad, but will take some pics with my camera...if I ever remember to take it when we go to the cabin.  Both plants will be a nice ground cover and provide plenty of cuttings to produce more of the same.

On the other end of the scale from homely plants, I've added some "Pretty Much Picasso" petunias.  Fell in love with the colors and the tiny blooms.  The picture is from a nursery photo, but you can see how gorgeous they are.   Love these almost as much for their name as for their vivid color combination.

I'll share some more of my favorite homely plants in another post.

Came home Sunday, but I'm going back this afternoon...as soon as the laundry is all finished, and a few other chores completed.

Garden Fever

It has been over a month since I've posted here!  But the changes in the garden (see previous post) make me so happy.  Fee and I have worked our tails off, some days for ten hours digging, hauling, building, planting.

I've done the paths and the rock beds; Fee has built the fence 

(only the gates are left), bush-hogged, worked on clearing the tree line, etc .  I've tilled and dug and hauled and hauled and raked and tilled and raked.  Red clay is a challenge, but Ecomulch (a local composting company) produces such a wonderful growing medium.

For two seniors, we have surprised ourselves 

at how much we've gotten done in the last month. 

 Oh, there have been some backaches 

and newly discovered muscles 

that need long soaks in the tub to relax, 

but our enthusiasm has not waned. 

 It will when our Louisiana heat and humidity

 become an every day occurrence, 

so we have to get done as much as possible before then.

The potatoes  are up and prospering.

My attempt at a permaculture guild.

I've done these around all the trees inside of the fence,

and will be doing many more around each tree

 in the orchard we've been planting.

I didn't (?) get a shot of the lettuce on the other side
of the broccoli and Brussels sprouts,
but we've had some terrific salads already.
Like the broccoli and Br. sprouts, the lettuce
took off like champions.

About the only other thing I've been doing is reading.
What else can I do when my arms are so tired?

Rereading my trusty garden books, mysteries, fantasy,
and even a little nonfiction history in The Queen's Agent
about Sir Francis Walsingham,  England's first spymaster
and laughing at Nick Hornby's More Baths Less Talking,
collected columns from The Believer, giving his offbeat,
humorous assessments of his monthly reading.

I never want to leave and admit to some resentment
when it is time to pack up and come home.
Right now, there is so much to be done,
both inside the cabin and in the garden that if we stayed
all week, I'd be busy the whole time.
Or reading.

Still...spending a few days at home gives me
a chance to recover from the garden labor.
I was younger when I did all this before.

Hacked, Gardening, Scratching

First, my email has been hacked. 

 If you receive a suspicious email from me, 

run your cursor over my name 

and see if it originates from another source. 

 If you've opened one of these hacked emails,

 run your antivirus program to be sure 

you haven't been infected as well. 

 I'm trying to get this straightened out 

and apologize for the inconvenience. 

Thanks to Michelle, Jean-Sophie, and Teresa
for letting me know. 

I actually wondered when this would happen because it has happened to so many of those 

with whom I correspond regularly. 

-----------
The Garden in the Country

We've been making progress.

Fee has been working on the deck.
I haul boards and hold things
and hand things to Fee.
My Bog boots are great!

below--gravel path before stones

 I added all the stones using my trusty wagon.
You can see bed #3 to the left;
 there is another raised bed that is not visible.
And another stone bed around tree.

Poison Ivy Debacle--ongoing

It has been nearly two weeks since

I got the steroid shot for poison ivy.

It has been much improved,

but not gone, and I still wake up scratching.

I wondered why my face cleared up

when my arms and legs continued to 

look as if I had some dread disease.

At first, I thought maybe it was because

it is so easy to apply medication to the face.

Applying medication to arms, legs, back,

requires some undressing.

Yesterday, pondering the question again,

I wondered if the fact that for a month or so, 

I've been putting honey on my face

for about 15 minutes in the morning, 
then washing it off

( a Pinterest suggestion),

and when I tried it, my skin felt nice and soft.

So--experimented by applying honey
 to one arm and covering 
with a paper towel to keep from

getting everything sticky,

 I discovered that the remaining 

itch and redness on that arm improved.

????!!!!????

Today, I'm going to do it again
on both arms.

Can't hurt.

If You Could See Me Now...

The poison ivy debacle

continues, and I'm an unhappy camper.

Yesterday morning, I got a steroid shot,

and by last night, some of the whelps 

had gone down.

But the itching, the scratching continues.

I wake up at night clawing at myself.

For someone who never 

took poison ivy seriously before,

I've gained a new respect fear

for this venomous, virulent, vicious, 

noxious, pernicious, malignant plant.

While I'd planned to keep our garden

as organic as possible,

my new battle cry is death to poison ivy

by any means possible.

Of course, the problem is that I encountered it

along the tree line that needs further

cleaning out on both sides of the creek,

not in the garden area.

And, yes, I did venture up to the

old house place on the sandy hill

to dig jonquils and iris for transplanting.

Oh, and the treks into the woods

because I wanted to follow another creek.

What's a girl gonna' do?

Stay out of the woods?

Don't think so.

But if it happens again?

I might give it some serious consideration.

Another Afternoon in the Country

 Another afternoon down at Raft Bayou.

Worked on both vegetable beds

and front flower beds.

Shoveling sand and ecomulch,

hauling rocks, etc.

But progress is visible!

Some of the limbs and undergrowth 

from along the creek bed,

and an area cleared on this side.

The daffodils we planted show up 

much better now.

Just one of several more areas

to tackle on this side of the creek...

before moving to the other side.

Vegetable bed #1 in progress.

It was nice and cloudy,

keeping the temperatures comfortable.

 More dirt for more beds.

One flower bed in progress with 

first layer of stones.  Heavy stones,

when you haul enough of them.

The other flower bed with

less progress.

Fee started the wire panels

that can be removed and planted

vegetable bed #1.

The sun came out about the time

we were ready to call it quits.

We rolled out the black weed barrier,

then put down the cardboard and soaked it,

then shoveled sand and ecomulch

into vegetable bed #2.

Finished flower bed #1

and almost finished flower bed #2.

The vinegar is working for the weeds
in between the stepping stones.
I'll be planting some different varieties of thyme
there when I get the weeds out.

Sedums, succulents,

and Hens & Chicks will go in the spaces

between the stone borders.

Took a nice long, soaking bath

when I got home.

Doused the poison ivy with

more Calugel.

While I soaked,

Fee grilled lamb chops.

Mmmmmm.

What will tomorrow bring?

May be a lie in and pj day.