Happy 5th oF July!

Because I missed the Fourth.

It's been raining for two days straight now and, although we definitely needed the rain, I had just planted some pepper seedlings outside, which I'm afraid will fall victim to flooding. Of course, I've had the past two days off (why wouldn't it rain the whole time) so I've been able to go out and check on them frequently.

Some good news, though: My first strawberry flower!
And my garden harvest from yesterday:There's some tomatoes of various sizes, banana peppers, spinach and mesclun lettuce, and one small onion.

I wish that I had the foresight to buy some fireworks this year. I was so busy working and dealing with other issues that I had completely forgotten the 4th of July until a cashier asked me on Saturday if I was "gearing up for the Fourth". Even though I had no plans my neighbors decided to go all out this year shooting off exploding devices of all sizes, shapes, and colors. It really was a lot more noise and commotion than years past, and I think that was due to the constant rain. All the saturated grass and soil must have set people thinking there was less of a chance of setting fires with stray rockets and falling embers. The past two years were a drought during the Fourth.Print by Ibilbs14

So I got quite a show and a relaxing evening, despite my garden anxiety.

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day!

plants plants

I've become a genuine gardener. I only say that because I figure I spend more time in the garden than with any other hobby. Which is actually a shame, because I need to get drawing.
But I find the process itself relaxing, despite any effort I have to put into it, and the payoff very rewarding. It makes my heart leap to see how large my basil has grown, or how fruitful the tomato harvest is.
I'd love to do a seed or seedling swap, but first I have to dig through my collection and see what I have left. A lot of my seed packages were left out in a summer rainstorm I lost quite a bit.
Does anyone know of any good swap websites? I used to use folia.com, but haven't been there in a while.

And now, for my newest listing:
Snack Cracker Stickers!

oh, hi monday

Today was fairly relaxing. I vacuumed the bedroom and planted my dill in the backyard garden. That's enough for one day, right? Oh, and I planted some more marigolds around the garden, to repel pests and weeds. My cherry tomatoes are fruiting like crazy but unfortunately have been attacked by insects. I'm pretty sure they're aphids and I want them gone. Which is why i planted the marigolds. If you know of any other natural cures for pests, please let me know. I want to keep the garden pesticide-free but I'm getting frustrated at the lack of options.

Photo by BeautifulDarkLight

Allen had a rough day at work so I'm using that as an excuse to pamper us both by getting some Chinese take-out and curling up to watch our newest Netflix movie.

Sweet!

Happy Father's Day!

I haven't been able to keep up with blogging due to an overly-hectic workweek, and of course, today was spent focusing on Dad. My plan was to clean up the house for my dad so he could just come home from his favorite Father's Day (or any day) activity - fishing - and just relax. Unfortunately I was held up at work and had just enough time to vacuum and hang some artwork that had been sitting to the side.
But we got to hang out for a bit and chat, which is always the best part of Father's Day anyways. Sharing and talking with dear ol' dad.

Love you dad-O!

Monday garden Skillz

I'm trying to get some gardening and listing and cleaning accomplished today, since Ill be working non-stop throughout the week. The rain has subsided and my garden has been divided into clear winners and losers.

My cherry peppers have exploded:
And my cucumbers, although not showing fruit yet, are becoming enormous. I had to put up a cage in attempt to steer them away from strangling my tomatoes.My squash, radish, and cantaloupe unfortunately didn't make it. Most of my lettuce was destroyed as well, but a few of the larger plants hung on.
Now to clear room for more plants!

OH NO!

It has rained so much over the past two weeks that our soil is now inundated with water - our yard is a swamp! More importantly - my garden is a swamp! Most of my older and larger plants seem to have survived the worst of it (5 inches of water above soil level for 24 hours!) but my newly planted lettuce and peppers are now squishy lumps of decomposing green matter.

My garden just a few days before:

Now the water has receded but the soil is still heavily saturated and I see more rain clouds on the horizon. I had thought to dig a trough out of the garden to release water, but considering that the rest of the yard is still a swamp, I don't know where I could go with it.
It seems to me that the best solution would be to slowly raise the garden after harvesting the crops, so it eventually becomes a hill. Or making a series of box gardens, but That will take money and help from the cousins, since I'm not as handy as I'd like to be.

another monday

..... in the garden!

My cantaloupe has a baby fruit!Right now its about the size of a baseball, but the plant is starting to yellow and weaken. This always seems to happen with my vine fruits. Cucumbers, peas, and squashes; they've never really produced a harvest.
Does anyone have any advice or tips?

birthday day

Now it's my cousin's birthday. He's turning 25 and wants to go bowling.
I adore my cousin, and would normally looooove to go bowling, however, I've had such a stressful week, all I want is to spend my Sunday in solitude and peace and quiet; maybe to finish up some personal projects and relax.
But my cousin had a worse week. He was fired last night.
So I'll be going bowling.

aw

REASONS WHY YOU SHOULDN'T MOW THE LAWN WITH YOUR CELL PHONE IN YOUR POCKET:Well, really it's just one reason. but a good one.
This wasn't me, it was my cousin. I found the phone.

Mysterious

What is this thing?!It's on my cherry pepper plant. There wasn't any noticeable damage to the plant so I left him alone. I'm not sure if he was hurting or helping. Advice?

In other, non-bug related news, I got some time in at the workshop yesterday and have some new cuffs to list!