Grandma's brag page!

Isn't baby Anna a cutie? Amy & Kevin and the kids came up yesterday and stayed the night. As I write this, they are down on the lake fishing. I'm watching Anna sleep. The kitten too. Funny how they take their naps at the same time!

That boy in the sandbox is David, who is 6. The boy with the binoculars is Andrew, who is 4. Then we have baby Anna again, and the kitten, during their non-nap time! Anna was 7 months old on Monday.

The boy sprawled on the couch with the kitten is Jonathan, and he'll be 8 next month. He's watching Winnie-the-Pooh!

Last but not least, we have Anna and the kitten again, taking their naps!

These pictures were all taken here at our place, yesterday and today. We make sure there are toys, sandbox, swings, etc., so the grandkids are sure to look forward to visiting us!

Squash Plants

These are squash, zucchini, and pumpkin plants.

Interestingly, the ones I planted from seed I saved from last year's squash are coming up and doing better than the seed I bought this year!

Some will be planted in the hoophouse on each side of the beans. The rest will go under the milk jugs and other covers that have been warming the soil near the tomato house.

Garden stuff

First picture is the little celery plants. They withstand frost pretty good, but I had this top part of a child's playtent frame, so I put it over the celery patch and at night I throw a light blanket over it. Sometimes I even remember to go out and take the blanket off the next morning!

Next picture is onions (left) and peas (right), getting off to a good start.

I sprouted pinto beans in the house a week ago, and Monday we planted the little plants. I put some of them inside the middle of one of our hoophouses, and the rest were planted in a back part of the garden. We'd laid plastic over the soil so it would warm up, and after the unsheltered ones were planted, Steven covered them with a light gauzy cloth that will keep them warm but let in light and water. It's called floating row cover. So far, two days later, both those and the ones in the hoophouse are doing fine. Later in the summer I'll roll the plastic up on the hoophouse so the plants can be pollinated.

Tomato box

I had 3 more tomato plants but I didn't have any more of the Wall-o-water things to protect them from frost. But the plants were getting root-bound in their pots, so I had to think of something. I got the idea to use some of the stryrofoam pieces in the barn to make a box around them. I can always toss a blanket over it at night if it gets really cold. I didn't want to cut the styrofoam in case we need them for something else, so I just overlapped them, then duct taped it to hold it together.

There's the "early birds" that get first grab at the chicken food!

Now we have a lawn swing facing the swingset and sand box for when Grandchildren come (hint, hint, Amy!), to sit and watch them play. This swing was my Mother's Day present 20 years ago! It's hung at a lot of houses, and finally after living up here 7 years, it's hung! Hard to find trees big enough that are close enough together, which is why Steven made the A-frame thing.

I baked bread today, and we sliced it warm and buttered it (real butter, too!). Delicious! We haven't had store bought bread in over a month. Cheaper this way, and healthier, too. Usually I use at least part, if not all, whole wheat, but today it's just white flour. Borderline junk food!

Flowers, planted finally!

I got the rest of the flowers planted. Then I went to the woods out beyond the yard and looked for a fallen, rotted tree, where I scooped up crumbled remains to use as mulch. Some of the trees turn into red mulch, which looks pretty around the flowers.

The flowers in the little tire came from Justin. I don't know what they are, and neither did he! He started a bunch from seed in a bunch of pots, and gave me a pot full of them for my birthday. It will be fun to see what they become!

The flowers surrounded by rocks are Pansies, and the ones in the blue tire planter are Asters.

Attention, please!!!

Steven was trying to do research for an article he's writing, and the kitten was demanding he pay attention to her!

Poverty Greenhouse!

I finished getting the other PVC greenhouse ready for the plastic cover. I tied baling twine pieces together to make long ropes, and used it for the horizontal supports for the plastic cover. I used duct tape to hold it in place on the PVC pipes, and started covering it with plastic. This is the 3rd summer for the plastic sheeting. As you can see by the duct tape patches, it's a little worse for the wear! Eventually I'll have to break down and buy new plastic.

Then I cut up a bunch of rhubarb. Some of it I put to dehydrate for use later in the winter. I got a bunch of rhubarb recipes off the internet (rhubarb.com, actually!) and decided to try a Rhubarb Coffee Cake! The red and green bits of rhubarb looked so festive, almost like Christmas decorations, like a fruitcake or something! I'm happy to report that it was delicious! I made a brown sugar crumble for a topping! Mmmmm!