Home Shopping

One of the things I don't miss since giving up our satellite t.v. is the Home Shopping Network. I'm sure some of you really enjoy the "fantastic bargains" and "special offers for today only." But I just saw those shows as a big waste of time and money. When I shop, I like to have a plan...to purchase what I'm looking for. Running across a "steal of a deal" while channel surfing seems like the perfect trap for an impulse buy.

 The same thing can happen at any store. I have to be careful to watch for the marketing snares- all the products that are placed at eye level, the layout of the store (yes, you must pass EVERYTHING to get to the milk) and the sweet little old lady passing out free samples...

 I already know how gullible I am. It even catches me at home. Running out to gather the eggs, I have to pass right by a super cute goat's pen. And that goat wants milked RIGHT NOW! Well, just as soon as I get that done and get those eggs collected, the ripe tomatoes in the garden will catch my eye-time to get to picking! And whatdya know? Right beside those ripe tomatoes is an armload of zucchini that will be the size of baseball bats soon. Don't even get me started on the berries that are going to be forever lost to the Japanese Beetles if they don't get picked today.

 But on a positive note, everything that I gather and pick here has been purposely put here by me. There are no shiny cans or colorful boxes on my journeys to distract me. I'm not impulsively picking up anything I don't want or need. I never get tired of watching it grow or cluck or beg for a neck scratching. No need to change the channel here!

 Here's to home shopping!

Do You See The Forest or The Trees?

My DH sees the forest. Here's the latest pic of the "sort of" garden:

June 17, 2013

I, on the other hand, see the trees. I choose to. But my vision also includes a peek into the future- a garden with no weeds and no tilling. It's a process that isn't going to happen overnight, maybe not even by next year. I'm one person taking care of house, yard, animals, and family, you know-doing the shopping, paying the bills, mowing, milking, cleaning, vet trips, elder care, poop scooping, and on and on.... I have no hopes of ever doing any of those things perfectly- just attempting to would be insane! But I can be perfectly happy by making small manageable changes, like gradually turning my garden into the one I want! So here's a close-up look at my trees:

zucchini and yellow squash

roma tomatoes

jalapeno peppers

radishes

turnips

cabbages

I swear there's carrots!

cucumbers

That's just a sampling, there's also lettuces, habanero peppers, cayenne peppers, assorted bell peppers, potatoes, cherry tomatoes, striped tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, sage, cilantro,onions.... It's all in there. Somewhere.

A Garden of Sorts

It IS sort of a garden. Kinda....

This is what happens when you spend the garden prep month (April) on the road and then decide to plant stuff in the garden spot at the first sign of warm weather:

Weekend of May 9, 2013

Weekend of May 23

 I won't share the look of the cringe on my DH's poor face every time he glances in the direction of the garden, or the sound of the sigh he makes. He needs tilling and rows. I need easy and organic. Someday the two will find a happy meeting place here. But for now, I'm the one who spends the most time actually working out here. The poor man has finally just let me have my way with it. 

 So this year, piles of wasted hay and straw were scooted around to expose last years spots of awesome dirt- rich and wormy. Unfortunately, my bad back made it impossible to spread all that good stuff around at the time I placed it there. It was a major undertaking to get it from the coop and goat pen to the garden. It got left in tipped-over-wheel-barrow-piles. That left wonderful, weed free spots.    Not. Rows.  

 Check back tomorrow for images of how it looks right now. Bring popcorn. Laugh tracks won't be provided so be prepared to supply your own. Yeah, it looks that bad. (But on the other hand, it you don't have popcorn handy, there's plenty of good stuff to eat in there!)

 If you want an inspiring look at an organized garden, check out http://thislittleplacehere.blogspot.com/2013/06/looking-pretty-organized.html 

Someday I'll be that good....someday. Maybe.