Gardening is something I didn't grow up with.  Sure, my mom had the occasional tomato or pepper plant here and there, but never a full blown garden.  Two years ago, I we decided to plant a garden.  It was a wonderful experience in learning about what NOT to do.  Although, does anyone ever fully know what they are doing when it comes to gardening?  They do?  Well, never mind, then. Last year, the girls and I were in Missouri, so naturally we didn't plant a garden.  Mr. P worked on making the yard all purty and stuff - did a good job, too. THIS year, though... we are back at it.  And, boy howdy, did we do it up good.  Both the Mr. and I are involved in all stages, so it works out good.  Especially since I tend to over think things, and he, well... flies by the seat of his pants on it.  What I love, and appreciate about his approach is he thinks about things, but not overly so.  And, he is extremely creative about coming up with ideas.  For instance, when we whacked … [Read more...]

If you are one of my "friends" on Facebook, you will know that we are having a heck of a time with these buggers. They are everywhere, and anywhere, and that is no joke. We spray to kill them, but there are thousands behind them. We spray to keep them off the house, but that only works so much.  And, you can't spray everything. Your limited on what you can do outside because you either get bombed by the paratroopers shooting off the trees, or when you grab something, you come back with a fistfull of green goo. I'm starting to get really ticked off about this - they are decimating our trees, and we are trying to plant a garden to save money, but will that money literally be eaten up?  Not to mention the cost of the insecticides. Grr. Here is a video, don't watch if you are eating. … [Read more...]

Being outside is what we do.  Whether it is heading down to the river, mowing the lawn, or working in the garden, we all participate. Last year, we didn't have a garden since the girls and I were in Missouri. This year is different, though.  Our budget is tighter, and we will be home. I would love if you joined us on our adventure - we are beginners at this, questioning every decision, over thinking every move, so if you have any thoughts, we would love to hear them! Mr. P was busy last night working on getting the ground worked up.  Our frost free date is the end of Memorial Day, but since this year was warmer than normal, we could have done it a week ago and been fine.  Oh, except those two nights of frost, so... nevermind, we are right on track :-) While he was doing that, I worked on getting the lawn mowed.  Today, we finished up tilling, and mowing, and started to work on trellises. Here is what we are going to plant: Trellised: Pole Beans Cucumbers … [Read more...]