Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Early Summer Garden Update

I think that it's time for a quick update on my garden's progress.

If you are following my garden posts, you know that I have been plagued by pest and soil born nasty stuff that makes my leaves wilt and die.

I have been a pretty strict vegetarian for most of my life, and am currently a light
pescetarian (mostly because I feel too busy to pay close attention to my balanced nutrition as a veg.) I subscribed to Mother Earth News way back in 1978, studied the use of medicinal herbs (the legal ones,) and had a compost bin long before being green was in vogue.



Why do I share all of this? Because I long to be an organic gardener and I don't use pesticides lightly.

The organic methods didn't work...the spray is doing the trick. I hate to say it...but it's true.

Hopefully I sprayed in a super limited area, none of these items are even close to harvest, and I won't have to preform the dastardly deed again. Fingers crossed.


Happy lettuce. We had the wonderful Sizzling Goat Cheese Salad last night. YUMMY!!!



Cabbage is coming along nicely. You can still see the bug damage on the older leaves.




Broccoli looking good. Where are those heads?? They need to form soon as the heat will be too much for a cool weather crop.





Kohlrabi - I grew this for my Dad. He loves kohlrabi. I remember eating it with him as a child.









The eggplant is still struggling. Again, you can see the older damaged leaves - but the new leaves are looking good.








Yellow squash just about ready to be harvested.





The Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes are almost ready to be tied. I do have a few tiny tomatoes on the vines. :)



The Black Beans are coming along too. They should start blooming in a few day.






Muskmelons are trying to come back from the bug attack. They like the heat so we are going to be stalled for the next few days.




Pumpkins - not sure how successful I am going to be.






I am keeping a close eye on the corn. It seems to be doing well.


We are well past the "knee high by the 4th of July" point. Whew!





Now for my sad story - look at my sunflowers!!!! Rascals have eaten them all. All I have left is stubs.
Okay...who did?? Fess up. Was it the deer or the groundhog?



More damage by the critters. My blackberries are looking pretty sad too. :(







And because I always like to end with a happy picture - here is a shot of my flower basket that I planted and that I look at many times a day, just outside my kitchen window. It makes me smile.



Tuesday, June 29, 2010

SEA GLASS COLLECTING - ANOTHER ADDICTION

I wonder just how many things one woman can collect? I love to collect sea shells, great recipes, miniature chairs, baskets, flowers, dishes, and on, and on....

There are so many beautiful things in the world and it brings me great joy to surround myself with just a touch of that beauty - so I collect.

Sea Glass Lobster by Debara Hafemann - pictured right

Recently, my friend Patti and I have started to collect sea glass. It's such fun to have a partner in crime! When we are on vacation together we hit the beach early in the morning to find the beautiful treasures that the ocean has given forth overnight.

I think that we are drawn to sea glass because the ocean tumbles the glass to a soft finish and the colors are just so wonderful.








Patti just sent me this picture of a Fort Bragg, CA beach that she visited this weekend. Can you believe all the tiny sea glass? Wish I was there!

Picture of yours truly in my usual stance if there is a beach around.





Red is the rarest color for sea glass.
















I am just a beginner in the sea glass world. I recently discovered this video on the best sea glass shapes for jewelry.

Sea glass sizes and shapes lend itself beautifully to jewelry making.





Sea Horse Necklace by Sevtlana Rasuleva from
Etsy.com.





Sea glass bracelet by
Sue Gray.






Optic Sea Glass table lamp by Crate & Barrel.







Aren't these AMAZING!!!
Glass Float Junkie on Etsy.com
I love the colors and the way that the glass sparkles. These are another marvelous thing that washes up on the shore - GLASS FLOATS!
NO!!! Not another beautiful thing to collect. :)






Deauville Sea Glass Lamp by Jamie Young.

This glass lamp has the soft worn finish of the real thing.






What to do with all of those pieces of glass???
Here is an idea. You could try making this yourself or...again...visit Etsy.com for this "Light My Way" Hurricane Candle Holder.







How sweet are these? Reproduced in just the right colors and soft finish to imitate sea glass.
Available from Charmed Favors.