Keeping the Garden in the Garden State

Halloween in the Garden State

2009-11-07T16:55:00.007-05:00

Autumn's beauty was all around us...

KateinNJ

Autumn Joy

2009-10-20T11:03:00.004-04:00

The birds love the various Autumn berries that are popping up all over the yard..

Insects have been noshing on this fallen limb

We bought this sculpture at a craft fair in Calistoga ,California while I was 7 months

pregnant with my Princess. We were there to attend Farmer Dad's little brother's wedding.

If you enjoy craft fairs, don't forget to click here to enter my Sugarloaf Crafts Festival Giveaway.

Some plants are still flowering in pots around the yard despite the cold.

This butternut squash is still producing...Didn't I tell you we had lots of "Autumn Joy" around here?

I hope you are all enjoying Autumn as well!

Sugarloaf Crafts Festival

2009-10-14T14:54:00.004-04:00

I was contacted by the people over at the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival

to give away some tickets on my other blog.

If you are in the New Jersey area and would like a chance to win 4 tickets

to the craft fair to be held Oct 30,31 and Nov 1 2009.

Please click here.

You do not need a blog to enter.

The contest will run from today until midnight (est) Thursday, Oct 22, 2009.

The winner will be announced Friday, Oct 23, 2009.

A little birdie

2009-09-22T00:09:00.003-04:00

and his friend

stopped by today in our little corner of the Garden State.

They didn't eat all the raspberries though, we found a couple to enjoy

as we played with friends in the yard.

Today in the Garden State

2009-09-15T19:22:00.003-04:00

Sorry it has been so long since I blogged here... Today we were outside all day...enjoying the end of Summer in our corner
of the Garden State. The above photo shows the cranberries. We have flowers again..

This Butternut Squash flower just makes me feel happy.

The Figs are ripening!!!

A little Butternut Squash growing in the grass...

Princess's friend came over and worked side by side with me in the garden.

She was a gem!!

This little one only eats....

An Organic Backyard Garden in New Jersey

2009-08-08T15:11:00.005-04:00

We have butternut squash growing up over the green beans... Bugs are welcome

we aim for a harmonious balance between bugs who eat our food, and the bugs

who eat them.

This little cucumber is getting a second wind...

Butterflies are encouraged to come and go at whim

with lots of their favorite plants surrounding the vegetable garden

Heirloom tomatoes

a golden squash

grown from organic seed right here by us...

Zucchini and swiss chard too...

We know the balance is working when so many different creatures

choose to make their home right here..

Can you see the Robin in the plum tree?

Long overdue update

2009-08-05T17:32:00.006-04:00

We've been too busy tending to this to blog.... good thing we love zucchini

this guy will not stay away...

We are canning these now....

Enjoying these..

Checking out the cool bugs who drop in

Did I mention hoping the rain stops long enough to weed?

I hope you enjoyed these pictures of our corner of the Garden State.

Hopefully it will not be so long before I can blog again.

Garden State Harvest

2009-07-19T09:49:00.006-04:00

Just a bit if what we're harvesting right now...zucchini, cucumber,

greyzinni, yellow squash, cabbage,green beans,swiss chard,lettuce,beets,carrots,

peas, gooseberries, currants, black berries, golden raspberries....

blog break

2009-06-28T21:08:00.001-04:00

I am taking a blog break.
Too many tech difficulties.
Be well.

Rednesday

2009-06-24T17:29:00.005-04:00

I am participating in Rednesday again today, but have been experiencing

technical difficulties due to the very wet wires outside my house.

Today I will show you where I blog from...

no, it's not red...

it's Happy Green, but look closely,

my vintage tablecloth has lovely strawberries

perfect for my blog pal, Sue..host of Rednesday

this and every other week.

Go see the delicious redness over at her Secret Garden.

Still raining in the Garden State

2009-06-20T11:23:00.006-04:00

Alert the butterflies...we have flowers on their bush! We also have some lovely plums...

Farmer Dad and I both thought we would get up to our Community Garden plots today to

weed and mulch some more, but it is not to be. It is raining again in the Garden State.

In case you are all concerned, we are safe and sound inside today, the Ark is coming along

just fine, but we are still waiting for the two Zebra, and two Ostrich to show up.

All the other animals have arrived, but sad to say we took a vote, and the Ground Hogs

will be turned away on this voyage. Please don't cry too long over their fate, there is far too much water here already, and we are leaving them with plenty of provisions.

Before the rain started up again this morning, we were out picking more peas, and

golden raspberries, and a bit of lettuce, and we even weeded a bit and planted two new

raspberry plants my sister picked up on Freecycle for me (Thanks Shell). The bees were making sure we will soon have blackberries as well.

We also re-planted a baby blueberry bush that something had pulled out of the ground, and re-filled the bird feeders. Then we watched the birds from the dry kitchen.

This little gal was watching me watch the other birds at the feeder.

Here's hoping the rain doesn't wash out all the crops, and the sun returns someday soon.

Vintage Thingies Thursday

2009-06-18T10:25:00.007-04:00

I'm back to celebrate Vintage Thingies Thursday, I've been absent as I try to
figure out how to get my photos on my brand new lap top Farmer Dad and Princess
got for me as a Birthday gift. (Yes, I finally found one I liked, and he thought was good
enough, that I didn't think was way too much money.lol)
Anyway, I wanted to post about these dishes, and couldn't figure out how to get the photos
on here, when I remembered I posted them on my homeschooling blog originally, so here
I give you that original post, along with some small editing. I still LOVE these dishes,
but I was never able to use the beautiful Vintage garbage can for my potato growing, Farmer Dad is using it to store tools or something. He confiscated my lovely,pristine garbage can,
to prevent me from "damaging" it by filling it with compost and soil!
Just a reminder Farmer Dad..you still owe me a can for said potatoes!
One Thursday, I saw an ad on Craig's List about people clearing
out stuff from their house a few blocks from us, and had thought
about going, but just hadn't done it. Friday afternoon I drove past
on my way to the library, and recognized the house as having belonged
to a friend of my Grandfather's who died a year or two before my Grandfather.
I didn't stop and after reading a bit at home, I thought about it and realized that
they may have some old
pots and pans or canning jars, I should stop by. It was raining again, but I got out and saw
stuff lining the driveway next to a dumpster, and a box of canning jars was there amongst a bunch of stuff I didn't need or want. I rang the doorbell to be sure it was all right to take what was there, and the man told me they had more on the side porch. He gave me a garbage bag
and pointed out some stuff I might want. I put them in the bag more because he thought I should than because I wanted them. He went back inside and then came out and said he had some dishes in the basement..would I like them? I asked if they were heavy and he said yes, but he would drag them to next to the stairs and I could look at them. He went inside and came back out a minute or so later with his son carrying one of those old metal garbage cans.
My first thought was "I'm taking whatever it is to get that can!" (perfect for my potato plans)
He shows me a dish with a pretty pink flower and I said "oh that's pretty" and he said
"you'll need a truck to get it home" I told him I had one. He went inside and I carried the can
(boy was it heavy!) to my truck in the drizzle. It took me a bit to get it up high enough,
but I did it. (I really wanted the can!) I went back for the plastic bag and the box of canning jars,
and he came out again..shocked that I got it by myself. He had gone in to put proper shoes on
to help me carry it apparently. We laughed, he thanked me for helping him get rid of the "old stuff",I said thank you petted the poodle who had befriended me and drove carefully off to my house. I honked twice to alert Farmer Dad that he should come help, and he carried the can inside.
It was musty smelling from being in the basement filled with old newspaper (1961 and 1963)
on top was the plate he showed me,
and then we unwrapped, and unwrapped until we had unwrapped all of this.
They are Stuebenville ! Service for 8 and only a few pieces even have any signs of wear.
Who tosses them out? They were going to toss these
into the dumpster if no one wanted them. The jars are old jelly jars..9 of them just like this
One man's junk truly is this gal's treasure! Baccala..wherever you are..we are enjoying your dishes..thank you.

Golden Raspberries,Lettuce and Peas, Oh My!

2009-06-15T12:31:00.004-04:00

A view from my kitchen window...

Begs you to get out to pick these...

That is pretty much what our weekend was filled with.

Along with mowing the overgrown lawn, weeding the flower beds and garden.

Deadheading the flowers. The rain has everything looking soggy and sat upon.

We did have a small yard sale this weekend, while we weeded and all that.

It was pretty good for last minute, and we cleared out some much needed space.

I have big plans this summer, which is right around the corner, and I need to make some room.

We were able to harvest more lettuce, beet greens,swiss chard,some herbs, and the first of the

golden raspberries and peas. Snow peas and pod peas. Yum!

I have about a billion mosquito bites in places no bug should be, and Princess

and Farmer Dad? Not a one. He claims it is all that British "Blue Blood", I guess mine

is more Sicilian Marinara, cause the bugs sure LOVE me!
Can't you just feel summer coming closer when you see this cone flower getting ready to flower?
I am not sure how these roses still had petals it after the hard rains we had here.((hugs))KateinNJ

Still Got Milk? Crisis for Dairy Farmers

2009-06-14T13:26:00.005-04:00

Things are bad for family run dairy farms right now folks.
Really bad.According to Farm Aid’s Hilde Steffey, we are at risk here in the U.S. of losing upwards of 80% of our dairy farmers by year’s end, leaving us with just 12,000 dairy farms total. That’s 1 dairy for every 25,000 Americans.
This dairy crisis, and its solution, comes down to a question of fairness. It is unfair that large dairy companies are undercutting U.S. producers by importing cheap milk protein concentrates from other countries(do you really want more food from China?) and using them instead of U.S.-produced milk? (And theFDA does nothing to stop the practice, even though MPCs aren’t approved as a food ingredient) It is unfair that the dairy industry is so consolidated that a few large companies can manipulate the price of milk to their own benefit.They are pocketing huge profits while dairy farmers are left barely hanging on to their farms, or worse.Our Dairy farmers have shelled out more and more for feed and hay in the last few years, but the prices they receive for milk have fallen.We, the consumers are still paying for milk what we were earlier this year, while farmers’ prices dropped 30% in January alone. How is that possible?
There are a lot of things that need to be fixed here, but the most urgent task is to keep dairy farmers on the land while we figure out what to do about the rest. That’s where the government comes in. Way back during the Depression (around 1937), when farmers were pouring milk out on the side of the road because of Depression-induced low prices, Congress passed a law that allows the Secretary of Agriculture to adjust the price of milk to reflect the price of feed and other economic conditions that impact their production costs. Well, if there ever was a time for the Secretary to roll out that authority, it’s now. We can help by signing a petition to Secretary Vilsack before the end of the day on Monday, June 15. It’s being circulated by Farm Aid, a nonprofit that works to keep family farmers on the land, and it asks Secretary Vilsack to use his authority to adjust the farm price of milk as a stop-gap measure.
If Secretary Vilsack doesn’t do something, fast, Farm Aid predicts we could lose up to 20,000 dairy farmers almost immediately. Where does that leave us? With imported milk,(really think Chinese Milk will do your body good?) empty farms, out-of-work farmers, and a whole lot of dairy cows off to become hamburger. Please click on the picture of the milk carton on the right and help our Dairy Farmers.I have a whole cookie jar filled with chocolate chip cookies
just waiting for a cold glass of milk. Care to join me?Spread the word!

Some pictures from the last sunny day here

2009-06-06T08:40:00.003-04:00

The rain has finally stopped, but now everything is soggy, so I bring you some
photos of blooms on the last sunny day..enjoy!

Thank you for stopping by to visit our little corner of the Garden State.

I am hoping to hit the Community Plots this weekend, I'll post pics of that and the peas

when I come back inside. (hugs)KateinNJ

Vintage Thingies Thursday

2009-06-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

It is that time of the week again... We live with a lot of vintage pieces here in our little corner of the Garden State.
Especially in the kitchen. Here are a couple of juicers...this one I got at a yard sale
last spring. It was an awesome sale that sent me home with a truckload of goodness
(boxes of canning jars,canning pot,a bike,etc) all for under $40.00!

we love fresh squeezed orange juice...

so easy, and fun.

Princess finds it easier than this one, but they are both fun for her.

I picked this one up at a flea market almost twenty years ago..

This little pitcher came from the same yard sale as the first juicer.

Doesn't she look proud of herself? Be sure to head over to Coloradolady

to see more Vintage Thingies Thursday!

((hugs))KateinNJ

Rednesday

2009-06-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

My Gal-Pal, Sue is hosting her Rednesday event again today,

so be sure to click on over and join in, or just admire the

loveliness! My contribution this week is.....a lovely vintage apron I picked up for free from

a lady I met on Craig's list,she gave me a bin filled with vintage linens, including these pot holders..

not quite as old, but still vintage, this apron from my Grandmother.
Be sure to head over to Sue's and see all the other Rednesday contributions.

Weekend in the garden

2009-06-01T00:11:00.008-04:00

A little time spent watching the flowers grow..with this at my side...

some weeding..

and mulching..

and watching the "running of the Princess"...

we even found time for hanging out with our neighbors....

I hope your weekend was at least as good.

Vintage Thingie Thursday

2009-05-28T11:08:00.004-04:00

My contribution to Vintage Thingies Thursday? I wasn't sure what to pick, but my 6.5 year old daughter told me to take a photo of her dresser. Well, really the items on top of her dresser.So, here we go...starting from the left hand corner, a vintage children's tambourine hangs on the wall (this came from freecycle). The next vintage item is the milk glass lamp which Farmer Dad purchased for her last spring. The curio came from a lady we purchased some milk glass from that became an "estate sale/yard sale buddy" of mine, when she wanted to make room in her garage. She has also given Princess many of the "girlie" figurines shown here, like the pink dog and cat on top, also from her is the little pig (I think it is a small planter) next to the lamp which P keeps change in. The table runner is also a vintage item we found in the back of my Grandmother's closet. She loves living with vintage as much as we do. Do you have some "Vintage Thingies" you'd like to share? Join in at Colorado Lady's Vintage Thingies Thursday

If not, visit anyway, just to see all the lovliness!

Watching the flowers grow

2009-05-26T09:31:00.005-04:00

Sorry we were gone for so long, Princess fell off the computer chair, into the computer

desk, knocking teeth loose. Fortunately, they were baby teeth.She is recovering,

but needing a bit more one on one care than normal.

Here are some photos from the last couple of days around the yard.

Many of the roses are flowering, the "pink lemon aid" honeysuckle too.

This Cecil Brunner (sp?)rose is spreading across the fence on one side of the yard,

Farmer Dad was not a fan, dumped it there, and despite him, it is thrivingit fills Princess's windows with cute pinkness!We also have some

flowers from Farmer Dad's childhood home,

Things in pots that were purchased at Lowes last year right before they went into

a dumpster, for about $.35...yes..that cents!

Some old horse radish in the garden is flowering too

I missed the azaleas, but here is one of the rhododendrons

It is the smallest one on our property, and the only one of this color.

What's blooming near you?

A walk around our corner of the Garden State

2009-05-18T23:33:00.008-04:00

Berries....currants..I think.

Fig Leaves...

Pears...

Big Cherry tree...

Little

Cherry tree.... Random flowers from around the yard

The cranberry...

Princess planted impatiens for her "tree house".

Mourning Doves inspecting the veg plot...

Along the side of the garage.. this needs to be weeded and divided..soon.

Vintage Thingies Thursday

2009-05-14T15:09:00.004-04:00

Today is Vintage Thingies Thursday over at Colorado Lady's blog

It took me a while, but I got a few vintage thingies to post about

for this week. Three sugar and creamer sets we have picked up

over the last few years. This first set, from the lady who gave Princess

the small tray in Yesterday's post. They are quite small, possibly from a child's set.

Here is a photo of the markings, for those who like that sort of thing.

The second at a yard sale/estate sale last summer. These were in a box of

china I paid $5.00 for.

Here are the markings.

I'm not sure where this last set came from, but they are un-marked milk glass.

I love and use each set often! Actually, I use all of our "stuff" as the mood or season hits.

I will not buy something I can not "use". Our house is just too small for that. ;-)

If you'd like to join in, sign up over at Colorado Lady's blog, but even if you don't want to

share your vintage thingies, go check out all the loveliness from the other participants!

Rednesday

2009-05-12T23:54:00.006-04:00

I love joining in with my friend Sue celebrating REDnesday!

Here are my red picks this week. A vintage tin from my Grandmother's

house, this one filled with buttons and sewing needles.

here is a close up..

This little tray was given to my daughter at an estate sale we stumbled

upon last year,(she also has a yellow one). She admired it, and the woman gave

her a box and told her to fill it, she refused to let me pay for it. Princess also cleaned them out of "fake" flowers and garden hats. ;-)My favorite of the picks this week...this vintage souvenir from

Niagara Falls found in the back of a closet at my Grandmother's.

Isn't it lovely? May you all have a lovely Rednesday!!

Community Garden

2009-05-12T23:08:00.004-04:00

Farmer Dad has been trying to get his Community Garden plot

all planted for the season, and this means more time away from home.

Princess demanded that I drive her up to help him the other day when she

realized where he had gone. She did actually help. Here they are planting corn.

We also took a walk around to see some of the other plots, which was a lot of fun.We tried our hand at making crowns for each other.

Then she drew a picture of Farmer Dad's plot.

I hung out until they were done for the day, but she rode home with Daddy.I am waiting for my seedlings to be ready for planting at my Community Plot.

Vintage Thingie Thursday

2009-05-07T09:02:00.005-04:00

My friend Sue, participates in Colorado Lady's

Vintage Thingie Thursday, and every week, I intend to join

in. This week, I was all ready, when I realized, there was a "theme".

"What was I thinking?"

Now, those who know my "homeschooling" side, know how much I love a theme,

but I couldn't think of one single "what was I thinking?" item in my house.

I'm quite sure Farmer Dad could, but he's at work, and this is my blog, so I got nothing.

Instead, I will show you a vintage thing I am happy he brought home.

To be fair, it started as a "what were you thinking" item, for sure.... this green vase

and the green candy dish to the left of it.The vase came from Great Grandma's.

He brought it home with a bunch of other vintage vases, not long after buying a bunch of vintage vases along with the green candy dish .I love the vases, don't get me wrong, but how many does one house need? We don't usually buy cut flowers. He does cut some from the yard, like these

lilacs. That tree/bush/tree, is also vintage.

The little yellow candy dish is also vintage and from my Great Grandmother's, but

I picked that and brought it home, because can you ever have too many candy dishes? ;-)

Be sure to check out all the other bloggers who have joined in VTT this week over at Colorado Lady's blog, even if you don't join in your self.