Extreme Gardener

Last Post of the Decade

2009-12-31T21:31:00.000-08:00

I have 30 minutes to get one more post in for December; one more post for 2009; one more post for the decade. Too bad I don't really have much (anything) to say!

Here are some ideas for the next decade.

--Become a brunette.

--Star as host of a reality show. The one that follows regular moms of well adjusted children. We could call it, "So That's How You Do It!" Each episode would follow a well adjusted, well organized, loving household through part of an ordinary day. My job, while wearing a fabulous gown of course, would be to point out and explain what the viewers are witnessing. THAT's how you keep a clean house! THAT's how you make nutritious meals and eat them as a family. THAT's how you run a successful homework/chores/bedtime routine for toddlers and school age children. THAT's how you talk to a teenager. THAT's how you create a budget and live with it. I think it might be a hit! I know I would have loved a little sample video often while raising children. I actually think that show was done in the 80's with a family called the Huxtables. But it's due for a re-make!

--Run a non-profit to promote accessible recreation and sport for children who are disabled.(Already working on that: Check out www.whistlingwind.org)

--Re-invent American public education.

--Write a novel.

--Publish a song.

--Grow beautiful gardens.

--Become a member of the Black-Eyed Peas. Fergie can stay. I'll just add (middle aged, white)nuance to the flavor.

At the moment I have much to be grateful for, all by the grace of a loving God. So I'll just say "Thank you Lord" for the strength,grace and joy that got me through the last decade. I'll choose to trust You on the next.

The Wind Comes Howling O'r the Plain

2009-12-29T08:17:00.001-08:00

We had record snow fall on Christmas Eve day, accompanied by howling wind of course. Does Oklahoma do snow any other way? I've heard rumors (from daughters living in Colorado mostly) of pretty, gentle snow flakes, drifting to the earth like sparkling jewels.

Not so much in Oklahoma. Snow is generally accompanied by the howling whistle of wind through every crack in the doors and windows, and the tempo of the banging flue on the fireplace beaten by the rush of air in and out. We have mostly dug out of the storm by now, unless you count the Walmart parking lot down on I40. It was still a terrible mess on Sunday.

We're due for more snow today. Hold on to your cowgirl hats! Here we go again.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-27T07:53:00.001-08:00

It has been a fun week, since we have Cori, Alli, Melissa and baby Ryalan all in the house at the same time! And we've been able to visit some with extended family, althought the record snowfall on Christmas Eve day limited that somewhat!

I hope your week was also blessed.

Song for this Christmas

2009-12-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

I spent most of Thanksgiving week by myself since Gene was working and all the wonderful girls attached to our household were out of town. I did get to enjoy a pleasant Thanksgiving dinner with my sister and her family and The Grands. But many hours were spent alone doing various chores around the house and barn and property. Which means I sang to myself a lot! Which means I invented songs in my head. So here is one for all of you! Didn't say it was art, just sincere thoughts from the music in my mind! Come by and I'll sing it for you some time.

Baby Jesus Sleeps Tonight
Shari Zimmerman, November 29, 2009

Baby Jesus sleeps tonight, in His mama’s arms.
Joseph guards ‘til morning light, to keep them safe from harm.
God the Father trusted them to raise His only Son for Him;
To teach, and love and nurture Him ‘til He became a man.

Baby Jesus sleeps tonight, in a foreign land.
Warned of danger in a dream, Joseph made a plan.
God the Father trusted him to protect His only Son for Him,
So into Egypt, quick they ran, to save the Son of Man.

Shepherds watch and angels sing, wise men bring Him laud
But Mary fills her lullabies, with precious Word of God
God the Father trusted her to teach His Son the Holy word,
In wisdom and in stature grew the boy into a man.

Baby Jesus born to die, born to give His life.
From the manger to a cross, a willing sacrifice.
God the Father trusted Him to save this lonely world from sin.
Little Baby born that night, to bring us hope and light.

The Sound of the Vacuum Says I Care

2009-12-11T20:38:00.000-08:00

It's time to open the Zimm Party Barn again for Christmas festivities amongst our family and friends. But the wind in my face has been SOOO, so cold when I run back and forth between the barn and house, I've had to MAKE myself go out the door at times. Nevertheless, I've spent hours and hours during the last weeks creating order in a year's worth of barn neglect. Since last Christmas we added to our barn collection 1 blue, blow-up swimming pool and accompanying pump and filter, another riding mower, a sidewalk edger (electric),1 small trailer, a large potting table, about 30 plants, and a weight bench (very dusty from neglect). Not to mention just general purpose debris. All of that had to find a home, or at least a temporary resting place to make room for tables and chairs for 50 or so.

But it's done! As clean as it's gonna get for now. Christmas lights are up. Tables and chairs are in place. Corners and floors are swept.

About 50 guests enjoyed good food, the Foosball, air hockey, etc. last Tuesday in the first barn party of the festive season! It makes all the work worth it to get to spend time together with friends.

Of course the house also had to be cleaned for the event. I was thrilled and grateful when our upstairs roomer, Neva volunteered to thoroughly clean the house on Tuesday, before the elementary staff party. Nothing says, "I care about you," like the sound of the vacuum, that's what I always say! Except maybe the sound of dishes being loaded into the dishwasher. It's amazing how much cuter the Hubbs looks bending over a dishwasher!

This Friday is the Journey Church Christmas party in the barn. Come on over and join us! Bring a covered dish. Or a pie. Or just come on over! Should be fun.

The best thing about Friday though is that Alli comes home from college. Whew! I thought Dec. 18 would NEVER come. I miss that girl! Then Cori comes home the next day. I miss THAT girl too!!

It's shaping up to be a great week of parties and reunions. Actually, with the girls home, joining Melissa and granddaughter Rylan, adding a few cousins and friends, we will just be in party mode most of the time. Yay! That's the way(uh-huh, uh-huh!)I like it (uh-huh, uh-huh!)

You're invited too.

View from the Shore

2009-11-05T17:11:00.000-08:00

Halloween Spider Spin

2009-11-02T14:21:00.000-08:00

I watched this guy spin for a while on Halloween night. Our acreage has three or four of these "Orb Weaver" spiders in action at any given time, this time of year, between trees or fence posts or branches. This one is actually orange and black, but I changed the camera color setting for better clarity. The speed of the video is half the actual speed.

CREEPY. BUT COOL.

The Season of Silhouette Begins Today

2009-11-02T05:12:00.000-08:00

The season of silhouette begins today.
Standing in my tired garden,
Skeleton branches of stark trees stand dark against the western orange sunset.
Orb Weaver spins circle webs, backlit by eastern rising moon,
His orange color darkened in relief.
Black on gray.
Black on blue.
Black on orange sky.
Silhouettes suffice,
Until the spring restores the details.

S. Zimmerman, Nov. 1, 2009

Enjoy your fall day!

See What I Mean?

2009-10-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

This was the beginning to my rainy day today. The ending looked suspiciously similar, only in reverse. (kids out of cars in the rain:kids into the cars in the rain)

Hey! Don't laugh. That coat keeps me REALLY dry. At least I didn't have to put my radio in a baggie today. I envy Debbie's pink boots and Cathy's black and white boots!

I am also prepared with snow pants, should they become necessary, which they always do. Just basic black. Hopefully that snowy day will hold off a while.

Playing in the Rain

2009-10-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

The Phillies and Yankees don't seem to notice that it's raining. Fans don't look too disturbed either.

Do y'all notice when it rains? I mean, beyond just, wow, it's raining. Again. Does it change your day? Set a while series of consequences in motion?

At work, since we can't let 550 children go play out in the rain, then expect them to come in and focus on stuff like reading or multiplication, we pay lots of attention to the weather. We play inside when it's raining. Or snowing. Or below freezing. So... in Oklahoma we play inside a lot.

What about when it's not actually raining, but the playground is covered with puddles? And the football/soccer field is wet. And the slide is sloppy? (Well, when the slide is sloppy we just let the first graders go down first.)

We have whole systems for signaling the game plan, including stop and go signs, recess supervisors, rules for taking your coat, (just have to take it out, don't have to wear it!), guidelines for what to play outside and what to play inside...

That's all so we can send the kids home in relatively the same state they showed up, except for maybe a little smarter.

Someday I'm gonna just open the doors and send them all screaming into the downpour to jump in every puddle and slide through the mud on the field and splash land on their bellies on the slide. And I'll be close behind.

When is a Rain Barrel Like a Bong?

2009-10-11T19:24:00.001-07:00

A bunch of noisy girls and their friends made my weekend pretty nice! Cori and Alli are home for the weekend, and when you add Melissa and baby girl, and a couple of vivacious nieces, it makes life just about perfect as far as I'm concerned.

Sadly, (for me)the Colorado girls returned to snow country today.

It's not snowy here yet, but the temps dropped suddenly into the 40's last week. I dug up the remains of my basil and rosemary and some oregano and filled several containers with them. Maybe they'll last a while through the winter. Ugh. Winter. It's a bit sad when everything I've enjoyed planting and watching grow and bloom through the last months starts to die off.

OK, today's quiz question:

When is a rain barrel like a bong?

Answer? When you buy it in Colorado!

Apparently it's illegal to collect rain in Colorado. Yes, the rain that falls from the sky, pours off your roof, erodes your property, and floods your street.

I LOVE the way one writer put it when he said that,

The rain barrel is the bong of the Colorado garden. It’s legal to sell one. It’s legal to own one. It’s just not legal to use it for its intended purpose.

Rain is public property in Colorado, not collectible by individual property owners.

We are building lotsa windmills in Oklahoma currently. Well, T. Boone Pickens is anyway. The incredibly gigantic, power producing kind. It should be illegal to harvest wind in the extra windy western counties!

Gene harvested the power of the sun for years as a solar power plant operator. The expanses of ray-collecting mirrors filled hundreds of acres. They should outlaw that!

After all, the rain, the wind and the sun belong to us all, right?

Of course they do! Good grief Charlie Brown!

Gardening is all about the pleasure, amazement, and surprise of what happens to a few seeds when connected in my very own back yard with the power of water, wind and sun.

All for free! (Everywhere but CO, of course.) If I could manage the initial costs, I would love to install one of those huge underground tanks and harvest enough rain from the steep expanses of pointy roof on my house to water the garden through the dry months. I'd put up a windmill and connect to solar panels and depend only on the most reliable natural resources that Oklahoma offers.

The only thing missing would be chickens for perfect sustainability! Or a tank full of talapia, or goats, or cattle or ...

The Borders Cure

2009-09-26T20:57:00.001-07:00

They must spray something soothing in the air at Borders book store. Or maybe it's the bright lights. Actually I'm not sure what it was, but I had been fighting the usual panic/flee-for-no-good-reason feelings all evening despite good company and yummy pizza. It's hard to carry on a good conversation over the noise in my head and the band around my chest sometimes.

So, Dad and I wandered off to Borders to grab a book I had lost and needed to replace. I wasn't 10 feet into the store and stopped to scan across the room when the whole strangle hold on my belly and breathing just fell off. Just dropped. Breathing freely. Quiet in my head. Amazing.

The "cure" is curious and never the same. Sometimes music. Or conversation. Or singing. Or a good book. Or prayer. Or scripture. Or poetry. Or sleep. Or walking across my dewy grassy field alone in the quiet morning.

This time, apparently, the cure was walking with anticipation into a room of lovely, inviting, friendly, forgiving, entertaining books.

Good grief! I'm such a dork!

Does this ring a bell with anyone else? I often wonder, sitting in a room full of people, if anyone else is having a wrestling match with their mind. It's like trying to keep a rowdy three year old from tugging at me and interrupting. Sheesh.

My Bermuda Friends

2009-09-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

Went to Kansas for my 30th high school reunion last weekend and had Lots O Fun.

I could say that my old friendships are like lovely hybrid tea roses.

You know. Carefully tended. Tenderly trimmed and watered.

But my friendships are really more like Bermuda grass, I think. Time and distance just can't kill it! Given just the tiniest encouragement it comes right back.

Not that Beth and Bill are invasive, annoying, and impossible to get rid of. Just durable.

Thoughts Collecting Like Weeds in my Bean Patch

2009-09-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

I've been collecting things in my head to share with y'all. Nothing important. Just random noticings and wonderings. I really do think about things that are non-plant related occasionally, just don't generally share them here. Guess you'll have to take me to Starbucks to hear those other thoughts! Or Cuppies and Joe.

1. I learned, in the Oklahoman newspaper, a few weeks ago, that you can now use WIC vouchers to buy fruits and vegetables at select farmer's markets. WIC is the Women, Infants and Children Supple metal Nutrition Program administered by the state that was originally developed to meet the needs of participants in the 1970's. It has recently been expanded to include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy. Vendors at farmer's markets can register with the state to accept WIC vouchers. I think this is totally awesome.

Apparently Oklahoma ranks 50th in the consumption of fruits and vegetables according to the 2008 State of the State Health Report. Wonder how they gathered THAT data!

Caller:How many servings of fruits and veggies did YOU eat today?

Citizen of Oklahoma: "Three. One cherry crumb cake from Big Sky Bread Company. One carrot cake cupcake from Cuppies and Joe. Half cup of Oklahoma ChowChow with my Kilbasa sausage for dinner. Oh, and, does the red sauce on the tamale I bought from those nice folks on the corner count?>(Possible actual data from the Zimm household.)

2. Also from the Oklahoman: I'm making a note here, on my trusty blog, about this garden I'd like to visit, because I can usually always find my blog. I've already misplaced the newspaper the article was in and it took 15 minutes to find the article on the Oklahoman web site! (I would add "finding stuff" to those estimates of of how many hours we do different things in a lifetime like sleeping, watching TV, playing video games, "looking for stuff I can't find but just had a few minutes ago", etc.) Here's the big deal about the park:

"It is awesome,” said Hillock, an assistant extension specialist. "It is a wonderful educational site.”

The low-water-use garden with 75 varieties of plants is at Bickham-Rudkin Park at 33rd and Rankin streets. Educational signs will be placed throughout the 7,000 square-foot garden to inform visitors about the plants.

Xeriscaping is landscaping that uses low-water methods and plants. While it is commonly associated with rocks, cacti and yucca plants, the display garden shows that it can include much more.

"This is a very exciting, spectacular facility,” said Michael Holmes, an OSU landscape architect professor.

I think we should go there for a picnic.

3. If the neighbors draw you aside to ask about my mental health and well-being, they may be referring to my recent habit of sitting down in the middle of the grass field to the south of the barn. Or of kneeling for long periods in the weed patch in front of the barn. Or of stooping over close to the ground with the camera to my face, stopping every few feet to repeat.

Said "weed patch" is full of wildflowers we have let grow there instead of mowing. If you sit down for a few minutes in or near the patch you will observe many varieties of butterfly, bee and beetle goin' crazy with the pollen. The buds open fully from their tight nighttime pose about noon,when the sun is nice and hot, and pollen service begins soon after. This goes on until the sun passes far enough to the west for the patch to be in evening shadow. At that time, the blossoms fold neatly like reverse umbrellas, and the butterflies, bees and beetles go home.

And, I've discovered that, if you look closely at the grasses growing in our field and the property just behind, you will find at least seven varieties of grass. That's how many I've noticed and photographed so far. Soon I'll try to label the pictures and share them with you.

This little bobble hangs out on top of the grass blade. Pretty cool, huh?

4. I've been waiting ALL SUMMER for my sunflowers to bloom. The sunflower stems in my butterfly garden are full of buds. But every time a bud opens slightly it is attacked by black beetles! Then the head breaks off. Yuck. Any ideas?

5. Finally, greetings to the best mower man in Piedmont America. We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on Saturday. We are survivors of the good, the bad, and the profoundly ugly. But somehow love prevailed, and so, by God's wonderful grace, we are at a pretty darn good place these days! Thanks for stickin' around long enough to get to the good stuff. Love you EZ!

It's a Country Life

2009-08-31T17:41:00.001-07:00

Well, I (barely) survived one week of Alli-less-ness. The first full week of school went OK. We didn't end up on the 5 o'clock news anyway, which is always good. (Although I was on the 7:30 a.m. news on the first day of school. Interviewed live on channel 25 out in the parking lot. And then there was Friday when I sat and talked on camera with a reporter from a German TV station about our healthy school policies. But that's another story for later.)

I played outside and weeded my flower beds and cleaned my potting plant messes, etc. on Saturday since the weather was glorious. Magnificent. Perfect blue skies. Cooling breeze. Sunshine. Inspiring.

Geranium Porch

I even got up early enough to make it to the Bethany Farmer's Market at the Children's Center, which I've been trying to do for weeks. It's not the getting up, that's the problem. It's the getting out! I gave up my usual glamour (ahem) and threw on the baseball cap and jeans to do my market run. (Did you know there's a Wonder Bread outlet on McArthur? Found it when I missed the Bethany Buy-4-Less and had to turn around. Cheap bread's a pleasant surprise.)

Farmer's Market

Covered boothes, pretty pickett fence, and lots of great looking veggies, local honey, homemade breads, plants,melons and watermelons. And there was still a nice variety of produce by the time I got there around 9:30. I talked to Molly (from Molly's Garden) and her grandmother a few seconds. Along with their Piedmont veggies they had some beautiful breads, and some very juicy cinnamon rolls, that I might or might not have devoured upon returning home. I had a little help with those, actually.

Then I finished the composter I bought a few weeks ago at Sam's Club. And added lots of fun slimy stuff.

Completed Composter

It was wii bowling day at the Zimmerman Party Barn on Sunday. While the adults wii-ed, the kids enjoyed the sunshine. Jacob checked out the area of grass I asked Gene not to mow, because of the wildflowers, ya know.

Cuter than wildflowers

Gene leaves patches of grass standing all over the property, cause he knows it makes me happy when he lets the wildflowers live! The guys asked him why he didn't mow the large square in the middle of the field, and when I launched into my explanation that there were at least 5 varieties of native grasses out there, I believe I saw some manly eye rolling.

The best part of course is always the girl power at our house.

College Girls

Molly's Garden

2009-08-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I followed the "Veggies Saturday" signs off of Sarah road and ended up at the Hall's family garden operation. Here's a bit of video with Lorne Hall, the local gardener. Apparently there is a direct connection between how the garden grows and sells, and how many dance lessons daughter Molly can take. Cool! He calls it Molly's Garden.

Colorado Sunflower Week

2009-08-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

It's sunflower time in Colorado. Everywhere we went this weekend in Colorado, including Ft.Collins, Boulder and the Denver area, there were sunflowers blooming. At CSU there were patches of sunflowers (and patches of corn!) in front of the student union. Sunflowers are in many of the yards in my dad's neighborhood and along the side of every road and filling fields in the countryside. In fact, there were flowers everywhere. A morning walk down Dad's street was a flower feast. Every park, traffic intersection, business establishment seemed to have a pretty flower garden in full bloom.

The sunflowers were a sweet distraction from the bitter-sweet part of dropping my Alli off at college to settle in for her freshman year. I'm so proud of her, it's hard to dwell on how MUCH I already miss her, and how FAR I am away from her, and how EMPTY her room is.

Here she is in Newsom Hall just before we left.

She's pretty wonderful, I must say.

Cori generously helped me drive home and will fly back to CO tomorrow early to get to work. She's pretty wonderful too. Although I did learn that it's not particularly safe to let a geologist drive, since an outcropping of shale can whip her neck around instantly. "Oohh! Shale!"

"OOhh! Watch the road!"

Dad and Sharron and Cori and I spent a pleasant hour or two at the Denver Botanic Garden on Saturday. Cori and I wandered with her camera.

The Water Garden

American Choice Garden

An espaliered apple tree

Wildflower Garden

Cute Kid in the Herb Garden

Familiar faces

I distracted myself handily from dramatizing my departure from Colorado this morning, leaving Alli behind, by waving back at the wild sunflowers lining the highway all the way east from Denver. They lined up in small groups and large crowds, waited til our car passed by and waved their goodbyes. Of course I waved back.

(Kansas, the "sunflower state" apparently doesn't allow sunflowers to congregate on the median or shoulder of the road, BTW.)

Dewey Morning

2009-08-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Early morning last week, the dew was heavy enough to soak my feet and ankles on my morning garden rounds. I seriously have to stop watering my garden barefoot in the mornings! It's too much work to clean up all the garden dirt to be presentable in sandals at board meetings and such.

I'm apparently a little wobbly in the mornings, according to my dew trail through the grass. It meandered left and right from the back porch to the garden. I'm pretty distractable, so I imagine my gait follows my gaze.

Here are two morning treasures from my camera and me.

This Snow-on-the-Mountain grew up voluntarily this year. Volunteers keep life in the butterfly garden interesting.

I have volunteer sunflowers approaching maturity this week. Which is good, since some critter ate all the young sunflower plants I actually planted on purpose.

The butterfly garden is better than I thought it would be; much more variety than last year. The veggie garden needs some work. It's all good. This year, or next, I'll enjoy the work.

Oklahoma August Garden

2009-08-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

It continues to rain on a regular schedule around here, so the Oklahoma earth is covered with green again, the trees look much more comfortable. And the weeds and grass are growing tall.

I weeded my small garden for a while this evening. It wasn't too weedy since there wasn't enough rain in July to interest even the weeds. The ground is nice and soft, so my favorite weeding tool, a long flathead screwdriver, is all I need to uproot the offenders. A few tomatoes are coming on. There are blooms and tiny green beans in the green bean patch. The basil is beautifully green and bushy, and my little variegated oregano is finally taking off. Francine brought in a box lid full of yellow squash to work today, so I'll bring a few home tomorrow. She said they gave cukes too.

I ventured into Sam's Club on Monday to buy chicken. And walked out with a nice composter (and chicken)from the garden department. It was only $35! That's pretty cheap for a nice plastic-type composter made of recycled materials. I'll put it together some time this week.

Last weekend my sister, daughters and niece did the flowers for a friend's wedding. So enjoyable. I love putting pretty flowers together for pretty girls to carry at a pretty outdoor wedding! The featured flowers were Gerbera Daisies in yellow, orange, pink, and white.

I talked briefly with Bunny, the homeowner and admired the lovely landscaping they had had installed.

Set up was at 4:00 in the afternoon on a hot Oklahoma summer day. But the evening was pleasant.

We later added bows and more Gerberas on the chairs down the aisle.

We had not worked together before to do a wedding, so it was great fun.

We did the bride and bridesmaids bouquets, ceremony decorations, reception table bouquets, some boutonnieres, and a few flowers on the buffet table and other places just for the joy.

I still have a bucket on my table with a few stray flowers I fully intend to arrange into a vase!

A couple days later, one of us was on the way to Switzerland for a delayed honeymoon, one was on the couch recovering from surgery, one was driving a mobile unit across the state, one getting organized to start community college,and one going crazy trying to get school ready to open. So it was good to have a few hours together to accomplish a happy task while enjoying the fun and conversation.

Rain Relief and Burlap Gardens

2009-07-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

Hot.Crispy. Crunchy. Dry. Dusty. Scorched. Burnt.

That pretty much described the Oklahoma gardening situation for the last few weeks. So it was hard to put together too much enthusiasm about hanging out outside for anything other than swimming, and scooting quickly from one air conditioned place to another. But it finally rained yesterday and again today, so everything growing breathed a fragrant sigh of relief.

But I did watch some great gardening TV while hanging out in my air conditioned house. My favorite is Jamie Durie's Victory Garden on PBS. He did a fun show on the new victory gardens in San Fransisco. Check out the video here.

Here's my definition of a Victory Garden after watching the victory garden episode on PBS:a home or community garden planted with the intention to reduce the pressure on community, national or global resources by providing healthy food right in your home or community.

I knew about WWII Victory Gardens, but it took me a while to figure what that means in 2009 terms. So, I'm a bit slow! But you knew that already.

We aren't feeding troops with my backyard garden, of course. But the purpose of a Victory Garden in 2009 could be to reduce the pressure on global resources just a little.

Besides, it's fun to know exactly which vine the potatoes and tomatoes in my kitchen came from. Recently that has been from Grandpa Billy's garden, my garden, the one little tomato plant we planted at school, and from the gardener down the road who sells his produce on Saturdays at a table under the trees, surrounded by his five HUGE gardens.

The most intriguing part of the San Francisco victory garden episode was that they used huge rolls of burlap filled with straw to create many large circular gardens.

Another web site with photos and examples is Revive the Victory Garden. They say:

Why plant a victory garden?

Today our food travels an average of 1500 miles from farm to table. The process of planting, fertilizing, processing, packaging, and transporting our food uses a great deal of energy and contributes to the cause of global warming.

Planting a Victory Garden to fight global warming would reduce the amount of pollution your food contributes to global warming. Instead of traveling many miles from farm to table, your food would travel from your own garden to your table.

Our current economic situation is other good reason to start a Victory Garden. Every time that food is shipped from the farm to the store and your table, gasoline is used. As gasoline prices rise, food costs rise.

I'll keep working on my gardening skills. It's satisfying for a million reasons. In the interest of sustainability, though, maybe I should build a chicken coop... raise goats in the field by the barn... learn to weave grasses into useful appliances...

(Just kidding honey.) I'm still working on just raising a few good tomatoes and green beans! I'll do chickens next year.

The Small Stuff in Makin Me Sweat

2009-07-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

Whine Warning:

I have great video from the Myriad Gardens and cute niecy getting her picture taken on a beautiful summer evening which I wanted to make into a "Movie Mix" with my cool FLIP video camera software. Would you like to see it? Well I'd love to show it to you but I'm having trouble with the program, or it's having trouble with me. It was the next blog entry I wanted to make but I kept getting stuck on the fact that I couldn't get the product I wanted. So if you know how to call up a "movie mix" on my cool camera, could you drop a comment?
Sigh.

I planted lots of wildflowers which are looking pretty good this summer, and then went kind of minimalist on the garden veggies. So when my one little bell pepper plant that is fully loaded with cute little peppers shrivels up for no apparent reason today, it makes me sad. It was appropriately watered, or so I thought. No leaf damage. No visible pests. So I'm afraid it's the dreaded phytophthora root rot, which means it's a gonner.
Ergh.

Level. Adjust. Pull. Add some more sand on one side. Spend the day filling the pool with water. Stand and admire the pretty new Intex pool all full and sparkly. Come into the back yard with a flower pot in hand three hours later and stop, still, to consider why the pool looks kind of odd. Ergh. The inflated ring on top that lifts the whole thing up has deflated and precious water is pouring over the side.
Bummer.(expensive bummer)

Other than that, things are peachy. The fresh basil that is doing so well in the garden will be great tomorrow when Grandpa Billy's tomatoes ripen and I can make a Caprese salad. (Mozarella, tomato, fresh whole basil leaves, olive oil, salt and pepper) I was at Nonna's this week in Bricktown and they make their Caprese salad like a Big Mac. Round slabs of mozarella stacked with full round tomato slices with basil layered between and some kind of dark vinagrette poured on top. You cut wedges out to eat.

It's great having daughter Melissa and baby Rylan here along with grandson Dakota. Can't wait til Cori and Alli check in next week!

Better go get some baby snuggling time and go check to see how much pool water is running away.

My Leaves are Rollin'

2009-07-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

It's been REALLY hot here. Up to 102 degrees or so occasionally in the last few weeks. So I'm trying to be consistent about watering all my thirsty plants so I don't lose anybody in the heat. My favorite time to water is just after sunset when the moon sparkles the water spray from the hose, and the lightning bugs are playing crazy games in the trees below the garden. There is an area of humongous weeds down there, below the garden, that I'm going to get to some day and clean up, really I am, but for now, it's one huge lighting bug party there every night. And the locusts make an incredible pulsing, throbbing noise, so don't let anyone tell you the country is quiet on a summer night. When it gets too annoying I just turn my hearing aids off! Ha ha.

Even with all this attention, though, the leaves on the tomato plants are curling gently inward. The little yellow blossoms look fine, and little tomato fruit follows the blossom. But the leaves look all curled up and sad. Therefore, I decided they must need EXTRA water every day to survive the heat. Not so much, I guess.

Mr. Fred and Debbie and I were discussing gardens at work last week when we probably should have been doing something at least remotely school related (but I'm the boss, and it's summer!) so I asked about my shrively tomatoes. Mr. Fred told me they're too soggy. Since I'm slow to believe anything anybody tells me, I looked it up. Here's what the Oklahoma State Extention info says:

Physiological leaf roll
Physiological leaf roll begins with an upward curling of older leaflets. Leaf roll may progress until the margins of the rolled leaflets touch or even overlap. Rolled leaves are firm and leathery and most of the foliage may be affected (Figure 5). Aside from the leaf rolling, plants are otherwise normal in size and appearance, unlike virus diseases such as curly top which also cause leaf rolling. Affected plants will continue to grow normally with little or no reduction in yield or quality.
Physiological leaf roll has been associated with tomato varieties having a specific gene that favors this condition, the occurrence of high temperatures, and prolonged periods of wet soil. Leaf roll is often more severe on plants that are staked and pruned.
Control: Aside from planting tomatoes on well-drained soils, there is little that can be done to correct leaf roll.

Hmmm. Guess I'll let them dry out a bit before I drown them again. Tomatoes are SO picky! Everybody else out there cheers when I come around with the water hose.

If you're a non-gardener, and you're still reading this for some rather odd reason, just consider the advantage of laying your head on the pillow at the end of a stress filled day and turning your thoughts to "physiological leaf roll". Now, isn't that better than the fears, worries and accusations that try so hard to take over your brain and mine instead? It's just a suggestion!

Kyron and the Vanilla Dog

2009-06-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

My little buddy Kyron brought his parents over tonight so that they could work on the parade float for Journey Fellowship for the Bethany parade. So Ky and I got some quality time together. (It was either that or do some actual WORK on the float! Oops. Did I say that out loud?)

He's good company. I asked if he wanted to walk out to the field with me and he wanted to know what a field was. (Ky's 4.)So we walked all around on the crunchy dry grass discovering grasshoppers, dragon flies, butterflies and various unusual seed heads from spent flowers. He has very sharp eyes and a very capable vocabulary. We also learned about barbed wire, but gladly he took my word for it when I told him it's best to stay away from it!

He wanted to see my 'maters since he remembered picking some last summer. Don't think he saw a connection between my big bushy plants with only small yellow blooms compared to the red ripe fruit he carried home so carefully in his car seat a year ago or more.

We walked the dogs up the road a half mile and back. The "big vanilla one" (Spirit) responded EVERY TIME Ky called out her name, stopping to gaze back at him patiently, making him giggle, EVERY TIME. It was great. I asked if Spyro was the licorice one, which Ky was polite enough to laugh at.

Both dogs showed off to Ky's delight by pooping heartily at their favorite places on the side of the road. (No baggies, folks. This is the country! Just call it fertilizer.) Apparently dogs say "ruff" when they run into a car and get a booboo. Boys say "ouch" under the same circumstances. The cat gave him a booboo on the belly. Their dog poops in the house and dad says one more time and he's an outside dog.

Excellent use of a quiet summer evening.

Tune in tomorrow for a not-so-quiet update on Piedmont America as 7,000 Vietnam veterans on motorcycles escort the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall into town for the holiday weekend.

Seriously. If you decide to come see it, call me and I'll meet you somewhere.

BEEBO SAYS: Go Ye Therefore and Pollinate

2009-06-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

Man oh man, I just about missed it! Lucky I heard about it yesterday before it was all over. Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry joined other governors nationwide in declaring the week of June 22-28 as National Pollinator Week. That's THIS week! I wonder if our friendly neighborhood birds, bees, butterflies, flies, moths, bats and beetles know this week is special for them. I'll go share with them as soon as I'm finished sharing with you.

I heard Steve Buchmann, the international coordinator of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, talk to Melissa Block on All Things Considered (NPR of course) about National Pollinator Week yesterday.

You might not know this important information from the Pollinator Partnership:

"Pollination is vital to our survival and the existence of nearly all ecosystems on earth. 80% of the world's crop plants depend on pollination. Pollinators, almost all of which are insects, are indispensable partners for an estimated 1 out of every 3 mouthfuls of food, spices and condiments we eat, and the beverages we drink. They are essential to the fibers we use, the medicines that keep us healthy, and more than half of the world's diet of fats and oils. Insect pollinators, including honey bees, pollinate products amounting to $20 billion annually in the U.S. alone."

That's awesome. Let's see, since I've been writing "one out of every three mouthfuls of food", would include 1 of the 3 spoonfuls of Snickerdoodle cookie dough from my fridge, 1 of the 3 tall glasses of iced tea, one of the three slices of last night's pizza. Thanks bees. I'm sure that's not what the Pollinator People meant, but I'm appreciative, nonetheless.

To ensure the survival of pollinators for future generations of people and plants, Steve, the save-the-bumble-bees guy from the NPR interview, recommended planting native wildflowers as part of your landscaping.

I actually spend a spectacularly unreasonable amount of my time doing just that. The yellow flowers in the picture are a species of Coreopsis that I yanked from the field behind Elaine's house last summer before developers scraped it bare for the new housing being built there. There are white Yarrow flowers to the right of the photo that I snuck out of the site of the new school just before construction began there last fall.(orange flip flops, rain-soaked hoodie, barbed wire fence... NOW do you remember that story?) I'm excited that these stolen treasures actually survived the transplant and the winter, and are growing like wildflowers should! The Butterfly Milkweed, another variety of Coreopsis, the Sumac, Gaillardia, prickly pear cactus, wild plum, and Black-eyed Susans that I planted last year came up again too. I visit them daily.

Steve also mentioned planting heirloom varieties of vegetables and flowers that need and enjoy lots of pollination. That is, instead of planting highly hybridized varieties, you can look for the ones marked "heirloom", or just go rob your great-granny of the cannas that have been in her yard since before you were born. Those ruffly double knockout roses in my front bed look great, but I haven't noticed many bees, since there probably isn't much pollen present.

Bees do love my lavender plants though.

I have one heirloom variety of tomato, a dark Cherokee, that I love. It has blossoms but not fruit yet.

So, anything pollinatin' at your place?

73 Pounds of Lettuce and 12 Pounds of Peas

2009-06-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

My favorite story from my NPR this week on my 9 minute treks back and forth to work in the Mom Mobile was about the Washington school kids harvesting their veggies from the White House garden. On that one afternoon with Mrs. Obama and the White House chef, Sam Kass, they harvested 73 pounds of lettuce and 12 pounds of peas! Wow. I have lettuce and peas in my garden and I'm not sure the whole harvest for the last few weeks would even bump the scale up a pound or two. If my family was depending on me for actual sustenance, it would be pretty sad. Some day I'll get good enough at this to actually feed people regularly. The closest I've come to providing for others, from my garden, is the baggie of fresh peas I had in my purse on the airplane ride to Portland. We passed it around to my sister, my daughters and my niece. I think we all got exactly three peas! And yep, that was it. The peas were done by the time I got home!

I ate probably three whole bowls of salad I picked from the garden. That was it. My tomatoes are looking good.

So I was truly amazed at the amount of veggies that are coming from the White House garden. And while reading about THAT garden I started reading in general about the current emphasis on growing your own food. OK, maybe you haven't noticed that particular emphasis, but I have. Did you know that Queen Elizabeth has approved a new garden on palace grounds?

Kitchen Gardeners International report that...

For the first time since the war, fruit and vegetables are to be found in an allotment-sized plot in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. Called the Yard Bed, Buckingham Palace's 4x10 metre plot is in a challenging, north-facing area to the garden's rear, tight up against the Gardeners' Yard. "Not ideal, but it is the only open space available, because everything is so landscaped," admitted deputy gardens manager Claire Midgley, 32, one of eight gardeners at the palace.

Garden Organic's chief executive, Myles Bremner, said: "The fact that this is the first time that food has been grown at the palace since the second world war will undoubtedly bring about the Dig for Victory analogies, but the challenges for self sufficiency and a need to re-skill a generation in how to feed itself resonate even now. What is important is to put people back in touch with food and how to grow, and hopefully the palace allotment will be a driver getting more people to achieve this."

Interesting.

And then there is the LA Eco-Village, a neighborhood in Los Angeles that is working together to create a sustainable community, including a community garden. If they can convince the LA School District not to build a parking lot on their garden! I loved their video of neighborhood pictures, along with a great video of the White House garden in action.

So where did the idea for a White House garden come from? The folks at "Eat the View" recall the history of their campaign to convince the First Family to provide an example for the nation to eat the "localist" food. Actually, their campaign was conducted before they knew which candidate would be occupying the White House. There is a terrific video of how things got going. It's fascinating to track how this small idea became a big idea through on-line sources and main stream media.

I have green beans and tomatoes coming on. Seriously! I hope I have beans and 'maters to share.