watermelon and cantaloupe
eggplant, both Italian and Japanese
the butternut squash is just starting to fruit!
The green peppers are doing fairly well, but the reds aren't
pretty Zinnias!We've been gone for a week, and last night I noticed that several of my plants were looking a little iffy. I had to clean out the fridge anyway, so I decided to break out the food processor and make some compost tea.
1.) I have never done this before
2.) If you decide to try this, don't do it with a weak stomach. It smells like puke when it's done.
Now technically, you are supposed to let compost tea steep, hence the name. Usually sitting it outside in the heat is in order. But since I am terribly inpatient, and am also in awe of a few gardeners I know that dump raw kitchen scrap on their prolific plants, I decided to make and toss quickly (the smell may have had something to do with it).
First, gather all your nastyness that you have from your fridge (or the coolers you used while you were camping). No animal products, please - and you probably shouldn't use citrus (ignore the lemon).
Now you will need to dump all the old food into a fairly powerful blender, vitamix or Cuisinart. While you are doing this, don't rush. Try not to drop all the nasty on the floor. If you do, it will wind up looking something like this:
Depending on what types of food you are using, you may want to add some hot water. You will wind up with something like this:
I realize its only the second week of August, but this morning I laid in bed mentally checking off things I could accomplish this month to make the holiday season less busy. We have been on the road CONSTANTLY this summer, and honestly I am ready for some home-time! One last trip before we start school...Mulberry Mountain Harvest Fest in Ozark, AR. Looking forward to some great bluegrass and jam bands - hopefully enough music to hold us over till next spring.
This is the time of year I start getting inspired to craft and create, and praise Jesus for the internet and new ideas. Thought I would share some of my favorite inspiration places with you:
Laura Gunn is a mom, painter and brand-new fabric designer - her watercolor inspired fabrics are so pretty!
Paint in my Hair
Craft Magazine originated as a paper publication out of Great Britian. They have found their blog to be so popular they have quit printing the paper version. They post constantly (its really too much to keep up with) but grab some of the most interesting craft and art that I have seen online. Lots of modernity here.
Craftzine
This is sort of cheating, since there is no obvious craft involved, but I love this farm blog. The pictures on here are fantastic, and inspire me to get serious about my gardening and management of the land we occupy.
Tiny Farm Blog
Thats all for now - Mark is packing the car for the trip and I should probably look active.
More soon!
At 31 years old, Mark and I feel our baby-making days are (more or less) over, and now most of our 30-year-old friends are finally getting on the bandwagon. Soon, I will have lots of babies around to hold! And friends' babies mean lots of fun sewing!
And take note of the pretty pink flower I grabbed from the front garden for these pics. Mo Ottinger has been relentlessly mocking (all in good fun) the massive hollyhock that is growing in front of the house (it has crested 6 feet, and yes, its a bit out of place) but now that I am getting these sweet flowers from it, I really don't mind!
And we have purchased the domain http://www.sweetmylissa.com/ to put up a simple site for my projects. I have tags heading to me in the mail. I will let you know when the site is active!
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