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Thursday, June 18, 2009

And now... the end is near...

Well, here are some updates on the state of the garden and the yard. See for yourself how we're drowning!

Ok, so it's not QUITE that bad. But it's bad.


First I take you on a tour of the swamp that I call a backyard. Listen closely, you can hear my footsteps squishing through the yard as I walk. It's so depressing! I wish we could just have a week of no rain so we can dry out a little!




So that's the backyard, and now on to the garden. It definitely doesn't look as nice as it once did. I haven't gotten out there to weed - first because it never stopped raining, and now because of the mosquitoes and fire ants. Ugh! I am thinking I will do my best to harvest what is left, and either start over or wait until the Fall to do a Fall/Winter garden with lettuce, broccoli and cabbage, etc. I am definitely going for raised beds, either way, and I need materials to make those, and materials = money, so we'll see where we're headed with that.







In all this sogginess, there are two plants that are loving all the water. The banana tree and the cypress tree are growing like crazy! Leave it to me to find the bright side...



Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Where have I been?

Well, I've been busy, just not in the garden! I've been having all kinds of adventures, and you're about to hear about all of them!

Unfortunately, it's been raining every afternoon, evening and night, and by rain I mean torrential downpours! The garden is drowning, and I am REALLY regretting not putting in raised beds this year. But who knew? The last few years we've been in a drought, and this year I finally get a rain barrel - and now this! The worst part is that the squash and zucchini have died and I had to pull them out of the ground. Everything was rotted. The corn is following suit it seems, and something is eating the tomatoes before they can ripen. I have yet to harvest any of my roma tomatoes! Boo!
Sooooo, on a funny note, what happens when you don't get out into the garden as often and don't look around as closely as usual? Things sneak by you, and the next thing you know you have an obscenely large (17 inch!) cucumber peeking out from the leaves. Pretty hilarious!






The first weekend in June, Dan and I were in Hugh and Meredith's wedding, so there's my excuse for not having a blog update THAT weekend. We had a lot of fun - in my case, maybe a little too much fun. I learned that I can't just have a few glasses of wine anymore without feeling it the next day... could this be the first signs of being a (gasp!) real adult? I hope not!






Another fun adventure Dan and I partook in (with our friend Keith) was going to a Riverdogs game. At the top of the fifth, this monstrosity loomed overhead, and the grounds crew pulled the tarp over the field for a rain delay. They turned the stadium lights off, cranked up the music and let the lightening do its thing. I can't say I've ever had that much fun at a game OR in a thunderstorm! After the storm most people had left, but the game continued on, so we went and sat in the "expensive" seats - front row, first base line. Good stuff!



Here's a clip of some of the lightening. You can't really hear how loud the music was, but trust me, it was looouuud! Keith (at the end of the video) is making fun of the announcer ooohing and aaahing over the lightening.



Very exciting: I finally got to go offshore fishing this past weekend thanks to our friend Rick, who is awesome for taking us out on his boat! (and that's my excuse for not getting the blog updated THIS weekend!) It was everything I hoped and dreaded all at the same time. I love being out in the ocean, the feeling of vastness is just amazing. I was so upset that I forgot my scuba mask, I really wanted to get in and see what was swimming around below. On the down side, I also discovered that my sea-sickness is so severe that 4 Dramamine pills can't take care of it. To add insult to injury, we ended up having to go through a thunderstorm in the harbor and we got drenched. Long story short, I think I will stay inshore and continue to fish for tasty flounder, whitings, etc. You live, you learn.
Oh, no photos of this because I was too sick, and the one picture I DID take, Rick complained that I took a shirtless picture of him, so I won't post it here. :)




Yesterday was another fun adventure. My friend Megan and I went to Cordray's farm to get our sides of grass-fed beef for the second year in a row, and Brandon, Amy and their little boy Leighton met us out there. You haven't tasted beef until you've had this meat, it is the most delicious thing EVER. It is the reason I will forever be a carnivore. The fun part though is getting to walk around and see all the animals. The Cordrays have cows, horses, (fainting!) goats, chickens and dogs, and all are entertaining. I got to feed a calf, which was really neat. I'll post a picture as soon as Amy sends it. If you want more info about Cordray's beef, click on the link in my blog list or go here: http://cordrays.com/ and click on the beef link. I highly recommend it!
I will try to get out to the garden and take some updated pictures of the carnage soon. Send anti-thunderstorm vibes in the meantime. We could use a break and dry out just a little.