Despite the lack of rain, there are all kinds of blooms in the garden at the moment. Some are year round companions, some are old friends whose acquaintance we're glad to renew, and others are new, like this one...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Community gardening
We have been eating fresh squash, green beans, cucumbers and lettuce at most meals for the past 2 weeks or so. The tomato plants are full of fruit and flowers, the first peppers are coming on, and we have one canteloupe! We're also enjoying a dining table with multi-coloured zinnias - and looking forward to our first giant sunflowers. Life is good!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Sabbath grace
Today has been a beautiful spring day in Houston, something we're not used to saying at the end of April. Our sabbath began at Edith Moore sanctuary, where we met our friend Tracy Kleinhans, a fellow Mercy Streeter and member of the Houston Audubon Society. This was our first time in the sanctuary, and Tracy was our guide. We hoped to see some new birds, but although we could hear them, we did not see too many. We did get to add one new bird to our sightings - a Grey Catbird. It is a lovely spot, and one we look forward to returning to.
After lunch and naps we headed to the community garden, where the weeds have been sorely neglected. We spent 3 hours weeding, taking flowers off pepper plants (trying to get the bush as large as possible early on) and watering (no rain to speak of for a month). We also harvested two large bags of swiss chard, and the first squash and beans. So tonight we enjoyed "eggs in a nest" (see Flickr), steamed beans and squash and cornbread. The eggs came from our friends Kevin and Camella - they have 2 hens and brought a dozen over earlier in the week. The first of what we hope will be many truly local meals. And Maggie and Seth fell asleep in about 15 minutes, which means Rebecca and I will be able to watch an episode of Doctor Who Series 3 before our heads hit the pillow tonight.
Sabbath grace indeed.
After lunch and naps we headed to the community garden, where the weeds have been sorely neglected. We spent 3 hours weeding, taking flowers off pepper plants (trying to get the bush as large as possible early on) and watering (no rain to speak of for a month). We also harvested two large bags of swiss chard, and the first squash and beans. So tonight we enjoyed "eggs in a nest" (see Flickr), steamed beans and squash and cornbread. The eggs came from our friends Kevin and Camella - they have 2 hens and brought a dozen over earlier in the week. The first of what we hope will be many truly local meals. And Maggie and Seth fell asleep in about 15 minutes, which means Rebecca and I will be able to watch an episode of Doctor Who Series 3 before our heads hit the pillow tonight.
Sabbath grace indeed.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Happy Birthday Maggie!
We invited a few friends over to celebrate Maggie's 4th birthday yesterday. The pinata was a big hit, as was "pass the parcel" - one of my favourite games from childhood. The raspberry/ vanilla/ chocolate ice cream went over well also. It was a beautiful afternoon, Matt and I got to stand over a grill for the first time in a long time, and it was wonderful to have the backyard full of kids (both little and not so little).
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Community Garden I
Our friends Paul and Peggy have been gardening for years, and have great soil. We have been the grateful recipients of squash, beans and tomatoes over the years. They're too busy this year, so asked if we'd be interested in a little community gardening. Of course, we said 'yes'! They've planted a few tomato plants, beans and spinach, but gave the bulk of the garden to us, and our friends Thule and Kelly. Here's the freshly tilled plot in late January, waiting for planting.
Community garden II
And here's what it looked like this morning. We have swiss chard ready to pick, beans (climbing and bush) doing nicely, squash and cucumbers putting on flowers, tomato and pepper plants coming on, canteloupe and carrots (struggling), and zinnias and sunflowers.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Maggie's birthweek
Maggie turns 4 on Sunday, and so we are celebrating her this week. I had had a full weekend, and hadn't seen much of Maggie & Seth, and so while Rebecca had an 'organizing the house' day, I took M&S out to the Hobson's ranch. We stopped at a 'BassPro' store on the way, and picked up their first ever fishing rods (Maggie chose the 'princess' model, Seth the "cheese" model (Spongebob)). It was an absolutely beautiful day, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Maggie fished for a solid hour, and only stopped because she was hungry. Seth lasted about 5 minutes, then spent the rest of the time figuring out how to start the 4 wheeler. Maggie had lots of bites...but no fish. And as my dad is fond of saying, "that's why it's not called 'catching'."
Maggie continues to delight us with her imagination - she is a storyteller, that's for sure. We're throwing a 'bring your favourite childhood party game' birthday party for her on Sunday, where those who love Maggie here in Houston will gather to celebrate her and eat charred meat and ice cream cake.
Maggie continues to delight us with her imagination - she is a storyteller, that's for sure. We're throwing a 'bring your favourite childhood party game' birthday party for her on Sunday, where those who love Maggie here in Houston will gather to celebrate her and eat charred meat and ice cream cake.
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