It's amazing how quickly time flies.
Seven years ago today, I made one of the best decisions of my entire life. I married my wonderful husband.
Over the years, we've been through it all. We've laughed, we've cried, we've argued, and we've shared. There have been challenges and trials, and we've pulled through each one, solidifying our bond and strengthening our relationship. We've made some amazing memories, and we've created two of the most adorable children that have ever existed (I know all parents think that, but our kids really are adorable).
For the first three years, we celebrated our anniversary as a couple. Since then, our children have come into our lives and I've realized that our anniversary means more than just us being together. It now also symbolizes one more year that our family has grown together. One more year that we've built our lives into something special and unique. One more year... It doesn't feel like it's been seven years. At the same time, it feels like it's been forever. This sense of timelessness is exactly how I know it's meant to be... because I don't feel like there is an accurate measure of how long we've been together. It's as if I had already set myself up to be with him before I even existed.
Tomorrow morning, we are going to wake up and begin our eighth year together. Here's hoping for many more years together. I'm looking forward to all the memories we will make in the future.
I love you honey. ♥ Happy anniversary.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
2013 Garden Update 1
Okay, okay. I know. It's been two months, and no update!
Well, I had a slight setback about a month after planting... There decided to be a freeze! So, most of what was planted was lost. BUT if you know me and my gardens, you know I wasn't about to let that stop me. ;) I replanted. And everything looks great now! They are still mostly sprouts, but with real leaves on some of them. Either way, it's all growing very well and healthy. On with the pictures!
In the Garden:
Sunflowers! They're doing really well, there's an entire row of them, just like last year. They aren't all quite this big, but varying sizes from newly risen sprouts to some a foot tall.
Someone asked me the other day why I planted sunflowers at all; they aren't a vegetable and it's not like you can really eat them, right?
Well I love sunflower seeds. The ones that come from my sunflowers might be smaller than the store-bought ones, but they taste amazing, and I can flavor them however I want!
Besides, it's a gorgeous view from the gate as I walk into my garden to see all these wonderful veggies growing with a backdrop of large bright yellow sunflowers!
Corn! Just like last year, I planted two columns of corn side by side down a full row. Now, last year I noticed that although all the corn grew wonderfully and produced a lot (and I do mean a LOT; my deep freezer still has some from harvesting last year) I saw that some of the ears weren't filled out properly. Some kernels didn't form, leaving spaces in the corn (It doesn't actually affect the taste or ability to eat it, it just isn't as pretty). I looked it up online and apparently, according to the all-knowing Internet, corn will fill out better if planted in large patches, so that the pollination can properly take place (or something to that effect) so for best results I really should have planted 4 columns close together. Oh well, maybe next year. =)
Peas! I have two columns of them, but they only go halfway down the row.
Green Beans! I have two columns of them as well, completing the other half of the Pea row.
Tomatoes! The ones on the left are Roma Tomatoes, and the ones on the right are your typical hybrids. I have 1/3 row of hybrids and 1/3 row of Romas. They're all doing great, let's hope we're actually HOME this year when they produce!
The beets! They easily survived the frost and are now thriving.
Beets! I planted one column of beets and one column of carrots, side by side. They take up 1/3 of a row.
My little carrots... The entire column is popping up. The one on the right there survived the frost from the first planting.
Broccoli and Cauliflower! The large picture to the left is broccoli. I only have about three of them that size so far, ones that survived the frost. The small one above and to the right is a tiny little cauliflower sprout, as most of them are. And the one in the middle just happens to be right where the broccoli ends and the cauliflower begins, so it could be either one. We'll just have to wait and see which it turns out to be!
So, I have weeded down most of my rows. The garden has erupted with weeds left and right, and that's no different from last year, really. But this year I took too long to remove some of those weeds, and now... Well, embarrassingly enough, I lost my pepper row.
That isn't to say the peppers didn't grow. They very well may have. Unfortunately, I don't remember *exactly* where that row is. I know it's somewhere in front of the camera here. Until they get a little bigger, I really won't know for sure where they are, if they are even growing. Hopefully in the next week I can get out there and at least do some light weeding in the area. If I'm lucky, I'll stumble across a pepper plant.
Lemons! Tiny little lemons. There are at least a dozen growing on the tree right now, and quite a few dozen beautiful white flowers. Super excited for the lemons!
In the Greenhouse:
What kind of Italian would I be if I didn't have three different types of Basil? Haha. Sweet basil, Spicy Basil, and Lemon Basil. They really make the greenhouse smell fantastic.
Parsley, Cilantro, and Chives. The Parsley started to die, I think the exact spot I had them in originally was just way too much direct light and heat. But as you can see, new sprouts are emerging! Nature reminding us once again to never give up. The Cilantro is fighting for it's life right now, I think it was also in one of those spots. It's stable for now, since I've moved it. The Chives are doing great.
My sage. Just one little Sage plant decided to grow, but it's doing good. I still have two full bundles of dried sage that I got from Fort Parker this year, so I'm not as worried if the sage doesn't grow much. But I'd love to dry some of my own, I think it's more meaningful that way.
The strawberries. I have 16 strawberry plants, and I know I need to transplant them to larger pots. They are doing amazing. They've already produced a few strawberries, though I can't show you pictures of them because I let the kids eat them. =) You can see there are new ones just starting to grow though. Hopefully in the next few months these plants will really blossom out and produce enough to make some jam!
I had some leftover Roma Tomato seeds, and some Picante Pepper and Bell Pepper seeds, too. I had planted them in the greenhouse and they are doing amazing! Which is good, because these in the greenhouse might be the only peppers we get.
And this here was a Crape Myrtle we bought at the same time as the grapes. It was one of those ones that was just a leafless twig sticking out of a white plastic bag. I had faith in the little guy though, and replanted him in one of the pots the grapes came in. Look at it now! It's got beautiful leaves and it's doing great. Once it's about double this size I'll move it outside so we can plant it with the other Crape Myrtles in the yard. =)
Well, I had a slight setback about a month after planting... There decided to be a freeze! So, most of what was planted was lost. BUT if you know me and my gardens, you know I wasn't about to let that stop me. ;) I replanted. And everything looks great now! They are still mostly sprouts, but with real leaves on some of them. Either way, it's all growing very well and healthy. On with the pictures!
In the Garden:
 |
| Grapes! |
 |
| Grapes! |
 |
| Grapes! |
 |
| Blueberry bush, and another behind it. So big! |
 |
| Blueberries! Both bushes are covered in them. |
 |
| Baby blueberry. We have two of these, they should grow all year and produce next spring! |
Someone asked me the other day why I planted sunflowers at all; they aren't a vegetable and it's not like you can really eat them, right?
Well I love sunflower seeds. The ones that come from my sunflowers might be smaller than the store-bought ones, but they taste amazing, and I can flavor them however I want!
Besides, it's a gorgeous view from the gate as I walk into my garden to see all these wonderful veggies growing with a backdrop of large bright yellow sunflowers!
Corn! Just like last year, I planted two columns of corn side by side down a full row. Now, last year I noticed that although all the corn grew wonderfully and produced a lot (and I do mean a LOT; my deep freezer still has some from harvesting last year) I saw that some of the ears weren't filled out properly. Some kernels didn't form, leaving spaces in the corn (It doesn't actually affect the taste or ability to eat it, it just isn't as pretty). I looked it up online and apparently, according to the all-knowing Internet, corn will fill out better if planted in large patches, so that the pollination can properly take place (or something to that effect) so for best results I really should have planted 4 columns close together. Oh well, maybe next year. =)
 |
| Peas! One of the tallest out there. |
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| More peas! Most of them are still tiny like these. |
 |
| Green Beans! |
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| More Green Beans! Looking good! |
Peas! I have two columns of them, but they only go halfway down the row.
Green Beans! I have two columns of them as well, completing the other half of the Pea row.
 |
| Squash. Only 1/3 of a row this year... had to cut back after last year's overdose of Squash! |
Tomatoes! The ones on the left are Roma Tomatoes, and the ones on the right are your typical hybrids. I have 1/3 row of hybrids and 1/3 row of Romas. They're all doing great, let's hope we're actually HOME this year when they produce!
 |
| Beets! I have never attempted to grow beets, but WOW they are doing fantastic. |
 |
| Beets! Don't they look great? Wish I could see what was going on below the surface! |
The beets! They easily survived the frost and are now thriving.
Beets! I planted one column of beets and one column of carrots, side by side. They take up 1/3 of a row.
My little carrots... The entire column is popping up. The one on the right there survived the frost from the first planting.
Broccoli and Cauliflower! The large picture to the left is broccoli. I only have about three of them that size so far, ones that survived the frost. The small one above and to the right is a tiny little cauliflower sprout, as most of them are. And the one in the middle just happens to be right where the broccoli ends and the cauliflower begins, so it could be either one. We'll just have to wait and see which it turns out to be!
 |
| Cucumbers! Everyone is mostly excited for these, because they will grow up to get pickled and canned. PICKLE SPROUTS. That's what they are. =D Half a row of them. |
 |
| Watermelon! I have big plans for these this year. They are going to take a lot of extra love and attention if I want to actually harvest any watermelons from them. Every year we have issues with the melons rotting on the vine; but this year I am going to monitor closely for every melon that starts to form and lift it off the ground to *hopefully* prevent that from happening. We are long overdue for some home-grown watermelon! Half a row of them. |
 |
| Cantaloupe. These things grew SO well last year. I just know they are going to do well this year, too. I had to plant them on the last row of the garden, because I remembered how much they tried to take over. This way, they can take over the hill beside the garden. Half a row of them. |
 | ||||
| Pumpkins! I still need to weed through these and the cantaloupe, so I'm not sure just how many pumpkins I have that are actually growing. These are also planted in the last row of the garden, because they really DID take over everything else. Just pie pumpkins this year, no mini ones. Half a row of these, too. |
So, I have weeded down most of my rows. The garden has erupted with weeds left and right, and that's no different from last year, really. But this year I took too long to remove some of those weeds, and now... Well, embarrassingly enough, I lost my pepper row.
That isn't to say the peppers didn't grow. They very well may have. Unfortunately, I don't remember *exactly* where that row is. I know it's somewhere in front of the camera here. Until they get a little bigger, I really won't know for sure where they are, if they are even growing. Hopefully in the next week I can get out there and at least do some light weeding in the area. If I'm lucky, I'll stumble across a pepper plant.
 |
| My Lemon Tree ♥ Going to transplant it to a larger pot sometime in the next few months. |
Lemons! Tiny little lemons. There are at least a dozen growing on the tree right now, and quite a few dozen beautiful white flowers. Super excited for the lemons!
In the Greenhouse:
Parsley, Cilantro, and Chives. The Parsley started to die, I think the exact spot I had them in originally was just way too much direct light and heat. But as you can see, new sprouts are emerging! Nature reminding us once again to never give up. The Cilantro is fighting for it's life right now, I think it was also in one of those spots. It's stable for now, since I've moved it. The Chives are doing great.
My sage. Just one little Sage plant decided to grow, but it's doing good. I still have two full bundles of dried sage that I got from Fort Parker this year, so I'm not as worried if the sage doesn't grow much. But I'd love to dry some of my own, I think it's more meaningful that way.
The strawberries. I have 16 strawberry plants, and I know I need to transplant them to larger pots. They are doing amazing. They've already produced a few strawberries, though I can't show you pictures of them because I let the kids eat them. =) You can see there are new ones just starting to grow though. Hopefully in the next few months these plants will really blossom out and produce enough to make some jam!
I had some leftover Roma Tomato seeds, and some Picante Pepper and Bell Pepper seeds, too. I had planted them in the greenhouse and they are doing amazing! Which is good, because these in the greenhouse might be the only peppers we get.
And this here was a Crape Myrtle we bought at the same time as the grapes. It was one of those ones that was just a leafless twig sticking out of a white plastic bag. I had faith in the little guy though, and replanted him in one of the pots the grapes came in. Look at it now! It's got beautiful leaves and it's doing great. Once it's about double this size I'll move it outside so we can plant it with the other Crape Myrtles in the yard. =)
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