Wednesday, July 22, 2009
An afternoon at Swallow Falls Park
We had a great afternoon at Swallow Falls State Park today, climbing rocks and wading the river The Deer were getting up close and personal, but no bear in the woods- they remain only in te neighborhood where our rental house is.
An afternoon at Swallow Falls Park
We had a great afternoon at Swallow Falls State Park today, climbing rocks and wading the river The Deer were getting up close and personal, but no bear in the woods- they remain only in te neighborhood where our rental house is.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Deck Phase 1: construction finished
The ogre transformed himself into construction man supreme today and finished up the last of the construction work on phase one of the deck. There is still landscaping and then deck stain/finishing to follow before phase one is officially over, but the heavy construction work is over. We now have a functional walkway/ramp and a 6 foot wide set of stairs lon one corner where there was a 16 inch drop before.
Our backyard now officially rocks ;-)
Our backyard now officially rocks ;-)
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Celebrating Independence Day
Independence is not a gift, but something we have to work towards every day. It is a state of mind, an approach to life that must be maintained as well as a status.
Kids grow to independence, but only if they and their parents work toward it every day of their life until they are adults.
Students become independent thinkers, but it takes work and preparation- on the part of the student as well as the teacher.
Citizens have independence from tyranny, but they must work to preserve and deserve status. It rarely comes without sacrifice and compromise.
As you gather with friends and family on this US Independence Day, take a moment between the burgers & beer and the fireworks to think on the sacrifices that allow you to gather in this way and speak your mind. Think on the freedoms you are most thankful for, and what you would compromise or give up to maintain them. If you think none of them are at risk and those freedoms are guaranteed, think again. Our freedoms are constantly at risk of erosion from people who want to take the safe and easy route. Be prepared to work hard and speak out so that your children and grandchildren can continue to enjoy those freedoms you cherish most.
Happy Independence Day to all my freedom loving friends around the globe!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
That Tinkering mentality made me fall in love....
Ogre is a Tinkerer. One of the things that I love and respect about him is how he encourages, nurtures and develops that skill in other people. He has taught me how to be more fearless by refusing to accept my initial reservation
s. When someone puts a tool in your hands, gives you instruction and then just expects you to succeed, it is amazing what you can accomplish. I have learned that you do not have to be an expert to build great things (I was a self professed nail bending hammer incapable person-then I had a hammer put in my hand and I hammered in a LOT of the nails in that deck! ) - you just need to be willing to put in some elbow grease and try. What are you convinced that you are just not capable of and so are afraid to try? Write code? Hammer together some boards? Cook a dinner from scratch? Build a robot? Change the oil in your car? Go for it. Be a Tinkerer and be amazed at yourself. If you happen to already be a Tinkerer, be sure to encourage someone you love- especially your kids to try, get stuck, fail, rebuild and succeed. Don't just do it for them. Don't step in because they are angry or frustrated or ready to give up. Just let quietly, confidently, let them know that you are certain they are capable.
Still need more inspiration to get up and start something? Watch this great TED video on Tinkerer School.
s. When someone puts a tool in your hands, gives you instruction and then just expects you to succeed, it is amazing what you can accomplish. I have learned that you do not have to be an expert to build great things (I was a self professed nail bending hammer incapable person-then I had a hammer put in my hand and I hammered in a LOT of the nails in that deck! ) - you just need to be willing to put in some elbow grease and try. What are you convinced that you are just not capable of and so are afraid to try? Write code? Hammer together some boards? Cook a dinner from scratch? Build a robot? Change the oil in your car? Go for it. Be a Tinkerer and be amazed at yourself. If you happen to already be a Tinkerer, be sure to encourage someone you love- especially your kids to try, get stuck, fail, rebuild and succeed. Don't just do it for them. Don't step in because they are angry or frustrated or ready to give up. Just let quietly, confidently, let them know that you are certain they are capable. Still need more inspiration to get up and start something? Watch this great TED video on Tinkerer School.
It's not too late- the mid summer garden
Most people think of the life cycle of a garden
as something that begins in the spring, simmers slowly, grows like crazy all summer and then is over in August or so. Planting is deeply tied in most people's brains with the spring- but even here in North Central Indiana where we live in zone 5, planting continues into August in our garden. We like to spread our garden bounty over as many months as possible, both to extend the return and because with a full time job, I could not possibly handle everything needing to be harvested and processed all at once.
In the next week, I will be planting Okra, second crop turnips, late leaf lettuce and more green beans. If you look at my garden right now, it is a complicated mix of ready to harvest vegetables growing right next to just sprouted seedlings.
I have a stash of seeds in my garage waiting for early August planting- peas, snow peas, spinach and kale. They are cool weather crops, and with a little luck and not a very early snow, we will be harvesting the peas and snow peas in September and will continue getting spinach and kale until the first very hard freeze. Kale is hardy enough that is will often survive a couple of freezes and you can go pick it out of the snow.
If you have been contemplating a garden, but have given up because you think it is too late, get out there and get some seeds. Here are some examples of wonderful foods you can still grow and harvest this season, even in hardiness zone 5:
1. Tomatoes. It is way too late to plant seeds, but you can still go grab a tomato plant from your local garden shop and stick it in dirt. They do well in containers or in the garden. The critical factor with tomatoes is to find a spot where they get at least 8 hours of sun to set fruit. It will be late before you get fruit, but for the last few years we have harvested tomatoes up until November in our garden.
2. Lettuce. It is too late for a large head lettuce, but most leaf lettuces are ready to start eating only a month from planting, and then continue on for many weeks after that. Baby or mini romaine lettuce will also sometimes be ready in only 6 weeks- that is a mid August harvest.
3. Radishes. Check the packets for expected time to harvest. Regular red globe radishes are typically a month to harvest, and right now is the perfect planting time for the long growing, late harvest radishes like a Daikon to be ready in early September.
4. Green Beans. With a 6-8 week plant to harvest cycle, you can still get green beans planted for the next couple of weeks. These are easy to grow and freeze very well for consumption later on. We are working on squeezing in as many cycles of green beans as we can this year to last longer into the winter.
5. Peas and snow peas. It is actually too early to plant the late crop of these chill weather loving plants. If it is too hot when they flower, they will not set fruit well. If you live in a warmer zone, you will have to push the planting date out even later than the early August date we use around here.
6. Turnips . Turnips are another plant with a 6-8 week harvest cycle. Get those seeds in the ground and be fat and happy for Labor Day.
7. Okra. Because I tend to like to eat Okra in gumbos and soups, which are cool weather foods for us, I am waiting until this week to plant my Okra. This will give me a late August harvest date. We will have some fresh for Labor Day, then freeze the rest for winter eating.
8. Winter Squash. Check the seed packet of your preferred variety, but some could still be planted today for September harvests. My Pumpkin seeds are going in the ground tomorrow. That is a little later than normal, but will give us great October harvests and hopefully skip the August wilt we had last year.
With an early spring and a mid summer planting of some crops ( green beans, turnips, etc..) we actually manage to get twice as many harvests out of a single season. You may have missed the early spring planting, but you could still make the mid summer planting and be enjoying fresh salads and vegetables from your garden at your Labor Day cookout.
as something that begins in the spring, simmers slowly, grows like crazy all summer and then is over in August or so. Planting is deeply tied in most people's brains with the spring- but even here in North Central Indiana where we live in zone 5, planting continues into August in our garden. We like to spread our garden bounty over as many months as possible, both to extend the return and because with a full time job, I could not possibly handle everything needing to be harvested and processed all at once.In the next week, I will be planting Okra, second crop turnips, late leaf lettuce and more green beans. If you look at my garden right now, it is a complicated mix of ready to harvest vegetables growing right next to just sprouted seedlings.
I have a stash of seeds in my garage waiting for early August planting- peas, snow peas, spinach and kale. They are cool weather crops, and with a little luck and not a very early snow, we will be harvesting the peas and snow peas in September and will continue getting spinach and kale until the first very hard freeze. Kale is hardy enough that is will often survive a couple of freezes and you can go pick it out of the snow.If you have been contemplating a garden, but have given up because you think it is too late, get out there and get some seeds. Here are some examples of wonderful foods you can still grow and harvest this season, even in hardiness zone 5:
1. Tomatoes. It is way too late to plant seeds, but you can still go grab a tomato plant from your local garden shop and stick it in dirt. They do well in containers or in the garden. The critical factor with tomatoes is to find a spot where they get at least 8 hours of sun to set fruit. It will be late before you get fruit, but for the last few years we have harvested tomatoes up until November in our garden.
2. Lettuce. It is too late for a large head lettuce, but most leaf lettuces are ready to start eating only a month from planting, and then continue on for many weeks after that. Baby or mini romaine lettuce will also sometimes be ready in only 6 weeks- that is a mid August harvest.
3. Radishes. Check the packets for expected time to harvest. Regular red globe radishes are typically a month to harvest, and right now is the perfect planting time for the long growing, late harvest radishes like a Daikon to be ready in early September.
4. Green Beans. With a 6-8 week plant to harvest cycle, you can still get green beans planted for the next couple of weeks. These are easy to grow and freeze very well for consumption later on. We are working on squeezing in as many cycles of green beans as we can this year to last longer into the winter.
5. Peas and snow peas. It is actually too early to plant the late crop of these chill weather loving plants. If it is too hot when they flower, they will not set fruit well. If you live in a warmer zone, you will have to push the planting date out even later than the early August date we use around here.
6. Turnips . Turnips are another plant with a 6-8 week harvest cycle. Get those seeds in the ground and be fat and happy for Labor Day.
7. Okra. Because I tend to like to eat Okra in gumbos and soups, which are cool weather foods for us, I am waiting until this week to plant my Okra. This will give me a late August harvest date. We will have some fresh for Labor Day, then freeze the rest for winter eating.
8. Winter Squash. Check the seed packet of your preferred variety, but some could still be planted today for September harvests. My Pumpkin seeds are going in the ground tomorrow. That is a little later than normal, but will give us great October harvests and hopefully skip the August wilt we had last year.
With an early spring and a mid summer planting of some crops ( green beans, turnips, etc..) we actually manage to get twice as many harvests out of a single season. You may have missed the early spring planting, but you could still make the mid summer planting and be enjoying fresh salads and vegetables from your garden at your Labor Day cookout.
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