Nature | Love, Laughter, and Life

June 14, 2016
by Angie Leave a comment

What’s in the Garden? Edible and Not

Almost bursting open sunflower. As Kevin says, my sunflower jungle is alive!

I’m amazed at how quickly the garden is taking over the backyard.

I’m sad that several icky pests are winning and eating as much as they can (slugs, earwigs, pill bugs, and aphids). Since I prefer not to spray my garden with pesticides, it’s a daily battle to find those critters. Loss is expected.

Strawberries are still blooming, though they are exhausted!

But mostly, I’m happy to see this dirt produce food and beauty for our eyes, nose, hands, and tummies. I supposed I could add ears to that list, as the bees are a humming, though they classify as beauty not food. At least for us. The cats love to snatch and gobble them up.

Here are some things growing in the garden.

Oregano, much loved by bees, is heading towards full bloom.

Tea roses – beautiful though they were plagued by aphids early on in the season.

Creeping thyme, a walkable plant (you can walk on it). But watch out for bees!

Edible thyme is blooming.

Radishes are tasty and almost gone. Mmmm

Sunset lily. I love the color of these blooms.

Ripening Roma tomatoes.

The pumpkin plants that are threatening to take over our tiny backyard. Soon, it will be true.

Poor, sad, dwarfed okra. I’ve replanted 4-5 times. This is the best so far.

Wax beans love my back yard. Green beans? Not so much.

Dill entices more bees and is ready for canning.

Part of the sunflower jungle.

Lavender and friend.

Raspberries are coming on strong, much to the delight of the icky pests.

Baby zucchini.

The parsley is blooming. Those tiny sweat bees love this stuff.

Garlic. I have no idea when it is done!

Kale.

Baby yellow squash. If you squint, you can see someone else was impatient to try it. Go away, bugs!

Sage. This is also in bloom. But there is more than enough to go around. Five times around.

That’s my garden so far, all from the backyard. I’d be happy to share, especially the herbs. Has anyone else grown okra? What trick am I missing (other than heat, which I think it really needs)?

Happy tasting, smelling, seeing, touching, and hearing in your garden today!

June 9, 2016
by Angie Leave a comment

The Lily ~ Haiku

Lily from my garden

fireworks of flora

speckled bursts of joy

fireworks cool to my touch

enchanting lily

by Angie Quantrell

June 6, 2016
by Angie Leave a comment

Come, Have Tea with Me!

The inside of one of the barracks at Fort Simcoe

by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

Do weekends go faster and seem busier than the rest of the week, or is it just me?

Pull up a cup of your favorite tea and let’s chat. I am drinking PG Tips with a tiny swirl of honey in the bottom. If I really wanted to be reminded of my visits to England, I would add a dash of milk and use raw sugar instead. Delish!

Here’s what I’d share with you about my weekend:

On Friday, I went grocery shopping. This is only worth mentioning because of the crowds! It was insane. But I did have my pint-sized helper, Miss Khloe. She assisted me as we grazed our way through Costco.

Nana with her 5 grands, from 5 weeks to 7 years-old.

The Quantrells took Fort Simcoe by storm on Saturday for a birthday plus a birthday plus a graduation picnic day. It was very nice, but it turned into a HOT day as the temps kept rising. We were done by 1, back in the cars, and on the road seeking AC. We enjoyed hanging out together. Nana especially loved having the grands in one spot, though it only lasted for 5 minutes. And then they were off and running.

Saturday was a free National Park Day, so we wanted to take advantage of the special day by visiting Fort Simcoe. You can read more about Fort Simcoe here.

We saw:

– a passel of squirrels, rolling and tumbling all over each other

– no snakes (Amen)

– no bears (double-Amen)

– cows (yes, cows – and plenty of cow-pies, ick!)

– old buildings

– 2 springs

– canons

– a tiny museum

– a parade of Model T’s that also traveled out to Fort Simcoe for a picnic

– a park worker in a golf cart chasing away the poopy-cows who wanted to graze (and poop) on park grounds

– the location of my son and daugther-in-laws’ wedding

On Sunday, we continued our celebration of graduates at church with a relaxed gathering where we viewed photos, chatted, and shared cake.

Our beautiful graduates!

My honey and I went on a lunch date. This was followed by relaxing in a cool theater and watching a movie. We migrated home, dodging the heat, and stayed inside and under shade. Temps were in the triple digits, so there was no working outside or going for a walk. Nope.

Back-to-work Monday has arrived. Triple digit temps are in the works as I type. I think I hear the beach calling me, if only it weren’t 5 hours away.

Thanks for stopping by. I’ve so much enjoyed tea with you.

Lavender from my garden and a tea cup we received as a wedding gift (31 years ago)

What did you do during the weekend? I’ll make another cup and you can tell me about your weekend.

June 2, 2016
by Angie 2 Comments

What’s Growing in the Garden?

Strawberries, raspberries, lavender, and radishes fresh from the garden.

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

What’s growing in the garden? I mean besides cat fur.

The strawberries are slowing down and I think ready for a big break to build up their energy. Whoa! This was the most prolific strawberry (also known as strawbabies and beebes around our house) harvest I have ever had. Not counting the minimal loss from slugs, sow bugs, ants, and raiding grandchildren.

Raspberries are coming on! Beautiful, tasty, sweet-tart lovely bursts of flavor – be still my heart. I love me some raspberries (also known as raspbabies and beebes at our house).

My miniscule crop of French radishes is nearing readiness for being pulled up, roots and all. I planted a roasting pan with radishes in hopes of avoiding above mentioned pests who annually decimate my peppery red and white treats. Take that, you vermin! Today Donavyn and I pulled up a few to check for size. And we gobbled them all up, just like Goldilocks ate Baby Bear’s porridge. Just right.

Lavender, one of my favorite flowering herbs, is starting to bloom strong. I haven’t seen many bees this spring, so I am pleased the purple blossoms are attracting several from somewhere. If only a swarm would descend in our area and we could capture it . . .

As always, parsley, thyme, dill, and sage are available free of charge to any and all. The sunflowers look like they will put on a great show in another couple of weeks. Birds delight, but beware the two slinking gray girls who blend in to the bricks and sand beneath your dinner table.

One of my failures this year is okra. I really wanted to grow some for my mom who grew up in Missouri. I’ve done 3 plantings, and there is nothing to be had but munched sprouts. I guess they taste good?

I’ve also done multiple plantings of echinacea, or cone flowers, for the bees and butterflies. This last batch is finally showing promise. I may just have to buy half grown plants.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockle shells,

And pretty maids all in a row.

There is always a furry body helping me. This one particularly loves to sleep on the strawberries.

My friends, how does your garden grow?

May 11, 2016
by Angie 4 Comments

The Threat – Can Cats Read?

The experiment – Can cats read?

By Angie Quantrell Angie Quantrell

My husband walked into the kitchen with a guilty grin on his face.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he smirked.

Seeing I wasn’t convinced, he added, “I’m just laughing at your book on CD.”

Ok. Weird. But I let it go.

After dinner, I went out to tidy up the patio and harvest strawberries. And then I saw why he was giggly.

On the chalkboard we have mounted to a wall (for the grands, of course), someone had drawn and written a message.

To our neighborhood bully cat, Mr. Mustache, or Stache. From our gray girls, Mabel and Monet.

Can cats read? Do they understand a threat? Is humor lost on them?

It seems my husband thinks so.

Did his threat work?

I’m sorry to say, but no, Stache has still been around spraying on our windows and chasing the girls inside.

To conclude this experiment in cat communication skills, we may assume that:

1. Cats cannot read.

2. Cats don’t care if you threaten them.

3. Cats don’t get humor.

Stache, boldly making his visit

Or maybe, cats just don’t read message boards.

Read more about Stache, the Bully, here.

May 10, 2016
by Angie Leave a comment

Container Gardens

Baby kale and lettuce mix win the mobile garden location

By Angie Quantrell Angie Quantrell

Container gardens are the way to go this year.

It’s funny how I go through fads in my garden.

Last year, I didn’t want many containers other than the raised beds and strawberry garden. I relished the empty patio space that left ample room for the grands to race wheeled vehicles around without crashing.

Previous growing seasons bloomed and produced according to my every whim and decorating idea. I loved grouping pots and plantings according to heat and watering zone. Notice I say heat instead of sun requirements. My afternoon garden is all a heat zone and any container has to be mostly in shade or capable of handling the crippling sun rays.

Baby kale

This year is once again a container garden year. But my reasoning is fresh and experimental.

This year I want to win against the garden predators. Slugs. Sow bugs. Earwigs. Aphids. And whatever else is chewing its way through my fresh veggie crop.

For instance, radish is languishing in an old turkey roaster pot that has holes in the bottom, mainly because every time I have planted them in the past, the sow bugs and slugs have eaten holes and rings around each beautiful radish.

Radish seedlings popping through the soil

Lettuce and kale are making a new home in a little red wagon and a washtub. This is my attempt to avoid the slugs and aphids.

Chives and a random sunflower are living in yet another washtub.

Chives and a sunflower plant

Germination has commenced and plants are popping through the soil. What has yet to be found is how successful the plants will be in growing to full-size and giving me tasty treats.

Kale? Check. We’ve already had baby leaves.

And that’s all I know for now. We shall see. Let the experiment commence.

Until then, kale, strawberries, and herbs it is.

Spring strawberries

May 5, 2016
by Angie Leave a comment

Encroaching

Beautiful yet encroaching and taking over a flower bed

By Angie Quantrell Angie Quantrell

Encroaching.

honeysuckle

crab grass

pink flowers

vines

raspberries

strawberries

parsley

pumpkins

sunflowers

evergreen tree

birch branches

moss

slugs

sow bugs

daddy long legs

yellow jackets

aphids

white grass bugs

ants

gossip

television

news

media

politics

pollution

violence

wars

famine

drought

Encroaching.

In my yard. In my community. In my world.

Aggressively encroaching vines grasping for toe holds

It starts small, but once you start looking, it’s everywhere at every level.

Encroaching.

What is encroaching in your life?

Yet. There is always hope. Big or small encroachments, He is here.

Raspberries escaping and encroaching throughout yard

But you are a shield around me, O LORD;

you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

To the LORD I cry aloud,

and he answers me from his holy hill.

I lie down and sleep;

I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

Psalm 3:3-5 NIV

May 2, 2016
by Angie Leave a comment

The Bird

The window

By Angie Quantrell Angie Quantrell

I had just finished reading two separate blog posts.

The first post was about clean windows and how they look great – until the sun streams through and we can still see the smudges and streaks left despite our efforts. You can read this Lynn Austin post here. A Clear View

The second post asked the question “Just How Big is God?” The author encouraged readers to consider how God knows every little detail, even down to when a sparrow falls to earth. Every sparrow! Read this post by Leslie A. here. Just How Big is God?

A few mere moments after completing these readings, I heard a loud thunk.

In our house, a thunk usually means a bird has flown into our large picture window.

This window, speaking of clean windows, streaks, and smudges, defies my every attempt to make it clean and sparkling.

I raced towards the front window, glancing down into the flower bed beneath the brick ledge.

Sure enough, a stunned sparrow twitched on the bark. I went out and saw that it barely breathed. I gently picked it up and stroked its back, watching for signs of being stunned or on the edge of death. Some birds survive our window. After a few moments of being knocked out, they flip over and fly away.

This little guy did not. He didn’t take more than 2 or 3 breaths as I held him cupped in my hand. I watched the still breast, hoping that I just couldn’t see the ribs move. But the glass wall was too much for his tiny body.

And there I was. Crying for a tiny sparrow who died from smashing into my window. Even though I could see the dirt and smudges on it, it looked clear and invisible for my feathered friend. There was nothing I could do.

But God knew. He knew the exact moment the sparrow crashed into the window and the second it took its last breath. And He cared that it happened.

God knows all things. He cares about everything in our lives, down to the tiniest detail. Though He is the God of the Universe, He knows and cares.

About us. About that poor sparrow. About me crying when the sparrow died. About my frustrations with daily life or big events or fears that seem silly. He cares.

God cares.