kismet art

Planting

{sweet pea shoots}

Planning on spending this Earth Day planting in the garden (spent most of yesterday afternoon weeding), bring on the sunshine. 

Spring Planting (or how I was tricked by Mother Nature)

Spring was almost officially here the day I pulled out my seed packets, weeded the beds, and spent the afternoon planting in the sunshine.
I even had tomato plants sprouting indoors, my earliest start on my garden ever... Then Mother Nature decided to dump several inches of rain.And after the rain we received over 6 inches of snow yesterday waiting for the thaw before I figure out what made it.  Thinking that the lettuce, carrots, and radishes are going to need a do-over.

Monday Pumpkin Science Minute, week 4

I believe this weeks look at the pumpkins can be summed up by the words of a very wise 4 year old girl:

"This is gross."

Until next week.

Monday Pumpkin Science Minute, week 2

A little mold, a little sinkage, a little nibble here and there, why, it must be time for this weeks installment of Monday Pumpkin Science Minute.  Yes, it is nothing if not exciting around the ol' Ackerman household this fall, for a view of last weeks pumpkin photo click here.

And until next Monday, try not to have more excitement than us, it just makes us feel bad...

Green Thumb

Despite the fact that the garden beds are empty and the flowers long gone my little green-thumbed helper is hard at work, rain or shine, at keeping her garden going.

The Not So Itsy-Bitsy Spider

Every night before bed Emma has me singing 3 versions of the "Itsy-Bitsy" spider song that she has been singing at her preschool.  The first version is the regular, itsy version.  Next we sing about the "medium" spider.  And we finish our song fest with the "Big" spider.

I think the spider in this web that was on my rose bush is the spider from the third version of the song.

And I almost walked right through it's web today.

And if I had I think I would have been singing something of the four-letter variety.

What is Up With the Snails This Year?

They are eating EVERYTHING from tiny shoots to full grown perennials. They are in my shoes, on my windows, under the rim of every pot.  I know all that rain last month helped the plants but I'm starting to think it was like some kind of super strength potion for the snails.

First Tomato

I noticed this little guy hiding out today which quickly led to the discovery of a couple dozen more. Hoping against hope that even though June was wet and cold that July's heat will help us harvest a lot of tomatoes this summer. Dreaming of caprese salads, heirloom salads, or just a sun-warmed tomato right off the vine.

Sweet Garden Days

Oh how I love these few and far between, somewhat sunny, not too rainy days like the one we had today, the kind of day when there is just enough good weather that I can't concentrate on anything inside and have to go out and get my hands into some dirt, especially when I am accompanied by my best garden helper:This year I gave Emma a raised bed of her own, if you look closely at the next photo you can see her casting dozens of seeds everywhere (as of today the radishes are starting to poke through the soil- in some really unique spots.)The only snail lover in the family.I truly do not know how she is doing it but Emma keeps finding carrots from last year in the ground (maybe I should go back and look at the photo of her seed casting technique for my answer...)Today we planted strawberry plants, peas, and have a few dozen tomatoes sprouting in Ben's bedroom window.

I love you spring, and especially when you grant me one of these sweet garden days.

Laugh or Get Angry?

I have been waiting impatiently for Spring.  And just last week a weird weather front dumped a few inches of snow on top of our budding plants, plants that for the following few days had to battle high winds, 20 degree temperatures, and several inches of rain.  But today the sun peeked it's fickle head out so I pulled out the rain boots and went outside with Emma in tow (who was giddy at being outside after several days of that aforementioned rain.)  As I walked around dreaming of what I will be planting mere weeks from now my sweet girl hands me a bucket and says "Here mommy, I picked this for you."  And I peered into that bucket only to spot the heads of the few daffodils that made it through last week.

My first instinct was to get upset.  But I stopped for a moment, and somehow the laughter bubbled up inside me instead, and I looked down at that smiling face, so proud of the gift she was giving me, and gave her a big kiss.

Now trust me, I am not one to always go for the laughter first, and it took a lot of willpower to not lecture her about why we don't pop the heads off of all the flowers in the garden (note to self: plant a LOT of flowers this spring) but I am glad I was able to take a moment and hold back those words and instead share in her joy.  

And I plan on placing those tiny, stemless flowers, floating in a very shallow dish, next to my bed, a gentle reminder that I always have the choice between laughing or getting angry.