Picture Perfect Plastic

May 312012
 

Rick & I are always happy to help out our grandkids.

And when I got wind that they were collecting plastic caps for an Earth Day project at their schools, I jumped at the chance to help their cause.

What a better place to beg ask for donations than the place where I work.  A mass email went out to my colleagues and donation bins were placed.

And these wonderful people didn’t disappoint!

This lovely caterpillar welcomes everyone with a big smile.

Later on, she will emerge as a beautiful butterfly, full of color and life.

Sure, we weren’t able to provide all the great caps for these works of art, but what we did collect helped re-purpose a bunch of plastic that would have normally ended up in a landfill somewhere, and turned it into something that can be enjoyed by many people for years to come.

I will never look at a plastic cap the same way again.

 

My Green Thumb Still Works.

May 302012
 

Despite all the crazy weather we’re having, the garden seems to be doing pretty good.

My original 40 tomato plants are down to 39 now.  Some wayward gust of wind tore one of my babies right off an inch above the soil.

The extra 10 or so that I didn’t have room for (I think I may have overdid it… whaddaya think?) went to Nichole and they are now residing in the nice rich soil in the southern part of the state.

The 18 cumber plants are learning how to climb up the inverted tomato cages.  Some of them are being very difficult students, but I’m working with them every night with lots of encouragement.

The extra 6 that didn’t fit in the garden (I’m really seeing an overage pattern here) are nestled up against the fence line, where I’m hoping they’ll turn into a pretty green wall over the next couple months.

I haven’t been out to the farm in the past week to see how the 100 popcorn and 100 sunflower (a tad overkill??) are doing, but I’m sure I’m not missing anything.  It will be another week until I see real progress there.

Peas are emerging by their trellis and the peppers and dill are getting ready in the greenhouse for their new adventure in the great outdoors.

If the planned frost rumors don’t pan out (crossing fingers), and I don’t loose anymore plants to errant storms and/or bug infestations, my calculations show that I will be canning until 2014.

I guess my green thumb still works.

Maybe too good.

 

A Day in Pictures*

May 292012
 

For Memorial Day, Rick & I took a trip up to

While we were there we stopped at the

to get a few groceries.

When we were done there we went next door to the

to indulge in some java juice and scrumptious Leek and Mushroom Quiche.

With our caffeine levels back to normal and tummies full, we headed east to the

Unfortunately the casino gods were not watching down on us, and we left there a few dollars lighter.

Most of the weekend travelers had headed south earlier in the day, so the trip home was uneventful except for a

that I saw hightailing it across the road.

We dined on

for supper and spent a leisurely evening fighting the reality of having to go to work the next day.

*Courtesy of Google Images

Lovely Weather for Ducks

May 282012
 

To say that the weather this year has been weird would be an understatement.

March was like May, April was like July, and May is turning out to be like April.

It has been rainy and stormy for the past week, which is good for the garden that has been planted for almost a month now (and in a normal year would not have happened until this week).

We have had pitch black conditions outside at 11 am and sunny skies 20 minutes later.   Gale force winds have been the norm.  If it wasn’t nailed down, kiss it bye-bye.

The rain has been so hard that we were re-introduced to the low-lying areas of our property, creating small ponds that darted throughout the yard.

Skuttlebutt has it that we’ve received over 7 inches of rain for the past week.

So I really shouldn’t have been too surprised to see this little fella roaming around the yard the other day crying for its Mama.

I’m sure I looked like a moron trailing after him trying to get a photo, but I didn’t care.  He was just too cute to pass up.

 

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