I have neglected the blog, and don't remember how to do some  things  like  transferring photos to here, I probably could figure it out but  it is to much trouble.  Google says  I changed my password 4 months  ago  , I don't remember doing that ??

 The garden is growing , slowly ,  we had a  cold April, and did not get the garden planted till mid to late April.  Then  we did not have rain and it went to 90+ ' in May , many days and now that it is June it is still  in the 90's  and no rain.   I water with the rain barrel water , but  it is just to hot. The carrots  did not come up , Brad bought me new seeds  I have planted  those  May 21  they did not come up so today 6-6-18 I have  planted  carrots  for a  third  time.  I  also replanted  Cilantro  and Dill as the dill did not come up and there are only  5 tiny plants  of Cilantro.    My tomatoes  and peppers look " great",  I got those from  Lorri,  the pepper have lots of flowers  and there are lots of flowers  on tomatoes  and  there are  small tomatoes already.    Lorri also sent sweet potatoes, french bush beans and Kolhrobi.  Those  are all planted and appear to be doing well,   she also sent cucumbers and if I keep those  watered they look great.  I planted  pie pumpkin 2 hills  and  2 hills of  giant  pumpkins.   Only 1 hill of pie pumpkin came up so I went  " nuts" and planted 4 more hills of pie pumpkin in flower area by garden and down in a  corner of pasture , they are all up and  doing well.   Then because those were slow to germinate ,  I got  worried and planted the remaining  19 pie pumpkin seeds  that I had in cups,  and you guessed it they all germinated.  So  I  offered  Kaylea  some  and planted  5 hills  at the Boone Master Gardener  Community Garden, and so far those look good.

I have tried to expand my herbs,  still have  Chives, Sage ,mint that are established,  I planted new this year, Lemon Balm, Yarrow- Red and yellow , Lemon Grass and Stevia.  Then in my herb planter I have Basil, rosemary, parsley , and a small planter  with Thyme and Oregano.    

 So I keep the garden hoed, and weed free, I have used cut up 5 gal pails around the tomatoes and peppers, to help hold water in , also mulched  with grass clippings.

  Will try to see if I can figure out the photo thing.  

Tomato Time !

The tomatoes are  starting to ripen , we have been eating the little yellow pear tomatoes  just off the vine and in salad, or as a snack, but then the other tomatoes  have started to ripen and it was time to get to work.   So I now have 5 pint jars of salsa and 2 Qt. jars of little roma tomatoes !     I need  a " prep chief",  Nikole  has  an excellent one that she " trained"!!!      I found  a   canned spaghetti sauce recipe in my Taste of Home magazine, I need 25 lab's of tomatoes,   I think I will try it and half the recipe.   I just need to stay on top of the ripening tomatoes. And there will be more tomorrow.     

     I have been digging potatoes ,  carrots , and beets.    I  have made  beet cake and chocolate beet cupcakes.   Both were quite good.  The garlic is  braided and hung to dry, the onions  were dug up and are drying on the picnic table,  I will attempt to braid them as I saw on pintrist, and if it does not work I have mesh bags  I will put them in and hang up . The beans are not doing much , I will make sure that I don't pick up pole beans again.    The kale is doing well, and the cilantro is fading fast.  I have lots of Jalapeño peppers , and some  red and green bell peppers. 

    My pumpkin patch was moved to the pasture by the barn, and I have  only a few pumpkins.  So  next year I will plant them back in the garden and then I will try some back there again. But  after talking with Nikole  maybe I need flowers that will attract  bee's  for pollination. So  I need to start planning  that area. 

Rain bows

A rainbow  from a few nights  ago,  no rain at our house but some lucky person south of us got rain. 

A rainy week,  my new rain barrel is full !

The garden is starting  togrow,  beans,beets, kale, cilantro, potatoes, pumpkins are up.   The green lettuce mix  is  looking good  and I will start to pick that this week.  Also planning to move my row net to the beet rows  just to make sure they will be safe.  So far I have not noticed any evidence that a bunny has been in the garden.

 The herbs from Lorri are  looking great-   the small planter in front with the Thyme and Oregano is growing , it looks  good.   I trimmed  the Sage bush some more,  I trimmed it in early spring but was not sure how much to trim, but  there was a lot of new growth so  I trimmed up the long stems to a more reasonable length.  I will know now for next year that I can cut back farther then I did this year.  The wooden herb planter on deck is doing well also,  the  lemon Basil looked  really sad  for  several days  but is  doing well now,  so  it was just in shock from being moved from it's  safe pot to this bigger  area.  Can't wait to make recipe that calls for fresh basil !! And I have a couple of experiments  that do need it .

  I received  a  wonderful  Mothers Day present ,  a   wooden  rain barrel with a  red pumper  handle.    It  is  really  great,  NO more filling  watering can  with the garden hose.    Brings  back memories  of  my childhood  at  grandma's  house , she had a  water pump in back yard, that as a  child  I used.

 Also  Nikoles  mom Lorri has a  green house  and  has  produced  " beautiful  huge  tomato" plants  , and I was lucky to get some , plus basil, lemon basil, parsley , yellow squash. My garden is complete now,    can't wait to have tomatoes  to eat , can for use in the winter, salsa.  But I know I  will need to wait till July/ Aug.         I had bought tomato plants at a  local green house ,  they were ok  but  no where near as  nice  as  Lorri's.    My store bought ones are  in the back ground with 1/2 gallon milk containers on them.

Also   planted Wild Ginger  that   Brad found  at  St Paul's  farmers  market.  I love  wild ginger , a  very pretty green forest wild flower.      Needless to say I am going  to be  busy the next several weeks  watering all of my plants at least daily.

 So appreciative of my kids   Nikole, Brad, A-Lisa and Richard    Thank you to all of you .

We had  .31 in of much needed rain yesterday,  the grass is really green and we will need to mow  soon, the trees  are getting leaves.    I decided to plant mixed greens  and  carrots , and  next week I will put my row net that Brad and Nikole gave me  over the rows  to further bunny proof .

Always  amazing  how after  being inside  all winter I can't wait to get out there  and plant things  and play in the dirt.   The rhubarb that I transplanted last year all came up but  the plants  are very very small and the rhubarb  stalk is  just  a little  thicker then match stick.  I hope  that during this summer they will continue  to grow  and get bigger.  I will just borrow  rhubarb from my sister.   I like to make  a  pineapple / rhubarb  jam  and  then  Nikole has a  REALLY good   strawberry / rhubarb  cobbler  recipe  and I want to make that at least  twice!   Strawberry shortcake.

I  have been thinking I might go to MN for strawberry picking as  the ones  I picked down here last year  were not at all good.   I also  have used all but  2 packages of Blueberries  so that means  a
 field trip to WI. in July .

Now  just need to wait for about 6 weeks  and I will have  fresh salad greens.

I have  tried again to change the blog name,  I hope I was able to accomplish that this time.

Sort of spring up and down temps,  I am ready to plant my garden but I must wait  a few more weeks.  We borrowed the garden tiller  on Mon. and that all done.  We made it  bigger  by about 4 feet, and also tilled  a small area in " clover pasture " for my pumpkins , then they can go where ever they want.

 My garlic that I planted  last fall is up , but  not all of it made it , so I have soaked  garlic cloves  over night and will plant those  today.
 The tomato and Kale seeds  that I started in the house are growing, getting a second  leaf on the tomatoes so  I will add more dirt to the little cups.

  I am still missing Mars and it has  been almost a year.      We seemed to have been adopted  by a
"cat",  he lays in the sun in barn stalls and runs inside to hide if we get close,  we call it Barney .

 I  am trying to change  my blog title ,  as  Mars  is in Rainbow  Heaven  waiting on us !!
  Not sure if  I have  done it correctly or not,  if I did great , if not , I will have to try again.

In May we made the hard decision to put Mars  down.  He had not been able to see for about a year, he was sleeping   at least 23 hours a day,  eating very little and not drinking much. He walked slowly, he  hadn't gotten up to greet me when I came home from work in several  months. He probably would have lived longer , but it was so hard to watch him as he was,  knowing what he had been like. A  happy playful dog, that loved to go in the car,  or on walks, or just to follow us around in the yard.
 So  this will not be the Adventures  of Bobbie and Mars  I have changed the name.

  I have not done so well with the garden this spring.  Either it has been to wet, to cool, or I planted almost everything to deep, as the only thing up so far are my beets.  A few potatoes are poking  out of the dirt as are a few onions.   So  by this coming Sat. it will be  3 weeks since I planted and if nothing more is up I think I will  replant and try this again.

  I planted  my tomatoes and peppers  today.  Also the basil in the herb planter on the deck .  I put the rosemary in a medium sized pot and it is sitting in the front walk flower bed, beside the sage plant that Lorri gave me and the chives. So  I am thinking I will get another rosemary plant and actually plant it as it is a  perennial and see if it will make it over the winter.

Planted impatiences  in pots on the patio and by the cabin. Put marigold seeds  by wagon wheels at the driveway.     I also had planted  marigold seeds  by the side of the potting shed and they are coming up.

  My sister and I had  done a mail order and  the Bleeding Heart are coming up and starting to bloom , one of the 6 ferns is coming up and  the astilbe is coming up .    If it stays  warmer I will put the boston fern from last year  out ,  it did rather well over the winter.  So I would guess the " reefer" room is a  good place as far as day light and temp is concerned.


 I checked  and the Blue Bird  is still sitting on the nest.  After  all the rain we had this past weekend I was hoping she didn't give it up.  

 Mars hasn't help much this year with the planting , he would rather sleep, so we let him sleep. Getting old, slower, and not at all interested in a walk or playing.

Lets hope the warmer temps and sun will make my garden grow.

It was a  beautiful morning,  there were Blue Birds  checking out the 2 blue birds houses  I had put up earlier in the week,  so I knew I needed to get a  pole to put up the new blue bird house that A-Lisa  had given me. Mars went with me to the barn, no pole long enough there.  We stopped on the way back to the house and checked out the garden and look what  we found!    There were about  8 garlic plants  growing.  I missed those last fall,  but this will be  fun to watch them grow and see how they do.  I had thought about planting more garlic last fall as is suggested  as   the best way to grow garlic, but I didn't get that done. 

But  I do have my thoughts on paper as to how I want to plant my garden this year,  just need a little rain, and some more warm weather . Hopefully in a month  I can start preparing it to be planted. But  right now I  have garlic  and blue birds  to watch.

   The Osage Orange tree is in the pasture  and  has  many many Hedge Balls.   I have put them all over the basement , garage, storage area's.     I have been told that they will help to deter insects, spiders, critters !!    So   we will see what happens,   I have them in the family room and still  have  box elder bugs ,but   not nearly as many as last year. 

    This  is only a  " few" of the hedge balls , I have already given many away , have them in the house, and Nikole is taking  2  bags for her mom, and family.  Guess I will pick more up and bring to house or storage shed.   

While in the garden yesterday,  I checked the  pepper plant , and this is what I found !    And there are several more small green peppers growing.    I will have to cover the plant the next few nights as it is to get to freezing or close.   Not that I will be able to save the plant but I think I will try.      Only a  few more tomatoes left,   there  are 2 pumpkin vines that are green, and a few carrots left to dig.  Then my first garden is done.     But I have  learned  a  few things , and have decided what I might want to plant next year.   I would guess this will be an ever changing project.  More pepper plants next year, and beets. 

Mars and I were out to harvest a  " few" more tomatoes  yesterday and on the way back to house  look what we found !    A  huge  shelf mushroom.   It is about 12 in. across.  The base of it appears to be coming right out of the tree.  I will keep an eye on it and see how big it will get.    One of the wonders of fall. 

Finally  I have my pallet shelf.  I took boards  from one of the pallets, cleaned them and this past weekend,  Jeff helped me or rather  I helped him to nail and glue together.   I have it in the 1/2 bath, and have put antique items on it.  Old shaving mug, straight razors, brushes, a  mustache coffee mug that was Grandpa  Jacob Jungwirths.   The straight razors ,shaving mug and brushes were my dads.      Just fun to have these things  out to look at. 

Now  the next several weekends I will need to get busy and get the garden cleaned off and ready for winter, and get the flower beds ready for winter.    We have picked up walnuts and taken to the " walnut man", and we have more  ready to take again. 

 Margaret Ann and I went " junking",  and there was an arrangement similar to this  for   $$.   So  I got my grandpa's old wood box out , scrubbed it and  arranged the candle and flowers in it.  My plan is to change the flowers etc. with the seasons.  

I cut Sedum and snow ball flowers  and put in vase,  I did this on Sat. and now on Thur. they still look great.  Hope they last  a long time. 

It is now Oct. , the summer is gone, we are finding other places to walk, and this is one of them. The High Tressel Bridge in Madrid.  This is on one of our night walks,  the bridge goes over the Des Moines River and is for walking or bike riding.    Very cool at night as the pretty blue lights come on at dark.

I have had  an abundance of tomatoes and decided  I would try to make salsa.    The first batch turned out pretty good, but  I didn't can it . So I have since made more and canned it.  It is a  huge  project for small reward.  Single recipe makes 2 1/2 pints,  so I doubled it and got 4 1/2 pints.  And today I timed  myself and it took 3 hours  from beginning  with preparing the tomatoes to  the end when I was taking them out of canner process. 

 But  it is good and I   used the tomatoes.      

 We are still getting green beans , but no as many, and the carrots  are very tender and good, I think a  carrot cake is in the future.   My corn is done, I was disappointed with it , but I  should have picked it sooner,   so   next year I will  make the calendar  so that  I will start checking closely  to pick.     I think I will also plant more green Bell peppers  and  will plant  Jalapeño peppers  also so I don't have to try and find then in the store.       All in all the garden was fun and kept me busy this summer.  And I have to laugh to think I am already thinking about how to make it better for next year.

  Like getting more  large  tomato cages  or  maybe we should make something instead to hold the plants up?    Just  something to think about over the long cold winter !

A nice hot , humid summer day, and the garden is loving it.We set the   extra large live trap last night as  I think  the raccoon is munching on my corn,  but he just took the peanut butter bread from inside the trap and didn't set it off.  GRRRR

  My corn with silk , and little ears of corn forming, can't wait  to have corn on the cob.

  Here is the first tomato that will be eaten, today it is a slight reddish  yellow.  Just a  few more days  and it will in a  BLT sandwich.

   After much investigating I found out what these little green things  are.  Tomatoes berries.  And if what I have read and understood is that only a few plants form these, and they will have potato seeds in them ,  a  hybrid seed.   So   I guess I will be  watching them and trying to collect the seed.  I need to get a  yard flag or something to mark that plant, so that I can find  the plant more easily in the future. 

It is getting to be the end of July, and the tomatoes are doing well,  we have had them several times, and there appear to be  lots of green ones,  just hope we don't get tired of them!  

There are several of the little pie pumpkins that are already turning orange, seems a bit early for that.     The rest of garden is doing ok, still green beans just not as many, The carrots  are  doing very well , we need to start eating those, I have pulled the lettuce and will think about planting another crop as I do have a packet of seed that I can plant.   The corn should be ready to eat soon, the ears are filling out and getting bigger.   The garlic looks  good on the top, just wondering how it is going in the ground?   Still want to try and plant some for a  fall crop ,  need to check out the nursery  and see who has garlic for fall planting.