The weather was sunny and dry today, a nice change from the snow and hail we have been experiencing for the last couple weeks. The kids and I decided to work outside, getting the plants that we have had living inside the house out in the garden where they belong. We had already filled this bed with dirt the week before, so we just had to plant our 4 varieties of cherry tomato plants. I had decided not to use the standard tomato cages, because I had already bought bamboo and string for the sugar snap peas, and thought it would look nice around the tomatoes as well. I was completely unprepared for how much work it would be. I went through 3 string wrapping designs, 2 bottles of water, about 2 hours of time, one shirt (thank you bird) and all my patience, but I think its finally done. It was so frustrating, trying to get the strings tight enough on the bamboo to support the plants, but not so tight that the bamboo pulled together. It still does a little at the top, but I am going to shut my eyes and pretend I don't see it. So, for fellow perfectionists...I would highly recommend tomato cages for your plants :) Here is the finished product:
The Sugar snap peas were much easier.....thats Italian Parsley and Oregano there in the little pots.
Rowan helping till the dirt in the second box:
And helping mix the new soil (click on this to check out the dirt mustache!!)
Once everything is planted, we should have lemon and regular cucumbers, baby carrots, some rainbow (pink, red, white, yellow and purple) carrots I got for the kids, Walla Walla onions, green onions, mint, a blueberry bush, red potatoes (maybe) and probably a few others I am forgetting about, plus the stuff we planted today. This is my first adventure in gardening and its a lot of fun, I hope we have some yummy food to show for it!
I was pretty beat after all that time in the sun (hey....I AM an Oregonian!) so we went upstairs for some "quiet time". HAHAHAHAHA.
The kids plotting:
And the ensuing fun:
It was a welcome break from the non stop bickering they had been doing the rest of the day, so I flowed with it. They really enjoyed themselves!
After dinner we went to Jacksons Bottom wetlands here in town. We had never been before, despite living here almost a year, so we were excited to see what it was like. It was pretty, and there were a lot of critters and birds, but I really prefer forest for hiking in, so we probably wont spend too much time there. It was a nice change from our regular evening walk scenery though!
Excited to begin exploring:
"look at all this we have to explore!!"
Killian picked up a stick, so of course mini-killian did the same. They compared:
She found a bigger stick (you cant really see it, but its there. and big!)
My guys :)
Matthew took some wildlife pictures:
Look at all the sticks Killy ended up with! He was pretty bummed that we had to leave them all there:
and finally, some Rowan cuteness:
The Sugar snap peas were much easier.....thats Italian Parsley and Oregano there in the little pots.
Rowan helping till the dirt in the second box:
And helping mix the new soil (click on this to check out the dirt mustache!!)
Once everything is planted, we should have lemon and regular cucumbers, baby carrots, some rainbow (pink, red, white, yellow and purple) carrots I got for the kids, Walla Walla onions, green onions, mint, a blueberry bush, red potatoes (maybe) and probably a few others I am forgetting about, plus the stuff we planted today. This is my first adventure in gardening and its a lot of fun, I hope we have some yummy food to show for it!
I was pretty beat after all that time in the sun (hey....I AM an Oregonian!) so we went upstairs for some "quiet time". HAHAHAHAHA.
The kids plotting:
And the ensuing fun:
It was a welcome break from the non stop bickering they had been doing the rest of the day, so I flowed with it. They really enjoyed themselves!
After dinner we went to Jacksons Bottom wetlands here in town. We had never been before, despite living here almost a year, so we were excited to see what it was like. It was pretty, and there were a lot of critters and birds, but I really prefer forest for hiking in, so we probably wont spend too much time there. It was a nice change from our regular evening walk scenery though!
Excited to begin exploring:
"look at all this we have to explore!!"
Killian picked up a stick, so of course mini-killian did the same. They compared:
She found a bigger stick (you cant really see it, but its there. and big!)
My guys :)
Matthew took some wildlife pictures:
Look at all the sticks Killy ended up with! He was pretty bummed that we had to leave them all there:
and finally, some Rowan cuteness:
