Im not doing Nothing...

 

 

My mother always told me that stolen plants never grow.
Our geranium grew like Topsy from a stolen cutting :)

 

Frequently  I'll enquire of my four year old daughter - What are you doing?

The answer is, as my post title says, *Im not doing Nothing* - which of course is quite correct - she is usually doing something filled with mischief or mayhem.


Weve been up to things, not a lot of mischief, or quite boringly, not a lot of mayhem either, but we are Doing.
The uniforms are ready, the shoes polished, the books stacked and the lunchboxes ready to go... almost.
Of course, theres still another week to go, but all is ready.
That anticipation is filled of nerves and anxiety topped with excitement and curiosity. I guess it is all new this year, as our lad heads for Intermediate. I wish him well, I hope it goes well and he soars... he has the makings of a great year.
Our young lass is where the mayhem and mischief starts ... there is scarcely a day goes by when she doesnt pull something apart or poke at something (read break it!) to see *how it works*... It has taken a while, but Im thinking - Finally at 4.5yrs - She is ready for creche or playcentre... something that keeps the mischief at bay, and captivates her, occupying her head and her hands, settling her in to readiness for learning and interacting with life.
Ive borrowed a camera, Yay! I have photos of our progressions - the new cat, the wilderness called The Garden, the Fruit on the tomatoes, and our capsicums that look as big as trees *grin* Im so proud!

The new Cat.
After the earthquake in September, we noticed after a while, we had *picked up a stray* He came and went, and we thought nothing more... but he has returned, and he was thin. Oh man, he was a skinny lad, a big boy, and it made us so sad that he was so ratty. His fur was dark brown, and he has the biggest green eyes, and he had a *growl* that made him sound ten feet tall... And he was hungry!! He ate. For three days solid, every time one of us went outside, he would purr and beg. We fed him because he was so skinny. Ive asked around, and neighbours have no idea where he is from. He lives under our house at night, and during the day, he loiters with intent. I love that phrase... His loitering is with good, loving, smooching intent, and he is beautiful. We named him Zander. Short for Alexander, he looks like he has done battle and won. Alexander The Great - I do wonder if Alexander the Great had a ripped left ear too?
So Zandy is our new tenant. He lives downstairs, and he loiters with the intent of getting food and giving us in return, big expressive loving smooches... bless him! We love him too, of course...

lettuces gone crazy - Drunken Woman is the name of the lettuces, so crazy suits!

After our Big Clean Up Outside this week, and a new garden box or two, we have uncovered an area opposite the garden in between the sheds, where there is a pebble bed surrounded by concrete. Im not sure what it was originally, but its about four metres by six metres, and Im starting to think it lends itself to being created into something special.
Now a Japanese Pebble Garden sounds great... but so does a chook house. Not the Chicken Hilton, just a modest coop for a coupla girlies to have for the kids, in the hope that they might like to leave us an egg or two... I am looking into the practicalities, the bylaws and the expense of the project, so WATCH THIS SPACE --- It would be so much fun... Bantams Im thinking...

Our Grey Crown Pumpkin
Late grower, and sloooow at this stage... Dont know, it might not make it.

 

 

 

 

The bucket around the Pumpkin is to stop the Black Princess (My Persian cat, Washington aka Black Pearl... ) from squashing the plant. It is under my bedroom window which Washington uses like a cat flap to reach her favourite place - My Bed... During the day, when she can be bothered moving from the bed, she lies between the bucket and the wall in the sun... Taunting me, as if to say, if I wanted to Lady, Id have that Pumpkin flatter than a pancake... And yanno what?... I believe her... (She talks to me yanno, she does...)

Our Garden is growing. The children and I have put in some more garden boxes. One is filled with lettuces, and doing well, we have some new plants, some herbs which are awesome, bergamot, lemon balm, echinacea and some thyme. We found amongst our seedlings some basil which I didnt realise smelt so heavenly.
Just thrilled... I planted some seeds of Red Bell capsicums, and ... well, you wouldnt believe it - all the seeds sprouted, and we have a plethora of capsicum plants Ive just planted into larger pots. Awesome! I have to say, if Gardening is good for the soul, my soul must be soaring... I get such enjoyment from it.
We have onions, (red and brown) some cauliflower, and some cabbage seeds to grow... so thats where we go from here... We have tomatoes on our plants, theyre slow to colour up, and I figure we are about a month away from hopeful harvest... Our parsley is gorgeous, our lettuces we left to seed are almost ready to pop, and our silverbeet still grows despite being eaten at least twice a week... The kids LOVE it. Im rapt that they eat it, and Im also astounded that it doesnt taste like dirt. Why did it used to taste like dirt when I was a child?
Our scarlet runners are still running (whose chasing them I wonder?) and Blaises tommy toe cherry tomato is taller than he is! ... And the fruits are still setting, still flowering... Joy!

Ahh, what is it they say? Photos, or it didnt happen -- Its happenin' Dude! Heres the photos...

Growin' some gorgeous toms!

Some of The Lazy A's Finest Toms!

Out of focus, orrrr... maybe theyre huge? LOL theyre not... yet.

Hollyhocks, calendula, lettuce, toms, parsley, silverbeet... and Blaise!

So there we be... Not doing Nothing, and enjoying it. We are looking forward to the next phase of life, the homework, the worries and the fun, the mid-summer days and the canterbury winds that seem to hedge around the season changes... Where ever you may be, let your heart soar free...

<3 

Love and Blessings

From my Heart Garden to Yours...

  Ebutterfly