seed, bud, blossom, FRUIT!

The blog-o-shere contains wonderful, amazing photos and writings of peoples' talents, art, gardens, skills, creativity. Sometimes, it makes a girl feel a bit inadequate. We look in the mirror and see wrinkles and zits. We look at our garden and see the basil that croaked or the weeds. I've been meaning to document some photos and aspects of the less-than-perfect life in order to learn, to increase my powers of observation, to perhaps gain insight from readers out there, and to document how achieving our potential is hard freaking work.

But today is not that day, because after a week of working every single day (my bank account thanks me) and celebrating Mr. B's birthday, I looked to find tomatoes!!! Five little green tomatoes!!! And lots more blossoms!

So today, I celebrate green little tomatoes and yellow tomato flowers and little tomato buds. I celebrate the progress on my self-designed topsy-turvy tomato planter made from a recycled two gallon water container:

The nasturtiums and tomatoes both have buds, and the marigold is one of my happiest. I'm also celebrating the fact that my beneficial garden, where I scattered seeds that attract pollinators is, in fact, doing just that, with a myriad of bees, from bumble to honey to mason, are constant visitors.

 I'm celebrating the beauty of my garden with all its flaws and room for improvement.

 

And I'm celebrating having the day off! Time to go get some good grub and go roller skating with friends. What are you celebrating in your garden or in your life, gentle readers? I'd love to hear from you.

summer at last!

Yesterday, the radio told me that Portland had three days of clear sky this spring. I'm not sure what qualifies as a clear day, but three days...um, wow. I told a clerk that, and she responded, "Yeah, I noticed!" But yesterday felt like summer. Wonderful wonderful summer. I biked to the grocery store in shorts and a t-shirt, celebrating, rather than shivering at, the touch of the breeze on my bare arms and legs.
I also celebrated what felt like our summer solstice by making a delicious salad for two from our garden:

I weeded and planted, including planting more pansies, some shasta daisies, an orange-scented thyme that I found at the nursery covered in honey bees, and some annuals for our little outdoor sanctuary. We set up the dome that Brian built the other day, and yesterday, I added some homey touches and color.

I put cushions on the wicker chair and foot rest, hung up a curtain, spray painted two of the chairs green, and hung up the hammock from Ecuador. I also rolled the busted grill inside, and while it's currently holding several plants, I'm going to hang those eventually from the dome and turn the grill into a planter box.

become what you love

I finally finished my embroidery project! It started in December on a dull day of subbing, with a piece of graph paper. I designed the lettering. Months later, I stitched. Then, finally, I found a piece of scrap material to use behind it. One day, on the beach, I scouted for a piece of driftwood to hang it from. Then, finally, last night, I stitched on the red lace border.

I want to give it away, but until I find that lost piece of graph paper with the original lettering design on it, I'm not ready to give it up. I want to have the option of reproducing it or at least being able to use the design to help facilitate making different ones, such as: "hello, honey" with some bees on it or "grow" or "follow your bliss."

happy father's day!

To all the great dads out there, especially mine, happy father's day! I'm getting more and more excited to fly home next month, pack our beat up body boards and beach umbrellas and drive down to the coast for a week on the beach, one big happy--sometimes grumpy, sometimes giggly, sometimes goofy, sometimes sleepy, often hungry, usually thirsty--family!

black to green

Turns out, I don't have a black thumb. I've been wondering: where have all my bean seeds gone? I have two, yes, two (1 and 2) bean plants growing out of several plantings of seeds. But my fears have been eased; I did not somehow destroy the soil in my garden. My thumb turns greenish again as my suspicions have been confirmed; it turns out that beans just hate cold, wet weather! Thanks to Gayla again!

We Portlanders really can't complain: we have a long growing season. Everything seems to grow here. But I've picked a tough year to get started on having my own garden: the 3rd wettest May on record, and possibly one of the wettest and coldest Junes as well. It's currently 53 farking degrees outside!!! and gray looms, threateningly.

So beans, if I must, I will keep trying with you, until I am happily eating you steamed with olive oil, sea salt, and lemon juice!