Garden Update: Second Edition

The garden is doing pretty well, but the battle against aphids has started. Right now we're using soapy water and working on attracting more ladybugs. But, overall, things are looking good. We've harvested lettuce each of the last three weeks. Hopefully in less than a month we'll have tomatoes, beans and peppers.

Tomatoes

Bush Beans

Lots of stuff here... basil, summer savory, marigolds, nasturtium, and sweet peppers

Sun Gold Tomatoe

Sweet genovese basil

Life After Classes

It feels like Sarah and I have both had more time since she finished classes for the semester. We've walked at Eno more often, went to a Bulls game, started harvesting from the garden, and found a little garden hunter to help with the bugs.

Spring walk at Eno

Durham Bulls game

Can you find the Praying Mantis?

Garden Update

The garden is looking pretty good right now. It's already getting hot and it seems to have been stressful for some of the plants, especially the lettuce. But, overall, things look good. We're most proud of the fact that it's all grown organically!

Mortgage Lifter tomato and Bush Beans in the background

Granny Cantrell tomatoto

Mortgage Lifter and Sun Gold tomatoes

Lettuce

Sweet Genovese Basil

Sunny Morning

Kora likes to hang out in the sun on the back patio. 

She also likes to keep watch for our neighbor's dog.

Metaphors Abound

Over the past week, I've been worrying that my bush beans weren't going to germinate. I've been tracking the number of days it takes them to emerge, and it was getting to the far end of the predicted timeline for germination. But, after returning from a weekend away in Charleston, SC, I found these little guys on the back patio.

When I was a kid and there were seedlings in our house, my mom would always say, "Just imagine if you could watch those cells divide right now. They would be splitting like crazy!" She's always the scientist. But it is an amazing thought, isn't it? There's so much going on within a young plant, and we're only able to perceive it over time unless we change the scale on which our observations take place. Yes, metaphors abound. I'll let you pick your own.

Young Farmers Documnetary

This makes us feel in good company. A longer version of the trailer is here. And thanks to Doug for passing this along!

Hello World

Hello World,

Somehow tonight I got a glimpse of the light, and I thought with what little light I had I should write a post. Big kudos to James for keeping up this blog for family and friends. He really has done such a great job with it. Thank you James.
So where has Sarah been?
That's a good question. I guess I could blame it on the school work. Graduate school is a journey unlike any other, typified by hours in the computer lab and hours in the books. Not so glamorous a life I know, and sometimes I get discouraged... but let me give a shout out to all graduate people out there... And let me give you some inspiration. Two words: Jane Goodall. I saw Jane speak at Duke a few days ago. What an amazing woman! She is so passionate about her work. It helps those of us, who have gotten a little lost in the books along the way, remember why we are reading the books, why we let our retinas burn behind computer screens. Thank you for that Jane Goodall.
James, Kora, and I are doing well. The garden contains a lot of potential energy at the moment. The soil sits, yearning for the seeds that will make it whole. The April showers, however, have delayed our progress on the planting front. Maybe next weekend.
Our Cindy Crawford Kora, with beauty mark on the right upper lip, is getting smarter by the day. I can see, however, that she is starting to get bored with us and needs some sheep. I need to get through graduate school quickly, so I can buy her some land and some sheep.
James is studying for the GRE right now, Kora sleeps, the rain falls outside... again, and I suppose I should go to bed. Although I get preturbed with April showers for delaying progress on the garden, I suppose I cannot get too mad. The earth in the Southeast has been dehydrated for the last few plus years, so it's about time she get her water.
Well, thank you for letting me write at you. I hope for you a good day tomorrow, whoever you are. Soak in the rain with the day and be well.
Thank you for you.