It’s A Blooming Miracle

…that I was able to grow anything at all this summer.

I know most Yankee gardeners think that we have it made in Florida. But what we have is an actually short growing season before the sun burns everything up. Including us- the heat chases us indoors just like the snow chases you.

And bugs. We have LOTS of bugs. Big mutant mosquitoes. Lovely little moths that lay their eggs all over my garden; their offspring especially love my tomatoes. Aphids. Stinging gnats. Ants… the list goes on.

But I was able to grow a few things this year, including flowers. :)

Potatoes

Roses (Knock-Out and Don Juan) and Gardenias

    

Spearmint                                               Nasturtium

Some cucumbers

These zinnias bloomed so prettily for about a week before the heat got them.

The pretty zinnia that Lyli and I grew from seed.

And a Chianti Sunflower growing along the garden fence.

UpCycling

When you purchase a foreclosure, you will get a few surprises. Sometimes, they’re great- like the three gorgeous gardenias that have supplied my kitchen window with fragrant blooms for the past few weeks. Sometimes, they’re not so great- like the destroyed ramp and steps left in our backyard.

We’ve been able to salvage some of the wood for small projects in the garden. But the rusty nails all over I could do without. We’ve cleaned quite a bit around here.

And, along with the help of our friend Ed, we UpCycled the broken steps into a small potting table.

I put a shade on top, some hooks on the sides, and a shelf in the back. I like the space underneath for my buckets and supplies. Yay!

It’s Been Awhile

 

Hi, everyone. Once Spring sprung, we got really busy around here. And I only remember that it’s been awhile since I’ve blogged after dark, when I can’t take pictures.

But here are some of the work we’ve been doing around here.

 

Whenever I couldn’t get outside, I hung curtains and pictures. I almost have the house finished. I think.

We tilled up a garden area. Only to test the soil and find it too alkaline and completely devoid of nutrients. And this is really too big of a plot for me to work by hand alone. Back to the drawing board.

Since the chickens took over my fenced garden area, I think I will put up a wooden picket fence (hmm, made out of used pallets?) and a pretty gate bordering the recently tilled area. And then fill the area with raised beds. I think it will be a celebration of different types of gardening. Wooden raised beds, square foot gardens, a blueberry/blackberry hedge.

We planted some fruit trees in the backyard. They’re hard to see in the picture because of our toys (and the fact that the trees are small babies). We planted a pear, two figs, and three citrus. We also planted a Golden Rain Tree and two Sycamores for shade.

I plan to take those steps (leftover from the foreclosure mess) and turn them into a potting/garden table. That’s our plan for Sunday if the weather permits. :)

I have hopes of getting some grapes planted soon, as well as another pear.

-Blessings!

The Lazy Way to Water

 

Have you seen these?

I love them. I bought some at WalMart. I didn’t realize how much water my plants actually need. These little “aqua globes” water the plants according to their needs instead of a timer or my own attention span. But they can be expensive.

So that got me to thinking- what exactly is this? Well, it’s a glass bottle with a narrow neck. Hmm. Where have I seen those before?

TA-DA!

An empty wine bottle works, too. Recycling at its best!

Now I am saving beer bottles and wine bottles to become my own

free “Plant Nannies.”

HomeSchool of Life

 

We love homeschooling. The freedom. The choices. The books! Oh, how I love the books! If I can pass on to my children a love for God and a love for books I will have done my job.

In January, we took a trip to the Children’s Hands On Museum in Jacksonville. What a great place. Lyli is captaining the pirate ship. Loral is playing in the toddler room.

Both girls are artists. This is Lyli’s latest collage.

A fishing fieldtrip. I call this “learning life skills.”

You know what they say, “teach a girl to fish…”

For science and gardening, Lyli is growing (and eating) strawberries.

She waters them, tends to them, weeds them, and helped me set up this cage and net to protect them from birds.

Loral enjoys the chickens. She loves to watch them.

We adopted three new hens recently from a friend. Two buff orpingtons and a barred rock. They’ve fit into the flock seamlessly. Now we have seven spoiled hens.

And for math, we’ve been baking and measuring.

This is Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova that Lyli made for my birthday. (I helped with the mixer.)

We’re a fun learning loving family.

:D

 

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The Invitation of the Ocean

My first novel is now available.

You can buy it for Kindle

here.

You can buy it for Nook

here.

And you can even get it in print

here.

We're in the process of planning local book signings and maybe even a release party.

Keep in touch either here or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/phyllisfekula)

for updates.

I do have some author copies available. Contact me on FaceBook if you'd like to order a signed copy.

-Phyllis

Winter Happenings

We've been busy with home projects this winter. It's been deceptively warm here during January, and I've been dying to get outside and start planting. But now that it's freezing February, I'm glad I waited. 

We put up pantry shelves in the laundry room.

Now I can see what we need more of- potatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, and chicken broth.

I built some shelves for the office.

 This is still a work in progress. I plan to hang another bulletin board on the left and relocate some of the clutter on top of the shelves. My favorite feature in these shelves are the concrete blocks. I love the cubby-holes. I put some small toys in them for the girls to find.

This wooden stepladder was a gift from Ben's Grandma Pat.

 I cleaned it up and put it beside my bathtub. I love the rustic farmhouse beauty of it.

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