We Are Deep In the Heart of Texas

Nomadic seasons of farming adventures with nature thrown in to include; a pinch of family, snippets of friends, counting our blessings, paying IT forward, home school, and the spicy things I decide to rant about.















Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Bigger In Texas; Happy Birthday

Can you believe this zucchini? Weighs a little over 2 lbs. 
 I used the $20 so, you can have a point of reference.  Hubby found this one tucked under leaves.  Just amazing.  So far we have eaten; raddishes, turnips, greens, onions, Greek oregano, zucchini, serranos, jalapenos, and yellow squash.
 Our corn is now over our heads, quite surprising with all the high winds we have this year.  We have to water nearly everyday to keep our garden up.  Our normal temp is around 100 sometimes; much higher counting the humidity.
 Our first apple fruit.  If you look you can see the wind burn on one curled leaf.  We are hoping as our fruit trees grow; they will toughen.  We were told that we could not grow apples nor, grapes here.  Well we have both so far.  Hubby and I don't mess much with our trees, plants, vines; other than feed and water.  We figure if it grows in the wild then it is meant to be here with us.
Do you see my Greek Oregano (Eleni) has a wide spread?  Hubby trimmed back 1/3rd of her branches and I dried the leaves for cooking later in the year.  It is crazy to know, a 0.5 ounce at a grocery store will cost a consumer $4 a bottle.  So my little investment in Eleni has paid off.  --- I got Eleni at WalMart for $1.77 and now look at her; soon she should flower for seed. :O) 
Our jalapenos are hotter than the serranos.  Crazy heat in these little fire bombs.  
We spoil our little country pooch, Banjo.  He gets bits and pieces of our meals.  This little six pound wonder is a macho small dog; who regularly chases wild critters off our yard in the night.  Here is he eating a slice of French toast; spoiled little monster he is!

This week has been a bit slower with the Memorial Day holiday.  To honor a vet; our family laid a wreath on Mr. Dennis's grave; Mrs. Lily we are so sorry for your loss.  We love you both.

Our son Sid's birthday is today.  Happy 25th, May you have a 100 more years in which is grow and explore the world.

For those who are following our homeschool progress.  We are using Sonlight for both boys this year.  And both love it; especially Saenz.  The stories included in this literature based program take him on adventures all over the world.  On the weekend; I just type up a daily checklist of assignments or milestones he needs to accomplish.  You will notice; I have not included physical or art education; we do those off line throughout the day.   For current events, Time magazine just happened to have an article about the political unrest in Sanaa; so we will learn more about Yemen and the African continent.


I type up this checklist because Saenz; has trouble keeping his binder orgainzed as well as, other materials needed.  This just works better for him over all because he can track his progress without the mess of multiple sheets of paper. 

Okay a short; 'Movies You Need to See:' 
 King's Speech,
Rabbit Hole,
127 Hours,
The Fighter. 

Don't forget this week on History Channel; there are special documentaries on the Civil War.  150 years since, we as a country have made lots of progress; the beauty of America is her flexibility to change as her people change. 

Think about this; when elections are in question; no soliders, para-military or mass mobs go on killing sprees.  America's strength is in her people's belief in our system; we know we things will eventually return to our norm; even after a disaster. The History Channel is running a donation campaign now; to save historical sites throughout the US.  You donate $1.50 and they will match it.


Continue to grow and learn; we surely will be doing just that; in our slice of heaven.

7 comments:

Sharon said...

What a wonderful garden you have, I know it's hard to keep up with, but well worth it!

The heat is back again, I am afraid it's gonna stay this time.

Banjo is a busy little guy! Nothing gets past those little ones!

School is going well! The boys are growing! You do have "the good life"!

Texan said...

Yep everything is bigger in Texas. :o). LOL...

My garden is making now too.

I put up 6 pts of tomatoes today and 8 pts of summer squash pickles.

I tried some giant jalapeno this year and they seem to be growing bigger. We love pickled jalapeno and jalapeno jelly.

I hear ya on drying your own herbs. Last year was my frist year to do so and I was totalllllllly amazed at the flavor difference! Not to mention as you say the $ savings is amazing! So this year I put in a lot more herbs!

Cat said...

Banjo looks like a happy dog.

Your home schooling looks like a pretty good one. Not having kids, I look at it more from a "I studied education, and found it lacking" perspective. As long as you are able to put the time in it, and keep up the social part, I think homeschooled children have a bit of an advantage. But that's just me.

And as far as your garden...

WAHHHHHHH! I don't even have my garden plot tilled yet! Snif. I want summer to be here, already! But it looks like you have a great one going...

Cat

Vickie said...

Your garden looks great! I know what you mean about the wind this year. Our corn is bent way over most of the time. Today is the first day that we haven't gotten absolutely blasted. I know, I can tell - the mosquitos are back...

John Going Gently said...

see the kings speech first
it will lighten your day! x

Nekkid Chicken said...

Hey Sharon, Nice to see you about. I am thinking about your suggestion of baking some zucchini bread. YUM YUM

Texan, You ain't never lied. We don't have tomatoes yet, because the birds got our nearly ripe ones. But I am guessing this week; some of our 20 plants will produce. Can't wait!

Cat, I hope you get your plot started soon. Don't worry about socialization; we have a family right down the road. Banjo is a hoot, and very macho dog when it comes to protecting the yard.

John, It was an amazing film. I lost track of time watching it.

Vickie, I noticed mosquitos for the first time this year yesterday. I think you jinxed us. LOL

Greg (Accessible Hunter) said...

I liked the kings speech, great movie. Hope your day goes great