Medley of this n that

MARK'S NW FRESH PRODUCE

I was able to snag all this lovely produce for only $22 which was a deal! Mark ended up giving me the corn because it had to be used within a day and also sold me those lovely huge mushrooms for really cheap.  Cherries are only $3.99 a pound which is the cheapest around! Cucumbers were only 2/$1 and apples/oranges are only 99 cents per pound.  Not sure if you can see that little brown square on the left but oh my gosh it was super yummy.  A local baker makes these pecan goodies and sells them at Mark's for only $1.50. Mmmmmmm!

Finally found a place for grandma's bird bath. She had hens n chicks in this bird bath for as long as I can remember so I decided to keep it that way.  Hopefully green moss will again grow up the side of it because I do miss the lovely green color.

I finally decided to use up the left over fir wood pieces and made these smaller garden beds.  Leveled them up, slathered them in linseed oil and filled them up with soil.  First bed has zucchini and crookneck squash.  Second bed has patti pan squash (yellow & white) with 2 varieties of tomatoes and the third bed has 2 varieties of cucumbers. These are located in my front yard along the fence because there is more sun and you cannot see them from the road which makes my husband happy. 

Chamomile, cilantro, sage and spearmint are much happier in their own pots now. Chamomile will be used for tea's this winter, cilantro and sage will be used for added flavors in our meals and spearmint will be used for tea as well.

 I finally have filled both garden beds! From carrots, chard, beans, broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower and many others that I'm forgetting at the moment.

Fresh organic dirt along the fence which I have lined with chicken wire.  Planted pea's (AGAIN!) which should grow well with the new soil.  Added dirt between my potatoes so I can plant flowers just as soon as they get a bit bigger.  Should look beautiful.

I decided to take out the mulch from the retaining wall and replaced it with dirt.  My quinoa wasn't getting any bigger and the new dirt should help it grow better.  First small plants you see on the left are quinoa, then raspberries and at the end I planted dill today.  Flowers will follow soon.

All I have to say about this picture is LOVE IT! Nuff said.

I also added some rich dirt to the pea teepee.  I planted some more pea's because the slugs (DIE SUCKERS!!!) ate them again for the second time. Ugg! Last year I grew pumpkins in this spot so I decided to add a pile of soil on either side of the teepee. 

Then I decided that pumpkins would grow lovely under my new pear tree's. See that rose bush? Well you won't see it next time. I already tried to kill it once with vinegar last year so this time i'm digging it up. You hear that rose bush? Your dead!

Since I was on a roll I decided to make more dirt mounds here. I planted sugar pumpkins, blue pumpkins, jack o lantern's and cinderella pumpkins.  My girls love watching the pumpkins grow and the day we pick them to carve them is the most exciting day ever for them. My favorite part is cooking all the other pumpkins and turning them into puree to freeze. Pumpkin muffins are year for us! Mmmmmm

I love when my chives just open up their flowers. They are beautiful! I mean serious!

I love them so much that I planted them by my bench so I can stare at them.  When I call the twins inside for the night I always know what they were doing because they pick my chives and eat them the whole time.  Lovely onion breath! I just love the fact that they like onion. Now if I can get my 13 year old to eat them it would be perfect.

While I played with dirt my husband push mowed our grass and edged the path on the side of the house which I don't think has ever been edged.  My lemon balm and mint are coming along nicely and I should be able to get another harvest very soon.  I read that you can get 2 harvest but I think I might be able to get 3.  I can see lots of hot mint or lemon balm tea in my winter future.  It's super easy to make too. Just pick the newer tender leaves and put them in a dehydrator for a few hours until completely dried. Store them in a large mason jar and use a metal mesh ball with hot water. Add a teaspoon of honey and you have one lovely cup of tea.

So this bird bath was on the property when we bought our house. I always loved it but didn't know what to do with it because it was way past the point of just sealing it.  So it sat unused except for occasional bread crumbs for the birds.  Then today I thought of putting some dirt in it and maybe get some more hens n chicks for it. Water can drain out and the plants won't get water logged.  SWEET! Note to self.....get some hens n chicks. 

My poor green house needs to be cleaned.  Seeds galore, tools galore and mess galore! So many seeds so little time. Am I right everyone?

Now last but not least I have had many people asking for pictures of all my pottery finds.  This is not all of them because my dishes were still in the dishwasher.  But as you can see I have a lot of them.  The top  row is for the twins because they are smaller.

Didn't take me very much time at all to find all the mugs and bowls.  Dale? Who ever you are, thank you for making all those beautiful bowls and donating them to Goodwill.  We use them every single day. The plates were the hardest ones to find. Usually they were found one at a time with exception for the tan colored ones that I found in one day.  They were made in Italy and are simple and beautifully made.

Last but not least here are some beautiful handmade containers I found for only $7.99 at Goodwill.  I almost squeeled when I found them.  My mother asked if I needed them because I was kinda short on money. My reply was "I NEED THEM". Nuff said.

Okay so there you go. As you can see I have been super busy in the garden and hopefully it all pays off this season.