Sunday, August 22, 2010

Garden is Still Growing

It is late August and I haven't done a garden update in months. Yes, we still have a garden and have been quite enjoying the fruits of it. I can't really say the fruits of our labor, because other than occasional watering and sporadic weeding, we haven't so much labored this year. Milo still enjoys helping us in the garden, but doesn't have the attention span for us to actually do much upkeep. So far, this is what has been going on:




  • The heirloom tomato plants are doing great. We have enjoyed the variety (some striped, a few yellow and some nice pinkish ones) on sandwiches and cooking. We also have several volunteer plants which are producing well. Milo really likes to help pick the tomatoes, but doesn't seem to like the taste as well.
  • Our pepper plants are doing very well. We have the regular green peppers, what were supposed to be sweet red peppers, a purple pepper plant and sweet banana peppers. These are great for snacking on and cutting up for lunch. Thankfully, we all like peppers.
  • The bunny who ate the Swiss chard let it grow for a little bit, but is up to his old antics. We have not had Swiss chard this year.
  • The vining plants are doing so so. The spaghetti squash looked healthy, but only produced a few fruit before dying off. The butternut squash, however, is doing great. I am looking forward to freezing plenty of that for the winter months.
  • We also planted watermelon in the front yard. In spite of it being rather neglected, the plant loved all the sun and produced several good sized melons. Milo couldn't be happier.
  • Our bush zucchini did really well and has been providing us with lots of muffin making ingredients. Again, Milo, is thrilled.
  • The potatoes were an utter disaster. We're not sure if we didn't water enough or planted too many in too small of a space, but we only harvested about three thumb-sized potatoes. I'm glad we weren't depending on that crop to feed us all winter. We'll try for better luck next year.
  • We're on our second planting of lettuces. The first provided many tasty salads, before bolting and getting too bitter with the heat of the summer.
I think that is about it. It looks like a lot, but really, it has been pretty self-sufficient. We have had some wins and some losses, but all and all it has been a good summer for gardening.

Monday, August 16, 2010

17 Months

I feel like I've won the baby lottery with this stage and age. Milo is all hugs and kisses and funny new words mixed with smiles and proud expressions of accomplishment. He is a bundle of running energy and a very curious little man who still loves the dirt. We very rarely have tantrum issues and when we do he is usually easily distracted.

He's at his best exploring the yard, looking at bugs, drawing with sidewalk chalk and chasing after bunnies. He will helpfully pick tomatoes off the vine and all peppers enter our house with Milo nibbles out of them (even, sadly for a surprised Buster, the hot ones). If we go near the grill, he will warn us that it is HOT.

When playing inside, he is never far from his beloved tongs which he often uses in the kitchen. Books are still a favorite way to the pass the time and computers are fascinating objects that sometimes show Sesame Street clips.

Milo has his top and bottom molars (and has for awhile now), but his eye teeth are still missing and seem to sometimes bother him. While we all miss Prada, Milo's skin has really cleared up and he's less rashy and itchy. He has been healthy and happy and enjoying the summer. And I have been, too.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

There You Are

Sometimes I wonder what Milo thinks when I load him up in the car. We get in the car and most often we go to the grocery store, library or the park, which are all fine places to be. Sometimes, though we end up at even better places like the pool, a festival or a far-off never before been to place. Yesterday was one of those days. We traipsed through a beautiful arboretum, we visited an Amish farm with cows, we picked blueberries and we jumped on a trampoline. Milo had a blast, I'm just not sure what he made of the whole, busy, wonderful day.