The Inadvertent Farmer

Outdoor Shower???

There is a small windowed breezeway that connects our garage to our house.  If you walk through this breezeway onto the back porch you will see up against the back wall of the garage an outdoor shower.

This is the usual comment,

"Wow, an outdoor shower...cool.  Do you really use it???"

Well...

Let me show you!

 

 

This is a little tale from last week when my two youngest were playing in the garden while I was watering...

 

 

As I was tending the tomatoes Sweet Girl kept coming with her little blue bucket to have me fill it with water.  She said she was also watering...

 

 

What she didn't tell me is that she was watering a large mound of dirt left by a local mole!

A mole I hate with all my garden loving heart...but that is for another day...

 

 

When I finally saw what was going on in their newly created mud pit I knew I had a choice...

Was I going to be one of those mom's that scolded them for making such a muddy mess or...

Was I one of those mom's that...

Ran and grabbed the camera and watched as the fun unfolded?

 

Hmmmm...not a hard choice!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hug Mama?"

 

 

"B I G  Hug!"

 

 

Now this little face, this mud covered little face, is why we have and outdoor shower!

 

 

Sweet Girl loves the outdoor shower...

It is plumbed so it has hot water, no freezing cold showers here!

 

 

Baby Boy likes to watch sister take a shower...

 

 

But he is less than thrilled about taking one himself.

He has decided that only the tiniest portion of his head will get in.

 

Mama has decided otherwise...

 

 

Ohhhh the drama...

"No wike shower mama"

 

 

He kept turing his back on me, not a happy boy!

Of course it didn't help that I was giggling and taking his picture!

 

 

Ohhh the agony of it all!!!

 

 

I am not talking to you.

Minutes after his shower and I had pulled him into my lap this is what I looked down to see...

 

 

Mud can be exhausting...not to mention showers!

 

Meanwhile this is what I looked over to Sweet Girl and saw...

 

 

Always the little lady!

 

So yes we do use the outdoor shower, regularly.

If you have muddy kids, dusty plants, stinky dogs...

Or just like feeling the breeze on you naked skin, then I recommend one highly...

Although if you live in a suburban neighborhood I would skip the naked skin part...the only ones around to see us in our outdoor shower are a few llamas and an occasional camel...

And they pass no judgment

 

Note:  This shower would be perfect...I mean perfect...if I could get the camel to get in and take care of a little personal hygene.  He just doesn't see the importance of clean pits and fresh breath...

Lacey Lap of Luxury

When I went out to check on the garden I did the usual inspection of the tomato beds.

All looked fine...

As usual the tomatoes were hard at work holding up the ever growing fruit.

They leaned on their cages, rested on each other, and even laid on the straw covered ground for some sort of relief from their burdens...

All of them except this guy...

 

No...he was too good for wire or straw,

He wanted nothing but the best...

So into the lacey lap of luxury he laid his little tomato derrière!

The other tomatoes were green...and red and yellow...with envy!

 

Note...these photos were not in anyway staged, this is actually how I found this little guy.  All I can say is that if I was a tomato I would want to be this one!

Vanilla with Chocolate!

Sweet Girl says that her little brother's hair is the color of vanilla ice cream...

 

 

Today we added a little chocolate!

 

In The Misty Morning...

I try to get up before the kids and have a few moments of peace before...

Diapers, breakfast, dishes, laundry...etc., etc, the usual chaos and madness!

 

This particular day I was rewarded by an early morning mist suspended over the pasture.

Its inhabitants cloaked in the lightest dew.

 

 

The animals were all starting to come to life after their deep summer's night sleep.

The world was perfectly still...just for a moment.

 

 

A perfect drop of time

Thank you God, you are indeed wondrous.

What Cute Idea!

 

Strolling through downtown Cannon Beach was so fun, when I rounded a corner next to an art gallery I say these great little clay pots hanging on the wall of a wine shop.

Salmon colored geraniums poked their happy little heads out of each one!

 

Now I would probably never do this myself due to the fact I would never water them enough and darling hubby would never let me hang pots on the siding he so meticulously put up...

I'm wondering if the owner took them down at closing, maybe for a good overnight soak to hydrate the clay and soil enough that he wouldn't have to water them all day long during the heat of July.

You know you could do something similar on a fence or the side of say a ...

Chicken house?

What about a camel house?

I'm sure Gizmo would be a great admirer pretty flowers hanging from his domicile...

Hmmm I may need to go buy some geraniums!!!

Hat Nazi...

"Mom...you're like a hat nazi or something!"

This is what one of my older adult/child sons said to me a while back after I told his little sister that she was not allowed out of the house without her hat.

That is the rule around here...no hat, no going out.

Simple enough.

I could try explaining to her the effects of sun and future wrinkles or I tell her how the sun strains her eyes or even scare her with warnings of skin cancer.

No I have made if far simpler...you wear a hat because "I said so"

 

So I should not have been surprised that when I downloaded all the pics from our Oregon Coast trip this is what I found...

The whole gang in hats.

Which does make it a bit dicey when I want to see their cute little faces...

 

 

 

But at least those cute little faces will have fewer wrinkles someday...

Thanks to their mom...the 'Hat Nazi"

 

 

 

Sorry honey...too late for you!

 

Note:  hubby was helping the kids build a rock dam across a little fresh water stream that ran down into the ocean, the kids spend more time working on this little project than they did jumping waves!

Friday Funnies...Weird Camel Lips

 

Camel lips are just plain weird!

Their upper lip is split in the middle, each side seems to move independently of each other.

Camels can use their lips to grasp things almost like we use our fingers...it is the strangest thing.

Oh yeah...camel breath isn't the prettiest either!

I think I may grow some mint for Gizmo next year...he doesn't seem to like Listerine!

 

Note:  If you could ignore the un-manicured, manly, farmer girl hands it would be greatly appreciated...I have my dad's hands, what can I say?  It was so embarrassing at 19 to go to try on my engagement ring and find out I wear the same size as the groom.  It is a trauma I have yet to come to terms with...and we won't even go into learning I wear the same size shoe as said future husband!

I don't want your pity...just your understanding

A Confession of Weakness...

It is that time of year again...catalogs are arriving every day.  Each more tempting than the one before.  It is the time of year that I have to admit to and curb my weakness for...

Homeschool Material

I know many of you are saying "huh?"

 

You see I do not indulge in high fashion...I live in a small hick town where jeans and t-shirts are what we wear.  Well the kids at the high school wear 'Hollister' t-shirts but t-shirts nonetheless.

Shoes do nothing for me...maybe because I'm short and have size 10 feet, hmmm maybe that could have something to do with it???

I don't buy new home accessories and furniture...had the same couch for 25 years and it has the grape juice and baby puke stains to prove its lived through 5 kids.

The only 'art work' on my walls are portraits and pics of said kids...

We don't go out to eat...pretty much never.

We don't go to movies...well except for our 25th anniversary where we used our free movie passes to see Star Trek.

I drive an 18 year old mini-van with 260,000 miles...and will drive it until it needs a new engine, hubby will put it in and hopefully I'll drive it another decade or so!

I do have a slight weakness for vegetable seeds but at a couple bucks a pack that will last 3 years it just doesn't seem that big of a deal.

I just don't indulge much.

No...it is homeschool materials that get me.

 

All those wonderful books on so many subjects just about send me over the edge... 

Who wouldn't want their child, their precious charge to learn Greek...what about Hebrew and Latin?

There is English Literature, Greek Mythology, Drawing, Accounting, Speech, Civics, Sign Language, Astronomy and Botany and a whole host of enticing classes

This doesn't even touch the 'olgy' classes like Biology, Geology, Zoology, Archeology, Ecology and Anthropology!

What about the Chemistry and Physics?

Aren't they so very important?

There are Etiquette books, Learning how to draw horses books, and even Driver's Ed for homeschoolers

Of course this list doesn't even cover the 'core' classes like language and math...

Do you know how many math curriculums are out there?  Traditional textbook math, hands on math, all on the computer, all in the workbook, all in the kitchen...there are math drills, math games and math songs.

How in the world is a homeschool parent to choose??????

Do you go with those rated highest, most popular, the most expensive, the cheapest, the most colorful, the most traditional, or the most cutting edge?

My head spins each summer with all the possibilities...

If there were 10 of me...no laundry...no messes to clean up...no fights to break up...no camel to feed...no garden to weed...no meals to prepare...maybe, just maybeI could scratch the surface of what is available for homeschool families to choose from.

So what do I do?

I study the catalogs, mark what I want and dream of buying, and step away...

I think and ponder...and try to be completely honest with myself

Then I go back with another marker and mark those things that I believe that I could/would actually do...am I really going to teach Latin? Probably not, but Spanish is a possibility.  Greek mythology? No, Drawing yes...and so on

I then compare prices and shipping rates.

I then consult my bank account and go mark a few more things off the list...

 

I usually make two fairly reasonable orders for each school year...you can homeschool for a year quite easily for a couple hundred bucks. Less is you have more self control than I do.

  That is...

IF you can resist all those cute bulletin boards displays!  Yes I realize that this is not a necessity of homeschooling...not even close, but when you have itty bitty's and they squeal with delight at the new bulletin board it is hard to refrain, so very hard.

Doesn't every Kindergartner need a Noah's ark bulletin board set with all the letter being represented by an animal pair?...with matching stickers, notebooks, pencils, and posters too!!

And don't even get me started on, wall maps, signs, banners, and flags!

Be still my homeschooling heart!

 

It is gonna be a loooong two weeks until my orders come!!!

 

So here is my question for all of you out there in homeschool blogdom...how do you choose the materials for your brood?  Do you go for the moon and starts or do you keep it simple...do you use expensive curriculum with all the bells and whistles or do you use the old stand bys?  How do you decided?  And lastly...

 Can anyone help me with my bulletin board addiction???????

Wild Oregon Beach Bunnies!

We went to the Oregon coast recently. A small historical lodge/motel was where we stayed.  It was a lovely place full of beach character, lovely grounds and cozy rooms with old time kitchens.  There was even a pond with a waterfall and koi swimming in it...but that is not what got the kids so excited.

This is what I saw within 2 minutes of exiting the car...

What have the kids found I wondered...

 

 

 

Ahhh, its a bunny!

You can tell by Baby Boy's face that he thinks this is pretty cool!

 

 

After talking to the manager we found that these bunnies run wild not only at the lodge but also the small park across the street.

 

 

So every time we weren't splashing in the ocean the kids were chasing, petting, and feeding wild beach bunnies!

 

 

The little ones were definitely the friendliest.

What kind of rabbit will let a 2 year old pet it...crazy rabbit!

 

 

Look...one for me and one for you!

 

 

Here bunny, bunny, bunny...I want to pet you!

 

 

Hey...come here

 

 

Mama...bunnies are fast!

 

And when they weren't chasing bunnies...

 

They were standing at the door watching for bunnies!

So if you were to ask my kids about their trip to the beach you will not likely hear about the great surfing their dad did, or the tide pools they visited with their mom, or even the ice cream shop...no before any of that you will hear about the wild bunnies at the lodge!

Kids and animals...a combo that can't be beat!

Sister to Sister...Gardens of Contrast

I have a younger sister.

She is one of my dearest friends.

We could not be any different...

 

She's a brunette, I was a blond before my kids turned me gray...

She's tall, me not so much...

She loves steak, I don't eat anything that had a mother...

She lives in town, I'm in the boonies...

She has one child...I have a litter of 5

She's feisty...I'm mellow

She is cool...me not so much!

Our gardens are a perfect example of your differences...

 

She is all about flowers and plants that are beautiful

 

 

 

When I walk through her gorgeous well kept garden I cannot help but ask myself...

 

 

"Where's the food???"

Look at these boxes, not a morsel to eat

Do you know how many tomato plants I could fit in these?

 

 

She even has a water feature...

 

 

It is a lovely pot that brings the sound of cascading water to her yard,

My kids are drawn to it...

 

 

I have a water feature too,

it is a trough that you can hear the sound of a camel slurping at...

cool huh???

 

 

Even the side of her house is lush and perfectly kept,

 

 

The side of my house is where the wood pile is and where we keep the trash cans...

can you say hick???

 

 

My sister does artsy things like filling an old iron birdbath with succulents...

 

 

I on the other hand stick boots in the cucumber patch

 

 

The front of her house has a flagstone walk, pretty little ground covers and two very groovy palms...

Who would have ever thought of putting a palm on the north side of her house in the Pacific northwest?

How come her palms grow so well there?

Is it because they know they are growing in a really cool yard?

 

 

My front lawn consists of pasture grass that I mow to keep the dandelions down...

 

 

She has beauty...

I have...

 

 

beasts!

 

 

She builds planter boxes for her hosta,

I build raised beds for my cabbage!

 

 

She grows tiny delicate flowers in pots,

my pots are full of potatoes and gourds...

 

 

Blood grass...her's

Crab grass...mine

 

 

Even her new red BBQ is cooler than mine...

(although I can take credit for the goofy kids!)

Notice the itty bitty fence she built to cover her heat pump?

Really cool people don't let their heat pumps show!

 

I go to my sister's garden for serenity and beauty,

she can come to mine next time she wants a fresh tomato sandwich...

 

Oh yeah...she doesn't like tomatoes! 

 

 

 

When I Die...

When I die...

 

You can just bury me in the garden...

with my boots on please!

 

Land of the Free...

 

Little Green Lady Jewel

 

Cosmos are just so lovely on their own, but when you add a tiny jewel of a bee you get something just enchanting!

This is a Virescent Green Metallic Bee...a little lady bee to be exact.

 

 

She lives in meadows and gardens drinking nectar.  She brings nectar and pollen back to her larva in the underground nest....

 

 

One bee usually guards the entrance to the nest by placing its head level with the soil surface acting as a plug...now doesn't that sound like a fun job to have???

I love bees...but I'm also glad I'm not one!

 

There is your entomology lesson for the day...

Now go out and see what kind of treasures you can find in your yard and garden!