Good day my fellow gardeners...adults and kiddos alike! (if you a new this week to the series, click the kinderGARDENS button at the top to see what we are all talking about...it is not too late to join us...come on, I know you want to!)
We have some exciting stuff going on today! First look at the sidebar...we are now 30 strong! Rock on!
I'm going to start off today with my garden update...of sorts.
Here is a glimpse of what I have seen for the last 7 days straight, I'm serious folks.
This is the edge of our driveway, only thing is you can't see the driveway because it looks like a lake!
We have spent the last week dashing in and out of the house between torrential downpours just long enough to do the necessary stuff like gathering eggs and feeding the critters.
There were a few rare opportunities that let me get at least the littlest kid outside and into (or at least passing through) the garden with me!
Yes that is my 3 year old trying to haul a 50# sack of chicken feed...and yes that is a camel in the background hoping said chicken feed is for him! Then it started to rain.
We got just one path lined with newspaper and straw in the new tomato patch...then it started raining.
We gathered eggs...
And threw the chickens some corn...yep rained again!
But on the way back in to escape the drenching we checked on...
Our newest additions. The bees were rather quiet due to the rain and cold but I could hear them buzzing away inside, with even a few brave souls venturing out into the weather.
So in conclusion...rain...chickens...rain...tomatoes...rain...bees...rain, rain...RAIN!
Can you tell I'm a little annoyed with all this weather? Who ordered this anyway?
God if you are listening...and I know you are, could you please, please send a nice day here real soon? I have a maze to construct and frankly I'm going a little stir crazy...thank you. Love, Kim
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Now for some great news...well I guess if it depends on how you look at it.
I suppose if you hate camels, and farmers, and chicks who take too many pictures then this is actually tragic news...
But for everyone else I would like to announce that this is actually my 500th published post! I say published post because I have tons of unpublished posts that have been counted as posts, but since you have not seen them they don't really count.
Why unpublished posts? Well sometimes I write a post like say...one with the marinated mice... I then let them sit there until I decide if you guys would want to see something like that. I usually debate this in my head for a while and then with my husband...who frankly thought you guys could not handle the mice. Which to your credit you did...
Anyway as a celebration of my 500th post I'm giving away a copy of Gardening With Children!
I will randomly choose someone who comments on this post by tomorrow morning at 10 am Pacific Time as the recipient of this great book.
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Speaking of books, I promised to review 'Gardening With Children' for you today. So as promised...
This book was written my group of authors from the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. It is the oldest continuously running public children's garden in the US...that rocks!
When you see the book your realize with the colorful illustrations and the down to earth writing style (no pun intended...really!) that this is not a book meant for adults to read and then implement. No this book is definitely written for adults and kids to read together. My 7 year old has very much enjoyed this as we have read through it over the past couple of weeks. My just turned 3 year old (sob) liked the pictures of the bugs and worms!
If of course covers the basics of growing from seed, but it also covers more in depth concepts like companion planting, beneficial insects, photosynthesis, and decomposition.
It is brimming with activities for the kids with projects ranging from puppets, root view boxes, to building your own butterfly window box.
Here is the review on Amazon.com
Brooklyn Botanic Garden offers a groundbreaking handbook
that helps parents, teachers, and community gardeners introduce the
pleasures of gardening to kids. In addition to learning the
basics—including how to grow common plants from seed—young gardeners
will be encouraged to discover nature’s cycles, become ecologically
aware, and follow their inborn curiosity as they explore. It doesn’t
matter whether kids have access to a large green yard or only to a
windowsill planter: here are scores of fun projects that can awaken
their sense of wonder about the natural world while nourishing
cognitive functioning and self-confidence. Youngsters will love
building a root-view garden from a milk container, making chlorophyll
prints, constructing a hummingbird feeder, and more.
I thought this book was very well and concisely written...and pretty to boot! I would definitely recommend it!
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Now for some more great news...we will have a guest next week, and every 1st Thursday for the rest of the contest. The wonderful and talented Susan Morrison from the Blue Planet Garden Blog has a post for all of us next week! I promise it will not involve annoying camels or even marinated mice...she is much nicer than that!
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And lastly I would like to spotlight what I thought was the most unique undertaking that any of you and your kiddos came up with last week! Erin over at Garden Now - Think Later...OK may I just pause and take a minute here to say that this is just about the best blog name I have ever heard in a while. It describes my style perfectly although I think if I was to rename my blog it might be...
Garden Now - Laundry Later
or even
Garden Now - Kill the Camel Later
But I digress...
Erin's family has come up with an idea to do a green roof for their fort. When I heard this I thought 'brilliant' and wondered where she had come up with such an interesting idea. Here is what Erin wrote in her comments...
"It was really my 7 year old Loch that came up with the idea. He is my
bookworm, the "weird" kid, lol... I am always having to go in his room
at night because he is up late with the light on reading my books on
off the grid living or Mother Earth News..."
May I first just say how cool it is that she has a kid that reads Mother Earth News...secondly "weird" kids rock!
And as a thank you for sharing her weird kid with all of us I am also giving Erin a copy of Gardening With Children... I hope he enjoys it!
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OK folks, week 3 is in the books! Nothing left to do but link up and see what we are all up to. I will leave this up until next week so feel free to link up anytime!
Make sure you follow the links and see what your fellow participants are doing!