Sunbeams...

This is Corgan. He's been a much anticipated addition to the Snyder family. The Rapplings and I got to meet him yesterday. I stole him for exactly 30 seconds before handing him back over.

This is the canvas I created for him Friday night. It has one of the girls favorite primary songs written on it. Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. If you listen to the link it's HILARIOUS! Accordion accompaniment.

The second verse I didn't even know existed, then I made a mistake and switched a word. Oh well hopefully he doesn't notice.

For all of my crafty friends; yes, it's dimensional and yes, it has glitter all over it, and a glossy clear spray coat! Jennifer thanks for the use of the black writing utensil when mine gave out!
Just received this link today!

New approach to recipes...

This is an amazing artist, Mel Robson, that my sister told me about. I love her work. Enjoy!

This is my floral happiness for the day. I love the internet, so many places to find amazing ideas. I spent today on the usual, laundry, dishes, and then to the gardens. Much tending to do in the greenhouse, moss to water, plants to water and weed, potting up hostas, and sweeping up in bay 7, there was soil everywhere. Off to Soil Science, listened to presentations, did an experiment. Came home to discover that Eileen was coming over. Woohooo! I miss that girl. I created an amazing salad and broiled asparagus. That was my day, crazy but wonderful.

Spring inspiration and commercials the Rapplings love...

This is what I would call inspiration. Love these images. Martha Stewart has an amazingly talented staff, great funding, and fabulous photographers. Really go look for moss today you might be surprised where you can find it.
Here are our picks for best commercial according to the Rapplings. Something's wrong with Scooter. Love my girls and love that they love to laugh.
Kate, Sydney and I love this Old Spice commercial... Kate can repeat it to you verbatim. Ask her to do it, I promise you'll laugh. Watched an interview with the former football player, Isaiah Mustafa on Ellen. He was too funny and to think he got paid for this!

Mythbusters Killer Quicksand

Mythbusters_Killer_Quicksand
This was part of my sick day entertainment for Sunday. Love the quicksand. Why can't we try this experiment in soil science? Okay back to the practical study of water in the soil.

What you want?....

Mary at Bensell's Greenhouse on Dorr ROCKS!!!! She helped Jennifer and I pot up some horticultural happiness to take to Miss Melly today. Mary is a fountain of knowledge and willing to go the extra mile to help her customers.
Purple Passion Vine Gynura Aurantiaca Cv. 'Purple Passion', Lavender cultivar ?, and a quirky Geranium "Indian Dunes" with lime and red leaves. Oh and did you see it's even planted in a hand made hypertuffa container which you can purchase at Bensell's!!!
Mary needs to start answering the phone with my favorite line, "What you want? Baby I got it!"

Greens things and one sick Paige...

Paige is down. Okay really she runs like a crazy person, then coughs, runs, coughs some more and then crashes for an hour in "her" chair. We did sneak outside this morning to play in the "dirt". Really I want to say soil, apparently changing a lifetime of inappropriate word usage is more difficult than I realized. We both do better after some sun and fresh air. Paige and I worked on weeding her new moss garden.
Then we were off to pick up "the Beast", one of our two ailing cars. The beast, our van, was ressurectable, not so for John's Elentra which needs a new engine. Triage occurred, I chose to make the repairs that were most affordable. After a two and a half hour visit with our favorite mechanic, Mr. Mike at Smitty's... it's a long, long story. One partially eaten baby ice cream cone with a smiley face thanks to Handel's and the littlest Rappling and I were off to the doctor's. Diagnosis, pneumonia. Really? My head aches and not just from chasing Paige. Why does she have this much energy when she's this sick? Walking pneumonia, HA!!! Around here we're calling it running pneumonia. If only I had enough energy to keep up with her.
Here is my happiness for the day.....
Link to the Container Gardening handout by M. Ross at TBG
Link to St. Patrick's day craftiness
a fun article on Miner's Lettuce.
A special thanks to my sister Karen for sending these to me! I love purslane.... Olga introduced me to this tasty "weed" this summer. I love her! Really, who knew, this is edible. I never know what she'll start eating when we're working in the garden. Quite tasty, really, I promise it is.

Mom come HERE!!!!!

This little treasure was found in our front yard by Miss Sydney. They have never noticed moss until this year and now are discovering it everywhere. My yard has always had quite the great supply hidden here and there. This moss will quickly be shaded over by the grass growing in around it. Check out the very tiny ice crystals in the grass, cameras are amazing.

Peeking through....

The gardens are showing many signs of life this week. The greenhouse is full of volunteers, plants and seedlings. My favorite the thousands of bulbs that were planted with much hope last fall are finally beginning to brave the weather. Spring it's almost here!
My walk through the shade garden with the Rapplings included a snowball fight and lots of wet socks. We go through way to many socks in this house.
We met a new friend on our walk. She was enjoying the antics of the girlies. She had many questions which I was actually able to answer. I also told her she was welcome to come and volunteer at TBG. Me and my shameless promotion of the gardens. She mentioned what a blessing it had been to run into all of us. So sweet. I'm just glad my children didn't scare her out of the garden.Snow drops the first beauties to bloom this spring.

Paige's tuffa....

Very exciting stuff to get the pot you made back. Paige is one very happy little girl. I was given permission to carve her pot so I did. Paige's very tiny pot had less room to work with, hence the arc design. Miss Sophia on the other hand created an ark size container that gave me lots of room to play with. The regular hypertuffa finishing treatment, at TBG, involves knocking off the edges and making the top surface more pock marked and naturally formed. This is very fun, in a destructive sort of way. Demostrated by Mr. Matt and Josh a volunteer/Owens Landscape and Turf Grass Management student. As a quick side note, normally you take the plastic form out of the center of your hypertuffa pot but Paige insisted it stay.
This is paige's baby plant material... small blue succulent, sorry I don't know the genus and species yet. I love that she says baby plant and then adds material as an afterthought. Can't tell she spends a lot of time in the greenhouse can you?
It's nice to be able to start a new tradition to replace one I loved so much. I remember creating my own ceramic bowl with my grandmother in her ceramics "studio". I hand formed with supervision and painstakingly wrote my name in then glazed with two different colors of blue. I must find that bowl... I put it away to avoid small children who break things. One crack straight through the center was enough. I see a lot of hypertuffa pot creation in the Rapplings future.

In SEASON...

So I special ordered this book from the library...it was worth the wait. Love at first sight. Amazing photography. Recipes in order by month of actual appearance in the garden. Oh yeah and the recipes actually sound amazing. I've already caused the purchase of a few. I like sharing happiness.

Close examination....

Plant Science was spent exploring the world of flowers.
So very much amazing detail in such a minute package.
Someday I will have the macro lens to show the texture on these petals, each one is an amazing work of art.
Petunias...you can play along at home all you need is a small hand lens to examine these beauties.

Checking on our potatoes was on the list of to dos at the greenhouse today. Each girl planted and named two potatoes a piece. On the way through Miss Abigail was harvesting sunflower sprouts. She let the girls try one a piece. The sprouts taste like sunflower seeds except crisp and juicy not dry and crunchy. They were a hit with both Sydney and Paige who kept sneaking a few more when I wasn't looking. We will be buying our own seeds to sprout at home.

Sydney with the, "They all say I should try this but well should I really?" look.
Finally the potatoes!!! If I remember correctly and I will verify this with Miss Sydney when she's awake.... Sydney's potatoes were the only "babies" that had sprouted, much pride in having your potato start growing first!
Sydney and Paige holding sprouts, they love those sprouts, along with a potato from another pot that had already begun establishing roots. The big trick here was letting Paige observe the roots while not letting her mangle the poor plant.
We spent the rest of the afternoon scanning an old scrapbook. Which was a collection of newspaper articles about the Pioneer Garden. Very interesting and now both girls have a marketable job skill....they are professional document scanners.

Watering...

Lots of fun in the greenhouse today. Sophia and Paige were quite busy watching Josue work his magic. Paige with her hands on her hips, one pant leg down and wet and a rain boot showing on the other too cute. Paige loves Sophia but doesn't exactly get how to play well with others. She spent a lot of time hiding or not sharing. We will be working on these skills, that's what parenting is all about.Paige set the hose against the pot and then turned around to show off her watering skills. This pot holds "her banana tree" which she checks daily for it's progress. The pot is nice and deep and the girls loved watching the water disappear almost as quickly as they filled the planter.

Potential...

A few photos from my weekly greenhouse photo shoot. I wish I could convey the warmth and springishness that's in the air.
I needed a little perspective here, insert Paige in photo. She loved when I showed her the "baby leaf." Tiny fingers, tiny leaves unfurling. I love the potential in this photo.
Coleus 'Finger Paint' - imagine this peeking out of a your border.
These droplets are from the humid air collecting on the green house ceiling and falling into the pots strategically massed on the floor. See no water going to waste here.
I know Barberry....thorny, too much trouble, the bane of my dad's front flower bed... but the color is so perfect and these little flowers bursting open are absolute happiness. I will find out the cultivar but as of now it's just Barberry - Berberis ?.
More leaves rapidly unfurling...can't wait to see what they will look like on Tuesday. So hopefully this post made your winter day a little brighter. Really, spring is coming soon.

A day in the life of Miss Kate...

Kate had an assignment to hpotograph a day in her life.

Alarm clock which she doen't wake up to usually it's her dad alarm that evicts her from her cozy spot.

If she could eat sausage everyday she would but since I'm no

t able to provide copious ammounts of pork products, she'll settle for Pineapple.

Backpack every girl needs a bag. This bag is full to overflowing.

Paige, being herself and Bella along for the ride.These are Kate's "smallish people" at least they are both cooperating for the photo shoot.