eclipse 2024

It’s the one we’ve been waiting for. I’d originally planned to travel to a neighboring town for totality, but then I saw that we could view 99.7% totality from our own backyard.

12:39 p.m. taken through the eclipse glasses

We played outside through the duration, occasionally glancing up through the eclipse glasses.

1:55 p.m., 99.7% totality

The sky was darker than what it appeared in the pictures. First, it looked hazy, and then we were filled with a different kind of light. It was white, like the moonlight.

It wasn’t easy to get pictures, but it was awesome to see with our kids and our babygrands – a wonder that we’ll not soon forget.

grow babies grow

It’s amazing what a week and a half can do in the world of seedling growing!

The plant babies are growing!

I still have a few lazy babies that are trying to gain strength to stand tall, as well as some spots that haven’t poked a seedling through at all – but as a rookie gardener, I’m very impressed with how well it’s been going so far!

If all these little guys thrive and survive, I’ll definitely have some plants to share, because there’s no way my square foot garden can hold this many!

It’s definitely exciting to watch them change and grow!

lil’ sprouts

I was thrilled this morning to wake up and discover that some of my seeds have begun sprouting!

Itty bitty baby seedlings!

I don’t typically ever start from seeds, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I’m guessing (hoping!) that there are different growing times, depending on the type of seed. There are definitely certain rows that aren’t showing anything at all.

I planted two rows of each seed and I put them in alphabetical order because I’m just weird like that. It helps me remember what is planted where.

Rows 1-2 are cucumbers. 3-4: hot peppers. 5-6: lettuce. 7-8: summer squash. 9-10: sweet peppers. 11-12: tomatoes.

After checking seed packets, there are some that take at least 10 days to emerge, so I’m excited to see what transpires throughout the coming week while we’re on Spring Break!

a new adventure

I’ve never been much of a gardener. One year, we decided to try square foot gardening. That first year went really well, but everything’s pretty much been a bust since then. Over the past quite a few years, I’ve grown a few plants in pots, but this year, I want to try gardening again – from the very beginning.

The seeds of choice…

I love salad and I’m hoping to “grow my own salad” this summer. I got the little seed starter greenhouse and went to work filling all of the little spots with soil. Hopefully by May, I’ll have some little plants!

Gracie decided to help. 🤣

A sunny March day was a beautiful day for planning and planting!

evil little brats

Sometimes outdoor adventures can happen just outside your own front door.

This year I decided to try raising a cherry tomato plant in a pot, so we’d have lil’ tomatoes for our summer salads.

We were successful in getting a few tomatoes, but I still haven’t mastered the fine art of gardening.

And then the critters came…

Evil little brat!

This is one of the three critters who decided to take up residency on my cherry tomato plant. I was not at all impressed!

My brother feeds these things to his chickens. If I had chickens, the evil little brats would have met their fate. However, since I don’t have chickens, these guys will live to see another day. (And probably another tomato plant, because this one’s done for!)

carleigh’s garden

One of the things I love most about summer is being able to enjoy the beauty of Carleigh’s Garden. We first started her garden when we moved to our new house in June, 2000. Here are some of her beauties, 23 years later!

This was planted by our front steps when we bought the house, but we quickly transplanted it in Carleigh’s Garden.

Momma’s favorite color.

Always pink for Carleigh! These are gorgeous every single year!

Pretty in pink.

These were transplanted from my Godmother’s house. My Godfather planted them at their new house before he passed away.

Jack’s Lovely Ladies.

little blues

My little bluebird house has already seen a lot of action this morning. I looked out my window and a huge crow was sitting on top! My little blues were throwing a fit – trying to dive bomb at him from the power lines above. He just sat there and snapped at them until I opened the front door and ran him off.

Home sweet bluebird home.

I could tell my little blues were relieved! I was curious about what we were fighting for, so I had the courage to take the lid off the box. They’re hard to see, but there are at least four sweet babies in that box.

A box full of little blues.

Ma and Pa Blue watched me from the safety of the power line. As soon as I replaced the box lid, Pa Blue came in to take care of the Lil’ Blues. I hope I built some trust with them today. I promised them I’d always protect them.
💙

she’s crazy

A few weeks ago had a robin that tried to build a nest on our security light. We didn’t want it there, so we tore the nest down before she could get it built. Twice.

I got out our fake rubber snake and strategically placed it on top of the light. Upon seeing the fake snake, she decided it would be better to build in the gutter. We let her build there, and she raised a nest of 3-4 babies.

During the time she was raising her babies, the rubber snake fell off the security light. John put it back up there, but not as strategically as what I’d done.

Enter new robin. This robin is not only not intimidated by the fake snake, but she welcomes it into her nest!

Seriously. 😐