Garden

May 12, 2009

Our first crop of grapes.

They only got as big as my pinky finger nail, but they were sweet.

Our banana trees grew really well, but did not produce.

We need to figure out what kind of fertilizer they like.

The tall tree bent in half, so we had to cut it about 6 inches

or so from the ground it is coming back strong.

Lemons, yum!

With the birds and the squirrels we only got to eat one apple and it was tasty!

Corn didn't grow as well as last year.

Sunflowers were funny.

The stems were so skinny.

Tomatoes were great, just needed more fertilizer for better taste.

Carrots needed fertilizer, they were GROSS!!

Our one orange.

I remember thinking when I took this picture that the chickens

really needed to get out of this little run and into the large run.

Now I laugh, because I realize how spoiled our chickens are.

-Ma

Ants

This morning I cleaned out my closet and cleaned out some of the kids play room.  Currently Jacob is sleeping and the rest of the house is calling me and just waiting and wanting to be cleaned.  

However I would much rather sit and talk/write about ants.  (What's new?  I can always find some distraction to get out of doing dishes or mopping floors.  LOL)

Ants are very interesting little insects.  I never thought much of them until I moved into my current home.  In October we will have lived here for 5 years.  Emma was just two and David wasn't even walking yet.  That seems like such a long time ago, time flies!!

Oh yes, I was talking about ants.  When we first moved in I remember thinking that there are a lot of ants in the yard.  Our yard was nothing but dirt eucalyptus and mesquite trees, thorns, nails and ANTS!!  

Funny that ya'll would mention that our yard is kid friendly... we have come a long way.  Side note, I used to sweep the top dirt away just to get rid of the thorns.  It worked!!

We had a very big surprise the end of July and into August.  Our house was under ATTACK!! We had ants coming into our kitchen, one of the kids bedrooms, and the master room closet.

I would wake up in the morning and find ants all over the kitchen floor.  I would sweep them up very carefully and throw them outside, in hopes that they wouldn't get on me or on the kids.  I tried using things like.

• Red Pepper, the sent of red pepper supposedly is the sent of the black ants enemy... the red ant.  The black ants that wanted to live with me didn't mind the red pepper.
• I then heard that if you draw a line with chalk that the ants will not pass it.  Ya, right!!  My black ants didn't care about that either!
• Oh, another thing that I tried was corn meal.  Now, if the corn meal does not get wet before the ant consumes it then the corn meal will swell in the ants tummy and the ant will get a bad tummy ache and die, explode... not sure.  That worked for a little while.  But I have very smart ants.
• I had a pile of red ants in the front yard and you see I learned that black and red ants don't get along.  So I got a shovel and took a pile of red ants to mingle with my black ants in the back yard.  Very entertaining.  However it didn't get rid of them.  For some reason the red ants moved on though.  Hmm?
• Someone told me that ants WILL move if they get too big for their residence.  So I thought, I will feed them, ya know beef them up.  That was a funny idea.
• I also tried vinegar, supposedly they don't like to go where vinegar has been because the vinegar is such a strong sent they lose there way and can't smell the trail that they leave. Poor things. lol

Did you know you can never get rid of ants, ever?  This is true.  Sure you can kill the colony, but a new queen will move in and wham you get more ants.  Not only do I know this from 

experience, but I read it in a book too.

You see when one buys a house you don't have anyone but yourself to turn to for answers. Sure, if you have plenty of money then you could hire an exterminator and let him worry about it. But at that time in our lives our little princess Abby was born and with new babies, you have lots of doctors appointments and copays that add up way too quick.  So back then it was a money issue and now it is a I am gonna get you ants one way or another.

So, back to August 2005.  Abby and I had been home from the hospital for just a few days after she was born.  My Mom was with us.  We woke up one morning and there were hundreds, hundreds, hundreds of ants all over my kitchen counters and floor.  My mother was in shock. She said that we need to get an exterminator out immediately.  My older brother had a friend that was an exterminator.  The friend came out, sprayed the house and they yard.  This kept the ants out.

The following year same thing happened, end of July and into August.  Our house was under attack.  I called the exterminator friend.  He never called back.  I called and called and called. That is when I realized I was on my own.  Sure I could have called another company, but then they make you sign a contract to have them come back every month... no thank you!

So I go to the local Home Depot and buy Home Defense.  That is some really good stuff.  It kept the ants out of the house.  And if I sprayed the ant hill it made them move to another spot.  ha ha!

So, I am still battling the ants.  It is currently attack season.  Only this time, last night we got little black ants, not the normal medium ants.  I ran out of Home Defense and I just don't want to go out in the heat to get more at this time.  So I cleaned the kitchen really good last night and wiped the counter and window seal with vinegar water.  They haven't come back... yet.

Out by the garden I have been using jars filled with sugar and yeast.  They can't resist the sugar and the yeast has the same effect that the corn meal has.  This sugar and yeast just makes the ants move about a foot away from the jar, or some move closer.  Strange.

If you are still reading I will tell you some interesting things about ants.  My Mom was telling me that in South Africa people go on vacation during the season that the ants "attack" or invade homes.  They say that the ants do a great job of spring cleaning.  I guess the ants are much larger there then they are here at my house.

In a book about ants I read that if you mark on your calender when the ants attack you can almost pin point the day that they will try to invade your home.  I think this is very true.

Something else that I think is very interesting.  I was at my Moms in Prescott.  We were on the patio.  I put my feet up on the bar under the table because I noticed the ants... I didn't want to get bit.  But I noticed that my Mom kept her feet on the ground.  Hmm I thought, that is interesting.  The ants aren't getting on her.  So I put my feet down.  The ants stayed away from my.  Now, my ants, those horrible things.  If you are six inches away from the entrance to their home they will run to get on your feet and bite profusely.  I ask  what is wrong with my ants??

We have recently been told of a product that works wonderfully.  But, we have to wait till the monsoon season is over.

But, till then I know where each colony is and most of the kids do too.  Jacob wears boots so he is usually safe!    

Now that my discussion of ants is over, I wonder how much time I have to clean the house before Jacob wakes.  It was nice to get this frustration off my chest.  -Ma

Removing Cactus

June 13, 2009

Once upon a time, about 3 years ago the MONSOONS came through our neighborhood.  It knocked over our 40 foot eucalyptus tree, luckily the tree fell on the other 40 foot eucalyptus tree.  Now I hope I am not telling a lie, I think they were about 40 feet.  I will have to check.

Okay, anyways.  The tree fell over and we had to get a chain saw.  We went to Home Depot, they were closed because the storm took their electricity.  We then went to Sears, they were out of chain saws'.  We went to Lowes and they were out of them too.  All of the stores were closed after that so we had to wait till morning in hopes that the other tree did not give out and fall on the neighbors house.

The next morning we got "the" chain saw.  Pa was like a little boy getting his first bike.  

He has a power tool!!

And he couldn't be more proud.

He loves his chain saw!

When it comes time to use it one can see the excitement radiate from him.  We never use this cactus.  We gave transplants to those who wanted some, so now it is time to say good bye.

Pa, got to use his toy!

And boy did he have fun!

Clean up was tough, but he was a good sport.

Ah, now we just have three stumps to get out.  We have found that spraying high pressure water around the stump it will come out with a little wiggling.

-Ma

Sunflowers

Once Upon a Time...

We planted some sunflower seeds hoping we would get 8 to 10 foot sunflowers. The excitement was there, but something was lacking.  Water or fertilizer or maybe the soil was just wrong?

However it turned out pretty.  It was fun to look at.  Love the yellow!  The stem however was the size of a pencil.  Poor flower.  But still beautiful.

Some of the sunflowers were meant to be small bushy ones and oh did they look glorious right in front of the corn.

I will let you know, something else really liked them too.  Oh, are they hard to see in the above photo?

How about now?  Can you see one munching and one flying?

I bet you can see the little beauty now?

Ya, I think he is smiling here.

And going in for a big bite!  Yummy!!

My poor flowers were once so beautiful!  But now, well you can see what those wild parrots have done!

Oh well they sure are fun to watch.  Last year our flowers grew about 5 1/2 to 6 foot tall.  The parrots and the ants ate them.  Last year it was really fun to watch the parrots eat the seeds because the chickens would wait under the flower and eat what ever the parrots would drop. Fun times!!  -Ma

Birds Anyone?

David looked out the widow and yelled,

 BIRDS!!

  Yes, I do think we might just have a bird problem.  Do they like our garden?  Our dirt?  Our chickens' food?  Our trees?  All of the above??

They like everything...  They take dirt baths.  They keep trying to get to our apples on our young apple tree.  They eat our strawberries and tomatoes.  And we already know they are always with the chickens.

Then I look at the apple tree to see if a bird got into my makeshift tree cover.  As I look closer I could see what looked like a large rock.  Oh no that is not a rock.  That is a squirrel.  They are out of hibernation and I now have something to blame... they ate my lettuce!  And now they are after the apples!  It is hard to see but he is under the apple tree feasting on an apple.

One day I will not mind the squirrel in the apple tree, one day when it is very large.  And one day when that apple tree is producing over 500 apples a year.  That will be okay with me.  I think. -Ma

What's this? A fence??

A fence, a fence it's now up!!  We don't have a gate, sorry kids!!  However as the fence was going up, the little feet found out how they can get in.  Do you see the stairs on the play set?  They work there way up them and over.  They know better, so it is done rarely!  And Jacob can't figure out how to get over.  Yea!!

Our pretty flowers will will now flourish, because little feet will not trample!

Our pea's will get plump, little fingers will not take and eat before ready.

We will get green beans, this will be fun!!

The pretty flowers will stay on the tomato plant so we can taste the goodness of a tomato.

The chickens will stay away from the strawberries.

It amazes me how a plant can grab on to wire.  Isn't it beautiful.  These are our new pea plants.

Our lettuce is overgrown because it is bitter.  We really need to figure out why it gets this way.

Oh no what is this?  Mushrooms.  eeeeew.

Sorry not the best picture of the mushrooms.  They are in the middle at the top of the picture.  

-Ma

Little feet, little feet, get out of my garden!!

What a beautiful flower garden you have...

And oh those peas, they look so strong and healthy,

And those strawberry plants, they are coming back well considering the chickens ate them to practically nothing.  (Two new plants were planted with the 4 old ones.)

And your corn rows, they are so beautifully done!! 

Oh, little feet, little feet, please oh please get out of my garden!!!

What?  It's not just little feet?  Bikes too?  PLEASE GET OUT OF MY GARDEN!!

Garden Carrots

We went out to pick whatever remaining carrots that were left in the garden.  One was wanting to walk away.  One seemed a little pale.  And one that was expected, short and chubby.

David caught the one with legs.

Abby loved the pale one.

We were sad because there were only 3 good carrots left.  Mackenzie (darker haired, cousin) got a forth one but it looked like a weed.  She was sooooo sad, but Emma was nice and shared her chubby carrot.

That made Mackenzie soooo HAPPY!

Then there was taste testing.  They all tasted really good!

-Ma