Big news!

Mariella Katherine Little Evans was born 11/19/10 at 11:37 p.m. I was induced at 36 1/2 weeks for preeclampsia. That's a story for another day! She weighed 4lbs, 15 oz and is as healthy as can be. Welcome, little one.

The month of October...

I'll be 34 weeks pregnant on Monday. My brain has been going in a thousand different directions for the last month and I've totally neglected this blog. I'm sure that won't get any better anytime soon, but I'll try :)

Busy, busy, busy!

It seems I've been really sparse on the blog postings lately. I never was a prolific writer by any means, but two weeks is just too long between posts! My apologies- baby seems to be in all of my thoughts and I find it hard to concentrate on anything else.

My parents came down from New Hampshire this past weekend to help me paint the nursery. While here, I asked them to help crack open the 7 pound Hubbard squash. I didn't think I had a knife big enough. I'm glad I asked for the help- it took the two of them, a large knife, and a hammer to get into the thing! It is absolutely beautiful inside- perfect! I'll save the seeds and then make a squash puree for a pie.

As unsuccessful as my garden was this year (Final tally: two Hubbards, two zucchini, three cherry tomatoes, two turnips, and four small pumpkins), I feel extraordinarily blessed with everything that I have and everything I accomplished.

I can't wait to teach my little one all about gardening.

The last veggie

This is the very last hold out in the garden. All of the other veggies have been picked, the vines have started to wither and fall is coming quickly. I hope this Hubbard has time to ripen! It's not nearly as big as the other one (7 pounds at harvest) but will make a nice baked stuffed squash. The big one is destined to be a pie, I think, if I can find a knife big enough to cut it open!

Spotted in the garden...

August Harvest

Overall, it has been a fairly disappointing year for my garden. I have only harvested two zucchini, two cherry tomatoes, three pumpkins and three turnips. There's one giant Hubbard squash just waiting for the right time to harvest, and one more growing. There's a fall crop of peas coming up, but I'm not going to hold my breath! I'm not going to be discouraged though- it was a terribly hot and dry summer, and my focus has been on nurturing and feeding the little one in my womb and not my plants.

I'm back!

I took about a hundred photos during my week up in New Hampshire. This one by far is my favorite! I had a great week off from work, and I'm feeling rested and ready to face Monday head on. (Ask me how I feel on Monday night!). Ultrasound today went really well- baby is completely healthy and I don't have to go back for any more ultrasounds unless anything changes. Hooray! Healthy baby, can't ask for anything more. I am so blessed.

Vacation!

I'm so happy to say that I'm finally on vacation for a whole week. I only take a long vacation from work once a year, as I'm in charge of the office and can't seem to get away for long without a big mess when I return. (Let's see how they do when I'm out for maternity leave!) I'm headed up to see my parents in New Hampshire for a couple of days and then back home at the end of the week for my follow up ultrasound. Can't wait to see how much little baby has grown. 22 weeks pregnant and feeling great. (Feeling BIG!)

I'm gonna eat you!

Confirmed, it's a Boston Marrow. Apparently they grow anywhere from 10-20 pounds and make an excellent "pumpkin" pie. I have 5 more like it growing in the garden, albeit much smaller. For reference, that's my hand that is completely dwarfed by the thing. I'd say it's 10 pounds already. Can't wait to see how much bigger it gets. I don't have a scale at home (nasty things, those scales!) so I might take it to work to get it weighed. Would that be strange, carrying my swuash to work with me?

A wonderful surprise...

Can't believe it, but the zucchini plant that I thought had died after frost-damage had in reality just been hidden by the pumpkin and squash vines. I found this little guy hiding in amongst the leaves today while watering- I'm so thrilled!

Mystery solved!

I feel so silly for forgetting. I planted a hill of Heirloom Winter Squash. That must be what this is! It just keeps getting bigger and rounder every day. It has looped itself in through the trellis fence, so there's no way for me to put it closer to the ground to keep it safe from gravity. I've put a sling around it for now, but may have to improvise as it gets bigger. I'm so glad I solved the mystery!

Pumpkin Obsession?

Or just pumpkin love? I can't tell.

Pumpkin slings and weird squash part Two!

The unknown squash has gotten rounder around the middle today (haha, just like me!) so now I'm even more puzzled about what it could be.


This pumpkin grew about two feet up on a section of my lattice fence. This will have to work for now until I can come up with a better way to support it!

Name that squash?

This first one is pretty easy...it's my first pumpkin ever! She's going strong so far. These are the "Baby Pam" variety, so they will probably get to be no more than 4-5 pounds. I think it's really wonderful to be watching my vegetables grow as I watch my belly grow too. :)

I'm certain that I did not knowingly plant these. I planted pumpkin seeds, zucchini seeds, and "autumn-winged gourd" seeds. This to me does not look like any of those! Any suggestions? Mismarked seeds? Rndom yellow or crook-necked squash seed mixed in? Either way, it looks so cool!

Hooray for the rain water barrel!

It's been really, really dry around here. You can see all the dead grass at my feet. We don't waste a single drop of water on the useless grass...all of the water we have goes to the veggies. We had a little bit of rain the other day, just enough to fill the barrel again about halfway.


We fill empty soda bottles collected from the nearby park (we're not soda drinkers ourselves) and put them onto water stakes that stick down into the ground by the plants' roots. This helps the water get where it really needs to be, and we lose less to evaporation in the heat. It's been just at least 90 or higher for the last 10 days or so, so the plants need every drop of water they can get.

Proud pumpkin mama!

I have three pumpkin plants, all this size! I'm so excited, I might actually get pumpkins this year. It's been so hot and dry that I've been really keeping an eye on them. Both rain water barrels are empty so I'm watering with our well water. Hope it rains soon!

Pumpkins!

I am proud to report that out of the few plants that made it from seedling to garden and thrived are these beautiful pumpkin plants. Off to the right are turnips, which I've never grown before but am hoping do well! It's been so hot here that none of the peas made it. I've got a tomato plant and a couple of pepper plants still hanging on in the back gardens. We'll see...it just hasn't been a good year for growing!

Peppers...

So far, the pepper plants look good. Last year, I lost most of my peppers to slugs or some other unknown bug. This year I've got 6 plants total- three bell and three carnival pepper. Hopefully I can keep the bugs off long enough to actually eat the veggies!

Peas= Total failure

I wish I had taken a picture of my failed sugar snap peas, but I was so discouraged I pulled them all out before I could. Last year, I had beautiful snap pea plants that produced absolutely wonderful peas. This year, I transplanted them and we promptly had a late frost. I didn't think this would be a problem, but two weeks later we had 90-degree weather. I think they just couldn't make it against the rapidly fluctuating temperatures. The leaves yellowed, dried up, and died. I watered them, I gave them compost and good soil to grow in, they got plenty of sunshine and still they died. I was really looking forward to sugar snap peas!! I planted another row directly outside last weekend, and they have sprouted. I just don't know if they'll have enough cool weather left to thrive in, as it's been almost 90 degrees again a few days this week. So much for Connecticut's temperate growing season!

Sprouts!

The digital camera was too far away, so this cell phone picture will have to do for now. We've had crazy weather here- a late frost two weeks ago that damaged some of the plants I put out too early, and yesterday we hit a new record for May 26th of 98F. I was so glad to see that the heat hasn't affected the seeds I planted this past weekend. These are my "Baby Pam" pumpkins, just sprouted this morning. I've also got turnips coming up, and basil and bell peppers successfully transplanted outside. No sign of life from the lettuce or spinach yet....but maybe they are just slow learners! I'll transplant the Roma and Cherry tomato seedlings to the outside beds this weekend. Pictures to follow, hopefully!

It's been quiet...too quiet!

My apologies for the quiet from this corner for the last week or two! We've been preoccupied with planning for baby (I know, I know, we've got time still!) and trying to get the gardens going. I spent last weekend, which was beautiful and sunny, weeding the garden beds where the peppers and tomatoes will go. This past weekend was VERY windy and cold, and we've got frost warnings for tonight so everything is on hold until I know I can put the rest of the plants outside. Not unheard of weather for Connecticut in May, but not common either. I thought for sure that after a couple of 90 degree days at the end of April, the warm weather would be here to stay. Boy, was I wrong!
If you can see the tool in my hand, let me tell you- that was the best $2.99 I ever spent on a garden item ever! One side is a hoe and the other is a small rake. Great for weeding! Besides, it makes me look slightly dangerous when I'm out in the yard by myself, which is always helpful since I'm small, blonde, and mostly harmless. :)

Big News!

I've been quiet for the last week or so because we've been overwhelmed by the big news at our house. My husband and I are having a baby! We've been married almost 6 years, and it seems that the time is just right for us to grow our family. The dog and the cat are ready to be "big sister and brother" and our parents are overjoyed. I'm due in December. Updates to follow- this weekend's big project is to get the rest of the garden beds built for all of the plant babies. :)

Free stuff rules!

I belong to my local freecycle, which is basically an internet email group where folks can list stuff they want to get rid of or stuff they are looking for. I responded to someone who was offering old wood from a workbench. I ended up with 5 pieces, 8ft long by 6in wide, about 2.5 inches thick. I originally intended to build a garden bed with them, but found they had unknown paint on them and I didn't want to risk contaminating my veggies. I had the brilliant idea to use them to edge the garden bed on the side of our garage, which has always just sort of been a pile of dirt with lots of day lilies in it. I think it came out really nice! And all I had to spend was my time, to get it done. Hooray for recycling!

Snap Pea Condo

I think I may have started the peas inside too early this year. I've got another month to go before I can move them outside, and they've outgrown one container already. This is my next idea to keep them warm and moist for the time being. It's one of those plastic zippered bags that sheet sets come in! I figure I've got a week or so before they outgrow that too. Time to get working on building more cold frames- too bad it's going to rain this weekend.

I love peas

The seedlings on the far right are labeled "Johnny's Sugar Snap- may not germinate". Johnny's seeds reimbursed me for these, as they were apparently a dud batch that had a small percentage of awful scary pea bug. I was advised to put the seeds in the freezer for two weeks to kill any bugs that might have made it into my seeds. After two weeks in the freezer, every single one germinated!

Hi Mama!

This post is for Mama. She has dial-up internet at Bog End, so she checks my blog at the library every week or so. She said she'll check tomorrow. HI MAMA! I love you!

Mixed up seeds...

Not all of the seeds I planted sprouted. So, I thought I would be smart and only save the ones that did sprout. Of course, when I did that, I lost track of what I planted where. The little guys in the front are sugar snap peas or snow peas. But that little guy in the back, I'm just not sure. Could be zucchini, could be squash, could be pumpkin. I guess I'll just be surprised!

New Garden Beds!

We've been talking about getting these put together for a while, and finally got the time to get it done yesterday. The trellis fence marks the border between our yard and the parking lot for the park. I'm planning to put my pumpkin and squash in these beds, since a little bit of partial shade won't hurt 'em, and I'm hoping that maybe they'll climb the trellis!

I brought Bunny up to my parent's place in New Hampshire for the weekend. We walked across the great meadow and down into the woods to this stream. It was Bunny's first encounter with water like this, and she had a great time. It was difficult to get her out of it when it was time to walk back to the house.

Happy little seedlings...

I just love to watch them grow! Only a month and a half until frost free date! Can't wait to get these babies into the ground.

Spring has arrived!

I came home from work last night and saw this in the yard. What a great way to end a long day! I'm so glad to see this first daffodil- it was starting to seem like winter would never end.

Tonight's dinner

I wish this dish photographed better! I'm not going to admit to how much butter goes into this. It's one of my favorites- it's made with pastina which is a tiny grain that cooks up quickly- 5 minutes for the pasta to be soft. Tonight's had onion, carrot, red pepper, broccoli, and spinach. It's a great way to get a daily dose of veggies (and butter!) and a very filling meal. I don't think there's anything better than the smell of onions sauteing.

Chicken Pot Pie

I love it when a great plan comes together! Home made chicken pot pie. I will never buy another one again. It was totally worth all the work!

We've got sprouts!

Admittedly, they are the teeniest, tiniest, almost-can't-see-them sprouts ever. But after a long, tiring day, they made it all worth while. They remind me that Spring is almost here, and before long I'll be overwhelmed with fresh vegetables (I hope!).

It's seedling time!

I started my seeds today! They will grow indoors for a month or so, and then be moved to my greenhouse (which I haven't built yet). I'm optimistic! Come on, spring!

The final list!

I'm determined not to buy any more seeds to plant this spring. My poor backyard (less than 1/5 of an acre) can't accommodate my grand dreams. As it is, I'm going to have to build 6 more raised beds to handle all of the vegetables I'm hoping to plant.

I thought I would try to grow only organic seeds, but decided that I'll grow whatever looks good, without the use of any pesticides and see what happens. Perhaps when my budget is higher I can order only organic seeds!

Here's the final list of seeds I've got. Most of them came from Johnny's of Maine (www.johnnyseeds.com) and a few are from various garden stores in my area. Every time I went to the store, I picked up another packet of seeds. Couldn't help myself!

Veggies:
Organic Sugar Snap Peas
Organic Broccoli
Carrots
Baby Pam Pumpkins
Autumn Wings Ornamental Gourds (just for fun!)
Lettuce
Organic Zucchini
Smooth Leaf Spinach
Heirloom Winter Squash "Boston Marrow"
Super Sweet 1000 Cherry Tomatoes (worked so well for me last year! I didn't even get the dreaded blight)
Organic White Bunching Onion
Melting Sugar Snow Peas
Mixed Bell Peppers

Herbs: Sweet Basil, Parsley, Oregano, Dill, Chives, Sage

And I'll also try to grow some flowers, just 'cuz they look nice! Sunflowers, Sweet Pea, Forget-me-Nots, Lupine, and a random "Wildflower Mix"

I hope to get the seeds planted in their little seed pots this weekend. The forecast is for rain, so it will be the perfect time to get them going. This is my second year ever growing veggies, so wish me luck!

What the sewing machine sees...

When my husband and I made the decision to buy our house, this was one of the deciding factors. Our house sits all by itself inside of a public park. We've got lots of neighbors up on the street side, but we're the only ones whose driveway is in the park. There are public walking trails, softball fields, a playground (not that we have kids!) and a lot of privacy in the winter. In the summer, this place is hoppin! We thought it would be great to have all of the amenities of the park. Some things have been great, but having strangers 10 feet from the front window at all times of day and night has not been all that wonderful. Just one more thing to add to the list of "wants" for our next place...PRIVACY!

Bliss..

I have to admit, I'm taking a cue from some blogger friends and writing about my cat today.

My husband got Bliss for me for Christmas three years ago. He was a stray that a friend had rescued and raised. This is just one more example of how awesome my husband is- he was not a cat person at all, but knew how much I wanted one.

Bliss has grown up to be one of those aloof cats who really just wants to be fed and left alone. He'll act all cute and friendly until you try to get close and cuddle with him. Then he'll run off and give you the evil eye from the corner. Later, he'll come running back and beg, sometimes loudly, to be fed. He'll follow me to the food container and point at it, all the while meowing.

You can see his awesome mittens in the first picture. Bliss is polydactyl, but only on the front paws. One paw has three extra toes, and the other has two. When he plays with toys, it looks like he has oven mitts on.

As much as I love our dog, I'm still a cat person. I'm hoping that when we have our barn, I can have a couple of barn cats!

Barnheart....

I find that lately I've been really anxious to move into the next phase of my life and make my dreams of rural land a reality. Winter always makes me a little bit melancholy, and periodic visits to my parent's place (neighboring barn shown above) make me yearn for a simpler life. I've had enough of driving into the city every day for work, enough of having loud, inconsiderate neighbors, enough of the mentality around me that the only path to happiness is found by buying things. If I hear one more person tell me that they absolutely NEED another purse, another pair of shoes, a bigger house, a newer car, I think I may scream! There is more to life that the pursuit of material goods.

My husband and I have been talking about the necessity of downsizing in order to live our dreams. We're currently in a house that's about 1000 sq feet, with no basement or attic. All of our belongings are literally stacked around the house in boxes because there's no place to store them. I think I can reasonably down size a great deal of what we have. The hardest decisions to make will be which books and which boxes of fabric will have to go.

I'm ready.

Daydreaming of spring...

I'm ready now. Bring on the warm weather, bring on the sun!

Perfect....

I am SO proud! Another new skill...here are my homemade dinner rolls. The thumbs-up on the left is my awesome mother-in-law, who guided me but made me do it all by myself...the middle is me...and on the right, my husband gives his seal of approval. I really enjoyed making them from start to finish- there's a certain sense of pride when you know you created something edible from scratch.

Growing and snoozing...

It seems all Bunny does is run around, eat, and snooze. That's ok with me! She even likes to sit and watch me at the sewing machine. I think she likes the noise it makes.

I'm headed out tomorrow morning to buy seed trays for my seedlings (that I won't start for another month or two at least!) I saw them in the store already, and I just can't wait any more. I wish it were Spring now! Last year I recycled some cardboard food trays and cut-up milk jugs to start my seedlings indoors in, but I'm hoping to plant way more veggies this year than last and need something more substantial.

New skills!

I made jelly for the first time this weekend, thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law. I always thought it was really difficult to do, but even though there are a lot of steps to follow, once you get the hang of it, it goes really quickly! Pics to follow shortly, they weren't cool enough to take home yesterday. I got about 17 jars total made- strawberry and blueberry jelly and peach jam. And boy, do they taste delicious! There is nothing better than learning a new skill, especially when it brings me one more small step closer to self-sufficiency and one equally small step away from total reliance on the grocery store.

Greetings from Bunny-Land

This is what winter is all about...falling asleep face first in the space heater. Ok, not really! Bunny has doubled in size since we got her, she's about 50 pounds now at 7 months old. I keep thinking she's going to stop growing....

Thankfully, she's almost done with her treatment for mange and feeling much better. We were worried about her for a while there...but she's on the mend!

Staying warm...

I've been quiet, I know. It's been really cold, and we've spent most of our time at home cuddled together, sharing the warmth and the love. I hope everyone is keeping warm too!

I'm day dreaming about spring, planning my garden and ordered all of my seeds already! Come on, spring!