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Graduation

Category: Life As I Know It | Posted: Sat May 31, 2014 12:47 am

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It's hard to believe that all of my kids have now graduated from high school. I guess a little bragging is in order.

We attended a graduation ceremony for my youngest son last night. He has already completed two semesters of college by dual enrolling and plans to complete his AA degree in IT technology and then pursue a bachelor's degree in computer programming.

My oldest son graduated four years ago, has completed an AA degree and is working to become a paramedic. His ultimate goal is to be a flight nurse.

My daughter graduated eight years ago, is a registered nurse, has been married for nearly seven years and blessed us with our first grandson in March of this year.

God blessed my wife and I with three great children and continues to bless us every single day. My daughter lives four and a half hours away, but came home for her brother's graduation. It is so good to have them all home again.

I've heard other people say that they couldn't wait for their kids to leave home. My way of thinking is totally opposite of that. I love being around them and have never been in a hurry for them to leave. When my daughter left for college just after graduation my wife and I were both devastated. A little over a year later she was getting married and we knew she would never be back. Devastation all over again. But we learned to adjust and now we have a beautiful grandson that we get to spoil.

We've had ups and downs like everyone else, but any time I get down I think about my kids and things look a little brighter. The Bible says that children are a blessing from the Lord and I can attest that mine have definitely blessed me.

Last edited: Mon Jun 02, 2014 1:27 am

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Chickens In The Garden

Category: Chickens | Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:58 am

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This is the first year that I have not had the chickens separated from the garden. I was kind of worried because I've read that chickens can really destroy a garden if left to run loose in it. Now that the season is well underway I can honestly say that it hasn't been that bad. Here are a couple of things that I learned from my experience this year.

1) The chickens absolutely loved borage seedlings and would eat them to the ground as soon as I transplanted them. However, if I protected them and let them get about a foot high the chickens left them alone.

2) They never once bothered the sunflower, pepper, squash or tomato seedlings.

3) Amaranth, okra, pole beans and cucumber weren't their favorites, but if left unprotected they would pick at them.

4) They definitely like blueberries, especially after they are ripe. The only way I could get any blueberries was if I covered the bush so they couldn't get at them.

5) This is the best squash harvest that I have ever had... and I have yet to find any bugs on the squash plants. My brother is less than a half mile away and can't keep the vine borers away.

6) In fact, I haven't found any bugs at all in the garden. I can't see how they could keep the tomato horn worm away, but so far I haven't seen one.

7) They pecked at a couple of the tomatoes and squash, but for the most part they left all the fruit alone (except for the blueberries).

So, it has been a give and take, but overall I think having the chickens in the garden was a success. It took a little more effort on my part to make sure the seedlings were protected, but after they got big enough the chickens would simply wander down the row and scratch. I'm thinking the little bit of work on my part was offset by the pest protection. The biggest headache has been the blueberries. If I can figure out a way to protect them next year then I might not put up a fence. We'll have to see.

Last edited: Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:17 pm

This blog entry has been viewed 482 times

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Sunflowers

Category: Gardening | Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 12:48 pm

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This is the second year that I have grown sunflowers in the garden. The simple pleasure of seeing them every day makes me wonder what took me so long to start growing them. In addition to seeing them I also enjoy taking pictures. Here are a couple:


More sunflowers ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )


Early Morning Sunflowers ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






Sunflower ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )





This blog entry has been viewed 535 times

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Sunflowers U-Clip

Category: Gardening | Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 10:30 am

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On a couple of different occasions I have tried rather unsuccessfully to make a little bit of money from my gardening efforts. Wouldn't it be awesome to pull on the gardening gloves and head out to the garden every day instead of driving to some dreary workplace? It's a romantic notion, but one that I have entertained often.

Well, one of my relatives has found a way to make a little bit of money from growing sunflowers. He's not getting rich and I'm sure he's not going to be quitting his day job, but I think his idea is pretty clever.

It started about four years ago when he decided to plow up a small plot and throw out a bag of black oil sunflower seeds to see if they would come up. You know, the kind you can buy at Walmart for bird seed. They did come up and before long people were stopping and asking if they could clip the flowers. He started charging one dollar for three sunflowers and the people just kept coming.

Every year since he has planted his little sunflower plot. It is all self service and operates on the honor system. He has a table with a payment box and he even provides the cutters.

It is only about a half mile from my house, so I rode over there yesterday and took a couple of pictures.



Sunflowers U-Clip ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






Sunflower Plot ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )






Sunflower Plot 2 ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )





This blog entry has been viewed 546 times

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Thor Was A Mighty Chicken

Category: Chickens | Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 9:53 am

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I spent the better part of this past weekend working on a new chicken pen for the 12 additions to the flock. My next project is a fence for the garden. It hasn't been too bad with only five chickens, but I don't even want to see what kind of havoc seventeen chickens could wreak on a garden.

So, a little explanation about the title of this blog entry is in order. Working on the new pen got me thinking about one of my favorite chickens (there's something that I never thought I'd find myself saying). You see, I never claimed to be much of an animal lover. In fact, I can say with certainty that I am not an animal lover. However, a couple of years ago I got extremely attached to, of all things, a chicken.

On a whim my wife and I decided to get some chickens so that we could have our own fresh eggs. We found someone close to our house that had young chickens for sale and we picked out five.

I never did figure out what breed two of the hens were, but the other three chickens turned out to be Golden Buff Orpingtons. Two were hens, but the one that I really liked was the rooster which I affectionately named "Thor" because of his striking color and large size.

He would run to me when I went into the field (I let them free range, only locking them up at night for protection's sake) and he was always gentle. He took care of his women too. I would search for crickets and drop them in front of him. He would start clucking and before long the hens would run over and gobble them up. I used to think he was wimpy for letting them steal his food, then I realized that he was actually calling them over. What a gentleman.

Unfortunately, Thor and his two Orpington brides were all killed by my brother's dog on the same day. I was devastated when I found them. I will admit that I actually came to tears. Of course, the other two chickens that I didn't really care for walked away scratch free.

We've had other chickens since then, but none quite like Thor. I still can't believe a chicken could have such an impact on me.

The picture below is not Thor, but I wanted to show what he looked like.

All hail Thor, the mighty chicken.


Thor ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )





Last edited: Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:18 pm

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The Herb Bible

Category: Life As I Know It | Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 11:18 am

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When my youngest son was about ten years old he became interested in herbs. In fact, he was so into them that he used to carry around an herb "bible". He would read to us from the back seat while we were driving down the road. I heard facts about every herb imaginable and some that I didn't even know existed.

Sadly, that phase of his life came and went. He has a casual interest in herbs now, but he is far from what he used to be.

Because of his interest I started liking them more. I've tried to grow many herbs but I have to say that I haven't been very successful. I love the smell of rosemary, lavender and mint. Every time I go into a nursery I have to run my hand through the leaves just so I can smell them.

I'll keep trying to grow them even though I don't seem to be the herb expert... and maybe someday my son will wander back out in the garden with me.


( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )





Last edited: Mon Jun 02, 2014 1:29 am

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Korean Hyssop Update

Category: Gardening | Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 10:30 am

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As promised, here are pictures of the Korean Hyssop in bloom. The plant is about 3 1/2 feet tall and 3 feet wide. The bees are all over it.


Korean Hyssop In Bloom ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )


Korean Hyssop In Bloom ( photo / image / picture from eclecticgarden's Garden )





This blog entry has been viewed 515 times

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Cracked Open The Hives

Category: Bees | Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 10:41 am

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I've been a little concerned that the hive I split a few months back wasn't doing well so after work yesterday I opened it up to have a look.

I'm happy to say that there is honey, pollen, brood and even some new bees. I'm still going to keep an eye on it, but I think it is going to be OK.

I also looked in on the hive that I didn't split. It is doing so well that I was able to snag one of the frames of honey.

There is just something about eating honey right out of the hive. The honey that I got yesterday has a slight taste of loquat. When the loquat tree was in bloom you could stand underneath it and hear all of the bees overhead. The buzz was so loud that it almost sounded like a roar. It would have been pretty intimidating if I didn't know where the bees came from.

I continue to learn more about the bees every day. They are such interesting creatures. I could sit in front of the hive and watch them go in and out for hours. I can't explain why they have me spellbound, but I can rest in the fact that I am not the only one. My wife, mom and dad are all equally attracted to our little friends.

I've had a garden for many years, but this is the first year that I've actually had a bee hive sitting nearby. I would highly encourage others to check into getting a hive. Learn all that you can, join a local bee club, talk to other beekeepers, find a mentor if it is at all possible. There is so much to learn from the bees and so much to gain from having them around.

Last edited: Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:13 pm

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WEEDS: Friend or Foe?

Category: Gardening | Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 10:28 am

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Over the years my attitude toward weeds in the garden has changed. I used to hoe them until my back hurt until I realized that mulching helped keep them down. But even with mulching the weeds still managed to pop up. So, I started pulling them by hand, putting them in a 5 gallon bucket and hauling them to the compost pile.

Then, I had a gardening epiphany. Why haul the weeds away to the compost pile when I could simply pull them and put them right back into the garden? That would prevent me from carrying around the five gallon bucket and also put a small amount of green manure right back onto my plants. So, I started doing that a few years ago and so far it works just fine.

STEP 1: This is the easy part. Find the weeds.

STEP 2: Pull the weeds. I don't let them get very big, although if they are too small they are difficult to pull up. If I wait too long and the weeds start to take over I'll pull out the trusty hoe.

STEP 3: Place the weeds on top of the soil/mulch right at the base of your plants.

That's all there is to it. Not everyone wants to spend time in the gardening pulling weeds so this technique might not be for everyone. Personally, I rather enjoy the work and I especially like getting my hands in the dirt. I guess it's that little boy in me trying to come out.

This blog entry has been viewed 501 times

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Gardener's Anonymous

Category: Gardening | Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 10:38 am

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If there were such an organization as Gardener's Anonymous I would be part of it.

"Hello, my name is Tom and I am a gardenholic."

There are some classic signs of being a gardenholic. I would invite you to read them and see if you fit into this category:

SIGNS:
- You have problems at work or school because of your gardening, such as being late or not going at all.

- After gardening you can't remember what happened while you were gardening (blackouts).

- You keep gardening even though you have health problems that are made worse by your actions.

- Your friends or family members are worried about your gardening.

- You cannot quit gardening or control how much you garden.

- You have withdrawal symptoms when you stop gardening. These include feeling sick to your stomach, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety.

- You have given up other activities so you can garden.

- You garden in the morning, are often gardening for long periods of time, or garden alone.

- You worry that you won't get enough gardening for an evening or weekend.

- You have physical signs of gardening dependence, such as weight loss or redness of the nose and cheeks (better known as sunburn), or a recurring problem of dirt under the fingernails.



Last edited: Tue Jun 03, 2014 3:12 pm

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