Spring Highlights

I've been delinquent in my posting, but here's a long catch-up post.

The photo above was taken at Callaway Gardens. We had a lovely weekend there in April, and we'll definitely be making return trips. The Butterfly Center was a big hit with the munchkin (and the grownups, too), and I'm hoping we can return in September for "Blue Morpho Month."

The munchkin is turning out to be a little tennis powerhouse! She entered her second USTA tournament in May and won second place - her second second-place win! While we were tickled with her playing, what I was most proud of was that she played through brutal heat and blisters on her hand with no complaining and was gracious to her opponents.

     I've been doing some experimental gardening.

Bell pepper

 Lessons learned:  spring vegetables don't stand much of a chance in the Georgia heat. The truth is, we only have two seasons here - summer and not-summer. My lettuce went limp, it was too hot too quickly for the radishes and carrots, and while the spinach gave us a few salads, it bolted by late April. I might try again in fall, but I won't fool with those vegetables in the spring again. So far, the peppers are coming along nicely, and the pole beans are blossoming. We got a few zucchini from our two plants, but one of the plants has succumbed to what I think is squash vine borer, and the other one isn't looking good. Lesson learned:  pest control is a daily task, especially if you're trying to do it organically.

And finally, we said goodbye recently to our sweet kitty, Sebastian. I miss the little warm bundle of fur that snuggled next to me all night long. But he was sick, and the price of loving an animal is not allowing it to suffer when nothing can be done.

As for snuggling, we have no shortage of warm furry bodies. Our big dog Bella is always good for a cuddle, and the new beagle, Mollie, would be a lap dog if we let her.

incorrigible

Saving Money By Growing Peppers

Red bell pepper...eventually!

The hubby and I enjoy peppers, but we don't enjoy their price tag. So, this year, we're growing our own! We've got so many, I've been threatening to answer the phone, "Lowe Pepper Farm, how may I direct our call?" Since we'll essentially end up with organic peppers, we're saving lots of money over what organic would cost at the grocery store. Besides the financial benefits, there are educational ones. Growing things teaches my munchkin that food just doesn't appear magically at the grocery store. If all of that isn't convincing enough, it's fun, too!

We have bell peppers in a variety of colors, jalepenos, and some hot banana peppers. Either they're really easy to grow, or we've been lucky so far. No pests or problems.

We'll have jalepenos soon!

Wanna grow some peppers, too? If you don't have garden space, you can plant them in containers. They'll happily grow on a sunny patio. Peppers prefer full sun, but mine seem to be tolerating partial shade pretty well. If you don't have good soil, get a bag of garden soil to mix in when you plant. I planted baby plants, but peppers are also easy to grow from seed. At this late point in the season, though, you're better off starting with plants. I fertilized with a slow-release pellet style fertilizer when I planted them. I've read that you shouldn't fertilize after they begin to blossom, so keep that in mind. Once the peppers appear and begin to get heavier, you may need to use a wire cage or stake them to help provide some support. If your peppers don't look good, visit this page for suggestions on what to do for just about every imaginable pepper problem.