Wacky Weimy Wednesday: Happy Birthday Caleb!

My little guy is two today! Where did all that time go? Time sure does fly! I've so enjoyed getting to watch Caleb grow and develop his little personality over the last couple of years. I absolutely cannot imagine not having him around!

Cabela will never admit it, but she can't imagine her life without Caleb, either! ;)We sure are lucky to have this little character around to brighten our days!

Happy, happy birthday Caleb!

Fun, productive day!! Warning: this is a long one!

So, as these days have been getting longer and warmer, I've been getting more and more overwhelmed, thinking about all of the projects that I want to get accomplished this summer. One of those projects is getting my yard 100% completed. This yard of mine has been a work in progress for going on three summers now! Well, I guess to be fair, I should acknowledge that the first year was really only half a summer (we moved into the house in July). I was able to get the front yard partially started, but it only put a teeny tiny dent in what was to come. Then, last summer, I started A LOT of projects, but only actually finished one (our front yard pondless water feature). This left a backyard pond to finish, a cutting garden to finish, flower beds that still needed to be installed, flagstone pathways to install and a lawn (including sprinklers) to put in. Yikes! You could say that I got a little distracted at the end of the summer by a certain lovable four-legged guy named Caspian. ;)

With my current state of "overwhelmedness" I was so stoked when my friend Patches offered up the services of her rock star dirt workin' boyfriend to help me get a jump on some of this work. Mainly, I really wanted to get the "future lawn" part of our yard leveled out so that I can soon get to work amending the soil and getting sprinklers installed. Then, hopefully installing grass within the next couple of weeks.

We decided that Sunday (yesterday Sunday) would be "the day" to get the work party started. YESSS!!! I was so stoked. Plus, as an added bonus I got a chance to hang with Patches all afternoon while the rock star did his thang! We planned to get to work planting up some experimental tomato/herb planters.

But first, we got a little distracted by this bush in my front yard. I noticed last week that the aphids have taken up residence and keep meaning to mix up a little Dawn dishsoap aphid annhilation mixture (a little Dawn added to a full watering can and poured over the affected areas works like a charm to kill them and doesn't harm the plant). Anyway, "meaning to" is the key phrase here...

Since I've been slacking on remembering to do that, I was so excited to see nature's aphid exterminator crawling around the leaves of this bush and called Patches over to take a look. Being the big dorks that we are, we then spent about 20-30 minutes photographing this one bush. It was amazing how many critters were on it though! Ladybugs, aphids, ants, spiders...a whole little bug colony!

Once we finally pried ourselves away from the bug bush, we decided to get to work on our hanging planters. Read along and I'll show you how to make one of my "Kuntry Girl Tamata Planters". This is my first time making them, so it can be a group experiment! Just don't yell at me if they don't work out so well. But I have faith...I think.

Now, if I were smart, I would have taken a picture of all of the supplies that you will need...but I didn't.

So I will instead list them out (bo-ring!):

• Plastic 1 gallon water or milk jug
• Coffee filters (4-5 per planter)
• Potting soil
• Compost
• Moss (I got a BIG bag of this at Fred Meyer for only like 3 bucks!) Look on the aisle with the hanging baskets.
• Drill (or punch...just something to poke holes with)
• Hanging basket chain (Lowe's has packages of replacement chains for less than 2 bucks)
• Hand saw, exacto knife, or serrated pocket knife if you're like Patches and carry one of those around. That girl is always prepared!
• Pliers
• Scissors
• Tomato (or tamata) start (or peppers - they'll work too)
• Herb of your choice

You will want to start off by cutting the flat bottom off of your jug.

Note: be careful on those reinforced corners...right Patches? ;)

Then, poke holes in your jug where you will be attaching your chain (I forgot to take a picture of this). I'm fired from "How-Tos"!

You could attach your chain at this point or you could wait 'till the planter is done...up to you.

Whenever you do it, once you're satisfied with the placement of your chain hooks, you'll want to use your pliers to close the "S hooks" to prevent the chain from slipping out.

Okay, now the fun begins. Grab a little stack of your coffee filters (4-5 filters). Fold in half each way and make a cut so that you have an X. Then, carefully fit the stack of filters over your tamata (or pepper) plant.

Next, turn the plant and filters upside down and carefully fit it through the opening of the jug. Tuck a little moss underneath the root ball. The purpose of the moss and filter is to contain the dirt and to keep water from streaming too fast out the bottom.

Next, add in some potting soil, compost, and moss. I like to do this in layers (in that order) ;) Having another layer of moss about halfway up the container should help retain water towards the top and encourage the roots to grow upward towards it.

Next, add a little more potting soil and then go ahead and plop your herb of choice right on the top there.
Finish it off with a bit more potting soil, a bit more moss, and then finally, another layer of compost as a top dressing (forgot to take a close up of that...so fired!)

Here they are completed...ta da! Your very own "Kuntry Girl Tamata Planter"! Cost effective and envoirnmentally friendly...a great way to recycle your used jugs! The other great thing about these is that they're lightweight, can be easily moved around, and they really help maximize garden space! They could even be hung on a balcony! Mine will eventually go in my cutting garden (which you can kinda see in the background), but first I gotta get the braces up that they will hang from. THERE IS NOT ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY FOR ALL MY PROJECTS!!! Sorry, just had a moment there. I'm ok now...

Okay, moving on. This post has turned out to be pretty lengthy, so I think I better cut myself off now. But I'll leave you with some before & afters of "Yard Project 2009" (imagine that in a big, booming announcers' voice please).

The front yard after a few quick passes with the box scraper.

Ooh, it's starting to get smooth!
Side yard starting to get "roughed up".

The big pile of dirt left over from the front and side yard. After Patches and Rock Star left I used our little tractor to move this pile...I used some of it for my cutting garden beds and the rest I used to begin building up where the rest of my flower beds in the yard will be.

I always lay out an extension cord to give myself a guideline of where the flower bed edge will be.

The pile's dwindling!

Almost gone!

Ah, now that's what I'm talkin' about! You cannot even imagine the feeling of peace that I get looking at these last two pictures. Just look at that smooth, smooth yard! I'm tempted just to leave it like this...no mowing, no sprinklers...although I have a feeling that maybe, just maybe dust might be an issue. ;)

Okay, so that's it for now! THANK YOU so much Patches and Rock Star for putting this Kuntry Girl's mind at ease and getting me on the right track for a summer of projects! You guys are the BEST!! :)

Sunday Stills: Power Lines and Landscapes

I realize this is quite tardy, but better late than never, right? ;) What can I say, it was a busy, fun-filled, and very productive day (the details of which shall be shared at great length tomorrow).

This week's Sunday Stills challenge was to take some photos that would be stellar if not for those pesky power lines that seem to be unavoidable sometimes.

What better way to kick this off than with a peaceful pastoral setting of horses (including babies) happily grazing in a lush green field. Kinda hard not to notice the big black line bisecting the upper half of this otherwise lovely picture, though.

And the always lovely Mt. Rainier...cut in half by two black lines.

This one's great because not only do we have power lines, but I've thrown in a big red and white tower!

Lines, poles, streetlights...all the goodies! And next, horizontal and vertical lines...bonus!

Last up, a shot of my very favorite meadow which I see every day when I walk my dogs. It's the prettiest in the morning (which, incidentally, is when I took this) when the green is SUPER green before getting drenched in the afternoon sunlight. Now, can I admit something here? (voice drops to a whisper) I have to admit that I actually like the power lines in this picture. There, I said it. From time to time, I like power lines in a shot. Please don't kick me out of Sunday Stills now, k? ;)

Wacky Weimy Wednesday: Bath Time!

While I was bathing the two crazies yesterday, it occured to me that bath time with my furry kids is probably very similar to bath time with human kids. For example, as with little boy humans, Caleb HATES baths. As soon as he catches wind of what's going on he heads for his "secret" hiding spot (see below). Although he really needs to find a new spot...he's way too predictable. It's so funny, too...he completely knows what's about to happen before I even utter the word "bath". As soon as he sees me head for "that side" of the house with towels in hand, he's all of a sudden vanished! Cracks me up!

Cabela, on the other hand LOVES her baths and actually begs to be the first to get in the tub. I usually bathe Caleb first, though, just to get him out of the way...but Cabela's waiting at the door the whole time for her turn! Then, she's so excited when I'm putting her in the tub, giving me kisses, tail wagging like crazy.

Also like human kiddos, once they're in the tub, they'd rather be playing than getting clean...messing with the soap, licking at the water, etc. ;)

Although Cabela loves her bath she's also just as excited to get out of the bath and run around like crazy, getting her "scent" back.

At this point, Caleb has put himself back into hiding, convinced that the Chinese Water Torture has only just begun. Pretty soon, though Cabela will go roust him out of his spot so they can enjoy some "naked play time" (without their collars on). ;)

I dare you to try to watch the video below without laughing...these two are NUTS for naked play time!

When the dust settles from the Weimy 500 things actually get pretty peaceful around here. That's one great thing about bath night...totally wears 'em out! And that's hard to do!

Sunday Stills: The Color Yellow

This week's Sunday Stills challenge is the color yellow...what a perfect challenge for this time of year! Yellow seems to be everywhere, at least in my neck of the woods!

This is our "small town bell tower". I really love having this feature in our town; during the holidays this is where we light our Christmas tree. But right now, it's all about the daffodil! Our town is big on celebrating the daffodil and is one that takes part in the "daffodil parade" each year.

A buttercup close up! At least, I think this is a buttercup. If my memory serves me right, I seem to remember buttercups being shorter than these flowers were. Hmm...maybe they're just supercharged buttercups, just like everything else up here (i.e.; weeds, weeds, and more weeds...all of the supercharged variety). ;)

In taking some close ups of these pretty flowers, I noticed this little spider guy hanging out.

This guy seems peaceful enough...I actually really like garden spiders. But I can't stand their cousins. I think these petunias are called "Lemon Zest", so I figure that's very fitting for a yellow challenge. I love having petunias on the front porch. The smell is pure heaven. My mom used to put these in our window boxes, so the smell always brings back good memories.


Here are a couple of other little critters...a busy worker honey bee and a cute little bumble bee (or chicken bee as my neighbors call them). Did you all know that bumble bees nest in the ground? I just learned that! No wonder I stepped on so many as a kid!

Last, just to throw in a little variety, we have here my most favorite logo. ;)

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day!

P.S. I can't wait 'till next week's challenge!!! Power lines and landscapes! Are you kiddin' me?! I love power line pictures! And I have a mondo set of 'em in very close vacinity! Sweet! Now that I'm so excited, I'll probably choke and have to go back to the archives. ;)

A voice for Caspian

Hey everyone! Happy Memorial Day weekend! Hope everyone has a wonderful time.

So, I've started a blog for my favorite equine where I'm hopefully going to feature some training stories and other fun stuff.

Feel free to pop on over and give him a nicker! ;)

Skywatch Friday No. 45

This is what the sky looked like a few nights ago on my drive home. It's a little hard to tell in these pictures, but the bottoms of the clouds were almost perfectly flat and really dark. It was absoutely breathtaking in real life. Sometimes it's hard to really capture the true beauty in a photograph. I think you can get an idea of it in these pics, though.

This is what the sky looked like as I got a little closer to home. It was pretty ominous looking and I was sure we were going to get thunder, but we didn't much to my disappointment!

Be sure to check out Skywatch Friday for more great sky pictures from all over the world. Happy Friday!