Sweetness

Yesterday, according to the Humane Society of Missouri's records, my sweet baby girl turned 12.  She is in excellent physical health and demands a walk each day.

Here she is, many years ago, after we hiked through Taum Sauk Park and made it to the highest peak in Missouri (hence the plaque). She had also just finished chasing a rabbit.

And yesterday? Forced to wear a velvet bow and a sign.
I can't even begin to describe how important she is to me and how much I love her. Maggie became "mine" when my ex-fiance ditched me and said that I either took her or returned her to the pound. I became a dog owner.
Maggie and I have driven all over Missouri, exploring state parks and natural wonders like Pickle Springs, the Devil's Posthole, Elephant Rocks and the Katy Trail.  She has been my co-pilot on the long 14-hour drive to and from eastern Pennsylvania.
("Welcome to Pennsylvania! Now drive for another 3 hours.")
I guess people who have children can relate to how I feel about Maggie.  She is one of the most important things in my life and I can't bear the thought that someday she won't be with us anymore, looking out the window, ignoring the neighbor's cats that frequent the yard, angling for a walk or begging for bacon grease.

On a less wistful note, I found these today:

I think this is brunnera? Teensy tiny blue flowers.
On the other side of the steps, one of my anemones or windflowers bloomed. I didn't know they would be so petite and sweet.

Now....do you have a sewing machine? Do you want some new spring clothes?
Check out the Swap O-Rama 2010 at the History Museum on April 10th!  Emily, the organizer, is hard-up for some volunteers to run machines to help folks refashion the afternoon away. Plus, the clothes swap! You know I love new clothes, and if they're free, it's even better.

Self-Pitying Post! Be Warned!

Today sucked. I had thought my good mood returned yesterday, and things today were going well until I went grocery shopping.
1. My grocery bill was less than 50 cents OVER the balance in our account. I was so embarrassed: I've never been that person who has to put stuff back. Did I put back the Take 5 bars? Hell no! The dog food can wait a few days! Why should I suffer a lack of chocolate when...

2. My serger has been stitching funny and I can't get it adjusted quite right. I was almost done with my Secret Project and then the damn needle fell out. After twenty minutes last night of fussing with it, I was sick of thread tensions and loopers.  At that point, I said, "fuck it" and turned it off and put the cover over it.

3. Tilted my hot iron to see what was sticking on the bottom and poured hot iron water all over my hand.

4.  Decided to cut out bird bits for bird pot holders. Brought up bin of Asian fabrics, opened it up and was overwhelmed with choices and couldn't decide where to start.

5. Motherfucking squirrel(s) dug up my planters of lettuce on the front porch.

6. Don't even get me started on the "I'm pretty sure I don't want kids, cause I like to be alone and I like a clean house, so why do I feel so bitter about people who are pregnant?" conundrum!

Waaaa.....poor little me.......

Since I just read an article about negative self talk,  I have to balance out the bad.....


1. My friend Kelly came over and I sent her home with 2 bags of fabric that will be made into super cute bags.

2.  Mushroom and olive pizza is cooking in the oven.

3. I found these today:

Bluebells!

4. Last year on March 28, I took this picture:

Here is the same view today, with no snow, a robin and bird bath:

He was splashing around and enjoying himself immensely. Anyone want some money plant that's coming up all around the bird bath?


5. I had the presence of mind to NOT pull up a mystery plant that I first thought was a weed. After further investigation, said plants are either Grecian windflowers or anemones. 


6. My sweet little arthritic Maggie will be 12 on March 30. She enjoyed a long walk today and some fine smells on the warm-ish breeze. Notice the pillaged planters flanking her.

Let's hope for a better day tomorrow!  Now for some pizza and Sunday flyers.

Birdz

There are two pairs of cardinals that hang out in my yard. Here, one of them sits atop the bird feeder pole.

 While his lady friend and a robin wait for him to eat.

The downy woodpecker is pretty brave and doesn't give a rat's ass about who is king of the feeder. I think there might be two of them also.

I cut some forsythia and brought it inside to bloom. My only regret is that I won't be here this weekend to see it open!

The sunshine and balmy temps of the past few days have really done a job on my winter blahs. I didn't think I was mellow, but I was noticeably happier yesterday. It might have been the odor of roasting coffee from Chauvin Coffee Company wafting through the air, or the delicious smell coming from the Vietnamese's kitchen next door. 
Either way, I'm happy spring is here and am excited to drive to Chicago tomorrow to see old and old-ish friends. Dan Ryan, here I come!

Digging In The Dirt, 2010

FINALLY I was able to get the garden started!
I am on spring break this week, and after a day of self-imposed sloth-ery, I worked outside all day yesterday.
Here's what I found in the compost bin:

Wee little mice. There must have been about 20 of them, fleeing like it was the Titanic! Glad I'm not scared of them.  It amazes me how they live all winter. Why don't they freeze?  And now I know why the neighbor's cats (Ginny and Peanut) sit, mesmerized by the bin.

As you South Citians know, most of our backyards have a cement walk flanked by a thin strip of grass and the typical chain link fence. Since we moved in almost 5 years ago, I have been slowly killing said strip of grass with a combination of cardboard, leaves, newspapers and whatnot. This past year was the last killing session I had to do. Behold the loveliness:

The green bit is a clump of magenta hollyhocks that I hope will bloom there this year. I'll put tomatoes, and squash in here, and give up on my dream of a corn patch. Last year was very traumatic for me, corn-growing-wise, thanks to the local wildlife.

Crocus are blooming, and there's one daffodil out front that is ready to pop.  I cut some forsythia branches to force inside.
Last year, we had snow on March 26th, but it doesn't feel like that today. Warm, balmy breezes, a dog sleeping in the yard and a corned beef simmering away. Perfect, perfect. 
Days like today make me feel I am blessed.

Spring, where are you?

We're getting new outside doors tomorrow! I am beyond excited and thought about it all day long at work. Exciting life, eh?

Here are some pics to tide us over until spring strolls in. It can't be much longer, as my bulbs are poking their little spikes through the soil. I planted $50 worth of bulbs in October, and by now, I have forgotten what went where. Should be a nice surprise in a few months!

 

  

Lovely seed packets from 1965. My mother was 19 years old. Free Fritos!

It's always hard to believe that it all begins like this:

And ends up like this 7 months later.

Snow Day!

 Just some pretty:

My parents in Pennsylvania are getting hit hard with the snowfalls there.  There is nothing on that patio table except 2 feet of snow.

I am jonesing for spring, especially after seeing a huge flock of robins this week.
Here are some warm photos for you to contemplate:

 

This is my mom and brother in 1981.

Check out those tritoma!

 

I love, love, love zinnias. There's something about their symmetry and pure rich colors and unfussiness that appeal to me.  Come on, spring!

For MB

Today in homeroom, my students told me, in hushed and awed tones,  that a couple former students were involved in a shooting death this weekend. Apparently, one of my former boys got upset at a dice game, took another boy's gun, and shot the boy he was upset with. They are in ninth grade. Fourteen or fifteen-year-olds. Rumor also has it that the shooter panicked and took the body to a local fast food joint and then skipped town.

  The shooter was a kid who I would describe as a big teddy bear. He never had issues with other kids and was very popular. Now, he might not have been the best student academically, but he wasn't a kid who I would expect this from. I could make him cry if I wanted to.

I spent the rest of today watching my current seventh graders work in pairs and then separate and cozy up in bean bags for silent reading time. They are so small and so innocent and so ignorant of how cruel life can be. 
Which of these will I be hearing tragic stories about in 2 years?
Which will not make it past the age of 20? 
After I left teaching in juvenile detention, I would follow the crime beat in the Boston newspaper. Many, many of my former students are dead. It's not shocking to me anymore, but it is still saddening.

The Mississippi River is mostly frozen over. Yesterday, we drove up river to look for eagles and to check out the amazing and beautiful ice floes. The ice is broken up into 2-inch thick slabs and there are actual snow drifts across the ice in some places. When you stand still, you hear the quiet sounds of the ice moving and cracking against itself. Even the sun doesn't penetrate the frozen, otherworldly feeling you get when you see the ice field.
I  imagine the hearts of the mothers involved look like this. Cold and broken with no signs of life.

Many Moons Later...

I've found that there is a dearth of St. Louis urban garden blogs. Or, I've found that I can't find them. So, just like when you skid in snow, you know you should steer into the skid, I see that this blog became a garden blog without me realizing it. I'm steering it that way, then.

It is almost painful to read the last posts as I sit here, trapped inside the house because it is 7 degrees outside. I've been trapped inside for the past 4 days, due to 2 snow days, Saturday and today being Sunday. The couple inches of snow have not melted. The dog still demands a walk each day, even though she gets snow between her toes and then limps the rest of the way home.

But how could I resist that grizzled face?

How did Rabbitt Gardens turn out?
1. I made 5 bags of marinara sauce.
2. I roasted and mashed and froze 2 bags of mystery winter squash.
3. The potato/tire planter suffered too much water and did not work. I have hopes for this year, though.
4. Squash has to go somewhere else next year. It grew into the alley and became a nuisance.
5. Watermelon wants more sun.

6. I will never plant corn again. Sure, it looks neat and orderly, but what the squirrels didn't eat during the day, the raccoons or possums ate at night.
7. Cleome has tiny little painful spikes on it.
8. Money plant reseeds like crazy.
9. I will pull up all dill I see next year.

10. Tomatoes are going in a different place this summer.
11. The front yard is a fine place to grow peppers.

Pictures, you say? Sure, I've got lots!

There were 3 pairs of goldfinches that hung out most of the summer, working on the 3 varieties of sunflowers I grew. The one in the top right is not deformed; he's just itching.


Monarch caterpillars on dill:


Giant yellow and black garden spider. She had made a huge web conveniently across the top of the compost bin. I almost walked into it, and am glad I didn't, for that would have taken years off my life. Here, she is eating a grasshopper, which I am very thankful for. Where do these things come from?!


The last picture of the garden.




Then we look forward to orchid blooms and Christmas cactus blooms:

So, stay tuned as I plan for Garden 2010!

Self Explanatory

First tomato of the year and new favorite shirt. I feel 20 years old again, with a powerful-statement-shirt. Believe it or not, this was taken on the first shot. Skillz.

More green beans than I thought:


I've been sewing for this show for the past two weeks. Won't you come shop? I will have some of my mother's crocheted bags made from plastic shopping bags, too.

Progress

I love seeing this when Maggie and I come down the alley at the end of our daily walk. Zinnias, chianti sunflowers, some other type of pale yellow sunflower, four o'clocks, and a marauding squash.
Upon looking at this, I didn't even notice the baby robin sitting on the fence (on the left hand side) when I took the picture! He or she has been kicking it in the yard for several days now, following its parent around and chirping for food. Love the little speckles on its belly!


Cantaloupes are getting big. I've already bartered several of them away, so I hope there's more where this fuzzy guy came from.


Praying mantises are also getting big. This lady was hanging out on my corn, which is a few weeks behind last year's harvest date.

First tomatoes!

I found this fabric in a hunt for yellows. I made a pair of Jams out of it in 1986 or 1987. I am slightly embarrassed ....A. because I wore shorts out of this fabric and B. because I've had the hideous scraps for 22 years. But, it works perfectly with the tropical blue, red and yellow placemats I cut out.

Monarda and daisies from my garden make a nice bouquet in the bathroom.

Okay, so the tomato was on the plant when I bought it, but it took a while to get nice and yellow!


In other news, I will be taking a fresh shipment of man whore kitchen goods to Paste today. There apparently is quite a demand for man whores in St. Louis, which I am happy to fulfill.

Cranky Yellow on Cherokee Street will also be selling my "men" this week. I'll pop by there tomorrow to drop some off. Cherokee Street has experienced quite a renaissance in the past year or so. It's not the scary neighborhood it used to be. Go get some good coffee at Mississippi Mud, walk a few blocks west to Cranky Yellow and get some tacos on your way.

Don't Mess With My Kids!

I am all up in arms about this news article. This woman is so out of touch with reality, it's frightening.

Sure, I might complain about how annoying my students get by April, and yeah, there's a lot who I honestly cannot stand, but even the worst ones deserve a decent meal. How often have I been asked for a pass to the nurse because she gives out crackers and the asking child hasn't eaten that day? I know how much of a motivator food is. But 7th graders can't work at freakin' McDonald's! In fact, they can't legally work anywhere!
It just riles me when people do or say things that are negative towards or about the students I work with. The "dreaded" inner-city (sort of), poverty-line living kids who know how to do all the latest dances and can text faster than I can blink.

Robin gives several ways to help out with this, if you're as riled as I am.

So, a few photos to relax us all:

1. Current state of the garden. That would be a fence of dill.
2. Current state of cantaloupe/ladder experiment. Need another few ladders, but will mess around with fencing tomorrow.
3. Red monarda (bee balm). I have not seen one damn hummingbird, even though this plant is supposedly hummingbird crack.

4. Watermelon patch. Why, oh WHY didn't I space them out once they got big?