Another experiment we're trying is starting Sweet Pea seeds on wet sponges enclosed in zip lock baggies. These were put together yesterday and have sprouted already so I moved the seeds to a pot container. Today, we placed Sensitive Plant seeds on the sponges.

These are very easy to put together - moisten sponge thoroughly but not dripping wet, place in baggie, lay seeds on top of sponge, do not close the seal and then rest on a window sill or out doors and watch closely. Some seeds may take longer to germinate and the sponges will need more water.

Our other seed germination experiments are here and here.

For several reasons, gas prices being one of them, we're not going to Lake Michigan for a two-week vacation this year. We've planned some road trips closer to home and today we leave on our fourth. Our rental car: a KIA Spectra, is packed and waiting for us. I plan to be on the highway in about two hours with my youngest daughter and her friend, going to the ProLife Music Festival. I'm curious to see what speed other cars will be traveling and I'm looking forward to driving it with it getting 32 MPG. I'll be traveling 55 MPH so we'll see if that works out to be so.

Usually I'm able to go by the last frost date information and get my summer vegetables planted by mid to late May. Not every year can follow that rule. This spring has been very cool and rainy - highs in the 60s and lows in the 37-40s so I delayed planting until June. My tomato plants lived in the starting containers in the garage at night and then in the warm sunshine during the day. They grew and became strong, healthy plants, even a bit root-bound. I waited a few more days until the warmer temps heated the soil. While I was waiting, I did a little work each day, weeding, turning the soil, dividing and digging out plants. One day I put six piles of compost & manure on top the soil. It sat there for a few days until I could back to it. I really wanted to get a picture of the six piles but I only got a picture of one pile. It looked as if an elephant visited the garden and left six deposits. Finally, I used the tiller to work in the compost and set out the tomatoes and other flower seeds only a week ago, June 10.

I've planted a Super Sweet 100 cherry tomato, a Jet Setter, an Early Girl, and two new heirlooms I've never grown before: Bull's Heart and Old German Heirloom Beefsteak. I'm most interested in these last two.

The description says:

Bull's Heart or Heart of the Bull - Italian (or Russian) Heirloom; large pinkish-red "Giant Ox Heart" type tomatoes sometimes oddly shape with a lovely, sweet flavor, rare slicing tomato due to it's meaty flesh and few seeds; strong plants produce abundantly with some fruit growing to 2-3 lbs; late season; 90 days, indeterminate.

Old German - Heirloom Beefsteak; large, flattened 1-2 pound fruits are golden yellow and ruby red heart; marbled bicolor interiors make beautiful slices and the flavor is outstanding; late season, 85 days, indeterminate.





The girls helped plant: Sweet Dumpling Squash, Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin, Baby Fordhook Lima Beans, Green Beans, Broccoli, and Bell Peppers. Along the fence is Russian Mammoth Sunflowers, Vanilla Ice Sunflowers, Hollyhocks, and Zinnias. We also have herbs started: Borage, Calendula, Dill, Peppermint, Sweet Basil, Holy Basil, Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, and Lavendar. More to be planted after they get bigger.

We started our Giant Russian Mammoth Sunflower seeds Memorial Day week end and here they are today with the boys already about 6 to 8 inches or so. We're going to take a picture every week or two to keep a photo record of their growth.

At the beginning of summer, I have to remind myself of this and it doesn't take much. Two years ago I had a scare. My dentist was the first to notice a spot on my face, my left cheek, when I went for my check-up and he said I should have it checked. I was afraid to have it checked and afraid to let it go so I did schedule an appointment with my family doctor. It was several days, almost a week of waiting, not knowing, trying not to think the worst - really hating to have to wait.

Finally, I was able to see the doctor. He diagnosed the spot as Basal Cell Carcinoma, which is is the most common, usually non-life threatening form of cancer. Basal cell carcinomas are malignant growths-tumors-that develop in the epidermis with the sun being the cause of it, and over 90% of all skin cancers. My doctor was able to successfully treat it by cryosurgery - the process of using liquid nitrogen to freeze the tissue to -40 ° C or below which destroys the growth. I was relieved and very thankful it was nothing more.

Both the American Cancer Society and the Skin Cancer Foundation have good information and I spent a great deal of time reading, especially about the prevention tips, which I take very seriously. The past couple of summers I've limited my time in the sun, especially avoided the extreme 10 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. sun, and used lots of sunblock lotion.

When the humidity and temperature is high I don't have a hard time staying inside and away from my flowers and garden BUT I enjoy weather like today. The sun feeeeeels sooooo good and garden work puts me in another world. I haven't had any recurrences and in order to do what is within my power to prevent any more sun-induced damage to my skin I have to remind myself daily to be cautious. This summer I need more sunblock and I've checked the Skin Cancer Foundation's updated list of recommended products.

I've also purchased this hat with UPF 30+ for excellent sun protection. My girls enjoy the outdoors some what, in certain situations. The extreme heat has caused some problems for them so they aren't sun enthusiasts for merely tanning. They avoid the extreme sun and use sunblock for protection. Now, if I could just find a hat for my husband and get him to use sunblock too.

We're trying a different experiment for watching seed germination and root growth. This time we're using sandwich size zip baggies. This is as easy to assemble as the Parmesan container greenhouses I previously posted about. Place folded paper towel to fit the baggies and place seeds between the plastic and paper towel. Then put enough water to moisten the towel and have a bit of reserve in the bottom. Label as desired. Leave top open for air, tape to a window and watch what happens.

Some of our ancestors are from Ireland, Scotland and England and we enjoyed this very much. This rendition of "Come by the Hills" is sung by 15 year old Damian McGinty of Celtic Thunder. They are a new group and this is from their new DVD/CD. I only heard of them two days ago and already they are a favorite.


Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free.
And stand where the peaks meet the sky and the loughs meet the sea,
Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun;
And the cares of tomorrow can wait till this day is done.

Come by the hills to the land where life is a song.
And stand where the birds fill the air with their joy all day long,
Where the trees sway in time and even the wind sings in tune;
And, the cares of tomorrow can wait till this day is done.

Come by the hills to the land where legend remains.
The stories of old, fill the heart and may yet come again,
Where the past has been lost and the future is still to be won;
And, the cares of tomorrow can wait till this day is done.
And, the cares of tomorrow can wait till this day is done.

Jeremiah 31:3
I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

Hat Tip: ReformedWomen's Channel

One of several garden projects this summer is learning about seeds, plants, and gardening. I save Parmesan cheese containers throughout the winter (a few relatives help me out with this by saving their containers too) to use for some of our projects.

For this project, they become little greenhouses. What happens beneath the surface of the soil is as interesting as the plant above the surface and this makes a simple way to view germination and the root system. We started our seed greenhouses May 23rd.

All that is needed is some paper towel folded and fit snugly around the interior and a bit stuffed in the middle to push the paper towel nicely up against the side. Place a seed (we used Lima Beans) between the container and the paper towel. Slowly add water until the paper towel soaks up the water. Allow a little to remain in the bottom. Put the lids back on and open the side with the holes for a vent. Label with the seed name, person's name, and date. We observed the seeds each day and talked about air, light, heat, and water; compared them to seeds sitting on the window ledge and talked about conditions needed for germination. The three little guys I babysit are ages 2.5 to 5 so I keep it simple. For planting in the ground, leave the paper towel right with the roots and plant, cover it all with soil. I intended to post a bit as we went along and make separate entries but it didn't work that way. Pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

See more of our Seed Germination Projects here and here.

We have been wanting to visit the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historical Site and were finally able to a couple of weeks ago on our break May 11-18. It was almost closing time when we arrived so we didn't get to go inside her log cabin home but her garden, paths and lake shore are open until dusk and visitors are free to roam any where. We were the only visitors and had the entire place to ourselves so we spent a good deal of time enjoying her garden and lake shore.

Her original 20 acre property includes her 1913 log cabin home: "Cabin in the Wildflower Woods", gardens, arbor, orchard and scenic paths. Porter gathered plants from all around the state to put in her own wildflower gardens. Surrounding her original property is 100+ some acres of natural undeveloped forest and lake. Both of these pictures I took in the garden looking towards the back of the her log cabin and on out to the lake.

In the middle of her sunny garden is the original arbor with a beautiful, old Wisteria shading the walkway. While we were there it was full of buds getting ready to open but we didn't get to see it in full bloom. Original Flagstone used for the arbor walkway made a comfortable resting spot underneath the shade of the Wisteria and gave a nice view of various flower beds on both sides. There's a small pond in one corner of the garden filled with lily pads and frogs. In another corner is a potting shed for transplanting starts from the garden to sell to visitors. I bought: two Hostas and a Purple Coneflower which are now planted in my back yard garden. They also had packs of seeds from flowers in her garden, some of which are from the plants Gene Stratton-Porter planted herself. I bought a pack of Hollyhocks, Purple Coneflower, Rose Campion, and Musk-mallow.

Towards the end of our visit and on the way out we viewed the mausoleum where Gene and her daughter are buried. We enjoyed our visit to the Limberlost North State Historic Site and hope to return but we also want to see her home at Limberlost Swamp. Here is a wonderful blog by a gardener who tends Gene Stratton-Porter's gardens: Gene Stratton-Porter Outdoors.

Our summer really began a couple of weeks ago with our week of vacation. The weather was mild and cooler then. I was hoping we’d have several weeks where we wouldn’t need the furnace heat or air-conditioning but now, only in a matter of a couple of weeks, summer is here. We’re experiencing tropical temperatures in the 90s with high humidity and clashing weather fronts causing some very severe weather. The air conditioning IS on. I love my air conditioning! My beautiful Peony was blooming but has now been beaten down and wilted from the down pouring rains. On a better note, there is finally relief from the winter illnesses and spring allergies. The weather has greatly improved for gardening - the flower seeds (Sunflowers, Hollyhocks, Zinnias, Morning Glory) in the garden are germinating and pushing through the surface of the soil. I've been able to plant my flowers in pots around the house and on our street corner.

Over the weekend, I was able to turn over the soil in my vegetable garden a second time to work in the compost. There are more restart plants - Purple Coneflower, Chives, Strawberry, Hollyhocks, Black-eye Susan, Calendula, and Borage for transplanting and sharing with my mom and neighbors. My tomato plants have just about outgrown their pots and really need to get into the soil some time this week. Our herb seeds for a container herb pot are growing and we’ve also started a seed project with the three little boys I baby-sit. I’ve washed down the front porch and patio furniture so the front porch is ready for summer. I am ready for summer.

Orangeblossom’s girlfriend graduated this past weekend. We attended her homeschool graduation commencement ceremony and reminisced about Daisy's graduation this time last year.

We don’t have any plans for a major two-week vacation to Lake Michigan this year. We decided not to put it in in the budget for this year and have planned for a few small road trips closer to home that fit our budget better. Another factor in our decision not to go to Lake Michigan is to get a new computer. This one is about to call it quits so there isn’t money to both this year. We also want to stay closer to home because of helping my dear mother-in-law and my own mother. Both are widowed and in their 70’s-80’s. They live in their own homes yet but are unable to drive so we spend time with them weekly, some times two to three evenings, running errands for them or taking them places. Recently we’ve taken on more responsibility for my dear mother-in-law because she has had an unexpected change in her day-to-day care. I made a large double recipe of chicken and noodles, with plenty of extra to give to each Mom. I’ve also been busy making even more telephone calls, learning about senior services and elderly prescription plans. This week we plan to go and help my mother with some yard work, if there is a break in the temperatures.

After visiting the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site & Wildflower Woods last month, we hope to visit the her Limberlost State Historic Site. We're also participating in the Celebrate Urban Birds project and have some of our own nature projects about owls and seeds to work on. We also want to continue some of our art projects and reading but there is some math review and work in this subject we'll continue on through the summer. There's a Pro-Life Music festival and a couple of other music concerts to attend with Orangeblossom. I want to be able to do more reading in the Principle Approach red books. A new summer, involving the daily living of life, the family life as a part of our homeschool "lessons". I WILL miss Lake Michigan but I’m looking forward to the summer.