Ugly…or BEAUTIFULLY delicious?
Apparently, growing spreads like this for yourself is silly, foolish, and…
Tag Archives: Homesteading
Patience & Pineapples
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No-Fail Summer Garden Starters
FeaturedHave you thought about starting a garden but let spring pass you by? It’s not too late to plant a Summer Garden! You can plant now for a late Summer harvest and even plant again in time for a Fall Harvest too!
If you’ve never scratched the surface of gardening before, not to worry! When I first started my garden, I was completely clueless. Every new project is an experiment, and I’ve learned from some of the planting mistakes I made early on. I’ve now got plentiful Muscadine grapes, so I must be doing something right!
I put together an article for Tribe Magazine that is just perfect for novice gardeners and children:
5 Super-Easy Plants Your Kids Will Love Growing Themselves This Summer
It’s full of good information to get you started on your summer garden. This one provides specific examples of the plants that are best suited for a child’s (or impatient adult’s!) first gardening experience. There are lots of plants that are practically no-fail options that don’t require a green thumb or lots of space, time, or funds. Check out this article to see how you can get started!
Gardening is one of the most satisfying and therapeutic activities kids can tackle relatively independently. Children love creating something from (virtually) nothing. What begins as tiny seeds which germinate into something that’s living and bearing edibles is almost tantamount to magic. Planting vegetables and flowers is an exciting activity, regardless of age.
Read more: http://thetribemagazine.com/5-super-easy-plants-your-kids-will-love-growing/#ixzz4Fqlb3Qwg
Container Gardening 101
FeaturedContainer gardening is a totally achievable way of creating a beautiful and varied organic garden of any size and scope. It all just depends on how much space you are working with and how creative you want to get!
Happy Weekend
FeaturedHappy Weekend!
Here are some pictures from my garden this weekend:
And here are my latest articles published on BlogHer
and Parent.co.
What’s new with you?
Hey! Like my writing? Do you wish you had access to all of my password protected posts and other content that isn’t available online? I have other work! I’ve published ! It’s nothing crazy; they are about 50-55 pages each and cost approximately $5 each depending on what country you are purchasing from. Each ebook consists of a , mental illness, family dynamics, social anxiety, and other awkward shit that happens in my life. It’s relatable, honest and raw. Oh, and there are pictures in titles like & . You’ll probably like it. Or not. What the hell? It’s $5!
***If you have previously purchased Amazon downloadable content, please note that the ebook content has changed. Some previously available titles have been updated and contain more essays, pages, pictures, etc. If you have specific questions, please email me directly @ .
Now & Then
FeaturedDo you ever come across photographs from just a year or so in the past and think, this couldn’t possibly be the same (fill-in-the-blank) that I am looking at today?
Well, I happened to be looking for something completely unrelated, but I came across these pictures of my grapevines from sometime during 2015. It would have been early in the year, say January or February, when everything was still dormant from the winter weather.
The side yard has had some pretty incredible changes, too. Pretty dramatic, huh?
I miss Rennie so, so much. She was a sweet baby. This Memorial Day weekend will be one year since she was taken from me.
I was going through a dangerously low period around this time last year and while I can say that I still have a really bad day every 4 days or so, I am in a relatively better head space now. I am more functional, productive and forward-looking. The changes in my grape vine pictures are similar to the changes in my outlook: they are stretching upward and outward, towards light and life. I have too much writing to do to die.
On that note, I have another article that was published by The Mighty.com today and 6 more that are coming out over the next two weeks or so on: Blogher.com, Parent.co, Rolereboot.org, and Thebodyisnotanapology.com.
If you’d like to check out the article, here’s the link: In the Mind of a Person With Rapid-Cycling Type I Bipolar Disorder
make sure to “like” it and share it on facebook, , and Pinterest!
What photos have you recently come across that have demonstrated a dramatic change in something in your life?
POLICIES & DISCLAIMER
5 Reasons Why You Should Start Growing Your Own Stevia At Home
FeaturedI’ve done posts on Stevia previously, but it’s been a while and, since various versions of the sweetener seem to be available just about everywhere, I thought I’d write a comprehensive post on why it’s best to grow your own. If you aren’t familiar with it, here’s a quick run-down: The Stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana) produces sweet-tasting, calorie-free leaves which can be crushed or dried to sweeten foods and beverages naturally. Stevia can replace sugar in TONS of recipes and is perfect for consumption because it is not metabolized by the body.
Stevia grows best in warm conditions similar to those preferred by Basil. I live in Florida, so it’s an ideal climate for both Stevia and Basil to proliferate. Bonus for me, because I’m a fan of both:
Caffeine: To Mainline or Moderate?
FeaturedAfter one month of no caffeine, I’m back to drinking coffee, and other delightfully caffeinated beverages.
I could not be more hysterically gleeful grateful.
Now my house totally smells like a Gloria Jean’s when I get back from running–not a Starbucks like you’d think, but an old school, Gloria Jean’s-that-they-only-have-in-malls-that-you’d-go-to-with-your-friends-when-you’re-in-high-school-for-whatever-reason.
Do they still have Gloria Jean’s cafes? Do they still have malls?
Anyway.
Believe it or not, I’m still working on the last half bag of the above Starbucks 2015 holiday blend, but I’ll catch up quickly. Oh, and sometimes when I want it really sweet, I’m using this new Stevia blend called And none of the used coffee grounds will be going to waste. They’re destined to go straight into the garden. That is, they’ll be worked into the soil around the tomato plants. Right now, I have quite a few potted tomato plants raised organically from seed. I’ve decided that I’m not going to transplant them into the ground this year; I’m experimenting with keeping them in the pots just to see how they do versus transplanting.
Actually, strike that last statement from the record, please, because today I transplanted two three rows of additional tomato seedlings. So this season, I will be growing tomatoes using both methods. We’ll see which works out best. Either way, all the plants will be hooked on reaping the caffeine benefit.
The Garden of Verisimilitude
FeaturedBetween the Easter holiday and copious rain showers, it’s hard to believe we’re not well into the month of April already! Truly, this year is flying by.
Celebrating Easter isn’t for everyone; some people celebrate the resurrection of The Messiah, others look forward to the arrival of the Easter Bunny. Some go out for Chinese food. 😉
Whether you put your faith in Christ or Coney, there has to be a modicum of verisimilitude present leading up to that “willing suspension of disbelief” which is, ultimately, what allows a person to go along with an outlandish-sounding story. This is actually a literary term which was coined in 1817 by Samuel Taylor Coleridge who asserted that if a writer was able to fill his work with a “human interest and a semblance of truth”, the readers would willingly suspend or delay their doubt in relation to the story.
I’m enamored of literary devices. I’ve been familiar with them since the 6th grade thanks to an extremely talented and valuable English teacher, Diane Tomko, whom I can thank for my love and appreciation for literature and language arts. I use literary devices so often in my writing that I have to actively think of examples simply because I’m not even conscious of using them; it’s second nature. Verisimilitude is defined as appearing, or having the appearance of, being real or true. I would venture to say that Jesus is more verisimilitudinous than the bunny–even the Cadbury one.
And if Jesus has verisimilitude, then Adam & Eve do, too. So maybe they came from the Garden of Verisimilitude.
And speaking of gardens…ahem, here’s a completely natural segway…
Obviously, it’s much too early in the season for anything substantial to report, but there is some preliminary action worth sharing that’s pretty neat! Continue reading
