garden tour

We've been spending a lot of time outside, being as it's so beautiful these days. Idyllic, you could say!

We have some more blooms. It's such fun to see new buds blossoming all the time. Especially as I didn't plant them, it's such a happy surprise each time we see a new burst of color in the garden.

We're really getting one with nature out here. Elliot took the big step, you could say, of going shoeless the other morning. What a novel idea it was to him, to be outside and not have shoes on! He giggled with glee.

We have this fun weathervane on top of the house. When Elliot's having a tantrum, Rob tells him the story of the boat people. They were sailing around in their boat, looking for the happiest house in the world to settle on. And they found our house! So we don't want to cry and scream and yell, because then the boat people will go away. Sometimes this story actually works. Okay, usually not.

Moving to this house has just been full of fun things like the boat people. Another would be the set of raised garden beds at the top of the yard. It has been my long-time dream to plant a kitchen garden. It's been so high up there on my list of unattainable dreams that I figured it was something I'd finally be able to do when I retired. Like, who has time to tend to a garden?

But these garden beds were just there, crying out for me to weed them and make them useful. I even found a bunch of tomato cage thingys in the shed. So what else could I do? I had to plant a garden!

I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I just keep looking things up on the internet. But Elliot and I have had great fun so far. He's loved pulling the weeds and tilling the dirt and digging the holes to put the plants in.

We've planted beefsteak tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, spinach, romaine, red leaf lettuce, broccoli, carrots...

and herbs! Lots of basil, parsley, rosemary, cilantro, thyme, and lavender.

The basil's looking a little wilted here. I can't figure out if I'm overwatering or underwatering. But yesterday we made our first batch of pesto, and it was fantastic. Tonight we made Indian, and it was so exciting to sprinkle on some fresh cilantro. Every night Elliot and I trundle up to pick some greens for salad. Wow, so cool! We're ready for the Food Network to call us up and give us a show!