Deeper Waters...

we finally got pid out into water that was a bit deeper this past weekend. he truly loves the lake but is pretty committed to the shallowest waters. as luck would have it, there was a friendly young boy from the neighborhood that owned this little floatie car deal in the picture below. he must've noticed pid eyeing it as he came and told my husband that they could use it. still stuck in the shallow end but loving the car, we eventually convinced him to venture deeper into the water and he had a blast! yay! i'm very much loving the decision to live near the lake. it's a great little bonus in nice weather!

First tomato, the reprise

It finally ripened!

Harvest!

wow!! i didn't get out to harvest yesterday due to heavy rain and thunderstorms so i went out this morning and lo and behold - cucumbers! they grew a lot in the last two days - good thing i didn't forget about them! i saw some more little ones, too. hoping those will grow well now that these aren't sapping energy! will update later on the taste of these two.

UPDATE - the boy approved of the cucumbers once sliced, however i felt they were a little bitter... not overly so, they were definitely edible! a link i found on causes of bitterness in cucumbers (http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/bittercukes.html) suggests that i might have better results if i water them more evenly and mulch them. might give that a go...

Independence Day 2011

we had a nice relaxing independence day 2011 - it was our first day to go hang out at the lake and re-meet some of our neighbors. weather was great and we had a nice few hours outside. the kid was on cloud nine and called himself "swimming" though he was really just scooting along on the sand in the shallowest part of the water. but it was good to see he is much more at ease in the water after swimming lessons last winter!

veggies ahead!

i was a little worried about my cucumbers a week or so ago... there were NO flowers in sight. but then suddenly there were tons of blossoms all over the thing and today, 4 little cucumbers! cute little specimen below! that's the largest of them right now and i think they were pickling size so will probably take it off in a day. had to get some stakes for that plant though - it was running off on its on agenda!

Pickles - July 7th

in other good news - there are now 20 tomatoes or more on the tomato plant - can't wait until i see some red ones for harvesting!



Tomatoes - July 7th

my potatoes are a whole other issue - they are no longer displaying the yellow leaves that i decided meant i should fertilize them - i think that's a good thing. BUT... they are looking a bit sad and pathetic overall. i did just come across a comment online (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1428862/yukon_gold_potatoes_are_a_great_potato.html?cat=32) that yukon golds are short season so perhaps they are simply approaching harvest time already? [article quote: "Yukon Gold potatoes are a great choice for a private home garden potato. Yukon Gold potatoes are an early variety of potato so that means it needs a shorter growing season. They are a great potato choice for people who live in an area where the growing season is short. Yukon Gold potatoes have small eyes that are receded into the potato therefore they are more resistant to sprouting then other potatoes. Since the Yukon Gold potato is resistant to sprouting they are good for storing for a long "]

Garden - July 7

YA or you?

yesterday walking out of daycare:
pid - mama, i love ya
me - i love you too
pid - no mama, i love YA
me - ok then i love YA too

in other news - had our first official parent teacher conference which went very well - the kid does well those things he should be doing well. he needs better conflict resolution skills, but to paraphrase my mom - i know some adults that could still use better conflict resolution skills.

Bedtime Reading

i think i must have the sweetest little boy in the world... tonight after his bedtime story, the following conversation took place:
pid: ok mama, i'm going to read this book now.
me: we just read a book i'll read that one to you tomorrow
pid: no i'm going to listen to my songs and read it myself and you're going to go downstairs
me: ok but when i tell you it's time to put the book away and turn off the light you need to do that ok?
pid: ok.

--- fifteen minutes later ---

me: ok, it's time to go to bed now
pid: ok, mama!

--- sound of feet padding around and then the light goes out upstairs ---

me: ok now get in the bed and go to sleep
pid: i am in bed, good night!

aaaw....