Nature's gifts

Echinacea bloom

Often times, our lives are filled with so many things and time passes by so fast, we miss the small things that are gifted to us. Yesterday, while on the porch, I noticed a tiny yellow flower sticking up out of my "Chocolate Chip" plant. When in bloom (during Spring), the flowers are a soft lavender color - not yellow. My immediate thought was to capture this image. The flower might not even be here tomorrow. I looked at it as Mother Nature's little gift to me.

While taking the picture, I noticed my enchinacea plant is starting to bloom again. The blooms are smaller - just children of the much bigger, original blooms - but just as important. It's the plant's way of giving its last efforts before it starts to die away for the Fall. Although, I love the cooler weather of the coming season - I will miss all the flowers of Spring. This is my opportunity to learn more about Fall plants and what can survive through the Winter months. Gardening is an educational process. Even when gardeners get to "Master" status - they all know Mother Nature has no master.

Last but not least is the Bhut Jolokia. I have been telling you of this adventure from the beginning. My second round of peppers are turning dark orange and will be taken off of the vine soon. From the taste test of the first round, it seems our climate does not allow for these peppers to get really hot (or we didn't get actual Bhut Jolokia peppers). As you can guess, this comes as a great disappointment to Scott. I can be satisfied in the fact I was able to grow them. It was a new experience for me. I've never grown peppers and feel more confident in my ability to do it again. Next year, I get another chance to grow one of the hottest peppers in the world. Hopefully with better results! Until next time - Happy Gardening and don't forget to take notice of the little things given to you by Mother Nature each day.

Mail art goodies

My first mail art package at home in Canada.

I wrote a blog some time back about my decision to get involved in a mail art swap with Jessica Gowling from Natures My Friend. She sent me my first "introductory" package (left) and got the ball rolling. After receiving my package, I set out to make an epic return package for Jessica. I wanted it to be reflective of me and interesting to her. Being new to the process, I found it hard to stop. After adding the last of many items, I traveled to the post office for stamps and delivery. Unfortunately, as always, my timing sucks. The Canadian postal service was in the middle of a strike and it had just made it to Jessica's area. 

We were both hoping the strike would pass and the package would make it to her before she left for vacation. Well, that didn't happen. Not only did Jess go on vacation, she left for around a month! She was doing a exhibition, a workshop and had a vendor opportunity. Not to mention time spent with other creatives relaxing and sharing in the love of art.  

Upon her return, not only was she bombarded by a stack of mail art packages, a giveaway on her blog, and trying to get readjusted to being home - but her man proposed!!! Although I eagerly waited to hear what she thought about my package - I couldn't help but smile at how she must be feeling. Love is a beautiful thing when your partner is so supportive of your craft. (He came back home from vacation after a week or so and Jess stayed to take care of business). 

I was pleased to see a blog post from Jess yesterday with a Mail Art Mania - Part 1 title. She's having to split up the blog posts in order to get caught up. I know even though she is overwhelmed, she is very grateful to have such awesome mail art buddies. I know I will always be grateful to her for introducing me to it. Now, I have two other friends to send packages to. I hope I can bring a ray of sunshine to their life - just like Jessica did to mine. 

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As a side note, last weekend at Michael's, I found an armful of great items to use in my mail art packages AND a super thick, CD-sized blank journal with my initial on it. I got all this stuff for under $9.50 WITHOUT a coupon! And I almost always use a coupon. There's no need to pay full price for anything - and most of this stuff was 40% off already.

Until next time - Happy Mailing and don't underestimate the power of a handwritten letter.

A nemesis in the garden

Does anyone see a problem with this picture? Well, I do...it's a grasshopper!! I know what you must be thinking...what's the problem? First off, they scare me to death (I'll explain in a minute). Second, this guy and at least one friend have decided to "live" in a couple of my plants. Everyone knows how much I love my plants. I love going out in the morning sun and giving them a sprinkle. It's what I would consider "me" time. A few minutes each day I hold sacred.

About 2 weeks ago, while enjoying some "me" time, I made it to the corner of the porch to water the last of the plants. As I started watering the sedum (above), a grasshopper came popping out and landed on another plant. I almost dropped the watering can. I regained my composure, finished watering (very careful not to disturb the grasshopper) and came back inside. I thought that was the end of it. I told myself, "He'll be gone tomorrow." Well, I was wrong. Every day for the past two weeks has been an adventure. At first it seemed as if I was watering the grasshopper and making him bigger. But I soon noticed a slightly smaller one was "hanging out with" the big guy. I can never predict which plant they will be in (they "live" part-time in 3 different ones).

Everyone in the house thinks I'm crazy to be scared of such small insects. But, as I'm about to share with you - some things in childhood are not so easily forgotten.

One afternoon, we (me, my mom and my sisters) walked up to my aunt's house. At the time, we all lived on about 6+ acres of land. So, all we had to do was walk up a hill for a visit. We stayed for a while and when we were ready to leave we walked outside. My family are known talkers - so as my mom and aunt continued their conversation out on the lawn - the kids played close by. We were all small children. I was around 5 at the time and my sisters are 2 and 3 years younger than me.
I was standing there, when all of a sudden I could feel something in my pant's leg. I started to do a shimmy and then a hop. My mom and aunt looked at me (thinking I was just being funny) and started to laugh. I hopped some more and really started to freak out. I was shaking the leg of my pants - still hopping - and started to cry. They were still laughing until they realized I was really freaking out and came running over to find out what the problem was. They came over - shook me (and my pants) and out came a grasshopper (locust size).

To this day (32 years later), I don't trust grasshoppers. Over the years, I have learned to tolerate (and not freak out over) tiny ones. I have managed to even deal with the ones who are about an inch long. Much longer than that...and I can't take it! I have no idea how long my nemesis and his buddy will be here. They are definitely unwanted "porch guests", but what can I do? This is an fine example of learning to take the good with the bad. Will this STOP me from watering my plants or trying to enjoy some "me" time? Never! But, it WILL have me watching for the unexpected jumper headed my way.

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A young grasshopper exoskeleton

As a side note...during this experience I was able to see an unexpected thing. I noticed this exoskeleton hanging on the side of a plant one day. I didn't know they shed their outer layers. This is what I was able to find out...

Young grasshoppers
When they hatch, young grasshoppers look like adults but they don't have wings. After about 40 to 60 days a young grasshopper is an adult. As they grow, the grasshoppers shed their exoskeleton. This shedding is called moulting. Each time they moult, there is a new, bigger exoskeleton underneath. This is because insects don't have skin that stretches as they grow. The young grasshoppers moult up to six times. After the last moult, they have wings.

Until next time - Happy Gardening and here's to giving your heart a daily workout! (I know mine's getting one!)

Apple pie, anyone?

My first attempt at Apple Pie

Recently, I bought a 5 pound bag of apples. The favorite around this household is the Granny Smith variety. The apples weren't being eaten fast enough and I hate to see good food go bad. So, after watching too many Food Network shows, I decided to make my first attempt at baking an apple pie.
I am no chef, but I do make some great cookies and treats. I had a Pillsbury pre made pie crust in the fridge and all of the other ingredients in the cabinet. One major problem - no pie pan! So, I made a trip by my mom's house and she loaded me up with every size and shape of pie pan she owned. (I was nervous enough already - and the variety of pans was almost too much!)

I had already sliced my apples the day before and added a few teaspoons of lime juice to prevent browning. I picked a pie pan (from the many) and laid down the bottom crust. I had no idea how to make a pie crust fold or how to shape the edges. (This is when I love the internet!) I quickly found this helpful tutorial online - with multiple options and designs. I did a nice job on the fold and was pleased with my work (until I hit a snag...more to come on that!)

I filled the crust with apples and worked on my syrup mixture. I used this recipe from Allrecipes.com and made a few changes after reading the reviews. I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, 1 tablespoon of vanilla and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the syrup mixture. Then, I poured the mixture over the apples (leaving a tiny bit to brush on top). This is when I realized I still had to put on a top crust and the nice folds I made earlier would be covered up. Sigh.

I came back to the online tutorial - just to find out that I should have waited to do the folds. The idea with a TWO crust pie is to trim both crusts together, tuck under the edges and THEN do the folds! Oh well, guess I'll try that on the next one. : ) The only thing I could do was trim the top crust, tuck it under the best I could and try to follow the folds that lay underneath.

Above is the final product - the "fruits" of my labor. I still haven't tried a piece yet, so I don't know how it turned out. (I know what you're thinking...the pie is still sitting there?). I'm going to try and have a piece today. I'll let you know what I think after the taste test.

Until next time - Happy Cooking and enjoy the unexpected things that happen along the way.

Here goes Round 2

The second batch of peppers are growing fast.

The first four peppers turned a dark orange color but never reached red.

It's been a while since I gave a bhut jolokia pepper update, so here goes...

The first 4 peppers are off of the vine and sitting on the window seal. Scott will probably have a bite of one and the others are headed for the food dehydrator. I'm currently watching the second batch of peppers (from the same plant) flourish in the heat of summer. 

My other plant bloomed a TON of flowers - but NONE of them stayed attached to the plant (so it didn't produce a single pepper). I am absolutely disappointed about that - but extremely happy I did manage to produce some peppers. The whole experience has been very exciting for me and I guess I didn't do too bad for my first attempt. The true test will be the flavor. How hot did they get? I'll let you know after the first taste test. :o

Until next time - Happy Gardening and don't be afraid to tackle something new!