The First Watermelon... Almost

I may not be able to grow pumpkins, but I can grow watermelon! I found this tennis ball size baby melon in the garden today. Now for the bad news... ten minutes after taking this picture, my dog "Spirit"

(you have met her before,) also found this watermelon.

Suffice to say, we will now have to wait for the tiny ones to grow as this one is no more! It must have been growing there a while, but she had no interest in it until I touched it.

Now to figure out how to protect the others. The vine has quite a few more little ones and tons of flowers. I know she can jump the fence, so I'm thinking some kind of wire grid to cover them on the ground that she can't get her mouth through. Any other ideas?

Playground Workout

*image credit- stockvault.net

Like most moms, I don't get enough exercise. I hear people say all the time that running around with a small child is bound to keep you fit. Not so in my case. Yes, my legs are strong and my arms are ok. However, everything in between is very much not in shape! I have been trying to take brisk walks in the evening with my son. We have a sidewalk all around our neighborhood and the park, so there is lots to see.

Unfortunately for me, trying to get my heart rate up while walking with a four year old, proves challenging. I spend a lot of time walking in circles around him just to keep up my momentum, while he stops to examine a rock or bug. I have also practiced the walk ahead and then double back routine, while he takes a rest to think about the clouds. I sometimes even get in some strength training when he decides he needs to be carried because his legs "just can't walk another step mom"!

Probably not the ideal way to lift weights, as my back will no doubt pay the price for carrying and un-even 42lb weight load. Still it's better than no walking at all. I would love to get back to running daily like I did before he was born, but I don't think that will happen until he is much older. I did find another way to workout as well, Rocky Balboa style. While he plays in the playground at the park, I can walk/run up and down the bleachers and still keep an eye on him. I can't wait until he is riding a two wheel bike and we can go biking together! Then mommy will really start to shape up.

Original Insect Art

Weird Bug Lady has long been one of my favorite shops at Etsy.com.

I have watched as her shop and amazing talent have grown.

Her latest works are original drawings placed in reclaimed frames. Each one is dated and signed. We are big bug fans around here and love the bold colorful look she has achieved.

Of course her plush insects are unique and fabulous as always! If you have an eye for the not so ordinary world of insects, you must have a look at her shop!

*this is not a paid post, just sharing the good stuff!

Our First Harvest!

It wasn't much but they were delicious. I could only pick enough for one serving, my son was so excited to cook and eat them. Then he only had one bite and decided he didn't like green beans after all. That's ok, more for mommy!

As I said in my last garden post, we have had some losses. The cucumbers developed bacterial wilt and all the vines died. Cucumber bacterial wilt is transmitted by the cucumber beetle and just like my tomatoes, there is not much you can do. So we will try again.

Looks like I will be replanting several things in the fall

(when our weather cools again).

The carrots are still growing, and the watermelon is blooming too. Time will tell how they do. I don't remember South Florida gardening being this hard last time I tried.

Pale Pink Hibiscus

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

For more photo fun visit 5 Minutes for Mom and Momdot.com

How not to Grow Tomatoes in Florida

Our home school lesson on vegetable gardening, has turned into a lesson on Florida garden disease and pests. So far our tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers and snaps peas are a total loss!

For some reason the sugar snap peas just refused to thrive.

The tomatoes were a little slow to get going after transplanting, but then seemed to be growing great. However last week the leaves started to curl up and they got thicker. All the blooms that flowered fell off and there is no fruit. It appears our plants have developed Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus.

Photo by Robert L. Gilbertson.

This is the first time I have seen this in Florida and there is not a lot you can do about it, other than growing a virus resistant species of tomato and watching for whiteflies
.

Photo by Jack Kelly Clark.

I didn't even take pictures before I pulled them, it's was too depressing. I will try again with some new plants ( instead of seeds ) next time and see if they do better.

I'll tell you what took down the cucumbers in my next post.

The Butterflies are Free!

Our butterflies have emerged and this morning we set them free.

All five arrived alive, but one little guy had a malformed wing.

An edge seemed to fold over.

He took his time hopping around, but then all of a sudden flew up and over the fence! I assume he will make it to a flower somewhere and enjoy the sun.

My son was disappointed that he could not get one to sit on his finger. I told him we would do this again sometime in the future, so maybe next time.

Are Children Natural Photographers?

Recently after several minutes of begging, I handed my son my digital camera (probably not the smartest thing I did that day). I was somewhat amazed at how quickly with minimal instruction, he set off to point and shoot. He really loved looking for just the right shot, it seemed to come naturally to him.

He took the photos in this post, remember he is only four (granted I'm showing you the best of the lot).

Now he wants a camera of his own. I have looked at some cameras designed for kids and they seem over priced for what they are. I'd be better off just buying a $25-$50 no frills regular digital camera. Maybe for his birthday this year.

While researching the question, I found Children as Photographers, according to their site:

Children as Photographers is a large-scale research project looking at how and why children take photographs. Undertaken jointly by the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, the University of Birmingham and Kodak, the project features the photographs of 180 children from five European countries - and their comments about their work. This website aims to address every possible audience for the project, and functions at the same time as an academic resource; a huge (and fun) photo album; and a unique insight into the world of children.

They have listed their findings and it seems that children like to take photos for many of the same reasons adults do. The project focused on three age groups: seven, eleven and fifteen year-olds. This paragraph sums up the differences found between the age groups:

There are cultural and artistic precedents for speculating that children might use photography as a way of defining their world and affirming their control over important aspects of it. Consistent with this notion, we found that 7 year-olds took photographs of arrangements of their family members, toys, physical possessions, or of their home. In contrast, 11-year-olds took more photographs of the external world around them and of their pets, often posed or dressed in silly clothes. Finally, the distinctive feature of photography in 15-year-olds was that it was an interactive social activity, with many of the pictures selected showing groups of friends actively responding to the camera.

They also have a gallery of the participants photos to view. Go have a look, I was impressed with the amount of researched they had done. It must have been a terrifically fun project to be involved with!

Closure

Our "Blue" has gone to run forever in the big woods.

Happy trails Blue!

1999-2009

An End and a Beginning

It's been a week of many changes around here. We have been spending lots of time with our dog "Blue",who is dying. He has been sleeping mostly and other than a non-responsive fever, seems comfortable. My son knows what is happening and wants him to go in peace. I will make sure that happens.

We also watched our caterpillars turn into chrysalises and then transferred them to the butterfly habitat. They are now hanging by our back door and when they emerge, they will be released into our back yard. I can't say enough about this kit, we are really enjoying the events and it came at a time when a positive distraction was greatly needed!

The weather here has turned hot and humid and the bugs are out. I hope to have some more garden photos for you soon. We will get back to the vegetables after Blue leaves us. I feel that will be very soon.