Garden Tour: September 2013.

Things are still growing well in Meridian, but our irrigation has been turned off for the year, so I'm afraid we're close to the end!  So I thought I'd post some pics.

Here are all our vine-ed plants.  Tons of pumpkins last year!  From saved seeds!  Yay for free!

 Look where this pumpkin decided to make its home to grow...on a pile of bricks!

 Some ripe bakers.

 Here are our carrots, parsnips, lots of varieties of onions, and green beans.  This planter also housed peas earlier in the spring.  There are even a few volunteer marigolds!

 The tomatoes, which grew so much better this year!  I bought new seeds which made all the difference!  Note to self - you can't keep tomato seeds for four or five years and expect them to grow well.  And we have lots of green peppers in front.  I need to make another batch of pepper jelly soon!

 This pumpkin is dangling from a tomato cage...crazy pumpkins!

 Here's a huge carving pumpkin that is just beginning to turn.

 Our pathetic rhubarb.  Both of these plants are in their first season.  I'm hopeful that in years to come we have rhubarb coming out of our ears!  The asparagus is behind it.  We STILL haven't harvested asparagus.  Maybe next year (the 4th growing year).

 Our strawberry patch.  I hope that we'll be seeing more white blooms soon, just in time for a fall crop!

 Do you think I need to split this black-eyed susan next year?  Geez!  It's enormous!

 My cannas.  Thanks Shelva for giving me the tubers!

 Here are a bunch of volunteer marigolds (I have them everywhere!).  I threw in a couple propagated geraniums and called it good!

So there you have it!  Garden 2013.  Clara has loved watching her garden grow, helping harvest, and eating our bounty!  Gardening is great!

Clara reads Goodnight Beach.

Clara can read many books by memory.  It amazes us how many phrases and sentences she can read perfectly.  And for the sentences she doesn't know, she reads the pictures mighty well.  Enjoy these next two videos.

1984 vintage.

We lovingly refer to my mother as the definition of a "hoarder".  But no matter how much hell we give her for keeping EVERYTHING, all of us secretly love it!  We have inherited the best wooden puzzles, discovery toys, libraries of books, and since I had a daughter, I've gotten the boxes upon boxes of girl clothes and dolls.

There were six dresses in a size 3T that I wore when I was little, at around age 2 or 3.  That's why this post references 1984...because I was 2 in '84.  My two little sisters also wore these dresses.  So I pulled them out of Clara's closet and decided to have a little photo shoot this morning.  Clara was having fun at first, and by the end, it was like pulling teeth to get her to sit for a photo.  But the final result was pretty cute!  Look for yourself!

 I love this one!

 We may or may not have been over it at this point!

 The little stinker kept turning around and shaking her booty at me!

Pretending to be a ducky in the ducky outfit.

 So over it!

 He he he!

So glad I have these pictures!  I just need to whip out some of me and post some side by sides!