Mo's Garden

Those of you who know me, know how much my puppies mean to me.  They are a huge part of my life.  We have three still living, but they are all old boys--Mouth is 14, Tyson is 11 and Bandit is 10.  In August 2009, we had to put one of our beloved puppies to sleep.  His name was Mo and he was the best dog ever (next to Tyson of course...who was my first.)  Here is a picture of Mo taken at the Guadalupe River, Christmas of 2008, with my beautiful baby sister.

Mo was a blue healer mix who came to us as a stray about 10 years ago.  He was smart, loyal, beautiful, and all he wanted was to please us and to be with us.  The day we put him to sleep was one of the hardest, saddest, most awful days of my life.  I still can't think too hard about it without my heart breaking...again.

In his memory, we scattered a bunch of wildflower seeds out by my garden in the fall of 2009.  Mo loved to hang out by the garden with me.  He would woof at the buzzards and try to catch the lizards as they darted about.  He was always hoping I would throw him a cherry tomato or two :)  He was pretty good at catching them too.  Shortly after we scattered the seeds, the rains came.  As a result of all the wonderful rain we had in the fall, the wildflowers this spring are spectacular...more beautiful than they've been in many years.

The patch of flowers out by my garden will forever be known as Mo's garden.  I think of him when I'm out in my garden and I miss him every single day.  Please enjoy these beautiful Texas wildflowers in my Mo's memory.

 May you forever rest in peace my beautiful beloved Mo.

 

Garden Update

OK...it's time to get back to gardening :)

I was out in my garden this morning and everything looks great.  It's been raining on and off for weeks and the young plants are soaking in the moisture.  But, hmmm...dear Universe...do ya think you could send us some sun?  Please?  My plants are really looking for some of your warm rays. 

I finally got the tomatoes in the ground in between rain showers/storms this week.  I've had them potted up since the middle of February!  When I planted them, I fed each one about 1/4 cup of Medina Growin Green granules.  They really like that stuff.  I can't wait to pluck the first of these beauties.  I've got Sunpride and Solarfire in the garden this season.  Both do very well in our hot South Texas summers.  I've planted them before and have had great yields.

The peppers look pretty good too.  I've got Camelot bells here which will turn red when ripe and Aladdin yellow peppers, two of my favorites.  I'm not a big fan of green bell peppers...too bitter for me.

 

And ya'll...look at these potatoes!  I can't believe how well they are doing.  I've been feeding them Medina Growin Green every 3-4 weeks and they must like it cuz they just keep growing.  These are Red LaSoda and I can't wait to harvest the first ones!  I've got this fabulous Potato Salad recipe from my daughter-in-law that uses baby new potatoes and it is delicious. 

The beets are cruising right along as well.  We should be able to harvest some baby beets before long.  As I think I've told you, baby beets are one of my all time favorite fresh garden vegetable.

My onions look quite nice also.  I've been harvesting some of the young ones as scallions and using them in my stir fries, rice and quinoa dishes.  It adds a nice crunch and a burst of flavor.  Some of these have rather large bulbs and hopefully will be ready to pick soon...before it gets too hot.

The romaine lettuce is growing beautifully.  It really likes the rainy cool weather.  I see a salad with fresh romaine, baby broccoli florets, green apple and local tangy feta cheese for dinner tonight.

And as you can see the broccoli is beginning to bolt, but there are a few little florets left out there that I'll be able to use before I pull the plants for my recycle bin.

Well, all in all my garden is doing pretty well for early spring.  I plan to get green bean and squash seeds in the ground, likely this weekend...if it doesn't rain.  (Dear Universe...see above plea... :)

Have a beautiful day!  May we all be as happy as sweet old boy Mouth :)

Stormy Texas Night

I know...I know...what do floods and stormy nights have to do with gardening?  This is a gardening blog after all.  Hmmm...not sure about that?  But here in the hills of South Texas the weather is dramatic, beautiful and fleeting; and I embrace each and every gift the hills give, be that raging high waters or breathtaking skies before a storm. 

Last Saturday was one of those nights.  It had been raining pretty hard all week and Saturday night ushered in an incredible thunder storm.  My husband and I were lucky enough to sit on the back patio with a glass of wine and watch the storm roll in.  I can't remember the last time I saw such beautiful, take-your-breath-away-cloud formations.  I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.

(Click on each picture to enlarge it...much cooler effect)

 

 

The gifts of the Universe should be embraced, savored and become part of one's soul.  Witnessing this storm was indeed a gift.

Flooded Guadalupe River

We've had an enormous amount of rain the past week and the river is higher than I've seen it in a long time.  I'd say the Guadalupe came up at least 15 feet.  Incredible.  It's so beautiful but also very dangerous.  I've lived in Texas long enough (28 years) to have a healthy respect for the rivers when they begin to rise. 

Late yesterday afternoon there was a brief reprieve from the rain so hubby and I walked down to the river to take a look.  It was beautiful.  I know I've done posts of the river in the past, but the pictures I took yesterday are worth sharing.  I hope you think so too.

(Clicking on any photograph enlarges it, making each one a little more dramatic!)

 The trunk of this oak tree is completely submerged, as is the bank we usually walk down to get to the river.

 

 

 

 Can you see the big log floating by here?

 

The thistle weeds were in gorgeous bloom as we walked around the river banks.  Take a look at some of these beauties...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 As Harry and I made our way back to the house, the skies began to darken...

and the rains came once again...

 

But what a beautiful way to spend an hour or so on a 

stormy South Texas afternoon.