Dachshund Outhouse

Now that the weather is getting cooler... we had to come up with a place for Coco and Max to do their "business" without getting rained on or snowed on. So, Devon and the boys got to work building a little puppy port-o-pottie. It's located right by the backdoor, so the dogs don't even have to get their little tootsies wet when they need to go out.

Of course, neither Coco or Max wants to use it. They'd much rather leave us "presents" in the warmth and comfort of our living room. Why go out in the cold when there is a perfectly good carpet to pee on! It's a battle every day. But I am determined to win this one.

In the meantime, don't these two spoiled pooches have a look on their faces that says, "You really expect us to use THAT thing? Forget about it!"

Gone With the Wind

"Do you mean to tell me, Katie Scarlett O'Hara, that Tara doesn't mean anything to you? Why, land is the only thing in the world worth workin' for, worth fightin' for, worth dyin' for, because it's the only thing that lasts. "

--- Some fatherly advice from Gone With The Wind.

Much like Scarlett, I worked my fingers to the bone this year, setting up our garden. (Actually we ALL did... but I can't liken my whole family to Scarlett O'Hara can I?) In our garden, we grew enough vegatables to go months without buying salad fixings from the grocery store. Well, except for those darn green tomatoes that never did ripen.

Sometimes as I was out there in the broiling sun, pulling endless weeds, I would recall the famous words Scarlett O'Hara spat out in fury, "As God is my witness they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again!" Okay, I know that digging up dandelions isn't exactly the same as rebuilding a post-Civil War plantation, but on those really hot days... it sured felt like it. (Lucky for me, I could always cool off by going into the house and grabbing a diet pepsi out of the fridge.)

Now that that weather has turned cooler, leaves are falling, and the first chill (and snow!) has killed off all our plants, the time has come to tidy up the garden in preparation for the impending winter.

This weekend, Devon and the boys dismantled the entire garden. They pulled up all the flowers. Ripped out all the dried corn husks. Dug up all the weeds (I got tired of pulling by mid-August). And removed all traces of tomatoes, peppers, and chard. All the hoses, sprinklers, and tomato cages have been safely stored away. Our backyard looks empty now, but I'm sure it won't be long before the snow blankets the area where our garden once stood.

Alas, as we move from Fall into Winter, "Purple in Providece" is now... Gone With the Wind!

FALL HAS ARRIVED

It actually snowed here this past weekend... so it looks like "fall" is short lived in Utah. Actually, with snow in June and now in October, we think that there is pretty much more "winter" here, than any other season.

As we drive back and forth to Ogden each week to attend synagogue and/or religious school, we marvel at the beautiful colors through "Sardine Canyon". Gorgeous yellows, reds, and oranges. Sure didn't get fall colors like this back in Phoenix.

So our garden is pretty much kaput now. We had our first freeze (a few days before the snow) and we went from blooming flowers to all shrivelled up. We now have lots of leaves falling in the back yard (again, due to the gigantic trees of our neighbor) and the dogs are having a blast running around on top of them.

Devon and the boys are in the process of erecting a portable outhouse for the dogs to use this winter. The canoe is now going to be occupied keeping our bikes protected from the elements and nobody liked having to beat a path out there in the snow anyway.

So here are some final pictures of our garden in bloom before the dreaded freeze.

Here's two of the dahlias that FINALLY came up. They bloomed just about a week before the freeze. They really were pretty... so I guess we either need to plant them earlier next year or find a place with more sun. (Hmmm... like Phoenix?)

We only got one tiny ear of corn (about six inches long) from all these plants. Maybe we should turn this area of the garden into a corn maze for dachshunds!

We got lots and lots of tomatoes, but so many never ripened. Not willing to eat "fried green tomatoes" (because wasn't that just a movie?) we cut our loses and just ate the red ones we could harvest. Devon spent all last Sunday, turning them into salsa. We decided not to "can" the salsa because we read if you don't do it right... you can put an end civilization as we know it. So we are eating salsa every night now.

Meet Max

Max is a dachshund we found for adoption at Petsmart here in Logan. Poor Max was turned into the local animal shelter because he and his brother "barked too much". Could you imagine what that family would have done with Coco???

Apparently Max's brother was adopted right away, but nobody wanted Max. He has been up for adoption for a month now. Our heart went out to this poor unwanted dachshund (who appears to be a purebred). So we agreed to take Max for a week to see if Coco would be okay with him.

Coco really doesn't seem bothered by him at all. She doesn't like him or dislike him. Instead she just seems somewhat ambivalent. Max absolutely loves Joshua & David and follows them where ever they go. He is so happy to sleep on the floor at the foot of Josh's bed... which is okay with Coco (who happily still has her Queen Bee status).

Tomorrow our week of "deciding" is up. We have decided that none of us have it in our heart to send him back. He is a very nicely behaved dog and we haven't heard him bark at anything except for kids on bikes. So I guess he's staying.

Newspaper Article - Homeschooling

Home is where the school is

By Devin Felix
(Logan Herald Journal: Sunday, August 31, 2008)

In the memories of most American adults, crowded cafeterias, big yellow buses and recess are as much a part of education as long division, biology or phonics.

What would childhood be without assemblies, school bells and teachers?

If you ask Gillian Whitney and her two sons, it would be just fine.

The Whitneys are a home schooling family, one of dozens in Cache Valley that chooses not to enroll their children in any public or private school, opting instead to teach them at home.
Though such a decision seems strange to many, most home-schoolers are passionate about it, and quick to talk about why they love it.

Public school wasn’t working for Joshua Whitney. Gillian Whitney knew her son was anxious and ready to learn, but he found conventional school left him bored and uninterested. They tried a private school, but had problems with bullies, and Joshua’s love of learning seemed to be languishing.

Finally, Whitney started to consider home schooling, though tentatively at first.

“We thought only certain weird people home-schooled,” she said.

Soon, however, she found a social group of about 100 families in Arizona, where the family lived at the time. She met them, talked to them about home schooling and realized that there were indeed normal people who home-schooled, she said.

But she was still uncertain. She worried about her sons missing out on the traditions she grew up with: Halloween parties, Valentines from classmates in their desks, school picture day. Once she began, however, she discovered those things weren’t necessary for a full education, she said.

Now, five years later, 12-year-old Joshua and his 10-year-old brother David both learn at home.

“All my fears were not founded,” she said.

Her fears touched on the main question asked by those not involved with home schooling: What about socialization? How will they learn to get along with others if they don’t go to school?

School is not the only way for a child to learn to interact with others, Whitney said. In fact, a lot of “negative socialization” goes on at school, she said.

Most home-schoolers participate in other social activities and take part in activities with other homeschooled children, said Sally Bishop, a Logan woman who teaches her 12-year-old daughter at home.

“One false assumption is that they’re never going to leave their home,” Bishop said.

Cache Valley Home-schoolers, a loose-knit group of parents and children, plans activities such as family camp-outs, museum trips and others to give kids a chance to meet together.

Parents in the group also lead cooperative study groups. Whitney’s younger son David will take part this year in “Knights of Freedom,” a twice-a-month meeting that involves a group of home-schoolers studying the lives of the nation’s founding fathers. Joshua will take part in “Newton’s Universe,” a group that will study the history of math and science.

In addition, the boys will take part in Boy Scouts, 4-H activities and participate in classes and events at the family’s synagogue in Ogden.

Regulations governing home schooling vary from state to state.

Home-schoolers took up arms earlier this year after the 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled in a child protection hearing that parents in California must have teaching credentials to legally teach their children at home.

After an outcry from the state’s estimated 166,000 home-schoolers and others across the country, the court agreed to reconsider its position and reversed the decision earlier this month. Parents in California can still teach their kids at home if they file for status as a private school.

Utah law places fewer restrictions on families that choose to teach their kids at home. At the first of each school year, parents must file a notarized affidavit with the school district in their area saying they will teach their children at home.

Home-schooled students are not required to take standardized tests or follow the public schools’ schedules. They’re not required to report back to the district on student progress.

The affidavits function mainly to exempt students from truancy laws, which would otherwise require them to be in school, said Dave Forbush, director of special education for the Cache County School District, who handles relations with home-schoolers for the district.

Mostly, the district accepts the affidavits and allows home-schoolers to govern themselves, said Deanna Peterson, Forbush’s administrative assistant.

Some worry that such an unregulated system will lead to abuses, but home-schoolers say abuses are extremely rare. While some envision lazy parents who pull their children out of school and let them stagnate in front of the television all day, that almost never happens, Bishop said.

“I’ve never heard of anyone who pulled their kids out of school without a plan. In fact, there’s a lot of overplanning among home-schoolers,” Bishop said.

The unregulated nature of home schooling is exactly what makes it so appealing to many, Bishop said. Schedules, methods and even subject matter can all be tailored to fit the interests and needs of each child.

That usually means the day of a home-schooled kid looks much different than that of his neighbor enrolled in a public school. Though families’ methods vary widely, most parents allow learning to follow their kids’ interests, Bishop said.

Using a more flexible approach to learning was a boon for Bishop’s children, she said. Her son was failing fourth grade and her daughter was also struggling. They hated school and Bishop worried that if things continued, their desire to learn would be killed.

She began to teach them both at home, focusing on their interests and allowing them to work a the speed that best suited them. It wasn’t long before they were excelling in areas where they previously failed, she said. Serena, her 12-year-old who had once struggled to read, has read a 2-foot-tall stack of books in the last year.

But if the subjects a student is required to learn aren’t dictated by the government, will they end up learning everything they need to? Whitney and Bishop say yes.

Whitney makes a curriculum plan with each of her boys at the start of a school year and they plan out the course of study. Core subjects such as math and English are studied every day, while others, such as music, art and geography are studied one day a week. The kids have a special interest in history, so that gets studied every day as well.

The plan is there as a guide, but it’s flexible, Whitney said. If an activity takes longer than anticipated, there’s no need to stop in the middle because it’s time for a new subject. If the boys discover something while learning that takes them in an unexpected direction, it’s OK, she said.

Children are born to learn and they want to learn, Bishop believes.

“I have a lot of faith in the inherent curiosity of children,” she said.

Bishop and Whitney both agree the methods work. Whitney administers Iowa standardized tests, a nationally accepted test given to students throughout the U.S., to her boys each year to ensure they’re learning. Last year, both scored above the 95th percentile nationally.

Bishop’s son chose to return to public school last year, and after failing every subject years before, he got straight A’s, Bishop said.

What works for them

“Home schooling in any form challenges a lot of assumptions,” Bishop said.

Conventional schooling is the only method most people have ever known, and many people are surprised that it’s possible to education in a different way, she said.

Often, people assume her choice to educate her kids a different way means she judging them or condemning public schools, which is not true, Bishop said. In fact, many home-schooled kids are involved in activities such as orchestra, band or science classes at public schools, Bishop said.

“I’m not anti-public schools,” she said. “I just prefer my kids at home and we’re having a great time.”

Whitney agrees.

“I feel home schooling is right for me and my children, but I don’t believe it’s right for everyone. But I believe everyone should have the choice,” she said.

E-mail:
dfelix@hjnews.com

Gold Medal Winner!!

In the spirit of the summer olympics... we've got an award winning Marigold growing in our back yard. When I first noticed it, I thought it was a tomato plant, but as I got closer, I realized it was a flower on steroids!

This gold medal winner is currently measuring in at: 3 foot 3 inches tall. Wow!!! That's one tall Marigold.

The watering team, Edan (visiting from Portland) & David are taking a break from their duties and standing in for a "perspective shot". They also look a little like the Silver and Bronze medalists in our competition.

Good Berries vs. Bad Berries. Or How to Make Jam Without Killing Your Family?

Okay... last weekend we made over 20 jars of Apricot Jam. Today, we made 3 1/2 jars of Black Currant Jam. So, we're obviously in the midst of a preserving blitz at the Whitney Homestead.

Right now, I've got my eye on some ripe looking red berries in our yard, but I can't tell if they are good berries or bad berries. All I remember about identifying poisonous berries is "If the leaf points up... berries are fine. If the leaf points down... beware." Or, was is "Leaves of three... let it be."???? I don't remember.

Today I googled the net trying my best to identify our mystery berries and I'm completely stumped. All I know is that the berry is VERY tart and has a little pit (or is the correct word "pith") inside. Not wanting to waste my time cooking toxic jam... I need to resolve this matter ASAP. If anyone can identify this plant... I'd be most appreciative.

Mystery Solved

Remember that alien mystery plant I wrote about on 6-29-08? Well, I think I've solved the mystery. The plant is finally in bloom (took months) and it has purple flowers. Maybe I'll have to make it the feature plant on my blog... because it is the only purple flower indigenous to my garden.

The name of the plant (I think) is a called Gayfeather. The latin name is: Liatris (kind of sounds like a mouthwash). Anyway, I am glad that it's finally come into bloom. I only wish that whoever lived here before knew how tall it gets... because it's blocking the view of my other plants. Not a good plant to put "up front".

All hands on deck!

Okay, I think we've finally come up with a plan for our deck. We were really hoping to build it this summer, but with Devon's back injury this year, we are definately going to have to wait til next year. However, we decided to go ahead and start some of the planning now.

Building our deck is going to be a challenge, because the project will also include replacing our kitchen window with a door. Right now, the only way we can access our backyard is via the garage, which is a bit of a pain! (We had to put up the plastic fencing to keep Coco contained within our property. She wandered out of the garage a couple of times... and being such a runaway dog... we were too scared we'd lose her.)

When we do replace that kitchen window with a door, we decided that we did not want to lose our view of the backyard. So we've decided to install a full-size glass door, with a matching side-panel of glass (I think the correct term is a "sidelight"). We figure that if it's white, it will match the other windows in the kitchen.

We're not quite sure in what order we'll have to tackle these two projects: building a deck + installing a door? However, since the door will be utterly useless (not to mention dangerous) without steps, we'll probably build the deck first.

So, to get a feel for where the deck will go, we twined off an area in the backyard. We even added some patio furniture just to see if it would meet our needs. Here's where we are going to put the deck. From henceforth, this will be known as the official Whitney BEFORE deck photo.

Essentially we are looking at building a deck that's about 16' x 20'. We are planning to put in a low deck because our fence isn't that high. We think we'd feel like royalty on display if we built the deck at the same height as our kitchen. So the plan will be to walk out the kitchen door (which currently is still a window) onto a small platform. Then we'll walk down three steps (the entire width of the platform) out onto the deck.

Here's a plan of what we're going to build. Snazzy huh? Joshua and I discovered that Better Homes and Garden has a nifty tool called "Arrange-A-Deck". Lots of fun.

Because of our basement windows (they have wells), we need to start the base of the deck at least 6 feet away from the house. I think the code requires that all structures be 3 feelt away from the wells. Providence Building Codes are compelling us to protect our family and friends from falling in those window wells. No more wild parties for us!

I think that we might even have to put a grate over the wells, in the event that anyone decides to take an running start and leap off our deck into those wells!

On the deck, we want to have a place to store the BBQ, patio table and chairs (lets hope that we have a nice fancy set by then... instead of our old plastic set), and possibly one of those covered porch swings. Maybe if we place that swing to the left of the stairs (see grey bench in plan above) it'll stop those "well jumpers" in their tracks!

We had planned to have a special place to store our fireplace. However, now that we've scorched the grass (see previous blog entry), I'm thinking that we'll plan on keeping that firepit as far away from the deck as possible. Who needs a deck with burn marks?

As for deck materials. We are most definately looking at going with TREX decking. Knowing how lazy we are, we know we'd never get around to staining & treating the deck each year, so why even pretend? I'm glad that we're honest. Going with the wood composite that never needs to be treated will end up saving money for us in the long run.

Below is an example of a professional TREX deck. Sure hope ours looks as stunning!

New kid on the block

Okay, move over Marigold, there's a new kid in town! Yes, you guessed it... the Whitneys have yet another "blooming flower". (Doesn't it sound like I'm British and I'm swearing?) This time we are the proud parents of a bright and cheerful nasturtium. Now, we've only got one mind you. The rest of these little devils are not looking like they are even considering putting in an appearance. However, with our rate of success, we have decided to relish these small victories!

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Today the boys and I decided to do some transplanting of those humongus Cosmo Plants. Some of the tallest ones are about 3 feet tall now, and still NO BLOSSOMS. How bizarre is that? Since they look like they are going to grow up to the sky at this point... we decided to move them to the back of the garden. Maybe we can use them to climb into our neighbor's maple trees! Or better yet, visit a giant's castle in the clouds one day! I've always wanted a singing flute.

Devon didn't want us to transplant these bizarre creatures. He was too scared we'd kill them all in the process. So, we just waited for him to go to work... and got busy. We figure it's "better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission".

Meanwhile, the veggies are doing quite well. We are still enjoying our nightly salads. We have not grown bored of shopping in our own backyard every night for lettuce. We wish that the tomatoes would hurry and start turning red. We are spending a fortune at Maceys (our local grocery store) to supplement our other salad fix-ins.

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Our lawn is slowly coming along. Now that we are on a pretty good watering regimen, most of the lawn looks green. Except for the front (between the sidewalk and road) where Devon is too stingy with water to let us use the sprinklers there.

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We did notice a couple of odd patches of non-green color (aka icky yellow) grass and Devon thinks it's because we've been using our firepit directly on the grass. So, the boys and I headed off to Lowes and bought some red bricks to place the firepit on. Being much too lazy to dig the required 12 inches deep (plus add in a layer of gravel, a layer of sand, and framing boards) we threw the patio stones down directly on top of the scorched grass. The lawn looks much better buried under those fetching red bricks, even if the whole thing does look a little wonky and lopsided.

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*** Additional note: Joshua watered the lawn tonight and forgot about our new red brick feature. Hopefully, our firepit won't get all rusty now that it's been drenched with water for 90 minutes. We usually keep it covered, but because of our need to protect the scorched lawn, we've probably ruined our fireplace feature. ***

Redemption

Okay... my wiggly worm days have come to an end! Today my first (grown-from-seed) flower bloomed. I am the proud parent of a blooming Marigold. I'm so excited!!!

Yesterday, I had a long talk on the phone with Sandy (my gardening coach/psychotherapist). She tried to cheer me up out of my "blueness", by giving me some suggestions for what's going on in my garden. Or, more aptly, what's not going on in my garden.

Sandy has suggested that I get in touch with someone at the university and see if we can get a sample of our soil tested. I will be doing that on Friday. Sandy also suggested that I get out there and FERTILIZE, FERTILIZE, FERTILIZE. That is on the agenda for tomorrow, along with transplanting my 50 feet tall non-blooming cosmos! That will get rid of the forest-like effect they are having in the garden and stop the Green Giant from playing hide-and-seek in my backyard!

We also talked about the impatiens... that I have lost my patience with. It seems that this plant can be pretty picky about where it calls home. Which is probably why it's doing so well in the grow box out front. That litte sun worshipper is probably not liking the cool shade of all those maple trees. I am going to think about whether they should be transplanted too. If I go that route, Sandy has made some good suggestions for shade loving replacements.

Needless to say... I at least feel vindicated as a human being that I have finally had SOMETHING... ANYTHING bloom. (The veggies didn't count because those are Devon's babies.) I was really beginning to feel like I should just crawl under a rock, admit defeat, and close down my blog. But, now I'm strutting my stuff all over the house with pride. It's nice to feel like Mother Nature.

The Impatient Gardener

Okay, I am starting to feel a little discouraged. And, I am thinking about changing my name to "Blue in Providence". Sigh.

My flower garden in the back yard isn't doing too well. The plants that I bought from Lowes, a few weeks back, have been pooping out. Some have died or are in the process of dying... like all their flowers have fallen off. And the rest are just hanging in there... with no growth at all. Even the impatiens that I put in back in early June, have not grown an inch.

In addition, NONE of the flowers that I planted (from seed) have any "flowers" at all. For some odd reason, they are just remaining as ever-growing stalks!

Here's my supposed cosmos... looking like some sort of weird tropical rainforest for Coco to hack her way through. The cosmos we bought at the store (to put around the squash plants in the veggie garden), are much shorter, and have tons of flowers. So what's the deal?


Here's my supposed marigolds and nasturtiums. Again, no flowers. Nothing but stalks and leaves.

I don't know if these plants are just not getting enough sun (due to my neighbours huge maple trees), they are all just being stubborn, or if I've simply got a black thumb!

In contrast to my back yard, the front yard is coming along quite nicely. Although, I think that my decision to stick with just one plant (petunias) is at the root of my sucess.

My roses are still hanging in there too, but I'm not sure if the new ones I planted this summer like it here enough to make this their permanent home. I think we're still in that "wait and see" period. Guess I better keep talking nicely to them.

The middle rosebush (tall one in the center), is still refusing to put forth any blooms. What's up with that? Devon says that as long as it continues to stay green, it adds some color to the yard, so we're should let it stay.

David & the Dahlias

David has been taking great care to water all the plants. Today he was out watering the dahlias when I snapped this photo.

Right now, only a few are poking through: Ted's Choice, Tikki Sunrise, Taboo, & Junkyard Dog. I don't know if any of the other ones we planted might still put in an appearance. We shall see.

Apple Tree?

Okay, we've been patiently watching this mystery fruit tree in the backyard for some time now. It now seems evident that we may have an Apple Tree. Yum. Only question is what type of Apple Tree we have?

We will have to be patient for a little bit longer. I think apples don't get harvested until August.

Let Us Eat Lettuce!

Yesterday was an exciting day... we got to eat the "veggies of our labor". We had a homemade salad with our dinner... fresh from the garden. It was just great!

We're not quite sure what kind of lettuce this is, I'm thinking it is "bib". There is something very special about eating something you have grown yourself.

Such fun!

Rose color

In trying to determine this rosebush, here is a photo of the first bloom.

July 4th Weekend

Lots of garden activity on this holiday weekend.

First of all we had to go out and shop for tomato cages. The plants are all growing tall enough that they need to be supported. We were kind of surprized to discover that most stores are all sold out of cages. None at Lowes. And only sad and mangled ones at Home Depot. So, we took a drive up to Smithfield Implement (a 90 years +) hardware/farm store/cowboy store. They had a ton of cages there... and cheaper too.

Once we got home with the tomato cages, the nightmare began. Our soil here is so rocky that it is next to impossible to get those darn things in the ground. Devon decided to "make holes" in the ground by banging a stake into the ground (he looked a little like some fearless vampire killer armed with his weaponry).

After making four holes, he still couldn't get a cage in the ground the whole way. So, he decided the next best step was to shorten the length of the cages. Easier said than done, since we don't have wire cutters that will cut through that thickness. Out came the hacksaw. The boys tried to hold the cage steady while Devon sawed. This was not a pretty sight... thankfully there was no blood, but there was a lot of sweat and tears. After one cage amputation, Dr. Devon put away his tools and called it a day.

Then, we decided we needed to put up a little gardening fence to keep you-know-who... from "tip-toeing thru the tulips". We found a little fence that came in sections and the guys put it up in the afternoon. Of course, as soon as they were done, Coco, who was undeterred, just hopped right on in again. After a gentle spanking from Devon, our weiner is starting to get the message that the veggie/flower beds are no longer her domain.

I am working with Sandy to determine what's taking our middle rose (out front) so long to bloom. Sandy suggested that I try to determine where all the new growth is coming from. After having a good look, we discovered that all the shoots are coming from the bottom of the plant, which I guess makes it a "climbing rose". This makes sense, considering we have one bloom that is at the bottom of the plant.

Last, but not least, we are starting to see some activity in the Dahlia department. Hurray!

People keep asking us what's with all the bamboo stakes in front of our garage? Well, they are there for the dozen dahlias we planted when Sandy & Richard were here. We have seen the first glimpse of growth. The "Tiki Sunrise" dahlias (3 of them) are starting to sprout up through the ground. Can't wait to see what they look like.

Today, we're having a lazy Sunday morning. Devon and David made a great breakfast of Pancakes and Bacon. Yum. We've decided to take some down-time to read, mess with our computers, and putter. Then, we are heading out to "stake out" the deck. We want to get a feel for where the deck will go and decided a cloudy day with no plans was the best day to do that.

Roses in Bloom

The world is a rose, smell it and pass it to your friends.

-- Persian Proverb

It is absolutely thrilling to watch this rosebush outside our window literally exploding into bloom!

How wonderful to have the opportunity to "stop and smell the roses" in my own front yard.

A big "thank you" to the previous owners... for leaving us such a beautiful legacy.

Starting Over

Okay... after my disappointment with the results from our all-day weeding session (i.e. an almost empty garden), I decided to go out and buy some flowers. Even though I felt like a complete failure doing this, I would really like to look at something other than dirt! So I hopped in the car and set out for Lowes.

I tried to shop wisely and keep my purchases to no more than $5.00 a plant. I also tried to buy as many Perrenials as possible, with the hope that they will come back on their own next year. Unless, I somehow manage to kill them too.

HERE IS A LIST OF WHAT I BOUGHT - I tried to buy at least 2 of everything:

Campanuala - Takion Blue Peachleafed Bellflower (x2)

Aurora Lavender Delphinum (x2)

Camelot Foxglove (x2)

Hosta "Patriot" - Plantain Lily (x2)

Zinnia - Yellow (x2)

Salvia - Red (x2)

Salvia - Victoria Blue (x6)

Vinca - Melon (x9)

Joshua helped me decide where to lay everything out... so if it looks bad, we can blame him (big grin). We are all in agreement that the garden looks better already.

While deciding upon our layout, we tried to plant around the few flowers that are still trying to make their way up through the ground. That way, if they do survive, we can at see them.

From what I can tell, the only plants from seed -- that still stand a chance are the following:

- Johnny Jumpups (i.e. Poppies)

- Cosmos

- Dianthus

We decided to set out some stepping stones (that we found in the front yard) in front of the raspberry plants. Even though the raspberry plants we transplanted are only 4 inches high, if they end up growing as big as our other raspberry plants, we will need that space to get back there to pick the berries.

Meanwhile, we have now removed ALL the weeds from the vegetable garden, so we are virtually weed-free. I expect that to last about one day! We have also noticed that a few of our veggies have been chewed. We began speculating that mayve we have rabbits visiting in the middle of the night, but just then, we spied Coco (our weiner dog) nibbling on some corn stalks. I thought dogs were carnivores? Guess not.

The Saga of Bing #1 & Bing #2

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the cherry trees we planted.

Devon has always had a fondness for cherries... so he had his heart set on putting in some cherry trees when we bought our house. Since Devon likes to "eat" cherries... we searched high and low through a ton of nurseries to find Bing Cherry trees. And, since we don't have a heck of a lot of room, we decided to get dwarf trees.

Okay, so we bring these trees home (which are huge... considering they are dwarfs) and spend about a week trying to figure out where to put them. Devon was determined to rip out this poor little Maple tree to make room for them, but I put my foot down and saved the tree. I hate to see any tree go to waste (well, except for those icky ones that used to be in front of our garage window... more on them later). At the end of the day, the Maple Tree was given a reprieve from it's eminent execution, and the Bings became it's neighbour.

Since Devon can't do much garden work (still recovering from the back surgery) and Josh was away at Scout camp, David and I became the tree diggers. Oy vey. What a job!!! We don't have soil here in Utah, we just have rocks pretending to be soil.

It took David and I two days to dig these holes (13 inches deep) and I'm telling you, we felt like convicts. I kept having flashes of the film "Cool Hand Luke" and imagined Devon saying to us, "What we have here --- is a failure to communicate!". Of course, if you've never seen this Paul Newman classic, you will have no idea what on earth I'm talking about. Let's just say that digging those holes was such hard work... that I became delirious.

Happy to report, that after two weeks of being in the ground, our Bings look very happy. Of course, we are hoping that there is a polinator living nearby, or else we'll never have any cherries. So, we're crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. If we don't see any fruit in a year or so... we'll break down and buy a cross-pollinator that will get the job done. But, if we do that, then that poor neighbouring Maple tree will be toast.