limestone butterfly

oh my poor blog

2010-11-14T15:43:00.000-08:00

Sweet living has taken over. Here we are, already deep in fall--girls flicking on the electric heater in the mornings. Sweaters. Red noses at the playground. Stomach bugs. Halloween has come and gone. Silkie chickens live in a box in the dining room. Many babies are coming due . . . How and when did all that happen?

We are ever so much more settled here. The dryness of the air no longer surprises me. I have learned not to touch the prickly pears, even when they look like they won't do me damage. The carpet is wearing at the edges. The bunk beds my sister and I slept in when we were little are now in my daughter's bedroom. My parents have moved ten minutes away--into their own pastoral idyll (slash money-pit and time-occupier).

I can no longer organize my thoughts for long enough to sit here and espouse them . . .

already april

2010-04-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

Sweet delicious springtime! Awaiting yet another rain before Easter Sunday. The dark skies make the blossoms everywhere all the brighter. The girls are carousing in the buff again and I will likely not be able to keep them fully dressed again until Thanksgiving.

All of the trees out in the orchard seem to have survived last year's drought and this one's drenching rains.

Indian Paintbrushes are in bloom along the walkway.

The sand verbena that I transplanted into the planters off the driveway is taking over.
The coral honeysuckle is a parade of neon pinky-red.
And the Lady Banks is an avalanche of blossoms outside the kitchen window.

This year has flown by thus far, between studying and midwifery and houseguests and the two little entertainers living with us . . . Haven't had time to restore the parts of the garden that were damaged in our couple severe freezes (even snow!!!!! look here):

The oleanders are done for--16 degrees was just a mite cold for them. I will plant Knockout roses (unkillable!) or vitex in their place.

what's bloomin' now

2009-09-28T11:33:00.001-07:00

The rains have quenched the earth's thirst!
Borage seedlings!!
Fire on the mountain!

Gaillardia--so tough and pretty!

After the rains, the earth has come alive. Everything is budding up and blooming, snakes and tarantulas and deer and turtles abound. It is wet enough that we have begun burning our brush--such fun, as the burn ban has never been lifted for long enough for us to do that. The fire pit is getting lots of use now!

spectacular rainbows

2009-09-15T17:56:00.001-07:00

The rainbows are divine here in Central TX. I love those dark skies behind the glittering gorgeousness of all that rainy color. These came after our most recent (much needed) squall of rain.

some shots from the northeast

2009-07-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

Oh, to live in a place where it is not 100 degrees every day. But you know what? When it rains all the time there is mold . . . at least that's what I keep telling myself. And all that temperate weather . . . sheesh. A little hardship makes you stronger, right? Anyway, our trip to the Northeast was a welcome break from the heat here, though we have now been back long enough to attend a family wedding (I did the flowers!) and everything. Both of the girls love love love the ocean. And their cousins.

back to the blast furnace

2009-07-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

Miss A and Baba feeding ducks at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Fran.
The view out our window at the Berkeley City Club.
Sea lions on the docks at Fisherman's Wharf.

After a trip to the Northeast to visit family, and a trip out to Berkeley for sis' graduation (with her PhD!!!), we have returned to the cauldron that is Central TX in July. This year more so than ever. Somehow our chickens survived our absence, despite their desire to brood and sit atop one another in the next box. The orchard is doing superbly, the persimmon tree even has six gorgeous fruit still dangling from it. The one fatality was our fig, which breaks my heart.

And I do realize that I have yet to announce here that my prolonged absence from this space has been due to my pursuit of Midwifery. A shift of gears, indeed. I am apprenticing with the midwife who helped me bring my two girls into this world, and have also enrolled in the Association of Texas Midwives midwifery training program. Standing on that incredible threshold of birth is such an awesome privilege. I am so excited and, for reasons that would take much too long to enumerate here, so convinced that this is the right path.

pretty pics by my hubby

2009-04-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

My man has been wielding the camera lately. I love his shots, the way he captures light and movement. We got a new digital picture frame at Wolf Camera downtown (going out of business!) and have been experimenting with that, though the image quality is not what we had hoped. We are both ambivalent about letting go of printing, but it may be inescapable.

The top shot is of our recent trip out to Hamilton Pool . . . oh so pretty. And the rain has been falling.

Do you print your pics? digitize? How do you chronicle your moments?

juvenile garter snake

2009-04-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

Laurel and I found this little guy down by our pond the other day. Apparently garters are the only snakes in our region with stripes running lengthwise down their bodies. We saved him in a bucket so Aurora could take a look when she got home. He was a surprisingly spirited little fellow, would puff himself full of air and even took a strike at me once. Not venomous, but a little aggressive nevertheless. We are glad to have him, though, as these little predators are so important to keeping the smaller critters in check.

I have been thinking a lot about purpose these days. The purpose of bees is to pollinate, the purpose of snakes is to weed out the weak frogs and dragonflies, etc . . . What is the purpose of humans?

radiant blossoms . . . errant blogger

2009-04-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

Lantana camara in the chicken run.
Climbing rose "Don Juan."
Old fashioned petunia. More upright than the ones you commonly see today. I hope to plant more of these next year if these guys set seed.
Lady Banks Rose. Covered in blossoms right now. The white variety is actually even more floriferous.
Rosa chinensis "Mutabilis." The butterfly rose. I am in love with this rose. I planted two bare-root specimens this winter and have loved watching their reddish new growth emerge, and their fascinating flowers as they grow darker from yellow to deep rose. The delicacy of these blossoms is superb.

My mind has been all over lately, lollygagging along in a haze of springtime glee. There is nothing like a wealth of blossoms and green to make a gardener happy (while they last).

sphinx moth

2009-03-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

Nobody is as excited about this guy as I am . . . he's as big as a hummingbird! So cool, such a long proboscis to reach down and get all that good Abelia nectar!

blackberries and blustery skies

2009-03-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

We've been blessed with rain and burgeoning spring. Here is the Climbing Don Juan rose covered in raindrops. Rare treat. What a classic rose shape on this one.
This is what the skies looked like before a big rainfall a couple days ago . . .
Almost scary--look at that line in the sky!
And here's a baby Arapaho blackberry, striding along . . .

The Brown Turkey fig looks very happy!

happy vernal equinox (a couple days late!)

2009-03-21T07:11:00.000-07:00

Spring is all-out springing here, and oh what fun. The light the last couple mornings has been so pretty, gentle, golden. I am being a real wuss about cutting back all the wild mustard and clover that has seeded itself all over the yard . . . the clover is soft and smells good and the mustard reminds me of abandoned fields in Germany. That gorgeous acid green is so special.
Indian paintbrushes against the little persons' bench.
Rain lilies.
Poppy bursting.
Strawberry sizzle geranium.
Verbena and dianthus.
East facing bed.
White pansies and sunset-colored snapdragons.
Coral honeysuckle.
The Lady Banks Rose is about to put on a major show.

this is amazing!

2009-03-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

Just received this in my in-box:

Dear Kitchen Gardener,

(Begin pinching yourself now)

"Obamas to Plant White House Vegetable Garden"

On Friday, March 20th, 2009, 23 third graders will join First Lady Michelle Obama on the South Lawn of the White House to break ground on an 1100 square foot kitchen garden that will provide food for family dinners and formal dinners.

According to the New York Times:

The Obamas' garden will have 55 varieties of vegetables grown from organic seedlings started at the executive mansion's greenhouses.

And better still:

Almost the entire Obama family, including the president, will pull weeds, whether they like it or not, Mrs. Obama said laughing.

Ok, you can stop pinching yourself: you aren't dreaming this and an off batch of sauerkraut hasn't caused a rare case of lacto-fermentation-hallucination.

irish soda bread!

2009-03-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

We're having a little St Patty's gathering tomorrow, so I delved into some baking. I used this recipe for Irish Soda Bread, and it is all I can do to keep from eating it right this very minute. It smells and looks delectable. Tomorrow we'll embark upon the boiled dinner!

full pond and finished orchard

2009-03-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

What more could a girl ask? We stretched the fencing and attached the gates--all seems to be holding. And my man and his truck retrieved a Craigslist bench for some relaxing in the shade-to-be. I still have a passionflower vine to plant along the southern fence-line.

Finally some rain, though not a drought-buster yet. The sound of it pounding down on the roof was such a delight. Now we'll get some bullfrogs in the next few weeks!

The pears in the orchard have both leafed out (though not the ones up by the house--less sun??), as have the pomegranates. The poor pears did sustain some damage from the deer before we got the fence up. What an annoyance. Hopefully they will heal and remain vigorous. The jujubes, persimmons, and one fig have green buds and have popped a couple leaves each. The little Arbequina olive, well . . . we'll just have to see. It did not like all the violent wind we've had, and was tiny to begin with. I am considering moving it into a pot up by the house until it is a bit bigger and planting a quince in its place. Still pondering.

clothespin dolls

2009-03-04T07:42:00.000-08:00

We were in Houston last weekend and, in addition to a delightful trip to the zoo, Nana and Miss A made clothespin dolls. Just way too adorable. I love watching how adept Miss A's hands are at dealing with those tiny materials. Yet another benefit of the Montessori approach. That and the ability to concentrate happily for extended lengths of time. Contrary to popular belief, I think that type of focus is something we LOSE over time, not something we gain. The natural state of the child is not hip-hopping from one moment to the next, never investing. It is enthralled fascination.

We actually attended an Open House at Miss A's school last weekend, and had such fun watching our daughter operate in another mode. Instead of behaving the same way she always does with us, she really changed in the Montessori environment, almost like she couldn't control the change, and exhibited a Zen-like calm as she gathered and worked with her materials. Check it out below.

new pretty biddies

2009-02-27T06:31:00.000-08:00

So, I managed to wear my husband down enough that he let me acquire another couple hens. Therefore, we now have four hens and our rooster, Pepper. We got them from a neat fella in Austin who used to work in the film industry and hopes to eventually open an organic hatchery in LaGrange. They are still subject to occasional rabid pecking from Penelope and Guinevere, and I am having a hard time convincing them to roost in the coop and not in the live oak . . . but all is generally well. I have named the White Leghorn "Pearl," and Miss A is calling the Barred Rock "Teaser" (don't ask me why).

Here is Pearl behind the Agarita.

And the lovely "Teaser," under the bare branches of the lantana.

messy expression

2009-02-21T10:51:00.001-08:00

Who doesn't love fingerpaints?

a way to structure our days . . .

2009-02-17T09:41:00.000-08:00

The skies have been glorious lately. They are such a significant part of our lives here--watching the clouds, the stars, shying away from the sun. I have not lived anywhere else where the sky so fully dominates the landscape.

Love this quote from this fabulous blog:

“Be sure your children each day have:

something or someone to love
something to do
something to think about”

Karen Andreola

happy valentine's day!

2009-02-14T06:39:00.000-08:00

Myspace Comments

Here's a shot of my little Degas dancer in her Valentine's duds. Lots of love to you all.

i was right!

2009-02-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

Finally got a big, bellowing rain. Not enough to totally fill the pond, but it's on the way!

dry pond, cloudy sky, pray for rain

2009-02-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

I feel like the rains are coming. Maybe that's just wishful thinking. Or maybe it's because I just planted the last three trees in our little orchard and can't bear the thought of them not getting to taste real rain, just hose-water. The land is so thirsty.

Up top you can see the fence gates that I painted blue and hung broken glass from, because it catches the light. Behind you can glimpse the cedar fenceposts that we got on Craigslist, hair still on, for 2 bucks each. Just a little more work and we will have an enclosed sanctuary for our trees.

another reason to love austin

2009-02-05T16:46:00.001-08:00

new bed

2009-02-04T10:18:00.000-08:00

Finally decided to tackle a lonely stretch of west-facing fenceline. I built limestone raised beds with rocks from our property and backfilled with Garden-Ville Rose Soil. Then I planted these:
1 Vitex Agnus-Castus (chaste tree)
2 Nerium (oleander--yes, I know it is poisonous, my children have already been lectured)
2 leucophyllum frutescens (texas sage--not really a sage, though)
2 sophora secundiflora (texas mountain laurel)
3 dianthus (pinks)
3 santolina
2 setcreasea purpurea (purple heart)
1 bignonia (trumpet vine)

After planting I mulched with two inches of Ladybug Turkey Compost and then another 3 inches of Texas Native Hardwood mulch. Let's hope those lovelies get settled before the blast-furnace starts stoking!

And enjoy this link to a little winter gardening advice from Central TX Gardener:

wednesday's shots from the homestead: ice

2009-01-28T09:08:00.000-08:00

A little ice storm blew through last night, and left a glistening sheen over everything. The sun is out and now all the baby icicles are dripping. That mockingbird perched on the chair has been haunting the prickly pear and moved over there when I appeared with my camera. He has decided that this is his spot. And the paperwhites are just beginning to bloom, stinky fragrance and all (actually, I kinda like it).