I got these philodendron clippings from my mom last May.
Here they are today.
And a very healthy looking African Violet.
Category Archives: House plants
A Cool August
Catching up with the photos on my phone. We’ve had unseasonably cool weather. I’ve been wearing flannel!
We were excited to harvest our first watermelon a couple of weeks ago.
It wasn’t quite ripe. It was okay and will ask our neighbor about how to determine ripeness. We got the seeds for these Crimson Sweets from him a couple of years ago.
I bought this geranium from Elk Run Farm – a vendor at our Saturday Farmers Market. I think it is called apple blossom.
This is our first cantaloupe. We thought we were late harvesting it since the bugs had already gotten to it. We’ve found that the bugs are a good determination of ripeness. We’ve harvested others that have a strong scent but when we cut into them they aren’t quite ripe.
A Melon Petit Gris de Rennes – a sugar-sweet French favorite! We just have to be diligent and get them at peak ripeness before the bugs do!
Saving seeds – the cantaloupes (actually I think they are technically muskmelons though I’m not sure of the difference) and the large brown seeds are from bitter melons.
I love this African Violet. I was admiring the way the sun hit it a few mornings ago.
Our rain garden during a heavy rain.
Our harvest from yesterday. Lots of bitter melon. No one but me seems to go for it. More muskmelons, Doe Hill peppers (a small, yellow, sweet variety), green beans and apples. I made an apple pie and apples sauce earlier in the week and these went to Doris, our neighbor. She says she peels, slices and freezes them to use in the winter time.
Bitter melon on the vine.
The Staunton Historical Foundation holds noontime walking tours the first Friday of the month. Usually we are in the historical section of our downtown but today we went to Montgomery Hall Park which is about 4 minutes from our house. We took a hike in the woods during the rain. This is a wall from a bank barn. The barn burned down in a blaze many decades ago. The hike was led by an archaeologist. It was very interesting and fun to go tramping in the damp woods.
Just a pretty view.
Green Pastures
We planted an osage orange tree along the pasture fence. We traded two hens for it.
The chestnut oak we planted near the barn last fall.
And the black locust planted at the same time as the oak.
our garlic harvest
Oh, Frida!
A friend gave me this native wisteria the year we moved in. That was three years ago and now it is blooming. It is down near the spring house.
Chicks
We added eight chicks to our flock. They hatched among three hens. Luckily, no other hens have gone broody and if they do we will break them of it. We have a couple people interested in taking some of our chicks. Hopefully, they will follow through with taking them soon.
Here are a few of the older chicks. It’s hard to tell yet if they are pullets or cockerels. I think the best way to tell is that the cockerels are more upright and the pullets hold themselves lower to the ground.
This african violet doesn’t want to stop blooming.
The cuttings I took from my mom’s philodendron are taking root. I read they like bright, indirect light so it should like this corner in the sun room.