Tuesday Tidings

There's a slight coolness to mornings around here as of late.
We've still got lots of things blooming
to get us through the last throes of summer.
Come for a stroll with me.

This sunflower corner is visible from our kitchen

and never hastens to add a bit of cheer to my daily routine.

They share space with the butterfly vine on the trellis.

 The thryallis are enjoying their sunny location on the east side of the house.

The Florida-friendly bulbine is installed in every part of our garden.

Here one brightens up our mailbox area.

This plumbego is not only a feast for the eyes in the blue garden by the front door,

it serves to drink in all the rainwater flowing off the corner of the porch.

Rainbarrels are not allowed in the front of the house in our community,

so we utilize plants to help with runoff.

 By the looks of it, I'd say it's a win-win!

Zinnias remind me of simpler times.

There's something so old-fashioned looking about them.

Lovely simplicity.

The society garlic blooms are a delicate addition to the front bed.

Another Florida-friendly addition, it asks for very little and gives so much.

African Iris buds dry and the seeds fall out,

ensuring that a gardener will always have plenty of these beauties to enjoy.

Someone recently told me that this is an invasive species called a scissor weed.

It doesn't look like any of the pictures I was able to find of that plant.

 With these dainty pink blossoms, it's staying right where it is.

Unless I get confirmation otherwise, I'm assuming it's a keeper.

The frogs have been abundant lately.

Fine by me, they keep the mosquito population down!

Recently a friend moved away and left me with her beautiful orchid collection.

I'm working on finding homes for some of them.

Morning glories soften this succulent area with their sweet heart-shaped leaves.

This Asiatic jasmine is a Florida-friendly groundcover.

It spreads and becomes lush and thick.

We have it planted under our weeping elm out front.

A neighboring friend donated this Porterweed to the blue garden.

It recently started blooming, so I know it's happy!

The morning glories hung in front of the garage are trying to take over!

While the vine on the lamppost is covered in beautiful plum petals.

bulbine

This weekend we were gifted by this Eastern Black Swallowtail.
It was actually inside our porch screen.
You can read more about our adventures hosting these magnificent creatures  
here and here.

Enjoy the evolution of your day!

Farm School Summer Series Week Eleven

September 1st actually marks the beginning
of the fall planting season in Florida.
We are blessed to be able to farm almost year-round.

We had a mild day in which to work
and we found plenty to do.

 Each session starts with an overview of the week's activities.

Lynn has been busy nurturing these Red Caribbean papaya.

They were started with seed he gathered from his own crop.

Over 300 seedlings will be tenderly cared for

and readied for sale at the farmer's market.

Most of the beans have been pulled up.

They suffered from this type of rust.

Lynn decided that he will try to treat them with copper.

We'll see if it helps.

 Okra is the crop that is doing the best in the summer's conditions.

It continues to produce without concern for too much rain, sun or bug damage.

The leeks we transplanted a few weeks ago are holding their own.

There are a few eggplant that are doing fairly well.

It's too soon to see if they will flourish.

Blossoms can be found on established plants.

 New transplants wait their turn for a spot in the garden.

Today we transplanted some tomato seedlings.

First pots were filled with a loose soil mixture.

Lynn introduced the concept of "coring" to me.

He takes a section of exhaust pipe,

places the pipe in the center of the pot and twists,

and voila!

The perfect depth for the new seedlings.

Genius, right?

He's got several  pipes of various diameters

to use in different applications.

Today we potted up Celebrity and Sweet Million tomato varieties.

I can almost taste the sweet juicy jewels.

This Confederate Rose was featured here.

Today Lynn wanted to take a few cuttings to root.

The stems are trimmed close to a nodule,

moistened with water and saturated with rooting hormone.

The cutting is placed in loose soil mix with the rooting hormone just peeking out.

Looking forward to seeing how well these cuttings do.

lacewing (a good guy)

Faye's been working hard this week at cleaning and tidying up the rest of the yard.

It's lookin' mighty good!

spiny aloe

pineapple

fern

This is called a cardboard palm.

Yeah, it really does feel like cardboard.

Amazing, huh?

Look at this nice family of ball peen hammers.

Summer is slowly fading out

and making way for the fall garden.

It's a welcome change and I look forward to 

witnessing the transformation of the farm.

The Farm School posts begin here.

The Birth of Labor Day

The movement for a national Labor Day had been growing for some time. 

In September 1892, union workers in New York City took an unpaid day off and marched around Union Square in support of the holiday. But now, protests against President Cleveland's harsh methods made the appeasement of the nation's workers a top political priority. In the immediate wake of the strike, legislation was rushed unanimously through both houses of Congress, and the bill arrived on President Cleveland's desk just six days after his troops had broken the Pullman strike.

1894 was an election year. President Cleveland seized the chance at conciliation, and Labor Day was born. He was not reelected.

In 1898, Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of Labor, called it "the day for which the toilers in past centuries looked forward, when their rights and their wrongs would be discussed...that the workers of our day may not only lay down their tools of labor for a holiday, but upon which they may touch shoulders in marching phalanx and feel the stronger for it."

Read the entire article here.

I'm grateful that work is not what it used to be!

Enjoy your weekend, y'all!

Thrifty Thursday-Buying Used

I've never been much of a shopper.
Clothes, especially, just aren't that important to me.
I'd much rather spend any "mad money"on gardening tools or plants.


We are debt-free and plan to stay that way.
We decided to pay cash for as much as possible,
and use credit only when ordering things online.
(Some of Lil' Guy's food is ordered online 
to get a better deal on allergy-free items.)
When we do use credit, 
we pay off the balance each and every month.
One way we stay on budget is by thrifting.

It wasn't until a few years ago that I started thrift shopping for clothes for myself.
Now I can't see doing it any other way.

Take these scrub pants.

They are the perfect thing for someone with my "nighttime challenges".

Being over 50, I sometimes wake up too hot 

and have to throw the covers off.

These keep me covered, 

but are light enough to be comfortable.

The thrift store where I bought these items

has a great selection of clothes,

especially women's things.

Most t-shirts like this are under $4.

This shirt is tailored for smaller folks like myself.

It looks like it's never been worn.

A few dollars for a piece that I can wear with shorts, jeans 

or over a skirt is a good deal in my book.

I found this scarf for Sister.

She often needs a little something to cover her neck

to protect her during the colder winter months in NC.

These felt pieces were only a quarter each.
Felt can be used in so many projects.
I'm thinking of using them to line drawers.
Love the chocolate espresso color.



Finding bargains is one way to stay on budget.
The fun part is never knowing what treasures lie in store.

Have you been thrifting lately?