Simple Joys-Signs of Spring

What a great joy it was to walk out on my balcony this week and find little leaf buds on the stems of my rose bush!  Even on a cold day like today seeing this is a reminder that spring is in deed on its' way back to us and that soon there will be lots of things growing and springing forth with blossoms out there.  What hope and joy!

What is your simple joy this week?

Our "Flutterby" Visitor

This afternoon W came running to me saying "Mama!  Flutterby!  Mama!  Flutterby!" and led me to the door of our balcony where we saw this beautiful butterfly checking out each plant in our little container garden.

It first decided to rest in the parsley, but took flight when we went out on the balcony.  It didn't leave the balcony however while we were out there, but it also, understandably did not land on anything either.  It was so beautiful to watch it fly  around though. We sat and watched it and tried to take pictures of it for a while before I ushered W back into the apartment.  The above picture was the only one I was really able to get of the butterfly in flight.

After we came back inside I noticed that the butterfly settled on one of my geraniums for quite a while and I was able to take several pictures first through the glass door and then I cracked the door just slightly open and was able to get some better shots.

In all our visitor stayed on or near our balcony for about half an hour and we really enjoyed watching it!  We used butterflies during Easter as a symbol of resurrection with a caterpillar wrapped in a silk cocoon and then turning into a beautiful butterfly in our Lenten/Easter garden.  I'm not sure how much W understood that but he does know that he still has butterflies on his nature table tree and was very excited to see a real one out on our own balcony.

This first "flutterby" visitor came before our butterfly bush is blooming and when all of our rose bush blossoms had been picked.  I hope as the summer progresses we will have more of these visitors to our little garden.

Joys of Spring!

W and I are really enjoying this beautiful spring!  Last week we went to the Richmond Waldorf School's May Faire which was wonderful.  I realized that I had never actually seen May Pole dancing in person before and really enjoyed it.  It was also a great time to touch base with some friends and let W play on the playground.  We always really enjoy the events we attend there.  I wish I had take pictures there, but my camera is still MIA. That evening we had a picnic with daddy at Meadow Farm, stretched out in the shade of some great big trees.  We had spinach and sausage stromboli, strawberries, goat cheese and grape salad, pickled herring and rosemary strawberry scones.  To drink Daddy and I had May Punch  (I omitted the violets and added a bottle of sparkling mineral water to this recipe) to drink and Will had a strawberry punch.  W wore his oak leaf May Day crown for a while.  After that we went to visit the animals and particularly enjoyed seeing the little lambs!  W kept pointing to them and was very excited!  It was a beautiful day!

Our local parenting group has been holding a weekly nature club for the kids.  We take them to a different park each week and let them explore.  It typically takes W a while to warm up to the new environments, but this week, once he got acclimated, he loved playing in the creek. Eventually he plopped his little bottom down into the water!  It was a real joy to watch him enjoy a beautiful natural setting so much!

This past week has also been eventful since W and I were able to find a bike trailer  for him on craigslist.  We have started going for rides around the block several times in the mornings after breakfast.  It's really enjoyable and W loves it!  I haven't ridden my bike much since I became pregnant with him and it is a wonderful exercise option for me now!  My hope is that daddy will get his bike in working order too and we can go riding as a family.  I wish I had some pictures, but we've not taken any yet.

Today W and I went to pick strawberries and had a wonderful time.  We made a great team.  I picked the berries and handed them to W who put them in the bucket for me.  We filled the bucket about 3/4 full, when W realized he could squish the berries and then eat them.  The rest of the outing was spent with W double fisting strawberries that he took out of the bucket almost as fast as I could put them in. Oh how he enjoyed himself!  Eventually, I managed to get our full bucket, transfer them to a box to take home and pay for our loot.  I think I will go back early next week and pick several more buckets to make into jam for W's breakfasts.

Spring has been wonderful for our taste buds in general.  The strawberries are delicious and we have been enjoying fresh steamed artichokes at least once a week.  The other highlight of the week was the homegrown lettuce and  radish salad W and I shared the other day after gathering the produce from our garden!

The garden is doing well.  It is small (about 4 ft by ft), but between our little plot and the pots on the back steps we have planted tomatoes, eggplants, sugar snap peas, carrots, radishes, malabar spinach, lettuce, strawberries and herbs.  Around our front steps we have pots of figs, roses, a butterfly bush with sweet woodruff underneath, and a heavenly pink pineapple sage.  I also planted petunias in the ground and put a lovely pot of geraniums by the front door. W helps me to water our plants each morning and plays in his sandbox pot out back while I do other gardening activities.   I must say, having our little bit of a garden has really made our apartment here livable.   There have been days this week where W and I have only been inside for food preparation and nap time.

Oh, how I am loving spring this year!

First items from my little garden

I am happy to report that I this week, I had a first meal including items from my little garden. I was able to pick enough spinach, malabar spinach, lettuce, basil and radishes to have a lovely salad for lunch the other day. It may be a while before there is enough to do this again, but I certainly did enjoy it! There is just something about being able to grow food and then harvest it and eat it.

The garden is looking wonderful and everything is growing like crazy! Now the biggest challenge is to keep up with the watering as we do not have a hose or a place to attach one. This means multiple trips from the sink to the garden with the watering can. This is a hot dry week in Virginia so watering is proving to be very important.

Now I just need to take care of planting some pots for my front porch. I have one with a geranium ready to go and I have some marigolds to plant in another. I already planted marigolds and red petunias in the ground in front of the bushes and they seem to be thriving.

It is certainly a blessing to have a place to plant both flowers and vegetables and to be able to eat some of the items I have grown.

Odds and Ends

Nothing huge going on in our world right now. My cat had surgery going on two weeks ago to remove what seems to have been a whole spool of thread from his digestive track and I am pleased to say that he seems to be doing very well.

The garden is growing and looks pretty good! I noticed this morning that the lawn care guys at our apartment complex went around it very carefully with the weed wack instead of mowing up close to it which was very nice of them! I am looking forward to the peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, spinach, lettuce and radishes not to mention all my herbs! It's exciting.

We joined freecycle a week or so ago and I was able to get a rice cooker which is very exciting to me! I love rice but for years have only made the boil-in-bag kind because I always seem to ruin it. Well... not with my trusty rice cooker....I have been making and eating rice like there's no tomorrow...it's great. I am also in the process of looking up some rice cooker recipes to try soon.

DS is doing well. He's still eating his avocado and banana and loving it, Neither last week's oatmeal or this week's apples have gone over quite so well, but we keep trying them. I am also excited that , while he is still taking formula, I was able to find some affordable organic soy formula to give him. Our local Krogers has changed the size of the cans they carry and I was able to get some on clearance for next to nothing. It's a relief that if he isn't able to manage on just mama milk and solids, at least he is not getting bunches of genetically modified soy anymore.

Today, my plan is to make some yogurt in the crock pot following these directions: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/. I have made this before and just love it! I can't wait to give this to DS when he is able to eat yogurt!

Also, a dear friend of mine has started giving another friend and I lessons in Indian cooking. This is so much fun and the food is pure comfort food to me. This past week she made spinach fritters, roti, dal and potatoes and peas. It was such a great time! I can't wait for next week and I also am looking forward to a trip to the Indian grocery store with her sometime in the near future. I have a notion to start making some of her recipes to eat for my lunches since DH keeps telling me he doesn't like Indian food (whenever my friend brings me some to try DH always wants to try it though and usually seems to like it). Like I said it is comfort food for me but it is all vegetarian and mostly whole grain made from simple inexpensive ingredients. I love it! If she will consent, I will take better notes and some pictures next time for my blog.

Other than that, many things around here seem to be winding down for the summer. My Moving On group for women who have moved to Richmond ended last week, Community Bible Study ended this week. It leaves DS and I looking for ways to fill our mornings a couple days a week. DS loves my "ladies groups"and is a very social young man.

My Garden

I am very excited about my garden this year. I have not had one in two years because our last apartment did not have any outdoor space. Before that in Brooklyn I grew a garden completely in pots on my roof-top deck. This year is actually the first year I have a little plot of ground for my garden which is wonderful!

Last week I spent 2 days cleaning out the little wood framed bed by our back door left by a previous tenant. It seems that it has not been used for a very long time and was overgrown with weeds and full of garbage.

I worked in some new soil and manure and planted some carrots, radishes, a bell pepper and zucchini. I planted marigolds along the perimeter. I also put some spinach and lettuce in window boxes and a strawberry and basil in pots on the porch. So far the radishes spinach and lettuce have all germinated and the pepper and zucchini plants are thriving!

Yesterday I received the best present from my mother in the mail! A box of carefully packed plants! She sent me several tomato plants, an eggplant, some Malabar spinach, garlic chives, thyme and tarragon.

So, this morning while I wait for the vet to call, I am going to go plant the rest of my little garden! I will add pictures to this post when it is finished!