All my tomatoes have summer blight.
That basically summarizes the week I've had.
It is a metaphor for recent happenings in our life.

A lot can be said for preventative measures.
Lesson learned...in more ways than one.

And begin again we shall.

Ladybug.

K insisted I post this picture, despite it being blurry, because she wanted to remember the second ladybug that she ever captured. :)

After chatting with the wonderful volunteers and board members of Heathcote today, I have decided to apply for the Master Gardener program. It would be pretty cool to get certified and teach courses on green gardening; like rain barrels, container gardens, and organic pesticide options. I love teaching others as much as I enjoy learning; thus being the reason I went to college for Education. So, perhaps I will finally put my education to good use by teaching what I learn about gardening to others. As I understand it, they pick & choose who they select into the Master Gardener program. Wish me luck!

I mentioned my daughter's pictures in the previous post, so here are my photos from today. Enjoy!

We bought aloe for .50, jade for .75, and bromeliad (with pups) for $1!

We loved these painted stumps for garden seating!

My junior photographer!

Throughout the garden they have neat hidden carvings like this.

Today, my daughter, K, fell in love with photography. We went to Heathcote Botanical Gardens in Fort Pierce each armed with a digital camera. She asked that I make her a website to post her photos on, so here it is!

The Fraidy Cat

Leave her a comment, show her photos some love!

Awhile ago I wrote:

"If Mother Nature were to orchestrate music, it would sound like Sigur Ros.

The world full of chaos and blinking lights seems so far from truth when listening to them.

I saw them perform live not too long ago, and it was the closest thing to a damned religious experience I have had in my life thus far.

Music should be our God. And Iceland should be the new Jerusalem."

I am sitting at home on a Friday night watching Heima with a bottle of Riesling.

Nearly perfect.

Friday Confession:

I sing to my plants.

They say plants respond to environmental stimulus, so I use a pleasant tone when talking to them and graze my fingers along their leaves imitating a caress from a light breeze. I tell them how I'm proud of them and give them encouraging talks to help them in their daily growth. I created a song written just for them; it has rhyming and everything.

I may be crazy...but I have the happiest damn plants around!

I draw much of my design inspiration from Apartment Therapy, which is where I just saw the most gorgeous collision between vintage and technology.

The folks at Wilkerson Furniture created this flat-screen TV infused with a vintage style. Why has it taken so long for these two elements to cross paths?


(The other designs at Wilkerson's are definitely worth checking out, as well!)

As a fan of mid-Century furniture, my dream chair has long been the Eames lounge chair and ottoman. The price tag has always gotten in the way of me having one of my very own. However, being the expert at searching craigslist, I found a reproduction of my beloved chair. Instead of a few thousand dollars, I only paid $100. It is the most handsome chair in the world.

*swoon*

In the same neighborhood that we picked up the chair, I stopped in the middle of the road to nab this darling black chair from someone's garbage. I have big plans for this little chair!

I am not a television person. However, I have found myself suddenly obsessed with the Discovery channel, Planet Green. Thanks to this brilliant TV programming, I have now put the Centameter at the top of my "must-have" list for my new home.

My little container garden is in desperate need of being re-potted. The window boxes are getting quite overcrowded and my tomatoes are well-overdue to be staked in their own pots.

We had a visitor in the front yard today! I have never seen a wild turkey around here. He was eating the food I leave out for the squirrels. It was pretty cool!

My twelve-year-old cousin came down from South Carolina to visit for 4th of July weekend. Needless to say, he managed to catch every single Cuban Anole within a mile of the house. (Don't worry, he released all of them unharmed...eventually!)

Look what I found in a tomato planter!