Dirty hands

*This post is for Fontie!  Everyone else will probably be bored to tears unless you are a gardener...

In May, my hands look like this almost every day....

....it's completely delightful!

I was allowed to go to the greenhouse, unsupervised, for about an hour on Wednesday. 

This is big.

I don't like shopping...despise it, in fact, except for books, shoes and plants.

A girl can never have too many of any of those, really.

I showed remarkable restraint this trip and only brought home six perennials and a handful of bedding annuals.  It's a bit too chilly for the annuals, but this is perennial weather and if my budget hadn't been quite firm, I'd have just backed up the car and hauled off a bunch more. Maybe rented a UHaul...

Yesterday morning, since it was too muddy to brand, I planted my loot.

Meet Veronica....

Isn't she lovely, with her coy, curling ways?

I have high hopes for this girl! 

One of my beds has been neglected, and I needed something with distinct form and moderate height....I think Veronica will give me what I'm looking for, here. 

Zone 3-7.

And the fussy sisters....Agastache

I messed up, here, and probably will chalk these ladies up to very expensive annuals due to garden amnesia.

The first rule of my gardening manifesto is:

"Thou shall not culture fussy plants."

I completely blew the zone...6-9....when I'm a 3 or possibly 4 on the right side of the house.

I was all entranced by their delicate mango blossoms and healthy growth.

I've been eyeing agastache in High Country Gardens, pretending I could incorporate them into my beds and then accidentally went and bought a couple.

We'll see.

Rudbeckia, my little workhorses....

They look so...short and pointless, right now! 

One of the things I love about gardening (and gardeners) is that one can look at a tiny, seemingly insignificant plant or seed and see the promise of full grown plants.

Relocated Alcea (hollyhocks)....

They don't LIKE being moved around, so I'm hoping they'll forgive me and grudgingly grow here.  I need the height in this spot and am too impatient to wait for the seeds to grind away for two years before blooms appear....

Love/hate tulips...

Maggie wants purple tulips next year....

Perhaps, if I think of it in time, we can find a good spot for purple tulips.

Little pansies, waiting for a home.

No blooms!

When I worked at the greenhouse, I had a hard time convincing customers to buy the plants without the blossoms, even though those are the ones you really want. 

When a plant starts putting all its energy into the bloom, the foliage and roots come in second and third place.  I like looking at the blooming plants in the green house, just to see what they'll be for sure, but when I buy my plants to take home, I look for the ones that haven't started yet.

AND if they do have blossoms, I pinch 'em off as I plant them.

That sounds mean, doesn't it?

It's really doing a favor to the plants and ensures stronger, healthier growth in the long run.

Sort of like spanking kids to discipline them. That's how I look at it, anyway.

Here's a row of marigolds that have been shorn of their flowers, waiting for their tomato companions to be planted next to the white stakes.

I know.  Blows your mind that I planted anything in a straight row, doesn't it?

Here's an intoxicating little plant:

Chocolate mint

It smells like a peppermint patty! 

It gets lots of love, because everytime anyone comes near it, its little leaves get rubbed to release that glorious aroma...

Lemon balm....also much carressed and adored.

Baby chamomile! 

Chamomile smells like apples....even on the hottest days of summer, if I crush some chamomile and smell it, I get a cool, fresh feeling. 

Some of the seeds I planted last week are coming up!

Actually, they're exploding out of the dirt in the raised veggie beds.

Peas are the most beautiful little plants.  They have little tendrils that reach like arms and very humble, straightforward leaves.  I smile when I look at baby pea plants....because I can't hug 'em.

Carrots are not so adorable, as babies, but they make up for it later by being all feathery and elegant, when the peas have become tangled, misbehaving plants that quarrel amongst themselves.

Little envelopes, filled with gardeners' dreams....

It's raining again today, and I'm looking forward to slogging out and planting the patient little pansies, pulling weeds and making more plans for my next trip to the greenhouse!

Dieciséis de Mayo!

*Pinata pictures added! Scroll down.

Other people have Cinco de Mayo parties....we have ours a bit later. 
(All the stuff is on sale, that way!)

Actually, the fiesta this year was held on the last day of school as a farewell/thank you party for Celestia and Jasper, our teachers for the last five years and dear friends for much longer than that.  It was tons of fun, but there was also a tiny bit of sadness, because we're going to miss them so very much. 

It has been raining...a LOT...so we weren't sure there was going to be much of a crowd at all. Fiestas are much more fun outside, but this year we set up in the Cohagen Gym and it worked out pretty well, actually.  It helps when there are miles of tacky plastic Mexican cut-out flags to string around and sombreros for everyone! Add mariachi music, lots of good food, great company and margharitas and it all comes together into a great party....

Cowboys, desperados, and senioritas...

Pancho and Lefty....appearing on posters in U.S. Post Offices near you.

The guests of honor, hitting the taco/enchilada line before anyone else.  Cohagen cooks are excellent and generous, and we enjoy every morsel! There was a particular chocolate brownie trifle that we all want the recipe for....if I get my hands on it, there'll be a recipe post, here, because it's to die for. (In fact, I think the cook called it Death By Chocolate, come to think of it...)

Everyone looks cooler in sombreros, don't you think?

The problem we ran into was hugging!  Apparently, Mexicans don't hug too often; either that or they have developed a technique that allows for it without knocking sombreros off left and right. 

AND there's almost nothing cuter than kids in sombreros!

Witness the adorable vibes....

Good vibes coming from the Bull Pen, too!

I wouldn't exactly call it adorable, but good vibes nontheless...

This picture doesn't do Baby Hannah justice.  She's the most adorable little thing!  I talked her folks into letting me hold her while they ate....pretending it was a favor, when really it was a favor for ME.  We played by the stereo; she was enthralled with the mariachi music and it was fun to dance and swoop with her! 

Three of my favorite women in the world, discussing the meaning of life I'm sure....

Speaking of desperados....

If it wasn't for the big hat, he'd have been able to slip in the line and abscond with a couple dozen Jello blocks, unnoticed.

Traci told me that she ordered a cake (last minute, at Costco) with Mexican wishes, but when it was time to leave, she had to grab a "Happy Birthday" cake instead; the other cake wasn't anywhere to be seen.  So she scraped the wrong sentiment off and put an appropriate Thank You on it.  We think somewhere in Billings there's a birthday party with a Hasta Luego cake...

And the pinata!  I don't have pictures of the destruction, but Traci does and as soon as I can talk her into sharing, I'll add them to the post...

The pinata got knocked off the rope, but still didn't break, so I had to hold it while this little girl whacked away at it.  She was last in line, being the oldest, so I thought it only fair to let her work on it, having had to wait through all the other kids.

 Ended up having to just shake the candy out...

...on their greedy little heads and sombreros. Incidentally, if you're wearing a sombrero and picking up candy while more is falling, the hat acts as extra hands because candy falls on the brim!

Making sure there's no more candy in the pinata.  The little girl beside me swiped up one package of licorice and was good with that.  Just open it and eat it and let the other shmoes scrabble around in the dirt.

Loot

Nice job! Plenty of candy for the first day of summer vacation!

My co-host, looking quite spiffy in her sombrero!

A good time was had by all and we are already looking forward to next year's party!

Crazy Mary....the May Edition

I have a few questions from an anonymous (and I think, perhaps, mutually crazy) reader.  They're probing, in-depth queries and I hope I can do them justice in just one post.  These are questions you've probably always wanted to know about crazy people, but were afraid to ask....

Well, pour a mimosa, kick off your fluffy bunny slippers and prepare to be amazed.  (Amused. Appalled.  There's any number of "A" words that work in that sentence.

1. What’s your favorite non-sport game?

Tricky. 

I have two.

If forced with a gun to play a board game, I'd choose Pictionary.  I really have a hard time with board games and cards because they require me to sit in one place a long time.  But Pictionary is actually fun and there's action, suspense, and quite often, humorous results from the speedy drawings. 

One memorable time, I was playing Pictionary with the Yosts and Ty and I were partners.  We were smoking along until I got the word "lungs".  Timer started, I drew the body shape and then added (what I thought were perfectly drawn) lungs.  Ty said, "I'm not guessing that one, Mary Jane.  I'm not going there!"  I had NO idea what he was talking about and was getting really impatient with him not guessing.  When the timer ended, me mad and him embarrassed, the girls were DYING with laughter...like, tears it was so funny....at my picture of what looked likes sagging...anyway.  That picture hung around in the box for just ever and we laughed every time we ran across it. 

The other non-sport game I like, which was the one I was going to list first but wasn't sure it counted, is pool.  Billiards.  It is so much fun!  And I'm absolutely the worst pool player in the world, but I love that there's strategy, physics (angles and applied force), teams, lots of visiting between times you shoot....there's action.  You can walk around the table, chalk your cue stick, take tons of time pretending to set up an impossible shot that accidentally sometimes works...this is my favorite non-sport game. 

There was an old pool table in the high school dorm where I lived and we figured out the weird tilts to the table, the particular curves to each stick, the rough spots that would slow a ball.  Sort of messed us up for REAL pool, it turns out; level tables, straight sticks, smooth felt.

2. What’s your favorite riddle?

It's obscure and ancient.  I learned it from an antique nursery rhyme book and no one has ever really heard it....see if you are familiar with it:  "Thirty white horses upon a red hill; now they prance, now they dance, now they stand still."  What are they?

3. Outside God and His immediate family, who is your favorite biblical character?

I like Peter.  He was impulsive; walking on the water without thinking about the impossibility first. He was passionate; cutting off the ear of the Roman soldier who came to arrest Jesus.  He was loyal and at the same time, a bit cowardly; boldly stating that he'd stand beside his Lord, then denying him three times out of fear. But did you ever notice? Peter was only one of the two disciples that followed Jesus to the court of the high priest. Even though he denied Christ three times, he still was one of the only ones to follow to that scary place! Impulsive. Passionate. Loyal. Scared.

 I think Peter must've been the disciple that the others called crazy, but in a good way.  

4.  What’s your favorite movie theme song?

OH! Really?  A movie theme song?  I actually put a lot of thought into this one...sadly, since I could've been spending time and brain cells coming up with some sort of solution for global warming. 

The one song that I LOVE hearing is the Indiana Jones theme song.  It's grand, big, bold....one of the songs that perfectly embodies the complete feeling of the picture.  You can hear that song anywhere and immediately go straight into adventure mode. At least I do.  I think THAT would be a great song for graduation!

5. Who is your favorite Greek god/goddess?

Hermes.  He was a messenger from the gods to the mortals, protector of travellers and shepherds and cowherds, god of literature and poets, of athletes, of inventors and of commerce.  He also takes care of old crones, which I'm starting to see as a really cool thing.  The Greeks attribute the invention of fire, the lyre, and...this is funny...the sport of boxing to him.  Not many people remember him, because of Apollo, Zeus and all the big dogs.  

6. What toppings would you use to create the perfect hamburger?

Here's how I would make the perfect burger:

First, the burger would have a dip in the center, concave instead of the convex burgers we usually wrestle with.  That way there'd be a handy little cup for the sauce.  Barbeque sauce that's homemade, dark and complex, probably concocted by my dad. He makes the best sauces! It would be warm, too...just off the stove where it had been simmering. 

I have to have bacon...not the wimpy two strip deal, but four or five strips not too crispy, not too limp.  They would reside UNDER the burger, between it and the bun.  Does it drive you crazy that the bacon always slides off as you eat the thing?  It does me, and I think this would eliminate that problem.

Speaking of the bun....I want a Fuddruckers bun.  Better than homemade but sort of like homemade.  If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting a Fuddruckers hamburger bun, I strongly suggest you hunt one down and discover the wonder. They're made to taste sort of buttery and they feel too light to hold a burger but somehow they stay together.  And you don't end up with that whole "it's all bun and no meat" feeling.

Okay...back to the toppings....I'd have a slice of grilled pinapple on top of the barbeque sauce, melted white cheddar cheese over that, and some sliced green chili peppers on the cheese that have been lightly sauteed in butter.  A twist of fresh ground pepper...just one twist....and  top with the other half of the toasted Fuddruckers bun. 

That would be my perfect burger. 

And so ends the rather longish list of fun questions!
Send any questions you have...there's none too stupid for me to tackle...and I'll do a Crazy Mary post. 

True Confession #317

It's been awhile, hasn't it? 

Yeah, well....some of you are still reeling from the whole People magazine love.  I didn't think it would be good to spring another confession on you right away. 

But it's time. 

This will make my brother and a couple other friends roll their eyes and snort in their beer.  Ah, well...

Here it is:



I love sports movies. 
Love 'em!
Any sport....football, basketball, soccer, figure skating, rodeo, hockey....you name it, I like it.  EVEN (and this is the most painful part of the confession...) NASCAR movies.  Although, and I have to say it, I don't quite understand how rodeo is NOT classified as a sport by ESPN, but NASCAR is.  AND...this still baffles me...poker!  I digress...

The second half of the true confession...and this is where the rolling of the eyes will commence....is that I cry in nearly every one.  Yes.  Small town-local-kid-does-good movies can make me sob.  I cried during The Replacements, for heaven's sake.  And Miracle.  And Karate Kid. And that silly Ice Castles movie. Hoosiers takes me completely out....every time. 

Tonight, I made my family watch The Rookie. 
They were just excited that I was going to sit and watch a movie with them, so they agreed to anything. 
Turns out, I'm the only sports movie fan in the house. 
It moves too slow, there's too much to figure out, they don't really understand baseball. 

It had Dennis Quaid in it! I don't mind telling you,  I'd watch a remake of Captain Kangaroo with Dennis Quaid in it.  He wouldn't even have to say anything, just stand there and look handsome.  And grin.  And wink his blue eyes.....*sigh*

What was I talking about?

Oh, yeah...The Rookie. 

It had all the ingredients for a good sports movie.  Young kid, big dream; misunderstood, cold father; small town; cute little kid; smart mouthed teens; impossible, amazing, too-good-to-be-true winning season after two (or 10) seasons where only one game was won each year.....
AND it was rated G.

It took place in West Texas...Big Lake....and I swear they cast my Aunt Bert as the wife of Jimmy Morris.  The whole movie, I was stunned how much that woman resembled Bert! 

The thing that really made me emotional was that the coach who came from a small town and went big was about my age, now, and he never stopped liking baseball.  He never stopped pitching, even if it was at night, against a fence, with his son asleep in the back seat.  He did all the right things, like getting a real job and taking good care of his family, but he never lost the passion or spark for baseball.  And he worked at passing it on to the next generation. (I know.  Just like all sports movies...)

That, and it was Dennis Quaid.  I mean, my goodness...!
:)

So now you know....sports movies are probably the only kind I'll actually sit down and watch all the way through without stopping to change the laundry around or check my email.  Sports movies and Downton Abbey.  And I'll cry, so if that makes you uncomfortable, you can go check YOUR email while tears run down my face; sappy, happy tears.

Snips and Snails

Sometimes, I think we know too much.

Not me, necessarily, but people on the whole.
We know about germs, bacteria, salmonella, calories,bedbugs, meteors, carbon dating, parasites, cholesterol and more.
And knowing all these things, we live in a constant state of awareness and are cautious about nearly everything. Knowledge isn't a bad thing....I'm not saying that at all.  I'm so thankful that we're able to prevent many diseases or cure them, eliminate awful pestilence and so forth. 

Here's what I mean....
I was driving to town a couple days ago, looking at the puddles alongside the road, thinking how cool it would be if I saw a turtle and could take it home to the kids.  Then in a flash, I remembered that kids weren't supposed to handle turtles because they carry salmonella.  And THEN, I got a little mad, thinking of all the things my kids aren't supposed to do because of all the stuff we know about and try to keep them safe from.  

When I was a kid, we packed frogs and turtles around nonchalantly....and LIVED.  We ate raw cookie dough, cake batter and whatever else we could lick off the beaters that Mom handed to us....and LIVED.  We ran around barefoot, through goodness knows what, probably all sorts of viscious parasitic life forms....and LIVED.  We ate buttered popcorn, milk that was not skim, cookies and all sorts of baked goods made with real sugar, and bacon....and LIVED. 

We rode bikes because it was fun, not because we had to have a certain amount of exercise everyday to stay healthy.  And played in piles of old metal and glass without any thought to tetanus, whatsoever.  (You can't believe the treasures to be found in old scrap iron heaps on a ranch....) We rode horses without wearing helmets to protect our thick skulls if we were bucked off.  I'm sure we drank water that wasn't purified, although that was something we were cautioned against. 

And lived.

I wished on shooting stars, completely unaware that they were actually flaming rocks entering the atmosphere; they were magic.  I was always enchanted. I still am.

I can't tell you how many times I thought the rainbow was at the end of our pasture, not knowing that it was simply water in the air with light refracting through it.

I thought fairy rings of toadstools really were there because of fairies, with no knowledge of fungus and its properties. 

My kids have more knowledge earlier.  They're safer.  They're probably healthier.  They are going to live to be old, wise people, I'm sure.  And that's a good thing.  But part of me is sort of sad that they are going to have a constant worry about nearly everything....they'll not be as free or believe in crazy things because they'll know better.