Found a snack in the greenhouse - cats are a good thing

The good news is that the seeds are sprouting and the seedlings are starting to look like real plants. I have tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, parsley, onion, green beans, green peppers and strawberries.

The bad news is there was a snake out in the greenhouse today. Fortunately it was a dead snake, killed by the cat.  Looks like the common garter snake, but it still gives me that creepy feeling.  And I was very tentative  while watering.


Mr friend told me not to plant strawberries, because snakes love them, but I know it's not the strawberries yet because the plants are not up yet.  I guess this is just  the little added bonus that gardens bring.  A little organic bonus

Read more...

Spring is the best time for Natural Exercise - Planting Seeds

I have been getting some good exercise just because the weather is warmer.  I love Spring.  One thing that I have done this Spring is planted seeds - tomatoes, lettuce, onions, beans and spinach.  I bought strawberry plants too.  I love gardening itself, but I especially love all the exercise it gives me.

I also spent an afternoon raking leaves.  But the hardest workout I got was shoveling mulch.  My local park has huge piles of free mulch and compost.  It is a great program.  They chop up all the Christmas trees and other tree branches that they trim and have them available for any gardeners to use in their gardens.  There is also rich, dark compost from animal manure from the St. Louis Zoo.  Someone told me it was elephant dung, but either way, it is good stuff.

So I hired a neighborhood handyman and we loaded up the trailer and when to the park and spent about 2 hours shoveling mulch onto the trailer.  Boy did I work up a sweat.  And then of course we spent another hour unloading the mulch.

Springtime exercise is my favorite kind.

Read more...

Spring Fever - Walking among the Daffodils - Stop and smell the flowers

My favorite new hobby - walking - spring fever has hit hard and I am sure enjoying walking in the fresh air.  The crocus and daffodils are blooming and they are so beautiful this year.

Here are a few that are in my yard - they seem to be just the normal yellow variety, but I am not complaining.  I love the yellow clusters.

Checking out the flowers makes me walk further - when I see some in the distance I want to walk up and see them first hand - so that helps me go further.

I am looking forward to the additional exercise I will get when I am out in the garden planting. Here in St. Louis we have to wait until May 1st to be totally safe from frost.  But I am preparing the beds, getting loads of mulch from the park and spreading them.

My body feels tired in a good way from all the mulching, shoveling and raking.  Definitely prefer this type of exercise - working my body hard and getting something accomplished.

What about you - what is your favorite natural exercise?

Read more...