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Baltimore Oriole Bribery…

June 6, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

Baltimore-Oriole-attraction

Once I really saw the Baltimore Orioles this year, I got my heart set on wanting them to nest in OUR yard. But I think I learned the tricks of the trade a little too late this year. I know I did. Surely they were already building nests, if not settled in already, by the time I heard about using Baltimore Oriole bribery, of leaving string and such to help them along in building their nests. They’d been around for a couple of weeks by then. The Baltimore Orioles do come to visit in our yard quite a bit throughout the day, though. I think they realize by now, by the abundance of other birds and critters who hang out here, that our yard is the place to be! But the Orioles do seem to be nesting in neighboring yards, and frankly, I’m jealous!

Nonetheless, I’m still desperate enough to hope that, like people, the Orioles might decide to move! To our yard, of course. At the very least, I am showing them that this is where all of the GOOD STUFF is, and maybe they’ll remember that next year, when they fly in from South America. I’ll be ready for them, and on time. Meanwhile, this year they are welcome to come over and perch, sing, play and feast, anytime they’d like.

Filed Under: Life In General, Nature Study, The Big Picture, The Homestead Tagged With: attracting-orioles, Baltimore Oriole, bird-watching

Re-potting Our 6 Tiny Potted Plants

June 1, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

potting soil on garden shovel

If you’ve been visiting us here at our blog for awhile, you may remember when we planted these 6 tiny-potted plants, and later when we gave an update on their sprouts growth.  Well the time came re-potting our 6 tiny potted plants.

We initially thought when that time came for transplanting, it would be outdoors into the ground, but we don’t think their quite ready for THAT yet. The thing is, they kind of seemed to stop growing pretty much after that growth update, and we decided they must be root-bound. So we bought some cheap (but pretty!) pots and got to work.

First, the kids gathered some rocks from the driveway and put them in the bottom of each pot, to ensure proper drainage when watering. Then they put in some potting soil, some plant food, and a little more soil. Then they transferred their plants from their tiny pots to their new pots.

tiny-potted-plants

Below, {O} transplants hers.

child re-potting plant

{J} transplants his.

boy re-potting plant

{A} shows {J} all of the roots bound up at the bottom of her plant.

kids-looking-at-plant-roots

{S} makes sure his plant is all snug and pressed down into the new soil, after the transfer.

boy re-potting-plant

(O} gets hers in there just right.

little girl re-potting plant

{A} had to 2 of hers to re-pot; one being not of the 6, but another she had from awhile ago.

older girl re-potting plant

Just a shot I had to take. : )

potting soil on garden shovel

Here they are all done! You can kind of tell they’ve just been through a bit of a traumatic journey, but we know they will settle in and thrive in their new pot homes, once they get comfortable and used to their new surroundings. We hope eventually they will be big and strong enough to go into the ground, but for now they are lined up along the windows of our kitchen sink.

re-potting-little-plants

Did you notice we transferred our initial letters too? Where competitions go, it’s never over until there is no hope of winning, and none of us lose hope very easily! We’ll let you know if they really start to grow and thrive, and be in need of being transplanted again. Who knows…they may just make it to God’s rich earth someday! At least we’re all hoping so.

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE, Gardening, Homeschooling, Nature Study, Science Tagged With: homeschooling, homeschooling-elementary-science, kids-gardening, kids-growing-plants, kids-re-potting-plants

Lilacs for you . . . . . .

May 28, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

lilacs displaye in home

. . . . but mostly Lilacs for me.

Now that the Lilac clusters were all fully bloomed, the scent on the breeze around our home has been just beautiful.  I just HAD to clip some and bring some inside.

As soon as I brought the Lilacs into the house, my son said “But Mama, what if bugs live in there and they come in our house?”  To which I replied “Oh Honey, I don’t think there are any in there.”  No sooner did I get the words out of my mouth, did a baby spider drop down on a silk swing, right out of the Lilacs.

My son follows me into the kitchen and asks if I think they are all out now, and I told him “I think so, Babes”. And then….a little fruit-like-fly flies out almost into his face.  “Ok…NOW, I think they are all out.” lol

I placed them in the sun room, and it was no time before they permeated the whole house.   They are simply lovely to have around, so I thought I would share them with you.  I wish you could smell them too, but unless your computer monitor is of the scratch-n-sniff type, I think you’re out of luck!

Enjoy!

lilacs displaye in home

lilacs displaye in home

Filed Under: Home Decor, The Homestead Tagged With: cut-flowers-in-home, fresh-flowers-home-decor, lilacs

What’s growing around our house right now – Flower Photography

May 20, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

Not too much to say today really, but I did take some shots of what’s growing around our house at the moment, so I thought I’d share some of my flower photography with you.  I hope you enjoy them!

Pink Apple Blossoms of the apple tree. The petals are looking a little beat down from all of the rain,
but there is more buds to bloom, and I think they are beautiful none-the-less.

pink-apple-blossom

apple-blossom

Lilacs of the Lilac Tree. Still have lots of bud-opening to do as you can see. They put out such a lovely scent though – don’t they?

  lilacs

Purple Phlox. Such a pretty ground covering.

phlox
Bell Flowers
bell flowers

Pink Azaelias. This Azaelias bush was here when we bought the house.  I look forward to it’s blooming every year.
azaelias

I have to admit, of these photos, only the Azaelias are actually on our property.  The trees and other flowers are actually just on the other side of our property line.  But we manage that property, so it’s all as good as ours.  : )  We sure enjoy it all.

The hostas are in their full glory. The tulips I was so looking forward to had not been bloomed for 2 days before their heads just got chopped off in one bite at the upper stem. Decapitated, with their heads just laying there on the ground, to be clear. It’s happened in years passed (and makes me mad as the dickens!)  Who does it?  Is it the squirrels?  I’m not sure-but I suspect so.

That’s all for today!  Come back soon!

Filed Under: Nature Study, Photography, Photography & Lettering, The Homestead Tagged With: azaelias, bell-flowers-apple-blossoms, flower photography, flowers, lilacs, phlox

Update on the 6 Tiny Potted Plants

April 26, 2008 By Laura 1 Comment

tiny potted plants

Here’s a quick little update on our 6 Tiny Potted Plants!  As you can see above, the plants are coming along nicely! There is a labeled photo below for reference. The first to sprout were mine and {JM’s}, which would be the Hollyhock.  Daddy and O’s Rudbeckia started to come up next, and then we had several days of nothing from {A’s} and {S’s} Delphinium.  We started to worry a little, when finally we spotted some wee little sprouts.

I think what we have discovered is very consistent results between the alike species, in terms of growth rates.  They have been really fun to watch grow these past several days.  The next time I post about them again, it may be because it is time to transplant them outdoors in our flower beds.  I can’t wait to see the colorful flowers among the greens.

tiny potted plants

The hostas (below) are coming up beautifully!  Just look how tall and green they’ve become! They aren’t pathetic little nubs anymore! They are starting to open, and it won’t be long before they really start filling out those beds. We need to put some mulch out there, and some railroad ties will be going along the back there, behind them.  But I am enjoying them as they are, already.  I didn’t take photos of the tulips, because I didn’t get over to there, but the buds have sprung up from the center of the leaves.

hostas

Below are photos of the type of shrubs that are along the head of our driveway.  For some reason, I thought they were called Junipers.  It may be that the man we bought this house and property from years ago, told us that – because I surely would not have known what type of bush/ground cover they were all those years ago (or much cared back then!) But that is why I am posting them. Not too long ago, in the last couple of years anyway, when I referred to them as Junipers to someone, they informed me that that’s not what they are. (I think it may have been my mother-in-law?).  But they weren’t sure what they were, exactly. So if anyone does know what they are, please e-mail me or comment. At some point at least some of them are going to need to be removed, and I would like to find out the best way to transplant elsewhere in the yard, if possible.  But in researching that info, it would be helpful if I knew what they were!  Don’t you think?

shrubbery
shrubbery

That’s all for now.  We’ve got some fun crafty projects coming up, so I’m sure I’ll be posting again real soon.

 

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE, Gardening, Homeschooling, The Homestead Tagged With: homeschooling, homeschooling-elementary-science, hostas, potted-plants

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