Garden 2009... Carrots anyone?

The bounty is non-stop. I think I may have to invest in that fancy food saver that Paul is always raving about! This weekend (after returning from Pittsburgh) we went to tend to the garden. We tied up the tomatos (lots of green ones!!!), weeded where the new pea sprouts are coming up, harvested some lettuce, pulled a few heads of broccoli, and then picked a few summer squash and zucchinis (see picture1 below)


Then we decided to checked on the carrots and potatoes. Really how long are they suppose to grow?

TADA!!!

We were shocked! What the hell are we going to do with all these carrots? Plus we have some more growing for a 'late season' harvest. I am not sure that the kids will eat that many crunchy or sauteed carrots. I proposed to them that they eat them for breakfast; cut up with milk. CJ was in -- but Alexander called my bluff.

Since we had success with the one root vegetable, we checked on the potatoes! WOO-HOO!! We made great big potatoes! These are just the three feet of the 20 foot row of this crop. So if you have any great potato and carrot recipes --- SEND THEM TO US!


Here is my funny moment of the day. Once this was pulled up, I just had to laugh. But then again, my mind always goes to the gutter first and foremost.

Pittsburgh, who knew?

Who knew you could have so much fun in Pittsburgh?

Zack has wanted to take me and the kids to see the new PNC Park for awhile. On a bit of a whim, he took off work this past Friday and we headed out on an adventure. The kids were so excited to be going to the zoo, riding a boat to a Pirates game, going to a baseball game and staying in a hotel.

Even though it started to pour the MOMENT we walked into the zoo gates, we had a blast. The animals were engaging and so close you felt that you could pet them. Zack and I were stunned at how cool this zoo was -- and how the kids, of course, were just concerned with what to see next.


My personal favorite: The Bengal Tiger. CJ (in the green raincoat) just dazed at this creature. Without the glass, we could have snuggled with it!

Couldn't go to Pittsburgh without running into a Penguin fan...

This guy dove into the water and swam directly over to the kids. Then played with them by patting his wings on the glass to splash at them.

You can see how these little experiences made them want more!


Is it a girl thing? CJ loves merry-go-rounds while Alexander won't step foot on one. This was her "favorite part of the day".


We were waiting for the shark to swim over and Zack was getting a bit tired. Can you tell?


Here we are on the boat over to the game. Still raining off and on, but we are all still happy and having fun!



At the game. Alexander wanted to know if we would see fireworks afterwards. We told him that no, not tonight. But then two batters later -- a player hit a homerun and they shot off fireworks...


You can see his joy with that!


The next morning we rode the "incline" up the hill to a great Pittsburgh overlook. The kids thought the ride was cool and we loved the view.


Only 28 hours in the city, but who knew we could have so much fun???!

Happy Birthday Sweet Jean!

Since work has been ridiculously crazy lately (http://www.centredaily.com/talk-about/story/1398607.html), I haven’t had a chance to plan a big celebration for my beautiful wife’s 37th birthday today. And, to be honest, as of this writing, I haven’t even had a chance to buy her a gift. I think this makes me a bad husband.

But allow me to defend myself. I did make breakfast in bed for the Birthday Girl this morning, with the “help” of the kids. And I will figure out an awesome gift for her in the next three hours. OK, I know that’s not much.

But in an attempt to make up for my bad-husbandness, I wanted to write a quick post to prompt everyone to leave Happy Birthday comments for Jean and tell her how beautiful she is, and how great a daughter/wife/mom she is. And for those who have had a chance to witness her tremendous hosting skills recently, please also tell her how great a CHEF she is (bit of an inside joke there, but go along with it even if you don’t understand it).



You see, from the moment I met Jean way back in 1993, it has been driven into my head that Jean’s Birthday is The Most Important Day of the Year – bigger than any national holiday, and certainly more important than anyone else’s birthday. And, while she really doesn’t put any pressure on me to do anything spectacular for her (thankfully), God help me the day I forget to wish her a Happy Birthday the moment my eyes open on July 15th.

So, without getting too sappy, here’s to you Jean. Happy Birthday! You truly are the best thing to every happen to me, and you make me a better person every single day. Not that this is about me! It’s about you and the tremendous joy you bring into the lives of those around you. I can’t think of a person who doesn’t appreciate your honesty, love your wit, and genuinely enjoy being around you. I am unbelievably happy that you were born on this day in 1972. And I am so grateful that you choose to spend The Most Important Day of the Year with me every year.

Love You!

Active Summer

If we haven't written it here before, it's worth repeating that the thing we like most about being in Happy Valley is the summer weather. The summer weather also happens to be one of the things that I hated most about DC. A typical July day in State College includes temperatures in the mid to upper 70s, a light breeze, and low humidity. Compare that to the mid to upper 80's, stagnant air, and high humidity of the DC swamp, and it's easy to see why we prefer it here. Of course, we suffer through long and pretty cold winters, but I am happy to make that trade.

All of that being said, we have made a commitment this summer to get outside and enjoy it. Whether that is spending more time in the yard, gardening, having fires in the fire pit, playing softball, going to parks, or getting to a nearby state park or forest, we've been pretty successful so far. Jean has already written about her two 5Ks this summer (ok, one 5K and one 4K, but you get the point), which I believe is a record.

As for me, I am trying to be less of an Aspirational Outdoorsman, and more of an actual one. Take for example the overnight camping trip I took my nephews Andrew and Spencer on. One night in a state park on 15 miles from home is not exactly Everest, I understand. But it was a start to organize a 14 year old and a 16 year old for hiking and camping - and we pulled it off without a hitch. Penn Roosevelt State Park was the destination, a small state park nestled within the much larger Rothrock State Forest, and right on the Mid-State Trail, a footpath that bisects the Commonwealth of PA from Maryland to New York. After setting up camp in the morning, we set off on a 9 mile hike along the MST. Despite the threat of rain all day, we stayed dry and the only real excitement was Ripley's attack on a never-seen porcupine. It was so exciting that I completely forgot to take of picture of poor Ripley with ten quills sticking out of her nose, muzzle, and gums. The picture below was taken only a few minutes after said attack, and as you can see, Rips is just fine. In fact, she went right back to chasing everything that moved for the rest of the day.



To further prove our amateur camper status, Jean, Ruth, and the three little ones brought dinner to our campsite and we had a great picnic! We were able to build a modest fire despite the soggy conditions, which was probably the greatest feat of the weekend. Well, maybe not the greatest.

That honor would belong to Alexander, who decided to camp out with us and then go on our hike the next morning. We chose a steep hike to the top of a mountain in hopes that we could climb the fire tower and get great views. After a few minutes of complaining that he was tired (only ten minutes into a 2 hour hike!), we put Alexander in the front and he led us all the way to the top! Even the teenagers were impressed! Unfortunately, our luck was about to run out... Turns out that the fire tower is now closed to hikers - and there are no views from this very high mountain top. And after a quick lunch in the shadow of the tower, we started heading back down to the car, only to get caught in a massive downpour! And, while I was somewhat prepared for the rain with ponchos for Alexander and me, he was not prepared to get wet while being ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTED. Meltdown ensued, so Andrew and I had to run 1.5 miles downhill to get the truck and rescue him and Spencer from the side of the mountain, just as the rain stopped. Thankfully, the boy has NOT been scarred for life, but didn't hesitate to remind me several times that he was unhappy about the rain...

Overall, I'd say a successful outing - and hopefully one that clears the way for more camping in the future.

Oh, and one more thing - CJ was absolutely DEVASTATED that she couldn't camp out with us in the forest. She, Alexander, and I had done a successful night out in the tent in the yard, so she thought she was ready...maybe there is hope that my little diva could be an outdoors diva someday!

Ripley... Believe it or Not

I am a bit surprised that I haven't yet blogged about Ripley before. She really is a big part of our family and daily adventures. Thinking back on it, many decisions have been made with her in mind. Such as:
>When moving to State College we need a big yard for her to play in.
>If we buy the Prius, will Ripley fit in the hatchback.
>Does the vacation rental accept dogs.
>When we go to visit family, whose house will allow her.
>Which park/forest to go hiking in ... that allows dogs.
>How to pack the car for a long trip to ensure that her dog bed is on top and has a good view.... you get the point.

One of her characteristics that we enjoy the most is her love of the hunt. She is constantly on patrol around the house (within the confines of the electric fence), warding off cats, birds, groundhogs, chipmunks, bunnies, and the occasional skunk. It's our own personal Wild Kingdom episode. Of that list, she has only lost the fight to the skunk. Three times. Okay, she is not the smartest dog. But I digress.

Over the last two years she has been productive in her "guarding the perimeter" duties. We have cleaned up 2 groundhogs, a black bird (she grabbed that one out of the air as it dove towards Alexander's head in the sandbox), a chipmunk (that unfortunately I shooed out of the garage into her waiting chompers), and a nest of new robin chicks. As for the cats and bunnies, she has chased them along the boundaries so often that we swear they have figured out where her electric fence is. The kids thought we should get the other animals collars so that they would stay out. Good idea, just hard to implement.

All of this brings me to the last week in the life of Ripley. Or should I say, Killer.

Ripley went hiking with Zack and our two nephews. She loves to do figure-eights along the path searching and sniffing out animals. Much to Zack's surprise, she returned with a snout full of porcupine quills. Never did see the porcupine, but it was interesting to see how amazingly sharp those needles really are... it took pliers to get the few in her mouth/nose/gums out. I still wonder how the porcupine fared.

A few nights go, we were walking through the garden after dusk and were surprised to find a rabbit and her six itty-bitty bunnies buffeting on carrot stems. When they scattered a foot out of the garden and then froze in shock in the open grass -- Ripley went BERSERK! It sort of reminded me of the scene in Nemo when the shark that doesn't eat fish smells the blood from Dori and chases her about the ocean. Just take that and replace the ocean with our backyard.

Fortunately, Zack corralled Ripley and stuffed her inside the house while we tried to shoo the bunnies out of the yard - unsuccessfully. Skip forward to the next day when I was in the garden with the kids doing some weeding/chores after I checked through to see if any bunnies were there. We were in and out of all the rows for at least 20 minutes. CJ got bored and I went to swing her on the adjacent playset, when....
Ripley came bouncing out of the potatoes with a bunny in her mouth.

This is when the Wild Kingdom is too close for comfort. As much as we love her hunting nature, I really hate seeing a baby bunny take its last breath of air and life. So what to do? Do I scold her for killing a rabbit (just because it is a baby) or praise her for doing her job?

There are so many factors I could consider: the rabbit was stealing from our food source, Darwin's survival of the fittest, the food chain, circle of life, etc. But all I can be sure of is:
1) The garden is safe and
2) Ripley's looking for seconds.

Garden 2009... the bounty begins

This year the big experiment in the garden has been to grow EVERYTHING from seed. We started back in late February with trays in the sun room and fancy seed warmers (think overpriced heating pad). Transplanted the growing seedlings twice to bigger pots, tempered the plants to outside and eventually got them into the ground outside a bit before Memorial Day.

Finally, we are starting to enjoy the fruits (or vegetables, in this case) of our labor.

With the peas already grown, picked, shelled and eaten/frozen, we are planting a new crop for the fall harvest.

Here are the kids shelling the daily pick of peas. Alexander really was a machine doing this job -- CJ on the other hand... Well, she ate more than she dropped and she dropped more than she put in the basket.

Now we are enjoying broccoli practically every other night and loving the freshness. Still waiting on green tomatoes to ripen, green beans, carrots, onions, peppers, potatoes and a mix of herbs to finish growing.

The kids work pulling weeds, watering (they fight over this chore) and laying down mulch, but they love pulling the veggies off and eating them for dinner that night. As for Zack and I... we love thinking that the veggies for the summer and frozen for winter only cost us about $35!

Perhaps we should think about a greenhouse, or row covers, or cold frames to extend the season even longer..... hmmmmm. 2010 Garden plans begin.


Buttercrisp lettuce. Enough for a week. But after already harvesting that same amount 3 times prior, we still have about 3 more cuttings to go!


CJ and her "bouquet" of broccoli.


Enjoyed this last night, steamed with some butter and salt. YUMMY!

Funny this and that... Part II

So far age 5, is all good. He is innocent, fairly self-sufficient and has such a humorous outlook. Plus, when CJ is getting in trouble he turns into a show-off with his good manners and helpful nature. Alexander has been cracking me up.

For the grandparents and aunt in the reading audience, here are just two little remarks that made me laugh in the last day or so.

I'm on the phone (what a rare occurrence ;-)) when Alexander comes running into me.
Alexander: "MOMMY! I remembered how the song goes!"
Me: [shrug shoulders, confused look, point to phone]
Alexander: [singing and shaking his hips] "THERE'S A PARTY IN MY TUMMY, So Yummy, So Yummy!!"
He gives me a big smile and then runs off.

It was more than a week ago that we tried to think of that little ditty at the lunch table with no success. Sometimes I wish I had a way to know his train of thought.

At the pool, he was swimming around per usual. He really enjoys swimming underwater, so most of the time he is just bobbing up and down. This time he comes to the surface and says:
Alexander: "MOMMY! Watch this!"
[dunks under water, blows out bubbles in one big blup-blup]
Me: "Cool."
Alexander: "Yeah! I can make big bubbles with my breath!! I didn't know I could just make bubbles with my breath. I think they come from here.[points to tummy] Look -- I'll do it again!"

Discovery is an awe-inspiring moment.