Garden Changes and Other Stuff

Flowering Hens and Chickens

The last several days have been busy, with a lot of cleaning projects and adventures. The kids have all been doing great in TKD, and all 4 received their 2nd stripe on their current belts last week. They are up for Belt Testing again next week. If the oldest 2 pass this belt test, they will be invited into Black Belt Club. I am so very proud of their hard work.

The garden is coming along nicely. I posted a video tour of the garden yesterday on FB, but then spent all day cleaning the back yard and re-potting some of my plants. I pulled up the sickly looking Pea plants. Their season is past, and I started 3 months too late. They were a pale green color ~ and I needed the dirt :D I moved 2 of the vine type seedlings into the 2 DIY containers I made (and posted a blog on how to make them, check it out!). I keep wishing I had done the same thing to the bucket my big tomato plant is in, but I have a different tactic for that plant. I will make that one today, and post it up separately when I am done.





Some of the dirt went towards the burial of the potato plants. I need to look up how deep to plant them, I left some leaves up out of the dirt for now, to receive nutrients from the sun. One of the potato pots is not deep, and I had to add walls to the bucket to add in the extra dirt. It shouldn't be a problem, as the sun will shine directly in part of the day, and it will encourage them to grow taller.





The bell pepper plant is on the mend! I posted before that it was suffering, and that I was clueless about what to do (I need to figure out how to add links). Well, I was so desperate to stop it from dying off, that I mixed up a batch of Mir*cle Gr*w (not endorsing a product). I gave the bell pepper and tomato plants a very generous watering with that. Of course, I put the open box away somewhere safe, so I can't find it for a follow up dose. 3 days later, I crushed up 1 T*MS (chalky antacid, with fruity flavors- high in Calcium) for each plant I was treating, and sprinkled the fine powder over the roots of each of the plants. I also gave each plant a tsp of Epsom Salts (gotta be specific on that one) and then watered well. The improvement is impressive.

4-6-13

4-17-13 you can see the leaf crumpling and curling happening. It was much worse, before it got better.

5-19-13 you can see the damage done from the leaf crumpling, the growing pepper, and the good leaves coming in on the top.

I used the last of my dirt to help cover some of my more delicate seeming plants. Now I am out of good dirt, and this is a bad thing. I have more containers to fill, more seeds to plant! *grin*

Since I am out of dirt, I might as well turn my attention elsewhere. I spent a LOT of time cleaning up the toys and trash in the yard. The patio area was as bad as some bedrooms can get! Seriously. I found an entire load of laundry out there! When it was done, everything had been organized, set up, and ready to explore. I had the play kitchen along the house, for an "outdoor kitchen", but moved it into the playhouse with the toys all contained in a bucket for them to play with. My 2 year old assured me "I love it mom!" as she was checking it out.



A plastic fruit garden in the window box, and a dish drainer. Right, so the plants get watered while you do dishes. *grin*



To end on a sweet note, I will show you our kittens :) They are doing well, but are still skittish. They are afraid of everything in the house, and not bonded enough to try to return if we let them roam the back yard.

I am frazzled

I am really struggling to keep my calm. I have been dealing with the same issues on a constant basis for what seems like forever. I am at my wit's end some days, either clamping my mouth shut to keep from spitting out some harsh reality, or raising my voice which just leads to more issues. I am frustrated. I am angry, I feel used and taken advantage of.

There I said it. It's almost as if letting the words out takes a weight off my shoulders. I am able to take a deep breath.

THe fighting and whining of the children, the hitting and hurting of the children, and the insolence and disrespect of the children, these things are all grating on my nerves. Children were not made to be cooped up and they certainly are showing it.

We all need a break. A "vacation" from the normal day in and day out battles. I want so badly to plan a campout, but this economy has stripped even that little luxury away. I have been squirelling away ideas of things to do, and more for this summers adventures, but I think perhaps we will have a Staycation. :D

Today is teacher day. I am sideswiped by a sudden need to vacuum and steam the carpet, and to hunt down a funny smell in Wild Boy's room. I have bills to pay, appointments to make, calendar to set up and 4 months of lessons to plan for. Once I get past the smelly room, I think Iwill start setting up our adventure plan.

Ok, I can handle almost anything now. I've got my happy thought for today, and I will share it with the kids to get them on Team Momma for the upcoming adventures. The other issues we will keep on working on. I will find another way to approach the children in these hard life lessons, and the message WILL get across. My frustrations and anger will not help any of us do anything productive though, and I am happy to have found a way to let them go.

I need a "map", a spyglass, a tent or 2, some easy camping recipes... oh yes, and marshmallows.. I can't forget those!!

Have a wonderful day my friends!! G*d Bless you all!!

Lessons in Life, Learned through Kittens

You learn so many things when you are sharing your home with various pets, and so do the children. We have a very busy house here, between the children and the pets. Since we took in the 3 abandoned kittens, it has been even more so. The children think it's odd, but I make them tend to all of the regular pets' needs before they are even allowed to go peek in at the kittens. They have to understand that 3 mouths is more work... and they won't understand that by forgetting to care for their pets while there are babies in the house.

The whole crew is learning patience. During the day, the kittens are busy napping, recharging their little bodies from their explorations and romps with each other. It's taken until about 4:30 for the little furballs to start creeping out the door that I left cracked open about 2 hours before. My excited little ones could barely contain themselves for the first 20 minutes, because i made everyone sit in the living room, and wait for the kittens to come out. I explained why to the older kids earlier today, and I remind them when they do something that I had told them not to do.

Grey female, slept in the water dish.

You see, cats are very smart creatures. Even if these kittens had never seen a little box before, they KNOW deep down what it is for. Within 36 hours of being here, we are about 12 hours mess free. They know to keep where they sleep clean, and to bury their business. Now that I know they all prefer the sand, I can crack the bathroom door, and let them explore out from there. It's their safe place, and their potty place, so they will run there for all their needs. We closed off the bedrooms, since there are too many hiding places in there, and we don't want that yet. They have spent the last 2 days listening to the sounds of the house, they have been introduced to the dogs, and to all of the children. We know which children need 100% supervision, and which ones can be sure to calm little frayed nerves.

One of the rules I gave the kids was that the kittens were to explore their way out their selves. No picking them up and cuddling them somewhere else. No digging them out to see them. Stay calm, quiet and slow. These little creatures are still in fight or flight mode, especially while they are exploring new territory. They don't know where to hide, and if they can't feel safe, they will strike out with teeth and claw. The stripey one is the most easily spooked, while the grey and black ones are still hissing, but half heartedly. They love the cuddles and pets, and have already been heard starting their motor boxes (purring).

Some of the questions the kids have asked are easy to answer, like "What do they eat?" or "Why is it purring?". Other questions are much harder to answer, like "Why are the kittens scared of us? We saved them" and "What breed of cat are they?" or my favorite "How come all the babies are so very different? Did they have different daddies?" Oh boy!

Stripey male, getting some cuddle time.

For the scared question, I turned it around a few different ways. First I took a picture of a child or 2, from the view of the kittens, at the child's feet. At first, the child would laugh, surprised by the sight of their HUGE body. I explained that baby cats are very small, and very low to the ground. I explained that this is what they see when we come near, and the faster we move, the scarier it is. I asked how they would feel if a 50 foot giant was rushing across the room and reaching for them. One sweet child's eyes widened as she ducked at the idea. "Well, that's how those baby kittens feel! If you knew that you have sharp nails, and sharp teeth, what would you do to that giant hand scooping you up?" I asked. I could see understanding click, as she told me that she would bite and kick and scratch to get away.

Then I added another thought to the mix, "Now, these kittens are about a month old. They were born somewhere, where their mother nursed them, and where they were already exploring and knew every person and smell. They got caught, put in a box, and then left in the hot sun for an unknown amount of time. I am sure they thought it was forever. Then someone came, and lots of voices and smells and hands and NO MOM. They have food, and love, and shelter, but they don't know us." Little blue eyes looked up at me and said "We're Strangers!!!" Yes. Bingo. WE are the strangers.

So we talked about how those kittens felt, and how we needed to show them that we are good strangers. That we would get them used to all kinds of cool new things, and then, when the kittens are bigger, we will find their forever homes. This news, of course, leads to squeals of protest, and big alligator tears "Momma, not the ____ one!! It's my favorite and I love it!" I now know how my own mother felt at least 50 times in my 18+ years in her home. LOL How she feels even today, when she saw the post on FB. So far, I have stood very firm on not allowing them to name the tiny kittens. I know they have names all picked out, but that's not how we name them either. They cannot be named unless they are staying, and I cannot rationalize 3 cats in this house. They can have their first name given to them by their forever homes, so there is no confusion later when they end up with a different name.

Looking back over the years, I can remember so many cute, fluffy kittens, scared and looking for love. I would love them, cuddle them, feed them, play with them. That little ball of fluff would be my best and only friend, and we had grand adventures, long talks, wonderful naps in a warm patch of sunshine. I remember getting a free kitten from around the neighborhood when I was about 9 or 10. I knew I couldn't have a kitten, but I was SURE that THIS tiny kitten could be very quiet and hide well. I took it home and made it a home hidden in my cupboard. I was so crushed when my mom found it, and I had to give it back and was in trouble too.

In fact, I had a flashback to that memory, when we got home from the store with this box of half dead abandoned kittens. As we pulled up into the drive, my 10 year old daughter thought the best way to get the kittens past Daddy, was to hide them in their room. Perhaps this is some instinctive desire, going all the way back to the cave days, when some little child just HAD to save that poor saber tooth and hide it in her bed of animal skins. I don't know, but I told them that hiding the kittens would be a bad path to take. They quietly slipped the kittens into the house and got them water and food while I brought in the groceries and talked to the intimidating Daddy.

It wasn't any easier than when I would try to talk to my mom (on the inside), but I got through it. You see, there is a right way and a wrong way to handle situations. As a kid, it was easy enough to find the wrong way to do things, even with the right intentions. Even as an adult, finding the right way is hard. It is one of those things that I want my own kids to know, how to see the big picture, and how to navigate unknown waters. Hiding the kittens would have been the worst way possible, where open honesty and a plan goes a long way. Being the mommy goes a long way too. *Grin*

Black Male, discovering the rabbit during supervised "out" time.

Kittens Rescued from Abandonment

Yesterday, we had to stop at WM to pick up a few things before heading home. When we pulled into the parking space, I saw the cart just in front of the car. It had a medium sized box in it. 'Perhaps someone picked up a shipped to store item' I thought to myself as I unloaded the kids. As we passed the cart, I saw that it was taped oddly. 'Something is not right here' I thought, and I stopped to open the oddly closed box.

With visions of me and my 5 children exploding in the parking lot, I opened the package.



Looking up at me were a pair of tiny eyes, lost in a sea of fur. I reached into the warm box, and felt the fur, praying that they were all soft and pliable. They were not as soft and pliable as I hoped, but they were alive. I had my oldest put Flutters into the front of the basket and took the cart into the store.

With the excited and worried chatter of my children all around me, I pushed the crowd to the pets section, where I was already picking up supplies for the other pet groups we have here. I grabbed canned food, and kitten kibble, cat sand, and a starter pack litter pan (it had a scoop, scoop holder, food and water dish!). These babies are too small yet to be given away, let alone left in a parking lot on an 87*F day.

There were a few ladies in the cat care section of the store, and while I was picking out what they were going to need, I showed the box to them and where I found them. One lady was so touched that I was helping them out, she handed me 5 dollars to help pay for the supplies I was getting. It was a huge blessing, as we had no intentions of getting any pets for a while here thanks to the economy.





At first, my older girls released the kittens in their bedroom. They were able to eat, drink and cool off. But you know how kittens are, they like explore and they like to hide. I'm sure you know how kids can be in cleaning strategy too... Needless to say, we set up the bathroom into a kitten nest. Getting them to the bathroom was an adventure in itself.





The kittens are very scared. They hiss a lot in hopes of scaring away the hands reaching for them, and then they melt into the affection and petting that those hands give. They need time to grow, and time to adjust to the busy life here. If they get through the next 2 weeks, they will be ready for any household, with dogs or kids. :)

Yes, we already introduced the kittens to the dogs. :D

~*~*~*~

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I became known as tinykittenz online. That was my ID, my handle. You can probably guess why or how that took shape. I LOVE tiny kittens. I have always had cats and kittens around me, up until about 10 years ago. I miss having them around, sometimes. Anyone who has known me over the last 20 to 36 years knows about this you see, so I am sure they already knew that I could not have just left that box in the basket and carried on oblivious. When asked "Why? What would it have mattered?" I was stunned for a moment, and quietly replied "It matters to those 3 little ones."

It matters to me.

To have done any less, would have been wrong.

DIY Project~ 5 gallon planters with water reservoir

Yesterday, I posted a long post with pictures of the garden and all of it's progress. I was feeling quite content with it all, and then went out to water the garden, and bring in a bag of new soil I had gotten. Well, somehow, that turned into a few projects! One involved some replanting and moving of a few plants, one was the creation of more planting containers, one involved clipping all the "path weeds" with scissors, and another involved rearranging the containers and securing the fence better.

I made 2 planting buckets, with a water reservoir and "drinking straw" for the plants. I don't know what I am going to plant in them, yet. So far, I've been testing the containers ability to drain. Another round of watering or so, and I will know if the overflow hole works too. :D I'm sure you would LOVE to see what I did, so I will make another one and take photos of what I did at all the important points.

***Time lapse***

While those are sending to my computer, I will start writing it all up for you. :)

I took 2 5 gallon buckets, that I have been very blessed to be getting for free from my hunny's workplace. This works out great, because I can use them for many different things. He mentioned the other day that my supply of them was REALLY BIG, and suggested that I put them to use. I suspect that if I didn't, he was considering not bringing me more. *grin* My buckets are not round, but if yours are, it changes nothing.



I took the bucket on the left, and flipped it over. Using my trusty mini drill, I drilled 4 holes in the bottom, somewhat near the corners.



Perfection will not matter, as no one should see this part when it is done. 4 holes, too small for a pencil to fit through.



Now, I took a towel, and put it in the bucket with 4 holes in the bottom, and fit that on top of the bucket on the right. By putting a light source behind the stacked buckets, I can see where the top bucket stops in the bottom bucket. My finger is on the line, under it is lighter, above is darker.



I took a pen, and marked a spot above that line (about a cm or so).



Then I REMOVED the top bucket and set it aside. I drilled a hole on my marked spot. This is now an overflow spout.



You can see in the above picture both buckets, and their drilled out holes.

Now, I was trying to figure out HOW the water was going to get from the bottom bucket to the top one, and was stumped for a moment or so. Then I remembered that I have yarn on hand. Yarn can make a great wick! So I snipped off 2 strings of about 18 inches long, and poked it through 2 of the 4 holes.



Then I pulled both strings out the bottom, about 6 inches.



Ta Da! Now I have my self watering planter bucket!

I took my buckets outside, and started gently scooping in the dirt. You might choose to add a 1 inch deep layer of pebbles or packing peanuts there in the bottom first, if you are worried about over watering, but here where I live, I cannot water my garden enough at times, and some plants are thirstier than others. I made a mound of dirt, and then layed the strings down in the heap, so that the strings are are about 1/3 of the way up the container, and then finished covering them up.



Now my containers are ready for planting. I left room for whatever plants I put in, and their covering soil. Since I just planted 6 mini buckets with various big plants with vines, I am happy to have square feet to put them into soon... Now, had I remembered to label the mini buckets before setting them out, I would know exactly which was going where. I will be writing in sharpie on the bucket planters, you can be sure!!

So there you go, some of my Pininterest findings, put to use and shared with my friends and readers. I hope this idea can spark off some of your own creative solutions, that perhaps you will even come back and share with me!