The backyard jungle.

We've had a hot July so far, and the plants in the backyard have pretty much gone nuts.

Have a look at this monster of a pumpkin vine:

It has successfully crossed the patio, turned the corner and is now heading confidently towards the back fence. Note the offshoot also heading for the back fence from halfway across the patio, and the offshot to the far right that is choking my cherry tomato plants as it crawls stealthily along the fence. 

Basically, I have to do something about this pumpkin vine if our tiny yard is not going to be completely taken over. I'm going to cut it back. This would be harder to do if it had baby pumpkins on it, but so far, not one swelling has appeared. I have seen plenty of bees buzzing around the vine, so I suppose that means the problem is not a lack of bees but a lack of female flowers?

As the photo makes painfully obvious, some serious yard work is needed here! Not only do I need to cut off that ever-growing vine, but stake up the tomatoes, which are at least twice as tall as the cages I bought (probably taller than me), and do some weeding too. This yard is a mess. My excuse is that I don't like going outside in the heat; but this evening after supper I'm going to go out there and do some serious pruning.

The potato plants we were growing in the box seem to be about done, if the withering leaves are any indication:

Isn't it ugly? I can't believe how lanky the potatoes got. The ones I planted in the ground on the other side of the yard look lanky too, and are laying right on the ground. I don't understand what I did wrong there.

But anyhow, I am hoping that there are enough russets in that box for some yummy baked potatoes and hash browns.

Now I have a little while before Jasper wakes up from his afternoon nap, so I think I'm going to make a quick cup of tea, and go back down to my sewing machine and do up a few flannel hankies. We are almost out of Kleenex--and I don't want to buy any more. (I do have quite a few hankies, but not quite enough to not have to still buy Kleenex.)

Last night, the jeans I was trying to hem, I finally finished to my satisfaction. And this morning I sewed in a panel to cover the slit in my long Gap jean skirt. The hem is a bit wonky looking in a few places, but overall I'm pleased that it's at least wearable. I think I'm starting to actually get this sewing thing, a little bit.

Tomorrow, I start on the cape! :)

Comments

[Kathy in KY]

All I can think of to say, Miss Laura, is You Go Girl!! You are strides ahead of me in the homesteading planning, and practices. With the pending move coming up, I haven't been doing any canning so as not to have to transport all of the full jars with the mishaps of them coming open on the trip. I am kinda hoping I can get established enough to have a fall garden, but right now it doesn't look like it. Still looking for a place to rent, but have a few leads. It's just hard to find rental property in an area where all of the property is just known of by word of mouth. I know God will look out for me, and it'll all turn out for the best when things are right. Congrats on the sewing! I knew you could do it! Take care, from KY.

[Laura Jeanne]

Thanks for the encouragement, Kathy. :)

Something to consider about canning jars is that the jars come in a nice sturdy box with dividers, so they won't break in transport. If you save the boxes the jars come in, you shouldn't have to worry about transporting them, as long as you put the full jars back in their original box.

Good luck in your house search!

[alex]

Hi Laura! The group today at the recycling sorting plant was mostly homeschoolers I think, but it wasn't just for homeschoolers. I only found out about it yesterday through the SouthShore Yahoo Group and I heard it was posted on the Family Village too.
It was really well done, they had a seperate group for kids under 9 and the group I was in for the kids older than 9. Really interesting!

[Everett]

Thanks for stopping by our blog! I love the name of your site here: It's all about the journey isn't it? Getting there!

[Missus]

Your pumpkin vine looks a lot like mine - and I don't have any tiny pumpkins yet either!

So let's both cross our fingers and hope that's the stage they're supposed to be in at this time of year.