Joy List Monday
♥ a weekly ritual ♥
a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties and graces that make life magical and to set aside time for gratitude each day
♥ amazing autumn weather
♥ still eating fresh tomato, green beans and eggplant from the garden
♥ new blue jeans
♥ pancakes with maple syrup
♥ walks along the river
Hi Friends,
Today I am sharing the article I wrote for the Cameron Chronicle "The Little Paper With Personality." for the August issue.
Enjoy the Bounty
By Carla TePaske of Cameron, WI ~ The Little Garden That Could
August is here and it is time to enjoy the harvest.
Keep harvesting your vegetables to encourage production into autumn.
Dig up your potatoes once the vines have dried and the tops brown.
Plant autumn vegetables, lettuce, kale, radishes and spinach.
Weed! Continue to weed before weeds go to seed.
Continue to feed those hard working plants like zinnia, dahlia, squash, cucumber, zucchini and beans.
Did you know you can feed your plants with your own plants!
Using your own garden weeds and grass, you can make homemade fertilizer tea.
Next time you are weeding the garden, throw chopped weeds into a bucket or trash can, chopping them up as you go.
When the container is about half full, fill it with water. Rainwater is the best (also free!).
Screen the top to keep mosquitoes out. You can use a piece of screening or row cover.
Stir daily for 3 days to 2 weeks. Or, pour it from one bucket into another to mix things up and keep it aerated.
Strain off the liquid to use as a fertilizer or foliar spray. After you strain off the liquid, return the solids to your compost pile. It can be diluted or used full strength on established plants. Since plant leaves tend to absorb more nutrients more quickly than roots, foliar feeding is an efficient way to fertilize versus a soil drench.
And don’t forget to share your bounty with family, friends and neighbors.
Our local museum, Pioneer Village Museum had a garden tea with Inga Witscher. Inga Witscher is the host of Around the Farm Table on Wisconsin Public Television. The Little Garden That Could donated a bouquet for the event. All of the ladies who wore garden hats to the event would have their name put in to win the bouquet after the program.
Here are a few photos of the bouquet I created and donated to the museum.
It was a lot of fun to create this bouquet for this special event.
♥
Carla
Hello Friends,
One of the new adventures I have taken on is writing an article for our Village of Cameron newspaper, Cameron Chronicle.. "The Little Paper With Personality."
I started to write garden tips for the Cameron Chronicle in June.
My first article.
Butterfly Garden Essentials and The Story of the Black Swallowtail
The month of July's article was all about, when gardening is not all roses. Our area was in the middle of a drought. I shared tips and tricks on watering and tackling unwanted visitors to the garden.
The month of August I shared about enjoying the bounty of the harvest.
The month of September I shared how to keep the garden going into autumn.
Late Summer in the Garden
By Carla TePaske of Cameron WI ~ The Little Garden That Could
Late summer is here. We can see the change in the daylight hours, cooler evenings and the hint of autumn color. Now is the time to start to collect seed pods. If you have never done this before start with something easy like poppy, marigold or zinnia. Collect the seed once the flower has began to fade at the close of the season. Be sure to dry the seed head, once dry, spit the seed head and harvest the seeds. Envelops work well to store your seeds. Be sure to remember to label your envelope.
Keep up with weeds. Although weeds will be growing more slowly than in spring, it is good to keep up with them for a good start into next spring.
Now is the time to look at your garden borders and note any gaps or congestion that you will want to rectify.
If you have not already, start a garden journal. I have been keeping a garden journal for years. It is so helpful to look back year to year at my notes of what worked, what did not work, what mistakes did I make and how did I learn from them. Write down your goals for the 2022 garden season. Do you have a new plant variety you want to grow? Change your borders? Design a new garden.
If you have not already, now is the time to order and purchase spring flowering bulbs. We will be discussing preparing the garden for bed and thinking spring in the next edition of the Cameron Chronicle. Until then enjoy all the beauty late summer has to offer.
I just submitted my article for the October issue.
Putting the Garden to Bed
and
Planting for Spring
I will share my past and future articles here on the blog. If you have any ideas for me to write about for "The Little Paper With Personality." do share with me.
♥
Carla
The above photo was taken of Marv and our son Sam last summer. Marv is 92 years old in that photo. His life long lesson was to keep moving and keep learning!
Now it is time to do the Hodgepodge..
Joyce asks the questions.
We answer the questions.
1. How would you define 'old'? I would define 'old' well loved.
At what age is someone old? I will have to say it depends on the person. Our friend Marv was 92.. but you would never have guessed that. He was passionate about life and doing his best everyday. If you are new to The River, Marv was a dear family friend, who passed away May 2021. He was a Korean War Hero.. his stories could make you question how he could be so positive in life.. but he decided early that life is .. 10% of what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
2. A place you've been that's old? Tell us something about your visit there.
4. In what way are you a 'chip off the old block'? Or if you'd rather, in what way is your child a 'chip off the old block'?
I will go with our boys are 'chip off the old block' .. My husband and I both are patriotic. We know America is a true miracle. Our boys feel the same way.
Old Wives Tale.. currently we are hashing out what kind of winter it will be in Northwest Wisconsin. An abundance of crab apples.. the acorns are big and already dropping..
6. Insert your own random thought here.
This week I listened to an interview with Yeonmi Park.
She has an amazing story!
2 Floral Design Chairs
My husband has a coworker/friend who enjoys online auctions and Craigslist.
He will ask Jeremy if we "need anything" .. we usually say no. This time, Jeremy shared a few items we were looking for.
And the story of the 2 Floral Design Chairs and how they came home with us starts here.
My husband shared with Brian, when he first saw the chairs, "Oh, those are not really our style." When Jeremy came home and told me about the online auction, I said, "Can I see the photos of the chairs?"
I liked them from the start! I had plans!
We won the bid.
The chairs came home with us.
I gave them a good scrub.
And then went fabric shopping.
the makeover went well. We are very pleased with our online auction chairs.
It is the Hodgepodge!
Joyce asks the questions.
We answer the questions.
1. Something you've done recently that required you giving 110% ?
I deliver Meals on Wheels, I found one of my participants on the garage floor. I called 911. I stayed with him and continued to talk and talk to him, to keep him alert until help came. Because he did not really talk back to me, I just continued to talk about anything that came to mind.
2. What task-sport-chore-hobby-activity have you participated in or completed, that if judged, would land you a perfect 10?
My autumn fresh cut floral bouquets.
harvest from the garden.. late summer flowers.. my kitty sitting on my lap in the evenings.. text messages from my boys.. kisses from my husband.. late summer kayaking.. autumn sunlight dancing on the leaves.. hot tea.. new recipes and kindred spirits.
4. Nine times out of ten I _________________________.
will spill, drip something or just be messy while eating.
5. Where were you when the world stopped turning, twenty years ago this week?
My one year old son Sam and I were busy getting ready for the day. We were getting ready for our daily walk.
Later in the day, when we were outside in our front yard, our neighbor came over to say "Hi". We looked up to see an eagle flying above. Our neighbor who is a US Marine and Gulf War Veteran, looked at me, looked up at the eagle and said "Everything will be alright."
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Our Prayers
♥
Happy September
Today is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge.
Joyce asks the questions.
We answer the questions.
1. As we begin this brand new month tell us, on a scale of 1-10, where
does your life fall in terms of being in 'apple pie order'? Please
elaborate. (1=nowhere near it, 10=practically perfect in every way)
7 ... we have a kitchen to remodel. This is the last room of our over 100 year old house to remodel. We hope to go all in with this project yet this year, but shortages of supplies and costs may delay us. In the mean time, I close my eyes and see that practically perfect kitchen.
2. An apple a day keeps the doctor away...are you doing your part? I do enjoy apples, but I do not eat one every day. Red or green? I love green apples. Sweet or tart? Tart!! Ever played the game Apples to Apples? It is a family favorite. Do you like apple pie? Yes!! If so, ala mode or just gimme the pie? Gimme the pie.
3. Tell us about a time recently where you 'upset the apple cart' or the last time someone 'upset your apple cart'?
The US Postal Office has been upsetting my apple cart as of late. Our mail delivery time is such a mess as of late. It use to be delivered about the same time every day, give or take 30 minutes. Now, our mail can be delivered as early as 11:00 AM or as late as 4:30 PM. Some days I do not get any mail, and the next day I will get a mailbox so full of mail I wonder if it was held up some place!
4. What are three words that come to mind when you think of September?
Colors, Crisp, Fireplace
5. What are you most looking forward to this month?
Explores with my husband. The summer months keep me busy with my fresh cut flower business.
My husband and I have been making September our month for adventures.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
