The Domesticated Male

Well it has been a while since I blogged so I need to update... 1. Claudia She is in such a wonderful age. This past weekend it seems like a switch has been thrown and she is talking up a storm. Real words not just 'jabber'. She can say almost anything you want her to say. She is an amazing little girl. She is getting over her cold really well. No fever for several days and she actually takes her medicine like a big girl thanks to Cherry flavoring. We don't have to force it down her throat. Unfortunately with taking antibiotics she has a wicked diaper rash. It feels so bad to not be able to comfort your child. 2. Summer Garden Well I have officially come to the end of my first Summer Garden. Some things grew well and others.... One thing I have decided is that as much as I want to be organic south Georgia crops have to have some chemicals. The bugs are unreal and will eat the whole plant if you don't put some high powered stuff on them. I had great success with Squash,

Well the garden is growing nicely but I can't seem to get rid of the bugs. I have tried to be as organic as possible with the soap spray and the organic Ortho spray but it looks like I may have to do something drastic like go to the regular bug spray for gardens. I want to be organic I truly do but it's just not working. To top things off I was sooo excited about my banana pepper that was about 6 inches long and after inspection I found that there were two holes bored into the top of it and it had been eaten. I was so mad. I know am checking all my bell peppers, cayenne , jalapenos and tomatoes for holes. I think my Swiss chard may be gone for the year. I had these tiny green worms that ate it up and I tried to get rid of them but I think it may be too late. On a positive note we have actually picked enough squash to put a bag in the freezer. I have baby okra growing too. My eggplant is growing like crazy and is blooming so hopefully I will have eggplants with a few weeks.

Well I have picked my first vegetable from the garden. I had a squash that was ready for picking. I am super excited to start picking things from the garden. I have several bell peppers that are in various sizes and in various colors, the banana peppers are growing and I have one that is about 5 inches, I have numerous cayenne peppers and Jalapenos that are growing and my cherry tomatoes are almost ready to start turning red. I started some aji peppers inside and they are breaking through the topsoil and I see little vines. It has been so thrilling to watch something that I have tended growing so good. I actually have a small watermelon as well. Growing a garden was never something I thought I would remotely want to do but I am so excited to see things grow. It has really gotten me outdoors. I have to water it, weed it, trim bad limbs and leaves, watch for disease and insects and soon I will get to start harvesting my 'crops'. This has really been a great way to calm down from

Growing up I always dreaded having to help harvest vegetables. The getting up at the crack of dawn to go into a field to pick peas, beans of several varieties as well as corn , etc. The shelling, peeling, shucking, silking they were all things I came to dislike immensely. Now that I am a husband and father my wife and I are trying to live healthier and one of the ways we have decided to help in that area is to put up our own vegetables. I have also started my own garden. I am growing everything from Tomatoes of various varieties to every form of pepper from bell to cayenne to aji. I have never thought of myself as a gardener but to be quite honest I am thoroughly enjoying myself in the garden. Weeding, watering and waiting! What joy! This is truly a way of learning patience since plants don't grow very fast. It has been so rewarding watching the banana peppers start to grow and seeing these tiny cherry tomatoes forming. This is been so much fun and can't wait to harvest! This m