June is synonymous with blooming bushes and my thoughts turn to Mackinac Island with the reading of Give Fudge a Chance. This 2023 release by Nancy Coco is a delightful cozy mystery with plenty of suspects. Heroine Allie Mc Murphy squeezes time from her busy work schedule to solve the case-since one of the murders takes place at her hotel.
The creeper and bindweed get top billing and first attack due to their invasiveness. The bindweed is in a few spots in the lot. Unfortunately, it is close to overtaking one of the front beds. My attempts to eradicate it are foiled by the persistence of the weed. Additionally, the bed is difficult to weed because ants have made the area into a home.
I have field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) in my yard. Some years I think I am getting ahead of it. But not this year. My absence from the garden last fall is taking a toll. With the exception of a few vines on the lot, the bindweed has not begun flowering. I hope to wrestle control before the white flowers appear.
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is favored by some as a plant. But I place it into the garden weeds category. I wear long sleeves, long pants and gloves when I battle this five-leaved vine. Since I am sensitive to the oils in the plant, the covering keeps me from receiving a skin rash. This is one of those garden weeds that can cause allergic reactions and sickness if the berries are eaten. So, even though they provide beautiful color in the fall with the leaves turning orange and crimson, I dislike this particular vine.
The Raised Row Technique of gardening continues to tamp down on weeds. I highly recommend owning the book by the Competti’s. For the review click here. The mulch also keeps the soil from drying out and makes the weeds easy to pull even without a rain.
Sophie the cat is restricted on how much time she spends outdoors. This is prime nesting for the birds both permanent and passing through. Birders find so many varieties to spot in this migration corridor. The hummingbirds return for a few weeks along with the robins and finches. Meanwhile, the grackles and turkeys tolerate the invaders.
Various types of bees are pollinating perennials, annuals and weeds-oops I mean wildflowers. A few giant bumblebees but mostly small honeybees’ flit around the garden. They are joined by a variety of butterflies, yellow, orange and white. The milkweed will bloom soon, so I hope to see monarchs in the mix. Fortunately, the miller moths have not been bad this year.
Mastering reading is one of the most important tools for life. However, reading does not come easy for everyone. When working with children, it is important to find a genre that encourages the skill. The same holds true for adults.
Then, once a mastery of reading is complete reading across genres and delivery methods provides everything from entertainment to a gain in knowledge. These many reasons to read develop well-rounded, intelligent and thoughtful members of society. We need more readers in this world to produce the critical thinking that keeps the negatives of history from repeating.
I challenge each of you to read for at least an hour this weekend.
The High Plains is notorious for late freezes and April 2024 was ushered in with temperatures in the teens. But my Bur Oak has leafed out. In almost 30 years, this tree popping forth new leaves means spring is here. And frost is banished for the summer. Perhaps this changing climate will trick both me and the oak, however I am ready to gamble. And once before the oak did leaf out in April.
This past weekend I planted my tomatoes and peppers, as well as cantaloupe and many flowers and herbs. Temperatures range from mid-forties to low sixties as lows for the next ten days. So, after a month of harvesting asparagus, I am turning the calendar on the vegetable garden. Most all the future spears will be left to grow into fern bearing stalks and the bulk of the harvest will be romaine lettuce and the early herbs such as chives and parsley. And don’t forget the mint.
A nice patch of mint at the far end of Row 1 in the Big Garden is ready to mash into the bottom of refreshing mint juleps. Currently the mint is competing with some prickly pear cactus to anchor the base of the garden. Both will be kept in check as spread can take over the rows.
My choices for this year’s Oaks and Derby Days are fascinators, both bought at Pix. A Kelly-green jacket atop a navy dress will pair perfectly with the navy fascinator highlighted with Kelly-green embellishments. The other fascinator will be perfect headgear for a blush and lace dress. The clothes complement the derby hats.
An even greater problem was a deep freeze of 15 degrees just as the first asparagus popped up. No gardening pictures and few spring blooms. In fact, the mountain retreat has more daffodils in bloom than the homestead on the high plains. Not sure how that happened.
Kathy Tucker wrote, and John Sandford illustrated The Leprechaun in the Basement. I checked it out from my local library which always displays holiday themed books just prior to the celebratory day. The book dates back to before the turn of the century but the theme is timeless. A quick search of the Internet yielded prices from three dollars to sixty dollars online. Or you could check your local library.
The Edge is David Baldacci’s follow up to The 6:20 Man. Protagonist Travis Devine returns stateside and is deployed to investigate the murder of a CIA operative. Jenny Silkwell was the daughter of a retired Senator from Maine. Thus, Devine and the reader travel to Maine.
As a sequel, The Edge retains the same sense of action-suspense. Devine is a complex character and definitely one of the good guys. Murder and mayhem just happen to follow in his wake. However, the mystery of “whodunit” really wasn’t hard to determine. Fortunately, the mystery was tertiary to the story after the action and the emotional evolvement of the female interest.
As a parent, I stressed the importance of reading and thus books. Bookshelf wealth is now a thing, but our house has always had a plethora of books. Children’s books, cook books, gardening books, novels and how-to books and many, many text books fill a multitude of bookshelves.
My belief is once reading is mastered, any skill or subject matter could be learned. One can literally become a jack or jill of all trades. Instructional books abound and of course every subject taught in school can be learned if one feels the subject is important.
Hopefully times have changed enough that learning to cook is important for all. However, I belong to a generation where many males grill burgers and steaks and not much else. Fortunately, my in-laws taught all their kids to cook, and I am married to a man that could be a master chef if he wanted to change careers.
I do not remember the age my kids were when they first started fixing food for themselves. But they needed chairs to reach the counter or the stove top. It was quite important to supervise them in the early years.
Now my grandchildren are picking up skills in the kitchen. All three have multi-functional furniture called learning towers or kitchen helpers depending on the manufacturer. These cool pieces can act as a chair and table/desk when on the side or serve as a very sturdy stepstool when standing on end. The sides provide extra support when they are helping in the kitchen either cooking or at the sink.
The oldest helps grandpa make scones and grandma make brownies. Cooking skills are important to develop from an early age. We just make sure we also emphasize safety.
Unfortunately, sometimes traveling in poor conditions can’t be avoided. And while preparing ahead of time is not foolproof, it certainly is advisable. Proper car maintenance is the first item on the list.
Individual tires vary in required pressure so check the manufacturer’s settings. Tire pressure decreases in cold weather so make sure to adjust for incoming cold weather. Tread depth should be 6/32 or greater.
Make sure the window washer fluid is topped off and can withstand below freezing temperatures. Snow splash back is definitely a problem travelling on highways alongside 18-wheelers and other high profile vehicles.
Even though winter weather preparedness gear takes up a lot of room in a vehicle, I insist on all these items before traveling out of town. Each person in the car should have appropriate gear.
These are all minimum requirements. Other items one could include are portable cordless tire inflator pumps, jumper cables (older batteries perform poorly in very cold weather), and snow chains.
Lessons in Chemistry has been out for over a year and I am late to the party of fandom. A Christmas gift from one of my family members and one I treasure. The novel earns a place in the permanent home library. The delay in reading is attributed to the difficult year of 2023. So, I am very appreciative of the book as it is a great start to 2024.
Debut novelist Bonnie Garmus impresses with her wit and the depth of her writing. Depending on the individual reader’s experiences, the soul-searching Lessons in Chemistry will evoke feelings running the gamut from regret to resolve. And many stages in between.
