La Belle Dame de Merci: Gardening Blogs

26 June 2013

La Belle's Hobby Farm: The Cutest Cucs!

It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought.
~ James Douglas, Down Shoe Lane

nd that’s where I was Saturday morning ~ in my garden, keeping both weeds and the grass at bay, and sweet talking my green babies into growing bigger and faster.

Mothers aren’t supposed to have favorites, but admit it ~ you know you do. Well, so do I. Nothing beats a tomato sandwich in the summer, and pickled okra is pretty near heaven, but cucumbers ~ especially when the plants are just growing ~ are the cutest things ever!

If you don’t believe me, just look at these babies! They have shot up like nobody’s business in the last couple of weeks:

But that’s not where they get their cuteness from. No, that’s in how they climb. They wrap their wee green tendrils around whatever you place near them ~ in this case, the walls of an old dog crate:

Seriously, how does that not make you go “Awwww”!?

Of course I would never say that to my plants. The tomatoes and corn are right there after all. Although the corn doesn’t have ears yet. (Bada bing! Come on, you knew that was coming!) But I’m so proud of them too ~ they seem to shoot up a foot every time I go out to check on them:

Yeah, not sure why this guy wouldn't upload right side up. But you get the picture. ;)
© 2013 La Belle Dame de Merci Blog

Cilantro is growing into a bush ~ need to trim some and bring it into work tomorrow:

Same with this one. Argh!
© 2013 La Belle Dame de Merci Blog

And the basil is chugging along, although not nearly as big as I’d like:

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

What are your garden favorites? Don’t worry ~ I won’t tell them.

07 June 2013

Top Five Friday: Favorite Blogs of the 6th Annual Blogathon

What's writing really about? It's about trying to take fuller possession of the reality of your life.

~ Ted Hughes

here are over 200 people participating in the Sixth Annual WordCount Blogathon; a great chance to make new friends and learn new things. But with so many on the list, where do you start?

I’m a book-Cover-Judger, and when scrolling through the list of Blogathoners, I clicked on the titles that piqued my interest. It didn’t always pan out, but it’s a good place to get to know my fellow writers.

And so without further ado, here are my favorite five blogs from the Blogathon for this week!

Babette Feasts

Babette’s Feast is my favorite indie film, so how could I not visit Barb Freda’s blog?! Barb writes about food, writing, and painting. I especially loved her list of pantry staples, a list I need to make for myself. I’m always running out of something or other!

Blue Ridge Pilgrim

My mother grew up near Blacksburg, Virginia, so the Blue Ridge Parkway is a familiar, and beloved, road. Honestly, I don’t think any other place could be more beautiful. I’d move there myself, but the commute to DC would be killer. Bruce Denton’s reflections on life in the Blue Ridge are restful, and his photography is breathtaking.

Nomad Farmer

Joby’s “About Me” blurb says it all:

Alright. You caught me. I'm neither nomad nor farmer.

There's some sort of contradiction there, anyway.

Sometimes I find that I live in a world of contradiction.

I'm pretty okay with that.

He loves music, gardening, storytelling, and writing. What makes me a fan? He adores snail mail letters. What do you think, Joby? Want a new pen pal?

Outlaw Garden

An anti-HOA gardener?! I love it! My ‘burb dwelling friends always tell horror stories about fascist HOAs; makes me doubly glad I live in the country! The cows next door don’t care what colour we paint our roof. Well, Cristina Santiestevan doesn’t care what her HOA thinks, and has even gone so far as to plant her unapproved garden in the front yard! You go girl!!

Sanctuary Gardner

Rosemarie Thompson is my new garden hero. And I confess to a little garden envy ~ just look at her photos! They are an inspiration for me to make more time for my wee garden.