Petting Zoo Fun

We've been fortunate to visit two petting zoos in two weeks. The first was a portable petting zoo, where Kiernan was able to take his first pony ride and feed baby animals to his heart's content. These pictures are all on Mike's phone so some day I will add them in.

The second visit was to the Deanna Rose Farmstead in Overland Park. Aunt Megan and her roommate Carissa joined us for this little adventure. We could have stayed much longer had it not been so near lunch and nap time.

Kiernan loved exploring the teepees....

And then he got to feed the baby goats. Kiernan might have been laughing (or cackling) the entire time.

He tried to feed the goats who were sitting down and totally uninterested in bottles (presumably having had their fill already). And he even hugged one lucky goat after his bottle was finished

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After all of that good fun, Kiernan spent the rest of his time at Deanna Rose at the playground and splashing in the water!

As for the garden - it is fresh out of raspberries at this point, but the tomatoes are looking good. The beets and carrots - not so much, but luckily those are abundant at the farmer's market.

I've been thinking alot already about next year's garden . . . we will definitely be expanding beyond the containers currently in play. The extent, though, is a big question. How much can we afford time-wise to do? Certainly it is time well-spent, but my garden care-taking is not as disciplined as it could or should be. As with most things - I will just need to plan more carefully!

Fresh Fruit

Our raspberry bushes are producing surprising quantities of delicious fruit. Kiernan and I enjoy picking the berries - he's sure to point out which ones are "not quite ready," though a few still manage to make it into the bowl.

In addition to our raspberry consumption - our cilantro has made its way into a dish or two, and a lovely tomato is growing by the day!

The farmer's market is quickly taking over our refrigerator - kale, chard, tomatoes, zucchini, cherries, carrots, fresh goat cheese, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chicken. Last night's dinner - eggs with green & yellow zucchini, swiss chard, carrots, and goat cheese - tasted exactly like summer should taste! I am so glad we live somewhere with these kinds of options.

We spent Saturday afternoon and evening at the Symphony in the Flint Hills - the vastness of the prairie and the hills is breathtaking. We will have to do this every year - and it makes me excited for the Konza Prairie Visitor's Day, coming up in September.

That one day it did not rain . . .

May has been full of rain and thunderstorms - the basil might be dying due to overexposure! There were a few nice evenings last week, though. Here's Kiernan in front of the miniature garden. Rabbits have taken out a few of our plants in the backyard, but these are still safe - for now.

Kiernan has also been figuring out how to work his tricycle, resulting in many photo-worthy moments!

Kiernan is also still talking about the moths & butterflies he saw at KU's Monarch Watch Open House a couple of weekends ago. Here are a couple of snapshots of Kiernan with caterpillars & moths.

Things are growing!

Last week, while I was on a fantastic girls' trip to Charleston, S.C., Mike & Kiernan diligently watered the plants. Upon my return - the beets and carrots were sprouting! I've been a bit concerned about the basil and cilantro, but both are still upright. We will finally be planting the tomato and pepper plants this weekend - and perhaps a few other items that we find at the Plymouth Plant & Bank sale tomorrow.

In addition to gardening, Kiernan has been making good use of his sandbox - including adding a few rocks, perhaps for texture?

Our cooking and baking adventures continue - this week included dinners of Szechuan Meatballs with Cabbage and Rice and Egyptian Edamame Stew with Couscous. I also baked up my first batch of macaroons last night. Mark Bittman is right - they are just about the perfect cookie.

These will be on sale at tomorrow at Plymouth!

Worms, Planting, and Compost!

They really do all go together ...

Kiernan has recently become obsessed with worms. After opening the garage one morning after a good rain, he noticed the worms that had taken shelter from their flooded ground on the driveway. He promptly went out to explore, and then sat down next to a small group and said, "Mommy, sit!" We eventually made it to daycare, only to find more worms on the sidewalk at Stepping Stones. Thank goodness one of his friends came along - otherwise we might never have made it inside.

Here he is checking out a worm this weekend in our front flower beds - and another of this particular worm.

Notably, Kiernan is also sad to discover dead worms, but quickly moves on to look for that possible live one.

We have finally installed our Earth Machine, a.k.a. the compost bin. Woody has stopped barking at it, so it is officially welcome.

And - we have begun planting! Thank you Sunrise Nursery & our neighbors! I have lots of questions, some of which are rather silly. And thank you for answering all of them.

The beets and carrots are in their pot. As are the rosemary, thyme, cilantro and basil. The tomato and pepper plants have not officially made it into their pot yet (it is still awfully cold at night and frankly, I might need two as opposed to one), but hopefully later this week they will move out of the house.

I managed to tame the climbing rose on our south-facing flower bed, which opened up the perfect space for the container garden. Here it is in its infancy!

The Friendship Garden

Before the Lawrence Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, we spent some time exploring the Japanese Friendship Garden on Mass Street. Here are a few fun pictures - enjoy!

Spring has sprung!

We have been spending loads of time outside this past week. Last Friday, Kiernan and I started cleaning up our front flower beds. Sunday, we did some work in the back yard, and - more importantly - Kiernan started a "collection." Currently, his collection of outdoor goods includes 2 acorns and 9 pine cones and requires two mason jars. He carries his jars around with him through the house. It is quite adorable.

Here's Kiernan finding a pine cone to add to his collection after dinner last night. (Eating on the back patio has also been a big hit this week - though Kiernan does get pretty distracted.)
















We are continuing our cooking adventures as well. This week's hits: Chilean Bean Stew and Warm Chicken Sausage and Potato Salad. Mike also tried his hand with brussel sprouts and parsnips braised with bacon on Sunday as an accompaniment to barbecued pork chops - delicious!

The Farmer's Market opens in just over a week - we cannot wait! And, the latest news flash: the Thursday afternoon market will be out in our neck of the woods. Fantastic. Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

The Cooking Continues

Kiernan and I have been spending some quality time in the kitchen. Here he is mixing some serious sprinkles while I prepared an italian sausage cassoulet with lots of vegetables on Monday night. On Tuesday - while making sloppy joes from scratch (no Manwich - and I incorporated mushrooms, which Mike can barely notice), Kiernan used our salad spinner to mix up some sunflower seeds. I do not recommend this to anyone. You will be getting sunflower seeds out of your salad spinner for some time. This is less than ideal. However - it did occupy some time while I was waiting for some Guiness Bread with Molasses to finish baking so I could 'paint' it with butter. Mmmm.


As for gardening: We surveyed the backyard on Saturday morning and have come to some conclusions about planting. We are going to use several containers set up near our back patio. One will have carrots & beets. Another will have tomatoes, basil, and maybe cilantro (unless it is a bad idea to put basil and cilantro together -- trying to figure that one out). And finally, one will have lettuce, onions, and radishes (and possibly more tomatoes).

Hopefully it will not snow this weekend so we can spend the time we are not watching basketball outside!

This might also become a blog about food...

I've been inspired to cook (not just bake - which I have always enjoyed - but actually cook). Some of you (like my husband, mother, sister) might be a little skeptical about how long this cooking thing will last. As part encouragement/trick to keep myself honest - I'll try to post things I've recently cooked. And hopefully by the middle of summer, we will have our very own vegetables to add to the mix.

Yesterday - I made a spinach and sweet potato salad with warm bacon dressing and carrot soup for dinner followed by a lemon tart. All from scratch - I even made the vegetable broth for the soup.

Tonight - I made a spanish tortilla from an old Eating Well magazine. There was a small disaster when I attempted to flip the egg mixture, but it all worked out in the end and even looked a bit like the picture in the magazine (operative phrase = "a bit"). And Kiernan ate his piece like a pro. Kiernan also ate an after school snack and a bedtime snack. That might be a little more snacking than usual, but he cannot eat after midnight until post-ear tube procedure tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. We are wondering what is going to happen at 6 when he first asks for his "brefas."

Finally - nice weather!

What a beautiful weekend! On a little walk yesterday with Kiernan, I noticed that many people have already managed to mulch their flower beds even though we still had snow early last week. I am not that person...

However, Kiernan has been reading his gardening book from Grandpa Bob and Grandma Linda, and we purchased some seeds for planting. With the information from you all - we should have a plan in the next week or so and will get started! Thanks!

Perhaps Mar's small fencing idea will work to keep Woodrow out of the garden so we do not have to do container gardening especially as I keep thinking in larger and larger terms for this garden (I really need to reign myself in a bit). Our neighbor Jim is a seasoned gardener, so I will enlist his advice as well. Certainly Jim has saved our annuals from devastation on more than one occasion.

For this week: Mike is checking into a compost system for our household and I will make some final decisions on plotting and planting. And I will mulch the flower beds. I also happen to be listening to Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, and he is currently talking about vegetable gardens (however, his modest garden is still 10' by 20'). Good timing, audio-book.

Wishing it was spring

We have decided to plant a vegetable garden this spring - if it ever gets here. In the meantime, I get to do one of my favorite things: plan. So - friends - help us out. What should we plant? Should we use a raised planter or perhaps lovely gardening pots (frankly - with Woodrow still a puppy, just a garden straight on the ground sounds like disaster).



Here's Kiernan preparing for this adventure by driving a tractor at the Children's Discovery Museum.