Scout likes to be organized....

A few weeks back we (Mom, Jen, and I) took a trip down to Columbus to shop and check out the latest offerings at the Container Store. (Yes, it's a store dedicated to containers...)

One of my much-needed purchases was a few shoe organizer shelves for my closet. Unfortunately, Scout found a new purpose for the little shelves:

She believes the shelves make much better kitty bunk beds. And they make a really cool noise when she rubs her paws on the wire mesh...

This is how we roll...

Normally, we try to keep up with the yard work and pick away at it each weekend.

Well, this year, as many Ohioans are aware, our weekends have been plagued with cold and wet, not making it very pleasant to be outside pulling weeds. And I don't go outside when it's not very pleasant...

So we found ourselves in a situation where we had way more yard waste than we could handle with buckets, bins, and the back of the CRV. So, we had to turn to the hauling experts....

When we picked up the truck we thought it was going to be way too big for what we had in mind. But no worries, I decided we would take advantage and fill it up!

Fortunately, part of the project was clearing away some brush on the hill to make room for a couple small compost piles. Next year most of the garden waste can go into a compost heap. This year it was off the recycling center.

Thanks, Dad, for helping us out today! It really helped us get done quickly. We're all pretty sore right now, and unfortunately there was one injury...

Nothing a Batman bandaid couldn't fix, though :-)

New "Simon's Cat" video on Youtube

It's no wonder why everyone in our household (kitties included) are huge fans of the "Simon's Cat" animations. We have a mighty bug-hunter (Buttercup) and she especially likes this one...



If the video doesn't play, here's the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1qHVVbYG8Y

Buttercup would like to tell you something...

How do I avoid washing the bathroom floor?

I sit on the couch, watching the Real Housewives of Atlanta, with my laptop, looking for cute cat videos on Youtube.

Seriously.

But I hit jackpot when I saw a link to this kitty video when I was checking out the Mean Kitty channel.

I know it's long, but I just love the music and the epic battle scene.


Direct link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP1cRJdwQHs

It does make me sad, though, that our $150 cat tower has never seen such action. This is probably the most exciting it ever gets:

Scout really likes to knock down my Cats Meows. That's as epic as it gets in our house...

Maybe I should play some dramatic music while I wash the bathroom floor?

Next year, someone please remind me....

...that I don't need to plant 12 varieties of tomatoes!

Please remind me that Richard doesn't eat tomatoes.

Please remind me that I don't know how to can. Better yet, remind me to learn how to can.

Please remind me that I belong to a CSA and can pretty much count on a steady delivery of tomatoes throughout the late summer.

This is what I harvested this morning:

And this is pretty much what I harvested yesterday and the day before, too!

Well, I guess you can remind me that there are plenty of people at work and home that are happy recipients of home grown tomatoes. How'd that panzanella turn out, Mom?

Okay, I'll probably still plant a ton of varieties next year, because, well, I like it :-) It makes me happy to see what works and what doesn't and learning how to be a better gardener. It makes me happy to hear how much better my tomatoes than the ones you can buy in the store. And it makes me happy to go out to the garden every day and see what lovely treasures are out there to greet me.

Okay, never mind. Don't remind me. I'm off to eat a tomato. Yes, I know it's only 10:30 in the morning, but I've got a lot of work to do!

This year I decided to take a chance and grow one heirloom tomato variety. Last year I tried several heirlooms, and I don't think I got one decent tomato from any of them.

This year I planted green zebra not knowing what to expect. Look how pretty...

Turns out that they are ripe when they start to turn a little bit yellow, so the top two I picked too early and I don't think they are going to ripen. But the one tomato was perfectly ripe...

...and extremely tasty! Sorry the pictures are a little out of focus. I ate the tomato before I looked closely at the photo, and well, the tomato wasn't available for a re-shoot. :-)

Gone Fishin'

With three cats with three distinct personalities it's hard sometimes entertaining them all at once. There is one toy, though, that they seem to all enjoy in turn. It's the kitty feather fishing pole.

Henry in Action

Here's Henry (and Richard) in action...

Henry gets a bath... (and so does Richard)

One of Richard's favorite pastimes is to taking his dad's dog, Henry, to the dog park. He's had lots of trips to the park, but he's never had the pleasure of playing in a pool... until today!

At the end of the summer the Oak Knoll Wading Pool in Massillon opens the pool to doggies wanting to cool off on a hot summer day. We stopped by with Henry during the large dog time slot. We've got some video footage, too, but thought we would post some pictures in the meantime.

That's one wet springer spaniel...

"Hey, were'd everyone go?"

Checking in with Richard...

Henry made a new friend, a 7-month old chocolate lab named Hendrix.

One wet dog in a truck, coming right up...

One wet husband in a truck, coming right up...

At some point in the afternoon I got covered in mud. I think it was one of the great danes shaking off near me. It was worth it, though... Henry had a fantastic time!

Ruh-roh....

I've always suspected that we've had poison ivy on the hill next to our house, but I've never developed a rash while bush-whacking. Now I'm thinking I might need to take some precautions this year when I head over there with my pruners...

Hey, what's that creeping into the lawn?
Oh, no, what's that further into the brush?

Yikes! Its seems like we have an official infestation of poison ivy....

Now mixed in among the "leaves of three" are some lovely virginia creeper vines. So this isn't solid poison ivy, but I'm thinking there's a lot in there.

Now, does anyone have any recommendations? Roundup? Bush-B-Gone? Anyone want to come over and pull some weeds?

What the...????

Okay, I've been blaming the neighbor's struggle with a large groundhog for the various half-eaten tomatoes on the vine. Then today I was picking ripe tomatoes and found some strange looking "droppings" on some of the leaves. Then I saw the half-eaten tomato in the picture... It took my eyes a couple moments to focus on the freaky bug sitting on the branch munching on the half-eaten tomato. Yes, I screamed a little and did a girlie freak-out dance for a few minutes before I could compose myself.

Last year I found a smaller tomato hornworm on my cherry tomato plant, but it was NO WAY as large as this one.

Since I couldn't bring myself to squish a bug this big I took a large leaf garbage bag and tied it shut and threw it in the garbage. Do you think it can find its way out? I sure hope not....

By the way, that's a full-sized tomato in the picture...

What's a girl to do with all of this zucchini?

Make zucchini bread, of course!

But even better, make chocolate zucchini bread, and even better yet (so I can actually eat it) make it vegan chocolate zucchini bread!

I found this recipe online and it turned out really yummy!

Adapted from: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=24203.0

Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
Egg replacer for 3 eggs
2/3 cup soymilk
2 cups shredded Zucchini
1 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 2-9x5" loaf pans with non-stick spray.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl & mix well. Add vegetable oil & using a fork, stir. It will be dry but stir as well as possible. Then add the flax eggs. Continue to mix. Add soy milk & Vanilla & stir until well blended. Add Zucchini, Chocolate Chips & Walnuts & blend them in. The mixture should be nice & smooth, moist looking.

Spoon into loaf pans. Bake 55-60 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove & cool completely. Serves: 2 loaves

Tree Woes

We're still trying to figure out what to do about the oak tree next to the deck. We've asked for three estimates so far and have received two. One estimate is to save the tree with rods and cabling and the other is to take it down. The second guy was a little too enthusiastic about chopping it down for my taste! Both estimates took my breath away...

It would be really hard to imagine the landscape without it...

Below is a closeup of the crack in question. There's no doubt that the tree is in trouble and a big wind storm might take it down and it is close to the house.

I felt like I needed to add something cheerful to this post, so here's one of the brighter spots in the landscape. This endless summer hydrangeas really lives up to its names

Greenies Update

The garden is in full blast, except for the poor brussels sprouts which have been eaten down to little nubs by what I can only assume is a deer.

Here's what I have from today....

I've really enjoyed growing the beans this year since I've never grown them before. The potatoes I harvested a few weeks ago and I've been waiting for them to cure in the garage before we could eat them.

Next year, though, remind me that I don't need to plant so many squash plants. I'm running out of energy and I think Richard is sick of seeing squash on everything.