Happy 4th of July!

:: Happy 4th of July Everyone! The above picture is from 4th of July 2008, but I couldn't resist showing it off again this year. (apparently dinosaurs are patriotic to a 2 year old....snicker!)
:: We're all decorated up for the 4th at our house.

:: And, this is Anna this year. (there's another stuffed animal in the picture....I even pleaded with her for just one picture without the stuffed animal and she wasn't having it.....we choose our battles right?)

Amazing!

:: Remember "Softy" the Caterpillar everyone? Well, after a few weeks of waiting, Anna's caterpillar has turned in to a moth.....or a butterfly as she calls it.


:: When it first started spinning its silk.
:: The day we brought it home from Gma and Gpa's, which was May 24th.

:: I was amazed that the little critter stayed alive in the jar for two weeks. We tried finding several different kinds of leaves before he finally chomped away at some. Then when he started spinning his silk we thought for sure he was dead......it looked hard and dry. So we took the lid off of the jar and set the jar out on the deck. We'd check it every few days, but it still looked dead. Yesterday Michael went out to check and found it had broke free and had turned in to the moth. Crazy! I think Michael and I were just as excited as Anna was.

Bloom Time

:: Okay, would everyone please take notice that my clematis is in bloom?! After years of planting new ones and watching them die, for some reason this one has decided to live for three years in a row and its the second year that its actually bloomed. Amazing! Some people can grow these like weeds.......me, not so much! 

Now I'm wondering if I should really push my luck and get another one?....hee hee 

:: Normally I can beg and plead until I have no air left to take a picture of Anna and she'll have nothing of it. Last night as I'm walking around with my camera she kept jumping in front of it to have her picture taken. Darn kid! The actual point of this picture was for the Painted Daisies behind her....shhhh, don't tell her that! Aren't those daisies such a great color!
:: The peonies are just starting to bloom. 
:: And, no, I didn't grow the wheel, but I thought it was a cool place to stick it. Its an old wheel barrow wheel that I bought at an antique store a few years back. Its been all over the yard, and this year I thought this would make a nice resting spot for it. 

A few yard pictures...

:: The morning glory seeds are taking off.....by next month they'll be climbing up the frames! 
:: A dahlia making its way out......this is really exciting since I planted 84 of them! About half of them have broken ground. I'd say by next week most of them should be seeing daylight....fingers crossed! 
:: This is the teddy bear sunflowers I planted in the old tool box....nice to see they've made their way through the dirt too!:
:: My one lonely lupine :0(  I used to have a bunch more and for some reason they didn't make it. Could it be the two worst winters in history to blame? 
:: Last year my grandma divided out most of her iris. My dad took some and I took some......somehow I got all of the yellow ones and he got all of the purple. We're going to do some trading so we both have some of each. 

Softy Update

The caterpillar lives! I thought for sure we'd trap this thing and it would die of either boredom or not enough food and air......well, now the silly thing has started to spin its silk!.....stay tuned. 

Daddy and Anna have been taking good care of the new "pet".....cleaning out its "cage" and giving it new leaves every couple days. Now I guess we leave it alone and let it spin itself into a moth (I don't think this is the butterfly kind of caterpillar). 

You can't actually see Softy in the picture, because he's/she's/its spun itself up near the lid. However, you can see the cob webby silk stuff. 

Yard Jewelry!

:: My new yard jewelry!.......some girls like to get new jewelry, and some like me like to get new yard tools! (well to be honest I REALLY like jewelry too, but there is nothing better than a good tool that works in my book!). I've had my eye on these little dandys and haven't wanted to spend the money on them, but I finally caved in and bought them. And, lately I have become a bargain hunter and got them for a GREAT price.....whoo hoo! 
:: I tried out my new hedge trimmers on our front shrub. Doesn't it look nice? hee hee Just call me Edward Scissor Hands!

I usually use my electric hedge trimmer, but for 1) its SO LOUD, (2) you have to try not to cut the cord in half as your trimming along, and (3) its heavy! (I know, boo hoo!) 

So there you have it.....my big excitement! LOL!

Alligator Pool

There is a theme going here......Alligators! It all started with the pool we swim at with Gma and Gpa (Anna calls the pool we go to with them "Gpa's pool"). There is a big Alligator in the children's pool there that Anna loves. 

Well yesterday when we were at Fred Meyer I spotted this pool.....on sale....whoo hoo! 

And then of course there is the alligator swim suit! 

Sandpool?

:: Okay, so not everyone uses the little blue pool for water :0) Actually we did last year, but this year we've moved on to sand. 

:: Notice the tarp in the background to keep the unwanted cats out......hey, at least its not a blue tarp :0) 
:: I asked her to give me a smile and this is what she gives me....brother! (Another words, hurry up mom, I want to get back to playing!)

:: I have to say, I think I'm in shock....this is two days in a row that she has played in her play yard BY HERSELF.....could it be that my little girl is growing up? 

Oh, and everyone should be happy to know that we bought her a new pool since this one has been taken over by sand......An alligator pool that squirts water.....she's quite excited about that! 

Hope everyone had a great day. I spent more time out in the yard......I think I am actually done planting things now....whew! I'll try to get my act together tomorrow and get some yard pics. 

The Start to Summer....

:: Here is a pic of Hank looking quite annoyed that there is ANOTHER squirrel in the tree! It was a close one the other day....He almost caught a squirrel!......he was chasing it around the base of the same tree he's staking out in this picture. I had to interfere and chase off the squirrel. I think the squirrel just wanted to play with Hank. 



:: Today was a big day.....for me anyways!....for the first time Anna played in/on her playset at length without me having to be up in the playhouse with her. Yahoo! I put a blanket down for her and took a bunch of inside toys out to the playhouse and whataya know!....she actually sat out there and played for a good hour! Sweet relief is what I say! She was having a great time throwing a tea party for her stuffed animal friends. Happy day!

Now, we'll see if we can get a repeat tomorrow ????? :0) 

Flowers Around the Yard

:: Big pot on the front porch. I like to decorate for the 4th of July, so I always like to put red, purple and either yellow or white in this front pot. Looks great when it comes time to decorate.
:: One of the pots hanging on the garage....there are two, one on each side of the garage door. I bought these little color pots from Fred Meyer for $9.00 each and transfered them in to my hanging pots......great deal and they look great!
:: One of the groups of Allium planted around the yard.
::Close up of an Allium......just love these....they are so pretty and delicate.
:: I have these pots hanging on a hook above our lower patio. I don't think I've ever had yellow petunias before. I bought the Petunias at Home Depot for $5.00 each and added some lobelia for more color.

:: It was a big yard work day today.....mowed the lawn....whoo hoo! all three sides of the house done!.....that's an accomplishment! Weeded my garden area and planted some tomato plants and pepper plants.....I'll be planting more in the garden but ran out of steam for today. I planted a flat of marigolds that my mom-in-law grew in her green house......she gave me three more flats of flowers that I hope to get in the ground tomorrow. And, even managed to get in some play time with Anna. Now Michael is BBQing our dinner, I'm going to eat and maybe pass out!....LOL!

Hope everyone had a great day! Until tomorrow enjoy the pics of the flowers :0)

Yard work and more yard work!

:: This is a pic of our lower patio area.....its kind of hard to tell, but I was taking the picture to show off my red letters that say "RELAX". I had Michael paint them for me last year......the letters were purchased from JoAnn's (fabric store). They were plain pine, but I wanted RED! 

::The blue bike is one of my favorite yard pieces.....my father-in-law gave me that. I'm sure everyone thought I was strange when I asked if I could have the old blue bike, but I had plans for it! I planted a red petunia wave in the basket this year. It will be so pretty when it starts to fall over the edge of the basket. 

:: I just painted the black tool box a couple days ago and plan to plant some seeds in it....probably trailing nasturtium. 
:: Last year I only had one pot in this spot and I planted morning glory seeds in it.....WOW!....they took off like crazy. So, this year I figured if one pot was nice THREE would be better, and I planted more morning glory seeds. I hope they do as well as last year. 
:: This is how you find our cat Hank most days during the summer.....I'm so glad we were able to buy him this patio furniture! LOL! Lately he has been using it more than us! 

Is DEET safe to use?....

After the long winter we had (WA state) our family is more than ready to spend every sunny moment we can outside. Every one in our neighborhood has noticed that the mosquitos have come in force this year. So, the first thing I did was grab the insect repellent!.....then I started to wonder if DEET is all that safe? I went to a few different web sites, and here is the info I found:

What is DEET?

DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) is the active ingredient in most insect repellents available in the United States that are applied to the skin. DEET was developed more than 50 years ago by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for use by our military. It was registered for use by the general public in 1957.

What is West Nile Virus? 

West Nile virus is spread by infected mosquitoes, and can cause serious, life-altering and even fatal disease. Spring is here, as weather warms up remember to check around your yard and dump out standing water where mosquitoes can lay their eggs. Stock up on repellent for the warm days ahead, too.

Which DEET concentration should I use? What product should I select?

DEET-based insect repellents are available in a range of concentrations from5 percent to 100 percent. A 5 percent product will provide approximately 90 minutes of protection and a 100 percent product approximately 10 hours. The "effective" time increases as you increase the concentration of DEET.

www.deetonline.org Does DEET cause cancer, birth defects, or genetic changes?

DEET-based products have been subjected to rigorous scientific scrutiny over many years.  These tests have continued to confirm that consumers can use these products with confidence, according to product labeling directions for ALL family members. Additionally, tests confirm that DEET does not cause cancer, birth defects, or genetic changes.

 

Is DEET an insecticide?

DEET is not an insecticide and neither kills nor harms the pests it repels. DEET interferes with the mosquito's ability to detect the carbon dioxide our bodies release.

Can I use a DEET-based insect repellent and sunscreen together?

The effectiveness of both insect repellents and sunscreens are dramatically reduced when users apply them at the same time. Decide which is your top priority at the moment-protection from insects or from the sun-then apply either a repellent or sunscreen, plus use other measures to reduce insect and sun exposure. Some manufacturers produce a specially formulated product that combines both DEET-based insect repellent and sunscreen. These should be used with the frequency of repellents, where you re-apply only as needed to exposed skin areas.

There is more information out there. Here is a link www.deetonline.org