Master Gardener Program

I love gardening!!!!!!!

When I was young I loved to hear my mother talk about plants with her friends. It was as though she was speaking a different language. "Thorny eleagnus, aspidistra, aucuba, fatsia, quince, rubeckia."  I was also impressed with her knowledge about this hobby that is part science, part art. She started the garden club in our home town and one month they had an event where you had to use plant material in an unusual way.  Mom and her friend, Looney, hollowed out cabbages and put them on their heads. After the addition of other vegetables and flowers their "hats" could have rivaled anything seen at the Royal Ascot.

  I have a friend who says you shouldn't retire from something, but to something. One of the things I have been saving for retirement is becoming a Master Gardener.  I have gardened for a long time, but quite honestly, have no real idea what I am doing.  I am ready to learn!

The Master Gardener program started in 1972 in Washington state.  It got its start in Louisiana in 1994 in East Baton Rouge. Today their are 19 programs in our state and 235 yearly graduates.  It  falls under the umbrella of the LSU AgCenter.  Classes are taught by local college professors, county agents, and master gardeners.

The program is a twelve week study of the following topics:

     Basic Botany and Plant Propagation
     Basic Entomology
     Plant Pathology
     Weed Science
     Lawn Care
     Soils and Nutrition
     Pesticide Safety and Water Quality
     Organic Gardening
     Vegetable Gardening
     Composting
     Fruit and Nut Production
     Ornamental Horticulture

There is a test (open book) at the end of the course and a requirement of forty hours of community garden education projects over the course of twelve months to become a certified Master Gardener. I can't wait!!!!!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler

I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day. ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace

I never had any other desire so strong, and so like to covetousness, as that one which I have had always, that I might be master at last of a small house and a large Garden. ~Abraham Cowley, The Garden, 1666

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. ~Margaret Atwood

Early to bed, early to rise;
Work like hell and fertilize.
~Emily Whaley

Owl Wings and Coon Tails (Part II)

     I was teaching in New Iberia at the time. I got to school one morning and the electricity was out, the whole school dark.  I was on early duty so I made my way down to the office to pick up my walkie talkie and find out how we were going to handle this situation.  The principal decided to put all the students in the cafeteria where a big wall of windows would allow us to see until we figured this out.  The kids were excited as they got off the bus because we might get to go home early.  The teachers were excited as they got out of their cars because we might get to go home early.  The power company was called and we all sat around waiting for, hopefully, good news.

     Suddenly, my walkie talkie squawked to life and my principal's voice told me to report to the football field.  This request made absolutely no sense, but I headed that way wondering what in the world could be going on.  There was a group of men, most from the power company, gathered on the side line and they parted to let me enter their circle. My principal stepped forward and said, "I know you like to collect stuff for you students.  Do you want this?"  And there lying on the ground was the most beautiful owl I had ever seen. It was huge! One of the electricians explained that the owl had swooped down to catch a mouse and then flown directly up into the power lines, electrocuting itself and throwing the school into darkness. He pointed out that the mouse was still in the owl's talons with its tail curled up the owl's leg.

 "Do you want it?", my principal asked again. Of course, I thought, but what do you do with a dead owl/mouse?  I didn't want to pay to have it stuffed! "What about just a wing?" one electrician offered. "Perfect", I said.  He grabbed a pair of clippers and I found myself walking back into the building carrying an owl wing.

     Needless to say when James got home that afternoon to find an owl wing in the refrigerator, he thought I had lost my mind.  But a quick search on the Internet located directions for DIY taxidermy. We layered Epsom salts, owl wing, and more Epsom salts in a pizza box.  Then sealed the box with tape and put the it away for several months.  The wing was perfectly preserved.  It has since passed through the hands of hundreds of middle schoolers and never lost a feather. It was a perennial favorite of most of my students (not so much the girls).

Fast forward many years and my nephew, Carson, is a real nature buff.  Recently a friend of my dad's brought him a raccoon's tail (a fresh raccoon's tail) to give to Carson.  Out came the Epsom salts and in a few month's Carson will have a new addition to his nature collection.

 

Every child I ever taught was fascinated by Mother Nature; most adults are too.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~Albert Einstein

I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright. ~Henry David Thoreau

Love ya'll, Shelli

Yoga To Go!!!!

     My daughter, Katherine, is a yoga instructor in New Orleans. 

www.freetstreetyoga.com

 

 She teaches at Freret Street Yoga. 

 The studio has recently launched its My Yoga To Go website.  It gives you unlimited access to yoga instruction from your computer, tablet, or mobile device.

 

It's like having your own personal instructor wherever you go!

 

www.myyogatogo.com

There are four free videos.  Try it out and see if you like it!

When this body has been so magnificently and artistically created by God, it is only fitting that we should maintain it in good health and harmony by the most excellent and artistic science of Yoga. ~Geeta Iyengar

Owl Wings and Coon Tails (Part I)

   

     When I was in Junior High, there was a science teacher whose classroom was filled with the coolest science stuff!  There were jars filled with the creepiest specimens; eyeballs floating in mysterious liquids and fetuses of heaven only knows what watching you from their curled positions. The walls were hung with charts and diagrams of body systems and plant parts. Microscopes filled old, wooden shelves in cabinets with sliding glass doors. Test tubes, beakers, and Erlenmeyer flasks sat at the ready. The blinds were kept partially closed creating a dim, semi-spooky setting that gave many a middle schooler a thrill upon entering!

But it was all for naught..............

Not once did we use a microscope, view a specimen, or mix anything in a flask.  It was just read the chapter and answer questions.  Read the chapter and answer questions.

What a let down!!!

 

 

      Most of my teaching career I taught math and science, and spurred on by my Jr. High disappointment, I always tried to put cool science stuff in my students' hands. I began collecting- snake skins, brain coral, coprolite (dino dung), purple mica from Madagascar, a rattlesnake rattle, trilobites, turkey tails, obsidian arrowheads, a coconut in its shell, an ocean finger sponge, shark teeth, black sand from Hawaii, and on and on.

 

     At first I tried passing something interesting round once a week.  The questions were always the same.  "Is this real?"  "How much did this cost?" Often we spent so much time discussing the item that we had to rush through our lesson. (My favorite was the turtle shell that sparked the question, "Where did the turtle go?" I could just picture the image in their heads of a scrawny, wrinkled turtle discarding its old shell and going shopping for an upgrade.) So I switched tactics and started putting an item up on the lab table each test day.  Directions on the board that day would read:

 

When you finish:

1. Put your test under the ammonite.

2. Put your answer document under the fish scales.

3. Get a Science World magazine and return to your desk.

4. Read quietly until dismissal.

 

This worked perfectly! The kids had to pick up and handle each specimen.  I had little cards there explaining what they were holding. When the test was over and we were waiting for the bell, we discussed the specimens, I testified that they were real, and they debated likely cost.

 

Soon I realized the kids were getting excited about test day and immediately upon entering the room  read the "When You Finish" directions from the board wondering what the specimens would be for that day. I too grew to love test day because I could sit in the back of the room and watch the kids handle those specimens and enjoy the wonder in their faces. They would slowly turn the item over, viewing it from each side, totally engaged and interested. If the specimen was too gross (fish skeletons, stuffed birds) the girls refused to touch them and would wait, holding their tests (and sometimes their noses,) until a boy came up and lifted the specimen for them.  You don't often get to witness chivalry in action!

 

One day the directions read:

1. Put your test under the bulb.

 

Now I meant the large brown, hairy amaryllis bulb, but I knew they would be looking for a light bulb. Oh my goodness did I sit back and laugh! The bulb was right in front of them, but they searched all over the lab table and finally looked up at me in total bewilderment.

 

We planted bulb and they loved it!  That amaryllis was like the class pet!  Our goal was to have a big red flower in class on Valentine's day, then we would have a drawing and the lucky winner would take it home to their mom. Vera won!

 

 

 

Collecting weird science stuff for the students was lots of fun until one morning I got to school and everything was dark..........

 

 

to be continued.......

 

 

 

Country Come To Town

I haven't written in a while because I have been in the city!  My sister, Carole, just finished moving her children into apartments and dorms in the Dallas area where our other sister, Jamie, lives. I went along to carry some furniture, help decorate, and enjoy time with my sisters. 

Anyway, just being in the city is fun.  We went to Steel City Pops where they sell gourmet popsicles in all kinds of fun flavors. I had avocado and it tasted like frozen guacamole.  It was so delicious that you wanted to dip a tortilla chip into it.  We sat outside and enjoyed some people and dog watching.  Young people in cool urban clothing rode up on their bikes with dogs on fancy leashes and in fancy little baskets.  In my neck of the woods you buy popsicles in a box at Walmart and you wouldn't even consider taking your dog with you to buy them.

www.al.com

We also went to see a movie at Ipic - the Nirvana of movie theaters. We bought our tickets at a swanky, low lit counter inside the building.  Then we walked through the lounge area with a beautiful bar and pool tables.  There we were seated in plush recliners with a table next to them.  The button on the side gently reclined you until you were so laid out they could have done surgery or a root canal.  Our usher pointed out our extra pillow and blanket and handed us wine lists and menus.  Carole and I shared sliders - blackened Mahi Mahi sliders with cantaloupe and portobella mushroom sliders with goat cheese. That's right, they have fancier food at movie theaters in the city than they do at any restaurant in our entire town. Later when I got home and was sitting on the back porch listening to the cicadas, I decided that Ipic theaters were kinda hedonistic, but it's a hedonism I hope to enjoy every time I am in the city!

www.dallasnews.com

Speaking of hedonism, we've been to Top Golf on other Dallas trips.....

www.9news.com

But I think the best part of city life has to be the grocery stores. We love Jamie's Whole Foods , but on this trip we went to Central Market.  Oh my goodness!! We stood there gawking at more apple varieties than our feeble minds could imagine.  We sampled lychee and passion fruit.  We were amazed by mushrooms that looked like they came from a planet in the Dagobah system. I bought my husband, the king of grilled sausage, spinach goat cheese sausage and hatch pepper cheddar chicken sausage.  Then we rounded the corner and entered the bakery section where Handel's Messiah is piped in over the speakers and shoppers stand paralyzed in front of counters laden with pastries that looked like they were flown in from Paris. My favorites were Jesuites, an almond cream filled pastry that gets it's name from being shaped like a Jesuit's hat.  Returning to my local Walmart is going to be such a let down.

I'm definitely a country girl, but a country girl that can truly appreciate a city visit.

                                                                                    Love ya'll, Shelli

With Every Choice

More thoughts from C. S. Lewis:

     People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, 'If you keep a lot of rules I'll reward you, and if you don't I'll do the other thing.' I do not think that is the best way of looking at it.  I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before.  And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature; either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures and with itself.  To be one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power.  To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness.  Each of us at the moment is progressing to the one state or the other.
                                                                             -from Mere Christianity

www.mercatornet.com

Advice For Parents As A New School Year Begins

    

 Having taught for thirty-three years, I suppose I could give some advice to parents about dealing with their children during this new school year.  However, the advice I am going to give comes from two of my eighth grade students.  I overheard this conversation while they were waiting for their bus shift one afternoon.

Student #1:  "Mrs. Smith makes me sick!! She just don't like me!! Just 'cause my paper was late and written in pencil don't make no difference and she didn't have to shame me in front of the class by sayin' she was gonna take points off!! When my mama hears about this, she's gonna be up here first thing in the morning and set all these people straight!! They have no right to treat me this way!"

Student #2: " My mama don't come up here makin' no fool outta herself!  She told me that I gotta get up here and behave and learn.  She don't tolerate no excuses.  Says it's my job to get along with the teachers and make good grades."

     Well, by the end of the year Student #1 was failing, had been suspended several times, and had developed a reputation (along with her mother) that followed her to the high school where matters only got worse.  Student #2, who was a cheerleader and active 4H participant, ended her year on the Honor Roll, voted a class favorite, and with her teachers writing recommendations for AP classes in high school.

     Now I should probably stop this post here; the lesson is self-explanatory, but I can't.  You see those of you who are already raising students like my Student #2, get it. You understand that turning over responsibility for their own lives and choices to your child is necessary for their proper growth and development.  Responsibility develops confidence.  Confidence results in self esteem.  The byproducts of self esteem are patience, perseverance, optimism, friendliness, sympathy for others, courage and self reliance; everything needed to make a person well rounded and likable.

     But there are those parents that just don't get it.  They think that "being there" for their child means bailing them out of every hardship.  By never letting their child be held accountable for their choices, they are handicapping their child.  I have had 14 year old students pout and have temper tantrums just like they did when they were two years old and I felt so sorry for them.  Their parents had never required them to mature beyond their toddler years. How would these children ever make it in high school, much less college or the workplace.

I wish that as this new school year begins, every parent would sit down with their child and say something like this:

     "Honey, this year you are going to be in ______ grade. Your number one job is to have a successful year.
      It is your responsibility to get along with each one of your teachers.  This will be easy with some of them and tougher with others, but if you look each one in the eye and say "Good Morning" every time you enter the room and if you treat them with respect and do not disrupt their class, you can develop a great relationship with them. Developing relationships is one of life's most important skills!  Getting along with teachers, coaches, band directors, and principals is a great way to hone that skill.
     Your next responsibility is to learn the educational material for this grade. College and your career may seem like a long way off, but what you learn now is laying the foundation for your future.  We expect you to listen in class and complete your assignments on time and to best of your ability. We expect you to study for tests and take your grades seriously. Your work is a reflection of who you are and you are a reflection of our family.
     Your last responsibility this year is to others; your family, friends, and school mates. Be kind and sympathetic. Be courageous and stand up for others.  Be honest and trustworthy. Don't be boastful. Be fun-loving.
    We are your parents and we love you.  We will be behind you every step of the way this year.  You can come to us for advice at any time, but the choices you make and their resulting consequences are yours.  We have faith in you and will rejoice in your success this year."

Here's to a great 2014-2015 school year!!!

                                                                                  Love ya'll, Shelli

Recycle, Reuse, Reduce, Redecorate

When our daughter, Katherine, was serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Madagascar I missed her terribly as you can imagine.  I was proud of the work she was doing, but I couldn't help but look forward to her homecoming.

  Because I knew she would be setting up an apartment when she came home, James and I began to pick up odds and ends for that purpose as we visited flea markets and junk shops.  It was a way of doing something for her even though she was literally half way around the world.

When she came home in spring of 2013 I had an attic and hothouse full of tables, chairs, lamps, picture frames, garden junk, iron work, mirrors, maps, curtains, etc.  (I guess I got a little carried away.)  She put together the cutest vintage, eclectic, boho style apartment you have ever seen.  Her great taste brought it all together!

But now I have a bunch of leftovers, not to mention the ordinary garage sale stuff we all accumulate over the years. Plus James and I can't resist running over to the Canton Flea Market every now and then.  I was going to have a big yard sale in the fall, but as I dug around in the attic I started pulling out things that I thought would go together to make a cute room.  Then I started painting and sewing and, well this is what I've come up with so far, all recycled and reused and hopefully reducing the amount of stuff I have in the hothouse so I can actually walk in there some time soon.

This group started with the antique iron bed.  The metal rolling cart used to be in my classroom.  The little stool was on its last leg (no pun intended) when we found it, but a good coat of paint helped everything.  Fabrics for recovering old pillows from Hobby Lobby and I did the flower painting on an existing canvas.  Added a few other things and all done.  I've put it on Craigslist and we'll see what happens.

Update: SOLD!!

 

 

Little stool before

This group started with redoing the little stool. Old bedside tables and lamps all got a coat of paint.  The shades are from Lowes.  I got them a couple of years ago, but never used them and (I'll be honest) I never got around to returning them.  Shame on me. :(  I got a big old window screen for the headboard.  It is definitely a rustique! Recovered old pillows and repurposed old canvases.
Also on Craigslist.

Update: SOLD!!

Maybe all this repurposing will qualify me as "Green".  I hope so since I can never remember my reusable grocery bags when I go into Wal Mart :(

                                                                   Love ya'll, Shelli

 

Turkey Feet and Jelly

When James and I decided to leave Lafayette and move back to  North Louisiana, my South Louisiana friends wondered why.  I told them that I wanted to grow grapes, raise chickens, and have a chance of snow in the winter.  So far I am two for three on those plans; we've had snow and this summer our three year old grape vines produced their first true harvest.

 

So that means it was time to make jelly.  Now I've never made jelly on my own.  My mom made crab apple jelly with us when we were young.  She hung the mashed up crab apples in diapers from the spigot in the bath tub while the juice ran out into a big bowl.  I have fond memories of that project so I was looking forward to making the first official batch of Turkey Creek Garden muscadine jelly.

 

 

 

 

Although I am a jelly novice, it wasn't that difficult. However, I was glad that I had waited to start this project until James came home from work because it took both of us to get the hot jelly liquid into the jars and the lids screwed in place quickly. It was kind of like making hot water cornbread; the first few steps happen at a leisurely pace,  then suddenly you're trying to stir and pour boiling water at the same time and things can get hectic!!

 

Jelly and Turkey Feet
(I am working on my Turkey Creek Garden brand.)

As we went to bed, we could hear the occasional tinny pop of jar lids doing whatever jar lids do after canning and it reminded me of one of our favorite movies, "Holiday Inn", where Bing Crosby has given up hectic city life to farm in Connecticut.  On one of his visits back to New York, he brings his show business friends cans of his homemade peach preserves.  Suddenly the lids explode from the cans showering the room, and all the people in it, with slimy peaches. My last conscience thoughts as I drifted off to sleep were of muscadine jelly dripping from my kitchen ceiling.....

But this morning all is well and I am planning on muscadine wine for next year!

Love ya'll,
Shelli

 

 

 

 

One Thing Leads To Another

My mom found this little article when she was going through my great aunt Hittie's papers.  It is just SO true!!!

     Today your goal is to straighten things up around the house.  You must throw away the pile of newspapers.  But there was an advertisement you meant to cut out, so you have to go through them.  While looking for your ad, you come upon one for soap flakes.  Maybe you should add soap flakes to your shopping list.  You go into the kitchen to see how much soap flakes are left.  Just enough to wash that blouse.  You get out the blouse, but it has a button off.  You get out your sewing basket, which needs to be straightened out, if you're to find a button.  This means winding all the loose thread back around the spools and securing it in all those little slots.  While doing this, you turn up a small sample of material which you were planning to make into a slip cover for your couch.  So you take it out, and put it on the end of the couch to study the effect.  While studying the room, you realize it is very messy.  You must throw away that pile of newspapers.  But first you have to look through them....

How many of you have had days like this??!!

Drinking From My Saucer

  In the garden you must add fertilizer to your plants if you want them to grow; adding nutrients for strength and vitality.  Our lives are no different, so I thought I'd write about an easy way to add nutrients to your life and grow the strong branches that this blog is about.

     How? 

 

 Count your blessings!!!! 

 

Counting our blessings helps us focus on what we have, not want we want.  Counting our blessings draws our minds away from our problems.  Counting our blessings floods our bodies with thankfulness washing out greed, envy, anxiety, and fear. 

 

My parents love a song entitled "Drinking From My Saucer 'Cause My Cup Has Overflowed" by Bill Anderson. They often start their day with this song playing in the kitchen.  What a great attitude to get you going. Here are some of the lyrics:

 

No, I'm not a man of riches,
No sir, and sometimes the going gets kinda' rough,
But I got me a good family, an old horse, and a dog;
They all love me, well that makes me rich enough.
I thank the Lord for all these, bless the mercies he has bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer cause my cup has overflowed.

 

The song is modern, but the sentiment isn't:

 

"My cup runneth over"

Psalm 23:5

 

 

Here are more thoughts on gratitude:

 

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. ~G.K. Chesterton

 

The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings! ~Henry Ward Beecher

 

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

 

The struggle ends when the gratitude begins. ~Neale Donald Walsch

 

All that we behold is full of blessings. ~William Wordsworth

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel. ~Author Unknown

 

With arms outstretched I thank.
With heart beating gratefully I love.
With body in health I jump for joy.
With spirit full I live.
~Terri Guillemets

 

 

Whatever be the depth of woe
Along the path that I must go,
I'll sing my song—
My song of joy for all the love
That's lavished on us from above,
And count no loss of treasure-trove
When things go wrong.
I'll sing the sunlight, and the bright
Soft smiling stars that gem the night;
For gifts of good
That God hath spread along my way,
The lilt of birds in tuneful play,
The harvests full and flowers gay,
The whole day long
I'll sing my song
Of gratitude!
~John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922), "My Song" (October Twenty-sixth), The Cheery Way: A Bit of Verse For Every Day, 1920

Love ya'll, Shelli