2 year anniversary!!!

I didn't mention it yet, but it's Danny and my 2 year anniversary today! One of the things I wanted to complete before this day came was our (very) little garden area. I planted some lettuce earlier in the year in the really bad soil left here before us, so I decided to invest in some good soil from Concentrates. (A really great place by the way. I will attach my Concentrates review to the bottom of this entry.)

I told you the plants I planted in the earlier entry from Pistil's Nursery. They are still little babes in the ground, but I am still a proud momma. Our tomato plant is growing strong. We had BLAT (Bacon, Lettuce, Acocado, and Tomato)sandwiches two nights ago, and they were the most scrumptious BLAT sandwhiches I've had. We used our first tomato from the garden. It was a proud moment. I don't like raw tomatoes, but it was good enough to eat raw. The best tomato I've eaten.

Only one tomato was ripe enough to eat. I am waiting in anticipation for the others to ripen. I got a hanging basket as a present for leading step study, and I love it. It adds a lot of life to our deck. The sun's coming out :)

Concentrates Review:
Oh my word. Urban gardeners, and heck, every gardener I am yelling out to you. THIS PLACE HAS WONDERFUL DEALS! They sell in bulk, and also in smaller sizes.

For instance I got:
-A box of 4lb Black Gold organic fertilizer and
-2 cu ft (56.6 L) Black Gold waterhold cocoblend potting soil (OG)
That's what I mean by small

They've specialized in organic agriculture since 1938. Here's the website list of some of the stuff they carry: soil amendments, meals, fertilizer, compost, livestock feeds, supplements, chicken supplies, pet foods, and a wide variety of salts.

They aren't the type of place you buy a trowel.

They are very helpful. I will warn you, it's intimidating when you first go because it's a warehouse, but there's a little side off to the right. You don't have to know much. Just go, talk to the person behind the counter and they will help you out. If you don't know specifically what you want, they are more than happy to help you. They had great recommendations for me.

You tell the woman/man your order, he/she writes it on a paper, than you take it to the (usually) dude who's loading stuff and he will load it in your car for you. The minus one star is for this whole transaction. It wasn't explained well and there was some wait time, but I just stood outside my car with my book and read while I waited. It wasn't that long, but this process could be optimized.

Chicken videos

If the picture wasn't enough, here's 2 chicken videos. That's Ingrid feeding them. I know I filmed it sideways, but I wanted you to see their cute purple house in the background. I really liked their place.

Gamenight last night

We went to Brad's house for game night. He and his wife, Ingrid, have chickens. As you can see, I have been having some chicken exposure. Danny and I have wanted chickens for a while, but know it's not real practical, or useful, in an apartment, so once we move to a place with a yard than chickens will be joining our lives.

The look on this chickens face is wondeful. I love it! The other picture is of Brad (left) and Omar (right) battling it out in Grid Lock.

Deer sighting

I followed this momma deer with her two babies. They were on a cliff above us and saw them coming down. There were different bends and I happened to time it just right to where I thought she might come down. It may not be that exciting to you, but the whole thing was very exciting to us, as you will be able to tell by my enthusiasm.

They were right on the trail. Someone could be walking up and just run into them. How great would that be? Anyhoo, I like deers.

Eagle Creek

We hiked Eagle Creek, two weekends ago, I think. Great spots to swim. It's a fun hike. 14 miles round trip. We camped out at 7 1/2 mile camp (but it's really 7 miles to get there.) There were a ton of people there to swim around Punch Bowl Falls, and a ton of hikers. I have never been on such a crowded trail before.

Once you get further along it mellows out, but in the beginning I was a little weirded out by all the people. I hike to get away from all the noise, hustle and bustle, so having a whole bunch of people is not my cup of tea, unless I intentionally go with a big group of people.

I've heard about Tunnel Fall, but this is the first time I experienced it. You walk through a little tunnel under the Falls, hence the name, Tunnel Falls. Oh, we saw deer. I will put the video on.

Pistil's Nursery

This place is wonderful. You know how you go in a place and your soul can't help but sing? This is that place for me. They have everything to please your senses (with the exception of taste, but we got our fill of that by stopping at Monsoon Thai aka Thai Laundry as the local Mississippians call it).

The ladies at the front know their stuff and are more than willing to impart their wisdom on a listening ear (or two). I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just a few plants and some edibles. She asked very specific questions about where we were planting, the sunlight exposure, the type of soil I was using, fertilizer etc. I loved how much she cared. She genuinely seemed like she wanted to help me find the right plants. She encouraged using organic soil, fertilizer, etc. (which I already do), but she did it in a way that wasn't forceful or shaming, and I really appreciate that. Both that she encouraged the use of organic products, and did it in a way that was helpful, not forceful.

Soap box second: I believe in being nice to the earth too, but there is no need to shame people about it. That seems to be a lot of peoples tactic and I don't know about you, but when I feel guilt or shame I want to resist it, not go along with whatever message they're trying to sell.

Back to the review: We came out with a few kale, a couple lavender, some swiss chard, and two autumn sedge plants (or beach grass-as I like to call it).

We almost got out of there with a free chameleon that hitched a ride in on one of their plants. Danny and I are not ready for a reptilian commitment. But if you're wanting a free chameleon I'd give them a call. It was four days ago, but they might still have him/her.

They have chickens walking all around, inside and out. They are so fun and entertaining. They're all different types of chickens too, some of the funniest chickens I've ever seen. They do a great job with upkeep, while maintaining a creative environment. What I mean is it's the perfect balance of creativity and organization. The two rarely go hand in hand in my life. The organization doesn't like to stop by for visits often enough.