June Bloom Day

I am a day late with my Bloom Day post this month.

School got out on Monday, and I feel like we've been going at a dead run ever since!

However, next week should be much better.

So far, we only have 2 things planned--much more my speed for the summer!

I have some beautiful flowers to show you this month.

I garden in Eastern Washington state, USA, zone 5b.

Welcome!

We'll start out front, with my 3 terraced flowerbeds.

  

Shy bellflower under the mums.

I didn't expect this one to come back!

It was tall and stately in my flowerpot 2 years ago, then in the fall I transplanted it here.

I didn't see any sign of it last year, but here it is!

 

There's definitely a purple/pink/yellow/white theme going on.

Can it still be a theme with 4 different colors?

My English rose is very floppy--not sure why. I may need to add some low trellising to tie it to, so those gorgeous blooms can be seen better.

miniature rose, with salvia

The salvia is kind of taking over!

These poor little Asiatic daylilies can barely poke their heads through!

Last peony, with more salvia.

This is the English rose on the bottom terrace.

Also a bit floppy, but not as bad as the top ones.

Going around the bend.

Guillardia with daisies

 

This view makes me happy on a daily basis!

More Asiatic daylilies getting smothered!

Poor things. I really must transplant them this fall so they can have a little room to breathe.

On this corner, the sorbaria is the culprit.

I may cut it back a bit as well.

I never would have put these two colors together, but I love how they look!

The reddish purple are seedheads forming on my ninebark bush (Physocarpus), and the lighter purple are catmint blooms.

Further on down my eastside terrace, the butterfly bushes I added this year are still quite small, but blooming prolifically.

Now to the back!

In the vegetable garden, the peas are coming on!

The kids have already been picking some out of their little patches, but I'm waiting for mine to plump up just a bit more. They are so close!

Some California poppies in my cutting garden (middle of the vegetable garden!)

This area is struggling, but I'm hoping it takes off soon.

On the back slope, the wild daisies are in their glory right now.

In my shade bed, this little columbine has been blooming for over a month now!

I am very appreciative of its longevity!

In the back flowerbed along the house, the mockorange is just covered this year!

This tall lily, 'Elodie' is just starting to open up, as well.

Well now we are to my back deck.

I have a few bright containers to welcome you in!

If you lived close, I'd have you in for a cool drink at this point!

For more beautiful flowers from all around the world, visit Carol's blog: May Dreams Garden.

Thanks for exploring my garden with me today.

What do you have blooming lately?

The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
by Siddhartha Mukherjee

3.5 stars: Packed with fascinating details, grim facts, and people dedicated to helping others.


Mukherjee was an oncology resident as he was writing this book, which in itself amazes me. How in the world did he find the time?  It goes into depth on many aspects of cancer, including historical references to it, and the many people involved in reaching our current understanding of it.

The 1960's War on Cancer gets several chapters--along with the aftermath of that big push. The more hopeful news is that new drugs and new developments continue to be made--and made available--to the public relatively frequently these days. The not so great news is that even with all the progress that has happened, for many types of cancer, time left is still measured in weeks or months, not years. I thought it was very interesting that with some forms of cancer, being in remission at 5 years out is considered essentially a cure.

I wish I had a better memory for names, because this book was chock full of people: scientists, doctors, surgeons, patients, pharmacists, politicians, and so on, who all had a hand in some key discovery or bringing something important into the public eye. I do tend to remember stories, so some of those have stuck with me. I feel so sorry for the women who had radical mastectomies back in the day. Wow. The metaphor of war seems particularly apt in reference to the patients--the human casualties in this whole thing. Every new drug, procedure, or idea had to be tested on someone, after all. (Often the patients themselves were begging to be guinea pigs--grasping at straws.)

There was a couple of fascinating chapters on Big Tobacco, and the push for (and against) warning labels on cigarettes--how that all came about. It saddened me how loss of profits also seemed to lead to loss of ethics for so many in those companies, particularly those in charge. Or perhaps it just brought to the forefront the lack of moral integrity that was already there to begin with. Right now I just want to say that I am so glad I don't smoke!! So many cancers are a direct result of smoking and tobacco use. (Not to mention all the other health problems they cause.)

As a reading experience, it was dense and long. I had to read a few chapters, then put it down and come back to it in a few days. Great bedtime reading--though! Interesting enough that I wanted to keep reading it, but not so thrilling that it ever kept me up past my bedtime!  It was just about perfect in that regard. I knew I could read it until my eyes started closing on their own, at which time it was time to be done. 

If you've got the time and the inclination, this is a good one! I really feel like I learned a lot.
 

Series Spotlight: Animal Clues, by Joanne Randolph

Animal Clues, by Joanne Randolph, is an Easy Reader series that we just came across this past week. The format for each book is very similar. They have a Table of Contents, then each 2-page spread includes a question with a picture clue, followed by the answer with the full photo revealed.

The questions and answers are written nearly identically, which will help beginning readers build confidence. The photos are crisp and clear, and even though some of the questions are super obvious, there are at least a couple in each book that are not.

The last page includes an Index, a handful of Words to Know, and a website listing pertaining to that particular topic.

My 4-year-old is really into these type of "guess the answer"-type books right now, and he was all over these! We checked them all out at once! He sat down and "read" them to himself as soon as we got home from the library, then wanted me to read them with him later, as well.

While these may not be a more experienced reader's first pick, they serve their purpose very well.

Hand these to: Beginning readers who like animals, and would enjoy a guessing game along the way.

* * * * * *

Do you have any favorite Easy Reader series? Do tell!

How to Dry Oregano

Drying oregano is usually a June project for me, but it needed to be done in May this year.

Generally, you want to do it before it has blossomed.

I usually do mine in our dehydrator in the interest of time, but you can also hang bundles up in a warm, dry spot to dry.

So, here's what the oregano bush looked like in the garden.

Step 1: Give it a haircut.

Just whack it off!

No need for precision here.

Just grab big handfuls, and snip away.

(My kiddos loved this part!)

You generally want to leave the bottom 2 or 3 sets of leaves, so that it grows back again.

You can see there in front where my helpers got a little over-enthusiastic and cut it almost to the ground. Oops.

Step 2: Wash it good.

Step 3: Spread it out to dry.

You can put it into the dehydrator wet--it will just take a lot longer.

We had a forest on the counter!

We left it there for the morning. It was mostly dry by lunchtime.

Step 4: Pack your trays

Remember these will shrivel down to practically nothing, so don't be afraid to stack them a bit.

Also, the stems and leaves make enough air pockets between them naturally that they don't need to be in a single layer.

The first time we did this, we stripped all the leaves off first and put them on the trays.

That took a couple of hours all by itself.

We have found that it is MUCH faster to just put the whole stems on and pull leaves off once they've dried.

To get them to fit into the dehydrator, I had to push down the plants on the tray below, so that the one I was putting in wouldn't pull all the stems to the back.

Step 5: Follow the instructions for your machine and get it going!

Mine took about 6 hours at 125 degrees F.

I ended up doing 2 batches.

Step 6: Once they're done, it's time to strip off the leaves off and crumble them.

They should be so dry that they shatter easily.

If they're leathery at all, stick them back in for another hour or two.

The dried stems can go in the compost pile, if you have one.

Step 7: Store them in an air-tight container, like a glass jar with lid and ring.

Or, if you still have a quart and a half from last year, (like I did), time to share with friends!

It does take some time and work, but compared to most preserving projects, it's not so bad.

My kids really liked helping. I packed the trays, but they helped with all the rest.

Plus, your house smells like oregano for an entire day!

I have found the homegrown, dried oregano to be much more potent than the store-bought stuff, even a couple of years later. Meanwhile, if you need fresh, the bush will recover within weeks.

By the end of the summer, mine is always covered in blooms (and bees).

Have you ever tried this? How has it turned out for you?

Picture Book Picks

We found some winners at the library this last time!  A handful to check out, if you haven't already seen them.

Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
(Caldecott Honor 2013)

     On a cold afternoon, in a cold little town,
     where everywhere you looked was either the 
     white of snow
     or the black of soot from chimneys,
     Annabelle found a box filled with yarn of
     every color.

Thus begins the charming story of a little girl who transforms her town with her knitting. There's even a villain defeated and (of course) a happy ending.

A simple little story, with whimsical illustrations that I just adored. The kids have requested this one multiple times since we checked it out!

By the way, it won a Caldecott Honor in 2013.

Oh No! by Candace Fleming
Illustrated by Eric Rohmann

There's a deep, deep hole in the jungle and one by one animals fall in. What will they do when Tiger comes prowling?

This is such a fun read-aloud! Every animal makes a noise as they fall in the hole, and on nearly every page is the refrain "Oh, no!" The illustrations add another whole dimension to the story. They're what I think of as graphic design-type. They've got bold lines, and at times are divided into more than one panel. My kids had a lot of fun finding the tiger hiding on nearly every page.

The ending is just perfect! So satisfying to say that last "OH, NO!" all in a chorus.

Sleeping Cinderella and Other Princess Mix-Ups,
by Stephanie Clarkson
Illustrated by Brigette Barrager


Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, and Cinderella are fed up! So they start to wander, and as one takes the place of the next, they find out what first seemed like a happy ending to their troubles comes with baggage of its own. So they get to work and fix their own stories instead.

If you like independent princesses who can solve their own problems, you'll like this little tale of mixups. My daughter picked it out and we both quite enjoyed it!






Have you run across any great picture books lately? Do tell! We are always on the hunt for more!

Almost the End of Vegetable Planting

We got a few more vegetables in over Memorial Day weekend.

On the end of the middle terrace, I planted 2 hills of 'Diva' cucumbers (seedlings) and 1 hill of Straight-Neck Yellow Squash (from seed.)

We tucked in 2 red pepper plants between my oldest son's garden and my daughter's:

'Red Beauty' (68 days to harvest) and 'Red Bell' (70 days to harvest).

My spinach all had some kind of disease, plus some were already starting to bolt, so I ended up pulling almost all of them out.

Disappointing showing, really. We haven't even had any to bring in.

The kids still have a bit in their gardens, though, so there may be hope for a small spinach harvest this year.

In the place of the spinach, I planted 4 Jalapeno pepper plants.

Finally, up top behind the flowering thyme, I put in 3 rosemary plants 'Arp', which are supposed to be hardy down to 0 degrees F. (I'll believe that when I see it--I've never had any survive a winter yet!)

Close by I planted 3 Pineapple Sage plants, just for fun.

Their leaves really do smell like pineapples--apparently both the leaves and flowers are edible.

I'll have to find some way to use it in cooking this summer!

Ooh, or maybe I could make pineapple lemonade...

Yes, that sounds yummy!

Garden overview.

I'll have a little bit more room on the tippy top, to the left of the thyme, once we get the sumac planted that are patiently waiting up there, still in their pots.

I haven't decided what to put in that last space.

Corn? Pumpkins? Beans?
More flowers? (hee hee)
We shall see.

Mini-Theme: The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

The whole time I was writing this post, this R.E.M. song was going through my head. (By the way, I had to look it up to find out who sang it. Ha!) As it turns out, I've read several books lately that are of the post-apocalypse variety.

While most of them seem pretty remote, the most recent one--One Second After--really had me going! Mostly, because I could just see it all happening, you know? I started thinking along survivalist lines like:

Me: I really ought to learn to knit.
Common sense: The last thing you need right now is another hobby. Plus, sweaters are scratchy.
Me: Who cares? If we have no more power forever, I need to be able to make clothes for my family!!

Or starting up "casual" conversations with my husband like:
"So, what do you think about keeping bees? Because I've been thinking that some bees might be a good investment..."

"You know those really big water tanks you can get? Well, maybe we should get a few. Just fill 'em up. You know. To have on hand."

Deep breaths. Reality check. Yep. I feel fine. Just fine.

The Islands at the End of the World, by Austin Aslan

4 stars: Survival of the fittest on Oahu.

Leilani's family has moved back to Hawaii--the Big Island--for her parents' jobs as professors. Her mother is full-blooded Hawaiian and her father is white, which makes it a struggle for her to fit in at school. To make things worse, she's an epileptic.

She's got an appointment in Oahu to go through some testing for a new drug. She and her Dad go together, expecting to spend a week. When they get there, however, everything starts going a little crazy. Some kind of electromagnetic pulse takes out all power--all over the world. This may not be a huge problem in some places, but in Hawaii, where 95% of food and goods are flown in every day, it causes chaos in pretty short order.

With her medical stuff cancelled and the world going to pieces around them, Leilani and her father have to figure out a way to get back home--preferably before her medication runs out. She's got enough for about a month...if they can even survive that long.

* * * * * *

Intense and believable...mostly: there is a sci-fi element thrown in, connected with Leilani's epilepsy and the ancient Hawaiian gods, which adds a twist. My husband and I had a good discussion afterword about morals and ethics in times of global disaster. :)

Content: Expect some bad language and quite a bit of action-related violence: people getting shot, etc.

(Reviewed March 11, 2016.)

Not a Drop to Drink, by Mindy McGinnis

3 stars: Chilling, but not without hope.

Lynn and her mother live in the basement of their old farmhouse and must defend each other and their pond at every moment. Water is scarce, and there are many who wouldn't hesitate to kill for a drink. Their world is hard and unforgiving, but it's the only one Lynn knows.

Then, while trying to defend her mother from some coyotes, Lynn accidentally shoots her. Before long her mother is gone, and Lynn must survive on her own. Slowly she finds others that she lets into her world and her heart, and together they must take on a threat that looms big enough to wipe them all out.

Content: Quite a bit of language throughout the book. Also, many depictions of violence.

(Reviewed October 8, 2015.)

One Second After, by William R. Forstchen

4.5 stars: It would truly take so little to do so much damage...

John is a widower living in a small town in North Carolina. It has been 4 years since Mary succumbed to breast cancer. His two girls are 16 and 12, respectively. He's a professor up a the local college.

One evening all the power goes out at once. Everything--cell phones, cars, lights; anything that uses electronics goes dead. Then the world starts going to pieces. John, along with a handful of others in the town, have to figure out how to handle a worst-case scenario that no-one has been trained on: an EMP, or Electro-Magnetic Pulse that wipes out all communications and electronics over a continent-sized area. 

They have a couple thousand people who were stranded on the freeway, in addition to all of their own--roughly 10,000 people in all. Their choices will be almost unbearable, but have to be made: what to eat, what to do with the "outsiders," where to bury the dead. Then there comes rumors of a ruthless band of outlaws, looting and pillaging as they come: the Posse. Though they barely have strength to do what they need to do, they have to come up with a militia of their own, otherwise none will survive to tell about it.

* * * * * *
This was scary--and it was meant to be. Thinking about all the things that rely on electricity, and the very real threat that a handful of nukes detonated in the upper atmosphere could destroy everything that we know, could keep me up at nights if I let it.

Content: Some violence, a bit of language.

(Finished reading May 4, 2016.)

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

2.5 stars: Bleak and unrelenting.

The man and his son are still surviving, but just barely. They keep on the move, toward the coast, further south, through a landscape completely burned and filled with ash. There are no animals, no birds, no living plants. They must wear masks over their faces in order to breathe, and even so, it gets inside their lungs.

They scavenge what they can from every house they come across. They avoid contact with other survivors, most of whom have become cannibals. They take care of each other. They survive...for now, but the man knows he won't be around forever and the boy will have to be able to survive without him.


* * * * * *

 I can't honestly say that I liked it, but it was evocative and well-written. I tend to put myself into the situations in these types of books, and think about what I would do if this was my world, my son. This was a difficult world to inhabit for those hours I read it.

If you don't like wasteland wandering, steer clear; that's the entire book. Also, it bothered me that we never found out the cause of the mass destruction--obviously fire of some sort, but it doesn't give much more detail than that. Possibly lightning storms...?

Content: This has some swearing, some shootings. There are many disturbing scenes relating to cannibalism.

(Reviewed February 24, 2016.)