We have a squash thief in our midst. Racoons, armadillos, birds? No, it's little sister. I caught her with my biggest squash from the garden between her paws chomping away. I guess I cant blame her.

I took it away and then she browsed back through the garden like a restaurant salad bar and grabbed another one. She got that one all the way down before I noticed.

Dang. Now I have to put an anit-dog fence up around the squash. Nothing fancy only tall enough to make the easy snack grapping difficult. Bad girl, good taste.

Fishing Trip

We went for a quick trip down to Corpus Christi to visit my mom and try to do some flounder gigging. We had an education in what is needed and decided that next time we will bring fishing gear to fish during the day and then gig at night if it works out.

It was still a lot of fun, wading the Laguna Madre near Packery Channel. We also went over to see one of Kara's work friends who had three sisters in the Babes on the Bay fishing tournament. A beer and cooled off then as we headed out to go gig for flounder the storm rolled in and ended our dream for the big one. So the only fish Brett got to gig were dead and he ate one of those. You will have to ask him about it.

On the way back we visited the "big tree" on Goose Island.

State of the Garden

The garden overall is doing well. Each tomato plant in my garden is a different variety and each one has a very different growth pattern. Amazing what adaptation can do considering these are all the same plant.

I saw some tiny toothpick sized beans yesterday, so we will have green beans soon. I am not sure if these are one time harvest or multiple. I guess we will find out.

The big winner are the basil plants. They are now larger than the bell peppers and dont look like they will slow down. I've been pinching off the flowers. Someone told me that they should never be allowed to bloom.

I started my harvest log. Already I have taken a pound of squash from the garden and about $5 worth of basil. I will structure the log so I can track the week when they are taken, how many, weight and any special notes.

What happens to unwanted SWAG

So what happens to the left over SWAG (free stuff from conventions)? Gnome bowling. An idea inspired from not enough sleep and an imagination with too long of a leash.




Special thanks to Travelocity's marketing department and the guys on aisle 300 who gave away the red balls.

The days grow warmer the birds sing again,
Spring approaches with a promise.
The earth is prepared and seeds are sown,
hope begins with the first signs of life.

We are committed now to the earth,
hope for rain, just enough and not too much.
Hope for sun, just enough and not too much,
the long and anxious wait begins.

Flowers and bees dance fruit shows,
Nature's oldest promise has been kept.
Anticipation is upon all those who till,
the harvest of our labor is near.