orchids and lilacs

the hennepin technical college had their annual spring plant sale and i picked up an orchid.


its pretty. i'm not sure i can keep it alive. i know nothing of orchids.


peas!


brussels sprouts on the left, broccoli on the right


the greenhouse in early may


i love lilacs. they smell so yummy. and its wonderful smell is not recreated well at all. candles and lotions that are *supposedly* lilac scented, they never smell right.

blueberry bushes

they dont look like much... yet. but here are the blueberry bushes my brother gave me.


they're kinda hard to see


this one is a little better


i purchased two extra blueberry plants to fill in the remaining space in the raised bed.


the ones my brother gave me were three chippewa and one duke. i purchased a polaris


and a north country

quiche

i made quiche for the first time ever. dont put the cheese on top, put it on bottom. it doesnt cut well when the cheese is on top.


but i overfilled it. thats ok, the dogs happily ate that part that overflowed and cooked onto the cookie sheet.


it was good. it was a meat lovers quiche with ham, sausage, and bacon. but damn did it make a mess of that pan.


recipe:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872227907909/
http://www.barbarabakes.com/meat-lovers-quiche-recipe/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872227907862/
https://savorysweeteats.com/2013/05/05/meat-lovers-quiche/

i made it again second time and managed not to overflow it. but it still went over the edge of the pie crust and the egg made a mess between the crust and the pan. and the pie crust wasnt all that great. so i've saved some ideas of alternative pie crusts including a rice pie crust, a quinoa crust, a crust made from beans, a hashbrown crust, and a cheese crust.

digging up rocks to lay pavers

the area i was working on to remove landscaping rocks. lots of grass and crap grew up in there and made a bigger mess. and my little kneeler thingy that i sit on and use the handles to help me stand back up. and this area, i've already removed bags and bags of rocks last year to get it down this far.


progress was slow because it kept raining and dirt doesnt separate from rocks when its mud.


first 12 pavers (these are the ones that weigh 42 pounds each)


this is what is used to look like. it was a constant battle fighting weeds.


it was a lot of work removing all those rocks for the greenhouse to go in.


well actually, before that even, i removed all these rocks


and my dad helped me lay a brick path so i could quit walking on boards instead of rocks.


so what was left to remove was between the greenhouse and the brick path.


the rocks go in water softner salt bags my parents have been sending my way for the last like 4 years. makes em easier to haul.


but i only fill the bags halfway. rocks are heavy.


oh and i had to relocate all the daylilies to the front yard


they seem happy in their new home


back to sifting rocks (with puppy and his tennis balls in the background)


notice where the bottom of the wood sifter sits. the ground in front and behind was level when i started. in front are the rocks, behind is where all the dirt falls thru. lots of dirt mixed in these rocks (and yes, there was intact plastic underneath the rocks, still tons of dirt.)


picked up a few more pavers...

tomato seedlings

tomato seedlings under the grow lights, first week of may. still too cold back then to plant outside, but they're getting HUGE! (our last frost date up in minnesota isnt until end of may)


the watermelon seedlings i transplanted didnt do well, they started dying (left end and right end). i disturbed the roots to much. watermelon dont like being transplanted, but minnesota summers arent long enough for watermelon without starting the seeds indoors.


more overgrown tomato seedlings that need to be moved to bigger pots


cantelope seedlings doing wonderful


my teeeeeeny tiny stevia seedling. the first batch of seeds i planted amounted to nothing. this is from the second batch and i scattered over 50 teeny tiny seeds over three of those little pot spaces. only one sprouted.


i bought new 3.5" pots to replace the older, flimsier ones i've been using that are cracking and falling apart. so i'll be able to toss a bunch of falling apart pots this summer rather than having to wash them. and the pots came with a 'dibbler' or little tool to help transfer smaller seedlings to bigger pots. but its labeled as a jewelry tool for sorting beeds. beeds, seeds, tomato, tomahto. they're all teeny tiny.


i did this puzzle but i took it apart and put it away before i took a picture. i enjoyed this one. i didnt find everything listed on the back, but i found most. it was a fun one.


pics from the second time i made corned beef. i love this stuff.

homemade chicken nuggets

greenhouse with lots of seedlings inside


nasturtiums in the greenhouse


i made homemade chicken nuggets


they're yummy

mollys lump

back in november molly got a lump, and the vet removed it. http://minnesotapears.blogspot.com/2015/11/mollys-lump-and-surgery.html
it was an expensive surgery, and molly had to wear a tshirt for a couple weeks to help it heal. well, another lump came back in the same place. this time the vet said that they could remove it, but it'll likely keep coming back. and that she'll likely keep getting these kind of lumps periodically.

mollys second sebaceous cyst


this was just a few days before it finally erupted and started draining. it was hard to get a picture of how tall it was.


**it drained continuously thru may before flattening out. then drained only very slightly thru june before finally healing up. she never seemed bothered by it, happily letting me clean it the whole time, and taking treats when i finished cleaning it. i wasnt sure if she'll always have a bald spot there or if the skin would shrink back down, but over july it did shrink to nearly nothing and the hair is growing back. i can only just barely find where it used to be, and only because i shaved some of her fur away to make cleaning easier, so that area has shorter fur.