September Garden

Our first watermelon!

We were able to keep most of our garden hydrated enough to survive Texas's hottest summer on record. This is one of our watermelons that we noticed this week, growing outside the fencing of our garden!


Here is a quartet of canteloupe that I photographed about a week ago...

It has taken advantage of the extra growing space on the fence around the garden.

Here they are today ~ getting a little more ripe!

Eggplant blossoms!



A couple of canteloupe that I picked this morning.

This one is one of the large ones that have grown this summer. One thing about our 100 degree plus temperatures: canteloupe seem to thrive in it! But so do the weeds, with all our irrigation.

It was too hot for too long for our seven tomato plants to even set blossoms this summer. One of our larger tomato plants completely dried up and died. The rest have struggled to stay alive, but also to make a comeback, but come back, they have! I saw lots of blossoms out there this morning.

Next, I need to concentrate on our pepper plants and give them a good feeding with Howard Garrett's liquid molasses plant concoction. I will shoot some photos of them later.


How does your garden grow? Are any of you planting a fall garden now? I have misplaced most of our seeds whilst getting things organized for the new schoolyear. But I will be replanting more cool-weather greens as soon as I find those seeds!

Javamom

The Names by Billy Collins - In memorium 9 11

The Names
Billy Collins

Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name --
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han,
Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner --
Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds --
Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.

Winslow Homer Timeline

I have been selecting art prints to teach this fall in an Art Study (aka via Charlotte Mason "Picture Talk") Class. I spent hours at my favorite used bookstore about three weeks ago (with my married daughter and with friends, of course!) perusing dozens of art books to choose for my background research. It has been years since I taught Winslow Homer in our homeschool. I purchased two books of Homer, two books of Van Gogh, and one new, large book of Norman Rockwell to fill out the 2011-2012 schoolyear.


(Snap the Whip - probably Homer's most popular, well-known painting)


Since then, I have also spent a good deal of time researching prints online, to help choose from different time periods of Homer's work, but also to compare the different media he used over the course of his artistic career. I like to find the obscure works, or the lesser known and find the stories behind them. I am odd that way ;-). Though, finding works from the beginning, middle, and latter part of an artist's career is what Charlotte Mason recommended. For my part, I have been both enriched and enlightened!


Many may know that he began as an apprentice learning how to make lithographic illustrations. He studied with John H. Buford of Boston. Then he did some freelance work before moving to New York, where he began working for Harper's Weekly doing illustrations of the Civil War. How many of you know the rest of his story?


I stumbled upon this chronology at the National Gallery of Art website, which includes thumbnail prints of his work, with a brief timeline of his life to the right. Once you click on one of the small prints, it opens up a new window with more information. What a treasure of concise and visual information! Almost better than a book. ALMOST!

I also happened upon a lecture by Peter H. Wood, author of the book Near Andersonville. His book is about a print of Homer's that was lost for about 100 years, how it was discovered, and what Civil War -related meanings exist throughout the seemingly simple painting. I am thrilled to have found this information. Now my husband and I both want this book on the shelves of our home library. (He is an American Lit. teacher and a Homer fan, too).
What are my fellow readers and friends studying in the arts this first term of the new schoolyear? Answer on either FB or the blog link! I really want to hear!

Ciao for now,

Javamom

~ August ~

August
by James Whitcomb Riley


A day of torpor in the sullen heat
Of Summer's passion: In the sluggish stream
The panting cattle lave their lazy feet,
With drowsy eyes, and dream.

Long since the winds have died, and in the sky
There lives no cloud to hint of Nature's grief;
The sun glares ever like an evil eye,
And withers flower and leaf.

Upon the gleaming harvest-field remote
The thresher lies deserted, like some old
Dismantled galleon that hangs afloat
Upon a sea of gold.

The yearning cry of some bewildered bird
Above an empty nest, and truant boys
Along the river's shady margin heard--
A harmony of noise--

A melody of wrangling voices blent
With liquid laughter, and with rippling calls
Of piping lips and thrilling echoes sent
To mimic waterfalls.

And through the hazy veil the atmosphere
Has draped about the gleaming face of Day,
The sifted glances of the sun appear
In splinterings of spray.

The dusty highway, like a cloud of dawn,
Trails o'er the hillside, and the passer-by,
A tired ghost in misty shroud, toils on
His journey to the sky.

And down across the valley's drooping sweep,
Withdrawn to farthest limit of the glade,
The forest stands in silence, drinking deep
Its purple wine of shade.

The gossamer floats up on phantom wing;
The sailor-vision voyages the skies
And carries into chaos everything
That freights the weary eyes:

Till, throbbing on and on, the pulse of heat
Increases--reaches--passes fever's height,
And Day sinks into slumber, cool and sweet,
Within the arms of Night.

God Meets Us In The Garden

"Where earth and spirit mix, God and man meet."

This is a quote from one of my new favorite authors, Vigen Gourian. I was blessed to get to see/hear him speak in person and buy some of his books. I say "see and hear" because he is fun to watch speak, quiet with animated, happy facial expressions. But he can also be firey if he feels he needs to be!

Another good quote: "We are created in the image of the Master Gardener."

This being so, we can take in the full delights in our gardens as the Lord delights in his creation, and in us.

This was after I cleared out most of the aged, squash-bug infested squash plants in early July. Now the cantaloupe plants and watermelon plants have plenty of room to stretch out.

In this shot, you can see how the extreme, constant 100 plus temps are affecting the garden.

Notice how the cantaloupe has trailed up and across the fencing.

These cherry tomatoes sprung up on there own. I let them continue to grow just in case. What a delightful surprise!

The cantaloupe are LOVING this crazy, constant, dry heat.

This was last weekend. I picked the ripe one on Monday and the other one ripened by Tuesday eve.

washing and rinsing ~

Kale

Some of our early July harvest

Cantaloupe picked between 7/23-7/26

Have you met God in the garden recently? It restores the soul. But if you are a gardener, you are already keenly aware of that!

Happy Harvesting,

Javamom

Art & Music History Blog

I wanted to recommend a blog called Circle of Scholars:Discovering Music with Professor Carol. I just found this after meeting (and singing with!) Carol and her husband at the CiRCE Institute Conference themed "What is Man?"

You need to see how she has combined art with music, along with the story of the works about which she is writing. Her passion simply oozes out of the very center of her being. I am almost speechless at the treasure, so I will simply leave it at that, and encourage you to go explore it. Go on! Right now! Meet me back here for more discussion, if you like :-).

Can you tell what we will be adding to our sources in our homeschool this fall? Yes, even though I have only one left in 'official' school. I also bought Carol's work, "Discovering Music: 300 Years of Interaction in Western Music, Arts, History, and Culture."

Javamom

And is it so!

Just sharing today what a group of us were asked to sing at a Classical Ed. Conference this past weekend. What an honor.

And is it so! I shall be like Thy Son
(sung to the tune of Abide With Me)

And is it so! I shall be like Thy Son?
Is this the grace which He for me has won?
Father of glory—thought beyond all thought!
In glory, to His own blest likeness brought!

Oh, Jesus, Lord, who loved me like to Thee?
Fruit of Thy work, with Thee, too, there to see
Thy glory, Lord, while endless ages roll,
Myself the prize and travail of Thy soul.

Yet it must be: Thy love had not its rest
Were Thy redeemed not with Thee fully blest;
That love that gives not as the world, but shares
All it possesses with its loved co-heirs.

Nor I alone; Thy loved ones, all complete
In glory, round Thee there with joy shall meet
All like Thee, for Thy glory like Thee, Lord,
Object supreme of all, by all adored.Source:

Tomato plant care 6-25-11

A friend recently asked some details about tomatoes, so I am sharing these photos with her in mind. The summer is flying by and I started this post about tying / staking up tomatoes a month ago! These plants have more than doubled in size now. However, it has been a busy summer, with lots of hands-on care needed in the garden, and lots of reading, study, and decluttering the house in my 'free-er' time, to get ready for the fall school term.

We use jute or twine to 'weave' among the stakes between each tomato plant.

Next, we wind the twine around the stake and tie it (no knot, though, unless needed. These wooden stakes hold the twine just fine, no slippage) before stretching it on to the next stake.




The twine gently supports the branches of the tomato plant, providing some 'give' as it grows outward and upward.

You will notice how the plants have grown in my next post about the whole garden in general!


I wish the garden was larger, but this is an extremely hot year to try and keep it alive and growing. In fact, it has been too hot for some of our tomato plants to set their blossoms.



Hope you are enjoying summer tomatoes from your own (or a friend's) garden this summer!
There's just no comparison to grocery store tomatoes.


Javamom

Green (tomatillo) Enchilada Sauce

We like both green and red sauces on our open and stacked (not cooked in a cake pan in the oven) enchiladas. I just realized this weekend how easy it would be to grow, mix, and can our own sauce. Unfortunately, we did NOT plant tomatillos this year! Now I've planned to buy seeds to plant in our fall garden, to give this a try.

Here's a basic recipe, for those who have already asked.

5 jalapeño peppers
1/2 lbs of tomatillos (green husk tomato)

Peel and rinse the tomatillos. Boil the tomatillos along with the jalapeño peppers in a pot of water for about 7 minutes; they will become slightly soft. Remove the stems from the Jalapeños.
In a blender, place cooked tomatillos, jalapeños, salt and about 1/4 of a cup of the chicken stock; blend well. If the sauce is too thick, add more of the chicken stock. The sauce should has a consistency of soup.


Enjoy!

Javamom

Where are They Now?

Sometimes I think it is so strange that I have adult children! I must simply be in denial of my own age ;-). I've decided to blog a "Where are they now?" post, for any of my followers who are wondering why I don't post much about homeschooling anymore.


Well, we have three homeschooled graduates now. Our oldest is married and is racing and building bicycles. He has followed his passion. He met his dear wife at our old church home. They were married by their youth pastor. She is attending college and is an incredible artist.














Here he is, working at the bike shop ~



And racing (what a beast)

That's him at #2

#1 -- he ended up finishing 5th in his age group! This was just one pack of riders.

DC #2 met her hubby in my high school Spanish class at one of our local homeschool co-ops.

They have been married for over a year now, and just got back from (yet another) nature adventure, this time it's not Iceland, but several national parks in the Pacific Northwest. He is a stellar photographer and she loves cooking and nutrition.

DC #3 is staying local for the time being and will be attending college close to home. He is interested in sports training and nutrition.

So that leaves us with just one left to homeschool.


some of his favorite hobbies

visiting the big siblings up north



They are all so similar and yet so unique! But also, the more things change, the more they stay the same ;-).

DC #1, 2, and 3, at the beginning of our homeschooling journey

Hubby and I used to long-distance cycle, so yes, he is wearing compression pants, even then!

Our family ~ Christmas 2010


We are thankful for the blessings, for the freedom to homeschool and to raise them to the beat of a different drummer.

Javamom

p.s. How are your families growing along the way? I am blessed to know some wonderful homeschool families, and have enjoyed watching their kids grow, and even getting to teach some of their children Spanish or American Lit!