Another day, another arboretum

We visited our second arboretum of the week today. OK, full disclosure...not every week is as fun-filled as this one was, but it's summer and we're making the most of it. Today we visited Tyler Arboretum in Media, PA. It was our first time. Luckily, our Morris membership got us in for free. The current exhibit is "Totally Terrific Treehouses." It was really amazing; ten tree houses scattered through the woods, each unique, incredibly fun for kids, and most built with sustainable or reclaimed materials. The boys' favorite was "Strummin and Drummin," a tree house made to look like a giant guitar and drum. Inside were all manner of musical instruments for them to play. Let's just say it was a little loud.

We also visited the butterfly house, where Dex decided to be a butterfly too.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Despite my grand intentions of planting a real garden this spring, it never happened. However, while visiting a local organic farm, I bought three tomato seedlings on a whim. Once I got home, I wasn't sure what to do with them. I didn't have a raised bed and the space next to the garage and shed where I thought about planting them is backed by pressure-treated wood (not something you want next to your veggies.) What I really wanted were those Topsy -Turvy upside down tomato planters. But I didn't really want to shell out the $60 it would cost to buy them. So, a little Googling and I found directions to make my own, using 2 gallon paint buckets.

Basically, I cut a hole if the bottom, put the plant in upside down through the hole, added planting soil, and then I planted some petunias on top to make it look nicer. Hubby added the brackets to the outside of our shed and, voila, DIY upside down tomato planters.

I planted these really late in the season (um, late June) so they are just started to bud but I do finally have some little green baby tomatoes on there. I can't wait for their ripe juicy goodness.


A while back, Luke expressed interest in making our own pickled cucumbers so about two weeks ago, we did. They had to cure in the fridge for one week but we broke into them this weekend and oh my, were they good. And yes, I'm speaking in the past tense because they are already gone. Um, all 5 jars. Anyone who really knows me knows I likes me some pickles. These were out of this world good. I can't imagine eating store-bought pickles again, but unless I learn to can for real, I'll have to eventually. But for now, I've got another 5 jars that we made today, sitting in my refrigerator. I can't wait til next week.

What's in a name?

I came across this on the Today's show's website:

"Writing in Social Science Quarterly, Shippensburg University professor David Kalist says giving newborn males oddball, girly or strange first names may just help land them in jail.

In alphabetical order, the Top 10 “bad boy” names, according to Kalist, are Alec, Ernest, Garland, Ivan, Kareem, Luke, Malcolm, Preston, Tyrell and Walter."

See, it's not our fault he's such a hellion. It's his name that's the problem. Maybe we'll ask for bail money for his birthday this year.

Tree Huggers

We spent the day at a local arboretum. We love this place. It's only about 15 minutes from home and it's easy to spend a whole day there. We've been there a gazillion times and still we find new things on each trip. Today, we met up with a friend and her two boys. It was their first visit and we had fun showing them around one of our favorite spots.

The boys had a blast throwing rocks in the creek for well over an hour. The two older ones decided to build a dam. It was great fun watching them work. So serious!

Navigating

Planning the dam

The damn proud dam builders

Dirty feet: The sign of a good day of play

Butterfly bush is aptly named


Me and my boys in the treetops