How is your blog faring after the introduction of AI, that is scraping blogs for quick answers, that are stolen from content creators? I believe this is similar to what happened in the 60s,70s and 80s when the unions warned Americans that our manufacturing was ALL going to move over seas. Most of us rolled … Continue reading AI and Content Theft
After a few years of making yogurt I have fiddled around and changed my base recipe. I still make a Greek yogurt type product using ultra pasteurized half and half and I'm still using the same inulin, but I've changed the probiotics. The first year I made yogurt I made three different probiotic strains and … Continue reading Max Probiotic Yogurt
So. Yes. I am having a new experience in my garden. As my grandmothers were, I'm also: usually always home. I visit my family, but mostly around Christmas time when my garden is asleep. This year I'm finding out what happens when you aren't home to stop disasters! There were bees and hornets all over … Continue reading Crazy Happenings In The Garden
Man I tell you what. Don't enter into a contract with a crazy person. We had to redo our Eagle Scout project. So, basically we built it twice. The woman we were working with has had some health problems, so: I'm choosing to blame that on her awful behavior. But she was sending pages of … Continue reading Finished!
The rugged beauty of the mountains. Always takes my breath away! Mud pies anyone? Perfect for grandkids! Meet you outside to marvel at nature's beauty! Crazy Green Thumbs
My mom has a giant perennial delphinium. It's just gorgeous! Today I thought I'd feature some of the wild plants in the Colorado mountains and some flowers my mom bought for her window boxes. There's so many beautiful things out here, you have to pick a subject matter! Seed pods. We always called these butter … Continue reading Beautiful Colorado
Feeding frenzy at the hummingbird feeder! I'm at my mom's, in Colorado. I just left AZ where I visited friends, who are like family, for about 5 days. I'm really enjoying myself. I always feel a deep connection with the land around my mom's home. I took some great pictures the other day. I hope … Continue reading Mountain Summer
This month is heavy on the picking and light on the work. Why? Because I worked hard in the spring to create this exact scenario. Water-wise, deep beds have yielded incredible amounts of produce. See how we built them here: Hugelkultur, Keyhole Gardens: Bridging Ideas and here: Mother’s Day Raised Hugelkultur Bed! Instructions for creating … Continue reading Reaping The Rewards Of Spring Planning
One of my family's favorite summer foods are often called either "quick" or "refrigerator" pickles. These make the crunchiest pickles because they aren't cooked. I grow Armenian cucumbers, which are actually melons. They taste like cucumbers and they don't get bitter in our high heat like actual cucumbers do. So, I always have fresh additions … Continue reading Quick/Refrigerator Pickles
This is why this fruiting plant loves the desert. Rain gives it "heart rot". I will eventually cut these open and half of what I have will be black with mold from the rain. It's ruined the skin of the fruit. Although, I can usually cut a lot of the rot out and still use … Continue reading Wet Pomegranates
Here's a babaco papaya. I'm keeping it on my covered porch. It doesn't like my sun and usual super hot summers. It's a mountain growing plant where it's from. All the rain and cooler temperatures have kept it happy on the porch. I brought the strawberry bags under the porch as well. I soak them … Continue reading What Is In My July Garden
Lots of fun at the bird sanctuary today. I found things I've never seen before. I thought someone had put Christmas lights on a bush! It's actually in the cucurbit family and is a wild vine down here. In all my years in Texas I've never seen this vine before! It's a Ibervillea lindheimeri. A … Continue reading Pretty Cool Grasshopper!
My glads are still pumping out flowers. This has definitely been a weird year. Lots of rain and no 100+°F weeks of misery. I'll take it! Meet you out in the garden to be astonished by the blooms! Crazy Green Thumbs
Today is my twelve year anniversary for my blog: Crazy Green Thumbs. This has been so fun! Thank you to all of you who read, comment and shape this blog! I'm also having a great day for views. If you'd like to see my advice for blogging, click here: Writing A Successful Blog Meet you … Continue reading Yayyyy!
Both my kids are in scouts. There's a lot of scout bashing going on these days and I'm here to say: scouting has not changed much since my brother got eagle in the 90's. You will never regret the self reliance, the abilities your scout gains and the confidence your young man acquires as a … Continue reading Eagle Project
I have some buddies taking refuge in my pear tree while it's raining. Texas skies open up and just dump rivers of water when we get storms. These doves are happy I haven't cut this tree down yet. Meet you out in the garden to see who is visiting today. Crazy Green Thumbs
I have a huge city water bill. The problem is often that I've watered too much. So, I bought this little do-dad. It's a moisture meter. It was about six dollars. I went around my yard testing the soil. I was honestly really surprised about where there was a lack of water, and also where … Continue reading Best Garden Product This Year
Crepe myrtles have been a symbol of the south for a very long time. Some people love them, some people hate them. I'm both. I really do not like the ones meant to mimic lilacs. But, crepe myrtles are a poor substitute for lilacs. Yes they flower with big fluffy blooms, but there's no scent … Continue reading Crepe Myrtles, Texas Style
I had a poor potato harvest this year, however it was entirely my fault. I was sick when I needed to plant these and so they went in the ground about two months late. Same with my onions. Same with the corn. Luckily (for my health), the kid who brings home the most colds is … Continue reading Potatoes And Flowers
I live in the South. Where I am: summer ends up getting really hot (above 100° Fahrenheit) with little to no rain for months at a time. In summer we get moisture that blows in from the Gulf of Mexico and that humidity (without rain) is a real problem. There are weeks where we don't … Continue reading Show Stopping, Southern Shrubs
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