Cross Pollinating

Of course, sometimes my worlds collide and I find that my personal comments make their way into the public domain.  This is the case with my other blog, Stefani's Hopeful Chaos, where I try to reign in the swarming chaos that is my life.

Check out the Top 5 things I'll do for my garden next year... and hold me to it!

Mother Nature's Wrath

Dramatic weather is hitting the world all over.  Tornadoes in Kansas and the first Tropical Storm of the season (two weeks early...), wildfire season has hit in Arizona and strong earthquakes in Italy that took out old brick buildings as well as new steel factories.  According to the news, thankfully, only four deaths have been reported in ALL of these... though I'm sure the fatalities will increase in the Earthquake affected area.  Of course, this is giving me pause to be thankful of where I am, and also to gather my supplies for the crazy summer season... 

The snowfall of the 2010-2011 winter was record-breaking and the crazy storm of last Halloween certainly caught us off guard so you would think that I've gotten all my ducks in a row and am ready for the carnage Mother Nature will throw our way, but alas...I'm behind the eight ball.

Though it's summer, I am working on getting a wood-burning fireplace insert and the eco-biobricks (paper & wood pulp smashed into a cylindrical shape) ready for fall and prepping the garden soil for the tomatoes and all.  I hope to expand the canning to strawberry jelly and more pickled veggies... hopefully to even get the pressure cooker going for chili and stews.  We'll see how things go and if I can get the items ready before the power goes out or the tornado touches down or the snow falls...