#summer pumpkins and fall watermelons

[skin-slave]

I hope this doesn't help.

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[halloweentrickortreat]

Summerween

[withleeknow]

seasons of you.

pairing: minho x reader genre/warnings: established relationship, tooth-rotting fluff or at least i hope so lmao, not v edited and literally no one is surprised lol i sound like a broken record atp just adding that into every post word count: 0.7k note: inspired by a highly fucked up thing that @matchannie said to me yesterday lmao it has not left my brain since you said it you absolute monster

as always, i’d appreciate any thoughts or comments you may have, and please drop a like and/or reblog if you enjoy reading ♡

navigation / masterlist / ko-fi

minho falls in love with you four times a year.

minho falls in love with you in the spring, over blooming cherry blossoms and vibrant daffodils that greet you on your weekly sunset walk. over the feeling of your fingers intertwined with his own without soft fluffy gloves getting in the way, now that it's finally warm enough to retire that extra layer of protection for the season. over the sun coming out of hibernation and filling your days with golden light, falling upon your face and casting you in a magical hue. over the remnants of winter that still leave behind a palpable chill in the air early in the morning or late in the night, that has you reaching out for the comfort of his warmth. over your delighted smile when he brings home a bouquet of tulips after a long day at work. over your glassy eyes, reddened nose and flushed cheeks as he takes care of you when the seasonal allergies kick in.

minho falls in love with you in the summer, over picnics in the park where you both lay on blue gingham picnic blankets, your head on his chest, as you watch the clouds overhead drift peacefully. over watermelon gelatos passed between teasing lips, the confectionary melting too quickly for your liking under the blazing sunlight. over spontaneous drives to the beach even though neither of you can swim, but you go just for fun, just to build sand sculptures in the shape of your cat babies and stand on the edge of the water to splash at each other. over long naps on the couch on days where you're too lazy to venture into the outside heat, preferring to stay cuddled up together under the air conditioner with niki playing in the background.

minho falls in love with you in fall, over shared slices of pumpkin pie as you watch the leaves turn yellow and red right outside your window. over the adorable way you hide your face behind your hands on nights where he puts on a horror movie because he insists on honoring the halloween spirit. over your off-key rendition of taylor swift's all too well (the 10-minute version) for most of the season because you adamantly claim that it's autumn's official anthem. over weekends spent attached at the hip, baking sugar cookies for hours on end. over your crestfallen pout as you take note of how the days keep getting shorter and shorter, already missing warm sunny weeks with all your heart.

minho falls in love with you in winter, over matching scarves and beanies, even though he often has to carry them for you because you have a bad habit of forgetting them before you go out. over the first snow of the season because they say that if you witness the first snowfall with the person you love, then you will stay together for a long, long time. over sweet cuddles in bed as a bad christmas movie plays on tv, and you fall asleep on his shoulder about half an hour into the movie despite being the one to select the movie in the first place. over your return from a shopping spree with your girlfriends with nothing for yourself but everything for soondoongdori, from christmas themed clothes to treats and toys.

but then again, maybe it's not entirely accurate to say that minho falls in love you merely four times a year. if he wants to be precise, then he would say that he falls for you anew every morning he wakes up and sees you asleep in his arms like a delicate miracle granted by a star he once used to wish upon. if he wants to get technical, then he falls in love with you with every smile that you send his way, which is a terribly sappy thing for him to admit but it doesn't make the statement any less true.

minho loves you every day of every week, of every month, of every year. he's loved you before he even met you, when you were just a romanticized idea in his head and hadn't yet walked into his life like the angel he was always meant to find. he loves you every minute of every hour; there isn't a second where you're not on his mind, not a single beat of his heart that doesn't spell out your name. he loves you throughout the seasons and a million times in between.

permanent taglist: @onlyycb97wife @starsandrqindrops @borahae-reads @abbiestearsricochet @cutiespaghetti @anthropologykpopmultistan @moonlinos @mjnhoz @caitlyn98s @piercidh34rts  @stayceebs97 @linocz @yaorzu-blog @biribarabiribbaem @kayleefriedchicken @extrhotjne @caitxx1 @palindrome969 @todorokiskitten @azuna-sz @meanergreener @nxzz-skz @jazziwritesthings @poutypoutybin @bookyeom @jisuperboard @wyzminho @amarecerasus @channection @lastgreatamericandynasty1 @judeduartewannabe @chanshyunjin @firelordtsuki @astronomicallyyy @alm334 @lashaemorow

all rights reserved © withleeknow. reposting, translating and/or modifying is not permitted by any means. [posted 08.04.2024]

[safficranger]

Fake Scenarios In My Head #23

Over time, Casey and Alex had really gotten to know each other, including all the little quirks that made them unique. Casey had picked up on Alex’s special food preferences that changed with the seasons. Alex always believed that some foods just tasted better at the “right” time of year. Strawberries were for spring, watermelon for summer, pumpkin for fall, and hearty stews for winter. It wasn’t just about flavor, it was about the whole experience, the connection between the food and the season. Casey also knew that her girlfriend had a special love for fall because with it came the promise of all things pumpkin-flavored.

A few days earlier, Casey had been going through her calendar and realized that the first day of fall was coming up on Sunday.

So, on Sunday morning, Casey woke up early, careful not to wake Alex, who was still sound asleep. She tiptoed into the kitchen, eager to get started on her little surprise. She mixed flour, sugar, and eggs, then added a good sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg, letting the warm scents fill the room. As she stirred the batter, she pictured Alex’s smile when she`d wake up to a homemade treat she’d made just for her. She made quick work of pouring the batter into the baking dish and sliding it into the oven. While it baked, she cleaned up the kitchen and set the table.

By the time Alex wandered into the kitchen and sat down at the counter, the room was filled with the comforting aroma of spices, freshly baked goods, and hot coffee.

Alex inhaled deeply, a sleepy smile spreading across her face as she tried to wake up. “Did I sleepwalk through the rabbit hole into a fall wonderland?” she joked, her voice still soft and a bit groggy.

Casey stood by the counter with a bright smile, ready to slice the fresh pumpkin bread she’d just pulled from the oven. “Happy first day of fall, love,” she said, handing Alex the first slice.

Alex’s eyes lit up with delight as she took a bite, savoring the rich, warm flavor of the pumpkin bread. “Oh God, Casey, this is perfect. I love it!” She leaned over the counter and gave her girlfriend a loving kiss. “I love you! And thank you for making me feel so special!”

Casey smiled as she poured two cups of coffee, adding a dash of cinnamon to each. “It’s because you are special, Alex. And I love seeing you so happy.”

[djarinova]

AOT CHARACTERS AS SEASONS

words: 420

characters: levi, armin, eren, mikasa

Levi as Winter

cold finger tips, wind swept hair, readjusting your scarf to better hide your face from the cold, putting on layers upon layers of clothes before going outside, sitting on a large chair beside a window and watching the snow fall, lying in bed listening to the rainfall, watching the steam rise from your cup of tea, rubbing your palms together to create the slightest bit of warmth, frost bitten cheeks, grey skies, hazy mornings, the smell of an open fire, your face heating up as you walk inside from the cold, runny noses, harsh truths, candles burning, slippery steps, wearing two pairs of socks, pulling on a knitted jumper as soon as you step out from under your duvet

Armin as Spring

freshly picked flowers, the smell of cut grass, morning dew on the leaves, walking around lakes wrapped in a light hoodie, watching the clouds part over the hill, picnics with friends spent reading and laughing, early morning bike rides as the sun comes up, walking through fields as a shortcut, eating fruit, new beginnings, dipping your toes in the freezing lake water, listening to the rain fall through an open window, wellie walks through misty rain, spotting a rainbow, watercolour paintings, thatched roof houses, baking, starting a new book, coffee and croissant dates, trips to the park

Eren as Summer

running as fast as you can along the beach and almost face planting into the sand, freshly squeezed lemonade with super curly straws, eating watermelon and feeling the juice run down your face, finding sand in your bag and your sink and your shoes and everywhere, collecting cool rocks and shells, diving headfirst into the pool, splashing people who refuse to join you in the pool, late night adventures, windows down and music cranked up in the car, writing messages in the sand, the smell of burnt marshmallows, screaming from the cliffs, suncream, always carrying bottled water and painkillers

Mikasa as Autumn

the ground shimmering from the last rainfall, orange cats, baking with a friend while listening to soft music, warm lights, orange and red leaves littering the ground, mist covering the hills, gingerbread hot chocolate, finishing your summer project and getting to show your loved ones the results, wooden tables, the wind blowing your windows shut, walks through the forest in the late afternoon, homemade soup, lunchtime picnics being interrupted by a sudden downpour and having to run for shelter, wet feet from splashing in puddles, warm hugs, wearing a scarf inside and outside, photography shoots, pumpkin and ginger flavoured everything

[fatguarddog]

Summer: Watermelon inflation (big, ripe and juicy)

Fall: Pumpkin inflation (huge and heavy with vines holding you down)

Winter: Squash inflation (bottom heavy and firm)

Spring: Strawberry inflation (juicy and your thoughts leak out into you stem on your head)

[pinkhairedlily]

“You’ve seen the world,” Sarada tells me one day.

It’s one of those rare, ordinary summers when missions are few and far in between and a lazy calm tempers the fiery movements of the village. This is how I find myself enjoying a whole watermelon with my daughter, and nothing but pauses in between eating to dodge her pointed observations.

I want to tell her, My feet may have roamed earths, but my axis orbits here—with you, with Sakura. But that would be a tad too cheesy, and she would grimace and hide her laughter. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

“Not the whole of it,” is my attempt at the truth.

“Then you’ve probably seen all sorts of seasons.” She straightens her back, braces, and spit the seeds in wildfire sequence. 

(“It’s not a katon jutsu.” Itachi’s scolding went like this when I did the same thing, seemingly a lifetime ago.)

“I guess.”

“Tell me about them Papa.”

I don’t tell her how she will carve those experiences for herself, or how she will also leave the village for an entirely different reason, or where she will find her corner of peace in this universe. Instead, I tell her about the blizzards that last for weeks that a village is forced to hibernate. I describe autumn as the mountain’s annual metamorphosis when it follows the many shades of the sun. Summer is unlike the watermelon they devoured; it is of sea creatures congregating on the shore in a homecoming. Spring, spring is the gigantic flowers blooming in crevices no one dares to discover, their scent as the sole indicator of their existence. 

“I think about winters and the snow angels I haven’t seen you make. The pumpkin spice latte a random stall offers when it's fall—”

“—but there are no pumpkins in Konoha, Papa!”

“Yes, peanut.” I smirk at her. “And yet your Mama is a sucker for them. They’re a bit too sweet for me.”

“And weird.”

“Spring is picnics—” A shadow falls on Sarada’s face, and my guilt for sporadic departures clutches at me like a sudden attack. “—and petals on sandwiches.” And pink hair splayed across the sheets.

“Summer here is so hot,” she zeroes in Konoha’s shortfall. “Literally the land of fire.”

“You’re right.” I find myself mirroring her stance earlier, a straight back, a compressed chest, and a long exhale as I spit out the seeds. “Summer is this—you, me, and watermelons.”

Sarada stiffens, probably in embarrassment, and upon realization that we’re on our porch, waiting for Sakura to arrive, she breaks into uncontained laughter.

You see, my daughter, I may have seen all the seasons, but it’s the weather at home that I miss.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

How would Curtis react if Honey was just so grumpy that it was hot summer? I know Honey loves Fall and all Fall type activities!

You were sweaty and uncomfortable in the early summertime heat. Not only was it hot, it was humid and made you sticky everywhere. You had done all the tricks, but sometimes their was no saving your thick thighs from chaffing or the way your bra rubbed you sore under your breasts. You just wanted to lay in front of a fan naked at this point.

Your car seats stuck to the back of your legs as you pried yourself out of the car, grumbling while you grabbed your bag to shoulder it. Curtis had called you earlier, saying he was going to be late getting home.

You sure you want me to come over tonight? You had typed out earlier and he insisted that you should just make yourself feel like it was your home.

Honestly, the old house was starting to feel more like home than the apartment downtown. You went up the steps slowly, slightly creaking because of their age but no less sturdy. You reached out to the nearby lilac perfuming the air and pulled a branch down to let the flower petals brush across your nose, taking in the floral scent.

"Still miss fall..." You muttered to yourself and a clearing of a throat made you glance up to see Curtis leaning in the now open doorway, a grin gracing his features at having caught you sniffing the flowers.

"Of course you do Honey." His hand reached out to take the bag from your shoulder. Beyond Curtis, you could see the interior was dimmed and some soft flickers of flames.

You stepped across the threshold to feel a chill making goosebumps race up and down your arms. The interior was downright chilly and that's when you noticed the beanie on Curtis's head as well as his flannel shirt. You glanced around to see your Halloween decorations scattered around, bats hung off the stairs railing leading upstairs, fake pumpkins were smiling from all over and lights were strung all over among the flicker of the candles. "I thought you were going to be- when did you do all this?" You were thoroughly shocked at what he had done.

Even your candy cauldron was out, filled with your favorites of candy. Sure it wasn't the halloween version, but it was still brimming. On the table was a watermelon, carved into a jack o lantern was glimmering in the darkened house. You shivered as you kept looking around. Curtis wrapped you in a hug, his calloused hands rubbing up and down your bare arms. "I wanted it to be a surprise, Honey. I knew you were over today by the time you messaged me that you spilled your iced coffee all over your classroom and it made you want to cry 'cause it was too hot for this bullshit."

"Okay, I was a little dramatic." You hid your face in his chest, recalling your very rapid 'I hate today' text you sent this morning.

"Nah, It was perfect timing. I was over today too." Curtis tipped your face up to kiss you, muttering against your mouth. "But you gotta change cause as sexy as you look in this sundress, we have horror movies to binge and candy to consume."

"It is freezing in here." You did shiver, burrowing closer against his chest.

"Tonya insisted I borrow the office A/C unit, I had Grey help me put it in. Then I had a few upstairs in the attic." He gently gave you a nudge to head upstairs.

You started up, twisting to lean over the banister to look down at him once you got closer to the top. "You know what this means Curtis?"

"No, what?" He asked innocently and you couldn't help but give him a sultry smile.

"We have to keep to tradition. I still have the fangs."

Everything in him went hard at the mere mention of those fangs, his gaze darkening as he started to advance to the steps. "Pretty Girl, you better get your ass up those stairs so I can give you a little preview of what it's going to be like this year." He lunged forward and you squealed while racing up the steps to play chase.

A/N- Carly! Babes, you know me so damn well. I miss fall and the chill and the spooky decorations and I just want my pumpkin muffins and PSL while hugging a pumpkin and declaring myself happy. 🎃

Curtis would do everything he could to make Honey's day better, even if he has to get creative in how to give that to her. Is she spoiled? Yes.

Life Is Short So Make It Sweet Masterlist

[balkanradfem]

Summerween is an episode from gravity falls. Basically they couldn't have a halloween episode because the show takes place over a single summer so they made up summerween. They use watermelons instead of pumpkins.

Thank you for explaining!

[madsciencestudent]

So, I recently learned that Summerween is catching on as a thing, and as a certified spooky gal and Gravity Falls fan I fully enjoy this.

So here's some thoughts I have on this and may start to implement if/when I get enough energy for it...

Summerween should and can be celebrated at any time during the summer. I get random slumps throughout the summer and know others do too, so it can be something to help with them.

Aesthetics should be different than those for Halloween. Halloween is about the transition from season of living and growing to season of harvest and dying. Summerween should have more focus on the living and bounty available in the summer, in my opinion. So like, more plant life, flowers, fruits that are in season for the summer, natural colors and pastels, stuff like that.

Bouncing off that, I'd say we should not put too much focus on pumpkins, but we can still have Jack'o'Lanterns since it's just using left over harvest as lanterns with faces carved in them for protection. Watermelons and pineapples obviously work well as a replacement!

Spiders probably can work for both Summerween and Halloween given they're actually alive and active in the summer with more species around, as well as being a good, go to symbol of death and decay given how abandoned houses and human built structures end up covered in them/cob webs. But other insects like moths and cicadas work just as well if not more so with Summerween given they're actually active in the season. (We should probably move those guys out of Halloween iconography, to be fair...)

A lot of witchy aesthetics could work with Summerween better than Halloween too. Like the swamp witch or forest witch aesthetics would work better given they seem to draw off more vibrant and living plant life than what's around in the Fall. Plus the fortune teller aesthetics work for any time of year, so those can be mixed in too.

More things I think work for excellent Summerween iconography are things like Bigfoot, Jackolopes, or other local cryptids. Less traditional big media monsters, more local entities that can be seen any time of year and are the kind you'd be worried about running into the woods when you were a kid.

Ghost stories are again any every time of year thing so throw in a bunch of those that you would swap around the fire at camp or at sleepovers!

Pastel colored skeletons just scream Summerween to me. I don't know why.

Songs and movies that somehow became associated with Halloween but don't really have anything to do with Halloween can/should be moved to Summerween instead! Songs like I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me, Season of the Witch, Don't Fear the Reaper, Grim Grinning Ghosts (technically just about ghosts, not Halloween), even Thriller are good examples of some of these. Likewise, movies like Little Shop of Horrors, Beetlejuice, Coraline (takes place in Pacific Northwest summer before school I think), ParaNorman (late summer or early fall I think), Jaws, Nope, Evil Dead are just some examples I can think of.

Of course, things related to Gravity Falls can be mixed in based on how you feel. Same with the traditional Halloween iconography and aesthetics. But the above is mostly my thoughts on it, and may help me if/when I decide to throw a Summerween party.

[homeofhousechickens]

What are some of your chickens favorite snacks? Mine seem to prefer watermelon over anything else and I'm asking both out of curiosity and so I have more ideas on good snacks for my birds

Watermelon is a very yummy snack that most of my birds love but my birds only really get it in the summer because I like buying local watermelons. I think most chickens like watermelon but Beeper doesn't really like very juicy things because she dislikes her face getting wet and dirty. I can get her to take a couple of bites usually but she becomes disinterested but maybe this summer she will change her mind.

Kale is a favorite of my leghorns. They also like it when I buy these small lettuce heads grown by a local producer, and they will happily shred them. Beeper hates leafy greens. I have to bribe her in some way, like sprinkling meal worms on it or putting tiny bits of yogurt on it.

Pretty much all my chickens like blueberries, blueberries tend to be a universal favorite just be mindful it stains their droppings and makes them more moist.

Whole corn (remove the leaves and fibers) is nice enrichment they love it and will pick it completely clean.

Cooked carrot is rare treat for them but they like it. Muffin and Cannoli aren't huge fans of it though

Orange squash or pumpkin is a treat that I also think is universally loved by chickens. When fall comes around I tend to buy my chickens small pumpkins for them to eat but they all like the canned stuff to. Keep in mind pumpkin is not wormer it's better to treat it as a tasty treat.

Unsweetened plain yogurt is very well loved but my birds who don't like getting messy tend to regret it after a few pecks. Chickens can't digest lactose so it can cause stomach upset in some birds. I haven't ever had that problem though.

Egg in various forms (scrambled,boiled,ect) is a good treat and food to feed sick chickens who have went off feed.

Also live and dried bugs are a good treat just mind the protein and phosphorus. I like getting superworms,mealworms,and hornworms as treats for my birds. Other insects work as well but those are the easiest to get in my area.

I also get given a lot of apples and bananas that overripe so I feed those to birds as well but they aren't super enthusiastic about apples.

I think those are the things I feed as treats the most often.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 1 Pt. 14 (Big City, Biggest Pumpkin)

When Spencer returned from Selvadorada, Everett visited her at home. Spencer was none the wiser to Heather and Everett's kiss, and she and her boyfriend lost their virginity to each other in her family’s animal shed. When Heather found out, she plastered on a smile for her friends, but Holly knew she was devastated. She suggested the family return to the city for another day trip to take her mind off her drama, this time to the Arts Quarter near the waterfront.

San Myshuno was hosting a flea market, but the kids played on the playground nearby while Neal and Heather played basketball. Daisy and Holly, meanwhile, spent hours fishing beneath the San Myshuno Bridge, catching fish they’d never find in the River Bagley back home. It was a wonderful bonding experience for them, and Holly started to muse about life catching fish in the Simlandia Sea, working in big ocean trawlers docked at the mouth of San Myshuno Bay.

Holly was a petite girl who loved makeup, so this revelation was a bit of a surprise to Daisy, but it was the thought of her growing up and leaving Henford that filled her mother with the most dread. Luckily, Holly was still far too young, and even though Daisy’s new job kept her away from home more than ever, she cherished every minute with her family. When it got too dark to fish, they rejoined the others at a karaoke bar, where they’d stumbled on a contest which River won. His energy doing Sinatra-style jazz won the crowd over several accomplished singers – San Myshuno was a paradise for aspiring entertainers.

Daisy and Neal were surprised to run into Abby Goldbloom and Hayes Harms but thrilled to catch up and hear how love had beaten the odds with them. The lonely creature keeper had finally been brought from his shell by the outgoing grocer. After the birth of their son, Elliot, she sold her grocery, and he sold his cottage in the Bramblewood; Neal and Daisy hadn’t seen them since they’d moved to Brindleton Bay and adopted an Australian Shepherd. For her part, Heather hated hearing about their happily ever after, but she kept her tortured feelings to herself.

(NOTE: After I took all the Henford NPCs and made them playable, the game generated replacements for the grocer, delivery person, creature keeper, and mayor. I use MCCC cheats to alter relationships, like making Kim Goldbloom the daughter of Ian and Derek Moody-McMillan, and I made Agnes and Agatha an old married couple and set Agatha as Bob Pancakes' mother. The game generated clones of Agatha and Agnes in their place, but Abby and Hayes were the new grocer and creature keeper so I played out the in-game creature keeper/grocer lore a little as a side plot, and used MCCC again to make Abby pregnant with Hayes' kid before I made them both playable and moved them to their own lot.)

The family worked together to grow two oversized pumpkins and an enormous watermelon for Finchwick’s Oversized Crop Fair. River got to put his name on the biggest, juiciest pumpkin because he’d helped his parents the most with weeding, so River won the first-place ribbon. Only the third first prize the Nesbitts had ever won from the Finchwick Fair, Heather’s smaller pumpkin placed second and Neal’s watermelon placed third, solely because it was more of a summer plant than a fall one. Now Daisy’s prizes for her chocolate pie and garden crops had to share space on the walls of their home. In all the fair was a great day, and the townsfolk thought it fitting an astrobiologist would be able to grow the best and biggest produce Henford had ever seen.

With Harvestfest around the corner, would the Nesbitts' fresh produce grace their holiday table? And would Daisy ever find a UFO fruit? ->

<- Previous Chapter | From the Beginning

[squidlykitten]

random ask: what is your absolute most favorite food ever? the one that you wish you could summon at will with no prep required and also need everyone around you to try and also love (but not so much that there's none left for you)?

Ahhh, oh goodness, that's a hard one. It kind of depends on the season.

In the winter , I LOVE a good pot roast. Thick and fatty and warm and comforting.... It brings back so many good memories.

In the spring I love this really specific pasta salad, with bell peppers and cucumbers. It's so fresh and has a nice crunchy texture.

I'm summer I am an absolute fool for watermelon. I will eat a whole one by myself on the back porch like an animal, happy and satisfied.

Fall is bread time!! Pumpkin bread and banana bread and zucchini bread and Hawaiian sweet bread. Anything kinda sweet but also heavy. Zucchini bread with a bit of butter, enjoyed on the front porch... Perfection.

[garden-with-squid]

Yearly Garden Review - 2023

1/11/2024

The garden has improved so much over the past year.  I grew, harvested, and learned so much more than I did last year.  And that’s despite the weird weather - this was a very wet, gloomy year in SoCal, even into June and July.  

Highlights:

We loved the tulips this year and plan to plant out more chilled bulbs soon.

Surprise potato harvest in bed 2

Bed 3 was so incredibly beautiful in the spring - purple alyssum beneath fresh, green growth.  The alyssum also helped with water retention and attracting beneficial insects.  The soil in bed 3 felt loose and healthy compared to other beds that time of year.

Larger harvests of peppers, eggplants, and so so many tomatoes.  I couldn’t believe how tall the tomato plants grew!  We ate them all the time and they were delicious, especially the Black Cherry.

We cooked and ate more of our harvests.  Delicious omelettes, pasta, soups, and stuffed peppers on Halloween.

Installed ollas - extremely helpful!  Really helps keep water more consistent.

Grew delicious broccoli.  There are side shoots still growing too.  I didn’t realize how big broccoli plants actually get.  Bed 2 looks great still.

Ordered a tea plant.  It’s pretty dead now, but it was nice having a camellia for a bit.

The jasmine bounced back and bloomed a bit!

Got local compost and made my own potting mix

The dragonfruit is still alive, and hopefully will grow more this spring.

Notes for improvement:

I struggled to germinate seeds, both direct sown and started indoors.  The care/watering is hard for me to do consistently.  It was a real shame to kill all the shallot seedlings in particular - I was really hoping to grow some since they’re harder to find in store.

Lots of dead plants.  If I stopped talking about any particular plant in the logbook, it’s because it died.  The rosemary and lavender plants in bed 4 will probably need to be replaced this spring.  A lot of flowers and container plants didn’t make it.  For some reason, sunflowers struggled a lot too.

Aphids, cabbage worms, and rodents.  Barrier protection would probably help a lot, plus more consistent watering.  I did see a good number of ladybugs and larva this year.

Garden fatigue hit at different points in the year, usually when work was stressful or it felt like my garden wasn’t as good as it should have been.  But it helped to remind myself how much better I’ve become since last year, and that it will continue to get better as I gain more experience.  

Looking forward to the year ahead, I want to harvest many things in the summer/fall - okra and watermelon for my uncle, more nightshades, onions, pumpkins, and flowers.  I want to try growing on the trellis (I plan to install one more).  Most of the work will happen in March/April - that’s when the cover crops in beds 1 and 3 will be ready to turn in and transplant time for all the summer crops.

I’m currently using the wintertime to take a break, only checking the garden once a week or so.  While I could grow a winter garden in my zone, I find I’m very lazy on cold mornings, and having a season of rest is important to me symbolically.  

I think I have a solid foundation of skill and experience to build on, so I hope to have a very productive garden this year.  We’re also supposed to have another wet season coming up. So we’ll see how that affects things.  Very fitting for Year of the Dragon!

[ravendruid]

I want to move somewhere cold where I can trade soup and stew recipes with my friend, chill by the fire with hot cocoa and a book, get flushed cheeks from the cold, and throw my dogs in the snow and watch them make a tunnel.

I want to see the golden leaves fall on the sidewalk, step on them, and hear their crunch underneath my boots. The smells of cinnamon and spices, pumpkin, and apple pie.

I want to see the snow melt and bring out the first blooms in the garden, the birds chirping as they find twigs to make their nests, and the bees buzz around the bushes.

I want to chill by the pool in the summer with a fresh glass of lemonade and slices of watermelon to cool me down. I want to not have to melt and spend all summer inside because it's unbearable to leave the house.

I want to experience the joy of seasons again.