2. The mosquitoes. Ugh! The mosquitoes! With all the standing water around, they're throwing quite the reproduction party across the whole city. It wouldn't be so bad if Kolbe and Reagan didn't react to the bites so ridiculously. We're talking golf to tennis ball sized welts. And it wouldn't be so bad if they didn't bite through your clothes. Seriously! I have a mosquito bite square in the middle of my back. I know I haven't be outside without a shirt on any time recently! And it wouldn't be so bad if they didn't seem to be somehow immune to bug repellent. So annoying! I completely douse the boys and myself in bug spray before going outside and they still manage to attack us full on. Reagan looks like a spotted leopard. And Kolbe is working the huge-growth-on-the-side-of-his-head look. Adorable, I know. I tried some of the Avon lotion stuff yesterday and it actually worked better than the regular spray on stuff. And I intend to try out the treatment you can hook up to your hose and spray in the yard and trees to kill the skeeters and their nests. Hopefully that works; otherwise, we're stuck inside for a while longer.
3. We'll stay on the outdoor/results-of-rain theme. But I'll stop with all the complaining. On a positive note, the multitude of rain has managed to add quite a bit of green to our yard. The grass...er, weeds....have never looked so lush! Mark cut the lawn and within three days it needed cutting again. But better than the green lawn are the beautiful flowers! Many many months ago I wrote about trying to develop my green thumb. And I'm so excited to see the fruits (literally!) of my labors come to fruition. Just thought I'd share a few pics of what's going on in the "Asmussen Garden" since the flood of rain kicked things into high gear. Hope they bring a little sunshine to your Thursday!
Verbena...grown from seeds.
Zinnias...grown from seeds.
These actually look better in person than in this picture. They've ended up being one of my favorites. They're called bachelor buttons...or cornflowers. We grew these from seeds too. They kind of looked like weeds in the beginning but turned into the cutest little wildflowers.
I forget what this one is called. But it's pretty, right!?! It's some form of a succulent (stores its water in its leaves like a cactus). We did not grow this one from seeds. Rescued it from the dying plants cart at Walmart for $1.00. It's been pretty...and not dead...ever since!
And we finally found a good place for the Jesus statue from Popo's backyard. I bought a bag of caladium bulbs for $3 and planted them in a semi-circle around the statue back in March. Having forgotten to water them, I just assumed they were dead. But about a month ago, they started sprouting up. All six of them! Love caladiums! And the same bulbs can be replanted next year. No need to repurchase.
On to the produce. These are the tomatoes that we grew from seeds. They started in tiny seed pots. Then we moved them to a bigger pot. And finally Mark's dad came over and helped me transplant them into the ground. Now they've turned into these huge bushes. And prior to all our rain, I was kinda sad that they hadn't started producing any fruit. (despite the fact that Mark's dad told me it would probably be August before they did...)
Until I noticed these three tiny little tomatoes yesterday! Yea! I'm not sure if you can even see them in this pic. They're like the size of a peanut right now. But I can see them. And I'm excited! My very first produce! Ever! (I know...I sound like such a novice...)
And here's our jalapenos. They're much much smaller. Small, but mighty!
This plant actually has 4 jalapenos growing on it right now. I sense yummy salsa with our jalaps and tomatoes in the near future!
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