Nothing Motivates Like Oversized Produce

I love this story from the LA Times about getting kids interested in growing and eating vegetables.

GARDEN BRIEFS

Family's home-grown cucumber is a whopper

The Segee family in Leimert Park has discovered a simple way to get
daughters Jai'Neil, left, Dee'Anna and Jai'Lynn excited about growing
their own food: cultivate a 28-pound cucumber.

Although the vegetable they grew and recently harvested may not land in
the Guinness World Records book -- they say they've been beaten by a
59-pounder grown in Australia -- mom Tiffany and dad Vernon are content
knowing that Dee'Anna, 10, and Jai'Neil and Jai'Lynn, both 5, are now
interested in gardening.

Neighbor Claims Responsibility For Snow

It snowed this morning, which is unusual in Portland anytime. But on February 10th, after we just had a few days warm enough that people got out in their yards with gardening tools, it is incomprehensible.

My fellow gardening neighbor claims he made it happen by pruning his rose bushes. Yeah, I know, I had to hear more. He says that whenever his father pruned the roses prior to President's Day, it would snow. Apparently he has inherited this awesome and terrifying power.

Having seen this display his children are on uncharacteristically good behavior.

I Don't Care What Phil Saw Yesterday

After what seemed like an endless and cold January, today it is 56 degrees, and we may get 2 more, yipee. So, of course, I am jumping the gun and putting some seeds in the ground. Well not exactly in the ground, but in dirt, in little pots, inside the mini greenhouse.

So what did I plant? Lettuces, Arugula, Chard, Onions, Rapini, Spinach, and Mustard Greens.

'The hens enjoyed the sun and the dry dirt for scratching.

I still have a few Lettuces and some Parsley and Arugula that survived the snow and are still providing a little sustenance, so I will count this as a year that we had something to eat from the garden all year round. And that's not even counting the eggs provided by the girls. They are still going strong, averaging 2 eggs a day.
I feel lucky.