turtle bunny love design: May 2011

hooray! i like the way you smell - inspired by my happy little print...
thanks so much to molly's muses

just a look at the planter garden this year...

since our garden is STILL up for debate
(i say flowers and picnic table - hubs says mostly garden)
our little planter garden on the deck will have to do for now. and i might just stick with this forever since it requires no weeding. yup you heard right, NO WEEDING! ain't that the tops?

last year i did similar groupings of pretty plants and veggies.

this year i've got green onions going next to cantaloupe! crazy right? well, i'll probably have to do some switching once things get bigger but it's working out great so far. hopefully i'll be growing the melons down the side of the deck... i'll let you know how that works out.

here's some sweet peas ready to climb up my brightly colored cages!

and you can't forget the herbs!

out in the non-garden i got a blueberry bush popping.
let's hope the birds don't get them before i do!

plus, i was really lucky this winter keeping all my house plants alive indoors! FINALLY!
in the past i've killed so many plants just a few months after bringing them in. i think i'd over water and then under water - which made them very sad. plus i don't think they ever had enough light. this time i managed to water appropriately (less at first and then progressively more) and get them enough sun so only just a few were lost.

here's a few beauties...

plump jade!

happy cacti!

and super potent citronella that loved the big pot i put it in last year.
perfect deck buddy when the bugs come out - just pick and rub all over!

also, last year on my walk i found wild chamomile and brought it home.
it loves our red rock driveway and has been spreading everywhere.

here it is getting ready to bud!
plus some other pretties from around the yard...

whew, ok that's it for now. i'll update the progress!

back again with the artstar details!
as usual, the 8th annual artstar craft bazaar was amazing. all the great philly folk came out in the rain on saturday – skipping around in their golashes – and we got so lucky with sun all day on sunday, hooray! this is by far my most favorite craft show. the girls who run it are soooo awesome and there's always such a nice, friendly vibe. people help each other and happy volunteers are always there to truck your stuff back and forth. plus pina coladas and fantastic oatmeal/cranberry cookies... what could be better!?
here's some pics from the iphone.

my lovely booth partner in crime – kimberly, of chez sucre chez – just stitching away.

customers shopping her fantastic wares.

here's my side getting shopped upon.

i tried a new set-up with posters pinned up between twine
and only one framed wall this year for more of a consolidated pack job.

thanks to all the friends who helped me get ready or stopped out to see the booth. i'll definitely be back next year! and thanks again artstar – you guys rock!

wow-wee it's been a while!

sorry for my little disappearance over the last week –
a lot has been going on and i can barely keep up...

first off, we got our bees!
2 sundays ago we picked up our order at the LCCC campus. it was really awesome to see all the bees that came up from georgia in a little horse trailer...

with about 20 bees on the outside of the box keegan asked me to hold them for the trip back home and my eyes must've shown my utter fear.
i get crazy when there is one little bee buzzing around in the car, let alone 20-30!
luckily he brushed off the excess girls and let me drive while he kept them safe.

when we got home HM came over and helped him insert the queen and release the rest into the hive. my heart raced while they did their thing. (sorry for the blown-out photos. i could barely get a good shot since i still can't seem to figure out this white balance on a super sunny day.)

here's the queen in her little chamber! (she's the big one with the white dot)
over the next few days her servants take care of her as they eat their way out to be greeted by the rest of the hive...

kritter was really inquisitive and would occasionally snap around the air trying to get them in her teeth. i stayed back and watched through the lens mostly.

after a couple days they seem to be hard at work and happy.
queen bee is out of her box and the hive is at a light hum all day long.
so, after all that it wasn't so bad.
no jumping in the pond... yet!

with all the things that can go wrong like mites and mold
we need all the luck we can get for this new hive.
go little bees – i would surely like to eat your honey!