Bountiful Gardens and Bountiful Children’s Activities!
Why There Are No Stupid Questions On Southern Plate…
Back in my high school days (sometime in between the discovery of fire and the internet), a new teacher came to our school, Mrs. Taylor. Kids didn’t like Miss Taylor from the very start. She was new and her class was hard. You had to actually learn what she taught in order to be able to pass (that wasn’t he case in some classes). You had to study, you had to do homework, you had to know the material. She was thorough and she had intent. She was a teacher.
But Mrs. Taylor honestly changed my life (and perhaps yours, too!). It wasn’t that biology was that groundbreaking of a subject for me and it wasn’t that I even remember all that much of what she taught unless it was reinforced in college. It was that one day during class when a question occurred to me and I actually got up the courage to ask her.
It was a silly question really, I will freely admit that, but it was something I was honestly curious about and did not know the answer to. I sat patiently in my desk, waiting on the class to clear out some before I started gathering my books. Rising, I dilly dallied a bit more until I was walking in the wake of the last straggler. Mrs. Taylor was wiping off the chalk board and I said “Mrs. Taylor, I have a stupid question.” Her immediate response was “There is no such thing as a stupid question, Christy”.
She went on to listen to me ask my question and acknowledged how she could understand my confusion on the matter (no , I won’t tell you my question! Even now I worry about what someone would think of me!) and then explained in detail what the answer was, even going so far as to dirty up her clean chalkboard again to demonstrate.
I left that room feeling like I had the upper hand over everyone in that class. Chances are I know something they don’t to this very day.
So that’s my philosophy here on Southern Plate. Personally, the thing I hate more than anything in this world is for someone to make me feel stupid and the thing I try to do more than anything is to not make anyone else feel that way. No one is born a good cook. Despite what some people might lead you to believe it is not some elusive talent that some have and others do not. It is a skill, easily acquired and easily mastered to whatever level you choose to take it to.
All you need is the right recipe, answers to any questions you may have, and a little bit of confidence.
I hope to give you all of that here.
Gratefully,
Christy Jordan
Now join me as I post a bounty of information from Bountiful.
Bug experiments, Stained glass projects, and How my garden grows!
~cue music~
The Great Bug Experiment!
My kids, especially Miss Katy, loves bugs! We have had a lot of fun with this “bug experiment” by setting up a little oasis for them in our yard and then going back and seeing who has moved in.
We’ve actually done three bug experiments so far and keep going back to water them and restock them for more buggy discoveries. After twenty four hours, you’ll find all sorts of little critters. Ours has attracted the mother load of roly polies, ladybugs, and snails so far!
Stained Glass Art Project
Gardens At Bountiful
My gardens are doing really well, despite the FLOOD of rain Alabama has seen the past two months.
I have been watching out my window for Noah to show up and my squirrels to start lining up two by two!
This is my tomato garden, with a flurry of carrots around the outside.
I took these photos a few days ago and already there are many more tomatoes appearing.
I haven’t pulled any tomatoes yet but next week my Southern Plate friend, Terri, is coming to visit me here at Bountiful and I hope to fry this one up for her!
My cantaloupes are really spanning out! Check out this photo and then…
This is three days later!
One of my kiddie pool gardens ended up not being in the sun as I thought it would be and that garden has pretty much petered out. I’ve since moved it and am about to replant it but haven’t decided what I’m going to put in there just yet.
I dearly wanted bell peppers and since that was the garden that fell victim to my lack of judgement, I purchased a little bell pepper plant for three dollars and planted it in a bucket so I could move it around and make sure it got enough sun! I planted my buckets the same way I did the gardens. Drilled some holes in the bottom (small holes, just for a little drainage), layer of mulch, and then filled with dirt that had some fertilizer in it, then topped with topsoil.
This plant has more than doubled in size in a very short time and is really taking off!
I decided to do an herb garden. You’ll hear a lot more about that in an upcoming video that is being produced right now!
I planted the herbs I use on a regular basis. Parsley, Basil, and Cilantro.
There is also a little straggler bell pepper plant in there that is not going to make it from the shaded garden.
My herb garden is my first endeavor at organic gardening. 🙂 I used organic garden soil and pine needles from Bountiful as the mulch in the bottom. As a squirrel deterrent, I use cayanne pepper. Unless you got spicy squirrels, that should do the trick.
Those little sprouts in my herb garden are edible greens I’ve planted.
The package said it would take ten days for them to sprout up but…
This is them after only three!
And I’m still enjoying my hydrangeas very much! Especially if I put them in this milk glass pitcher on my sideboard.
Well, thats all from Bountiful today.
I hope you’re getting ready for a great weekend and Happy Father’s day to all of you Dads!
You have no idea the difference you make in your kid’s lives!
Gratefully,
Christy 🙂
Around here, “Normal” is just a setting on the dryer.
The garden looks great! Your little ones are so adorable. I love Katy’s curly hair.
You know they still do those stained glass windows at Lincoln. At Christmas time they have volunteers come over and hang them in all the front windows after all the kids have made them, then keep all the front rooms’s windows open. It really is pretty. Cant wait for the top 10 list!Although they are all my faves.
I meant to say they keep the front room lights on. I thought I had checked my post, but after I read it today I saw the mistake. Hope you are staying cool! It’s time for some homeade ice cream!! Hint Hint!
Love, love, love the plants in kiddie pools idea. I am going to have to “borrow” it. I have done “real fancy” containers (read 5 gallon paint buckets) for the last several years, but have a big squirrel problem that made me just dread the tomato plants this year. Does the cayenne pepper really work? Do I put it on the soil, the leaves or the tomatoes themself? Sprinkle on or mix in water and spray on? I have tried everything else, including deer away and squirrel away and they thought it was just extra seasoning for them. I would love for this to work!
Hi Christy,
What a great post!! Loved the story about why there are no stupid questions.
I am sooo excited to see all of your gardens, bugs (really!), artsy crafts and meet those two adorable kids ~waves~. I will have something special for Brady and Katy to do when I get there too. Oh, and I am bringing to you, your own babysitter, a teenaged Amanda. Finally you will have a babysitter (see earlier post on SP), but you can’t keep her.
My mouth is a’waterin for a fried green Ta’mato…..and anything else from the garden. Bountiful here I come! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. See you soon baboon!
I love the hydrangeas in the milk glass pitcher. Beautiful!
I have a few kiddos I am keeping here over the summer, these are some great ideas!! Loving it. I think I may have some tissue paper, but it is probably much easier for me to buy a whole multipack! Great job and BTW, you had me almost crying, so are soooo sweet!
I have a stupid question…..just kidding. I love the bug experiment, will have to tell Justin about it, little Autumn loves bugs.
Lisa planted an herb garden but we had so much rain it killed the rosemary. She planted mint in a small yellow childs pail with a smiley face on it, little shovel hanging off it and has it hanging on the deck… it looks so cute.
Happy gardening everything looks great. Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there, and all the Moms who take on that role as well.
Kisses and Hugs.
How adoreable!!
Your little ones definitely know how to have fun…I think they get that from their mama! If you want a 3-in-1 project the next time you create those stained glass masterpieces, try using light colored-crayons to let them draw their own design before you cut. You’ll just have to make sure you’re a little more selective about how you follow their lines if they are “abstract artists” (aka: Of course that scribble is a horse, sweetie!). You can also let them “finger-smear” designs in the (washable!) glue themselves while you cut out their designs. If you have some wet wipes at the table, the glue won’t morph to rock during hand washing trips… ;P
Thanks for sharing…I see a new “Crafty Dish” blog in the works!
jane