Gardening Creates Laughter and Stupid Sunburns!

Sunday afternoon all the troops headed out to do some gardening.  It was in serious need of weeding!  Serious need - it looked like we were growing grass and not vegetables.

It was a perfect day for it though.  Weather was in the high 60's so we were not sweating to death like I did last week.  Perfectly beautiful day for gardening.  Here, let me describe it for you:

It was the most beautiful kind of day.  You know where the sky is an unbelievably brilliant shade of blue and there are clouds hanging about.  Big, bright, fluffy, white clouds that are in not a hurry to be anywhere and so slowly drift about.  Birds were chirping.  Neighbors were busy out on the lake so you could hear the hum of boats and the laughter of people as they went buzzing by.  Bumble bees buzzed about from flower to flower, a turtle mosied behind the garden in the cool shade and tall grass.  <Insert sound of screeching record here as this comes to a stop :o)>  Enter the Richie/Ranshaw clan and this is what is mixed in with all that buzzing:

various children:  this row is too long, why do I have to do this row?

a certain City Girl Grown Up:  EEEK!, wait 2 minutes - EEEK!, wait another 2 minutes - EEEEEEKKK!!  you're getting the picture right - then SSSSHHHHHRRREEEEEEKKKK, now the bugs are in my hair!  Where is the mall when I need it!

various parent/grandparent:  when we were younger (insert typical grown up story about how hard they had it and how this next generation should be grateful it is not that bad)

a certain tiny little dog after it was locked away in the dog kennel:  bark!  wait half a minute - bark!
various gardeners:  Shut Up!  Go Lay Down!

All in all it was a relaxing afternoon and pretty hilarious.  I am sure if there were any neighbors within earshot they had a pretty good chuckle over us.  The garden looks a million times better now.  Some rows did not get weeded, only because what is growing in those rows are not big enough yet and we would risk pulling them out with the weeds.  Oh, which brings up another funny moment.  You know how you take your kids to meeting week after week, you do the family study, you prepare for all the meetings, and you wonder if they are learning.  In the midst of all the hullabaloo over which row to weed and to keep busy, and reminding them that we had to weed to keep the plants healthy, J. announces this:  "Jesus said we should not weed until the harvest so that we can tell the difference between the plants and the weeds."  Ahahahahaha so funny, not quite the right application but it got his dad quiet for a minute.

Which now brings us to stupid sunburns.  After our hours in the garden we went inside for snacks and for everyone to do whatever it was they wished.  Later that evening Rachel and I were watching a movie and Rach announces - my back hurts, I wonder if it got sunburned.  I say mine does too, so we lift up the back of our shirts for the others inspection - and yep.  Sunburns in the stupidest spot ever!  You know when you bend over and your shirt lifts up the tiniest bit in the back exposing an inch or two of skin.  Well apparently when you bend over in the garden for a couple of hours or so, it gets burned . . . . badly!  So stupid!

But all worth it.  Our garden is doing beautifully and plants are growing and starting to sprout whatever vegetable it is they are supposed to be.  Here are some pics - enjoy!




Jalapeños




Peppers and Jalapeños



Tomatillos

Red Onions

Red Potatoes marked by these cute little markers Aubrey and I made

Radishes - these are just about ready to pull up

Richie/Ranshaw Gang working away

P.S.  I almost forgot the worst part.  J. had a bad stomach this day and was spreading his ummmm, "love" around the garden.  So in between all that happening above you would hear a random - J. that is so gross, you smell bad - go weed somewhere else!  Funny stuff!