Between The Almond Trees

Meet Roxy!

2011-06-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

She is the newest member of our family!! I am so stinking excited about her!! I got her yesterday ( tues june 6th) I got her from a really nice guy that was giving her away on Craigslist. He, unfortunately is unable to care for her so he started looking for a new home! I have wanted another pup for a while now. I wanted my First doggie Zoey to have a playmate and I also wanted to get a purebred German Shepherd but they are a little out of my price range. But, FREE is ALWAYS in my price range! LOL

Roxy is 6 months old and she is CKC certified! Talk about SCORE!!

She has made everyone in our family ( including Zoey ) VERY VERY happy! Zoey LOVES her to pieces!!!

Welcome Roxy! We love you already!!

Fathers day card!

2011-06-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

I was feeling a bit crafty today so, I thought I would make my dad his fathers day card. I just LOVE making these cards especially because the whole time I am making it I think about him. See my dad lives about 2200 miles away from me and I miss him soo much. I moved away from home a long time ago, and the one think I miss most about "home" is my dad! He is a simple guy and that is one of the things I love the most about him. He is the type of guy that could tell you everything you need to know without speaking a word. We would sit at the kitchen table for hours not really saying much ( my dads not a big talker) and yet I learned so much. Thank you dad for being you!
Here is a card I know you'll love!

I got this idea from doing a google search for fathers day cards.... Then landing here.....

http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/284-father-s-day-cards/7

Thanks for sharing the instructions and the template for this card!! This is soooo my dad!

I have made the fish and the wave into svg's if anyone would like to have it... please feel free to email me. I would be happy to send it to ya.

betweenthealmondtrees@gmail.com

A Mothers fear!

2011-05-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

It is sad that is todays world you have to be filled with fear just by sending your children to school!
I am sure some of you, if not all have heard about the teacher arrested for giving her students Chloroform. Well, come to find out now she was making explosives in her classroom!!! WTF???? Why?

Oh, did I mention.... THIS IS THE SCHOOL MY SON ATTENDS!!!!!!!

Lets just say I am very very very very UPSET!

Here is the link if you don't know what I am talking about.

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2011/05/25/1905193/police-livingston-high-school.html

good 'ol times

2011-05-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

Did you ever ride around in the back of a pick~up when you were a kid? I did!!! When I was younger ( and before all the rules and laws) this was the thing to do!! What a blast! Most kids today don't know about good wholesome fun! Well my husband brought home this little pick~up over the weekend to dismantle it so it can be sold. It was used as a pest control truck so he had to take all the "stuff" out of it. Well after that was all said and done.....well we took it for a little joy ride. As you know we live in the middle of an almond orchard soooo...... My daughter and I , plus Zoey our doggy rode in the back, with my son and hubby in the cab. We just drove around the property at a casual speed enjoying the cool evening air! Man, did that bring back some memories. My daughter has never ridden in the back of a pick up like that and she was just beside herself! She LOVED it. She is my adventurous one.
When we got back to the house my daughter was begging to go again!! LOL I told her seeeee..... I told you it was fun! Now you know why we did it all the time "back in the day"!

My son is so silly!

<3 him!

Eating healthier.....

2011-05-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

When are you most hungry through out the day? Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner?

For me it is Breakfast!!! I wake up starving! If I have some coffee than I am usually ok, but sometimes I am just down right HUNGRY! I have a bad habit of grabbing the "easy" things , which are usually bad for me........but I am really trying to change my bad habits. Lately, I have been eating a lot of fruit for breakfast. I feel really good after eating it too. mmmm.... The sweet flavors linger for a while and it really sets a good tone for the rest of the day. I know, I know I need to be careful when eating fruit..... Toooo much can be bad, with all the sugars but it has to be better than a pastry? Right?

Last day of science camp!

2011-05-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

Friday the 13th ( hehehe) was calm day. We got up in the morning and had breakfast and right away started packing up. We got it all done pretty quickly. I was a nice day and so we headed to the beach for some R& R before driving 4 hours home. It was a quick trip just 20 min down the road. As soon as we got there and stepped out of the car I quickly became un~excited about being there. IT WAS COLD AND WINDY!!
So I grabbed a blanket....ok 4 blankets from the car and headed down to the water..... This was not going to be fun.....
My daughters teacher however was very atomistic and said....oh this will be great!!! You will see.....
I think he had lost his flipping mind!
Low and behold, there was a little pocket just around the cliff that sat on the beach that blocked all the wind! It was SOOO WARM!! And there wasn't any wind! NONE! I could not believe it. It actually got a little to warm. But let me tell you as soon and you walked around the side of the cliff..... You were almost knocked over by the wind.
We stayed there a couple of hours and then headed home. It was a great way to end the week! I feel very blessed that I got to experience this week with my daughter. It was almost like my experience too..... I never went to science camp. They don't have it back home where I am from.

Here are some pics!

Did I mention there were raccoons? Not 1 or 2 BUT 15-20!!! Mean, loud raccoons!

And my tent was right next to the hole where they came out of!!! AHHHHHHH

My daughters tent was right next to mine and they would fight right between the 2 and bounce off the tents!!

Not the highlight of my trip! LOL

Isn't this neat? My poor son was so sun burnt and as soon as we got to the beach he built this little hut to keep out of the sun! Of course he had to share! :)

After a great and eventful week it sure is good to go home!

((hugs))

8 mile hike!! LOTS OF PICS!!

2011-05-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Man oh man was I soooo tired and sore after this little adventure. I had so much fun though. I think this is something I am going to do often. My son and I lead the pack and took off first before all the other kids. It was really nice to have that one on one time with him. Then when the other kids caught up, my son and some of the boys went ahead of me. I had a chance to trek along by myself and ooh how wonderful it was to be alone in the woods enjoying peace and quiet! It was nice to just take a deep breath!
Here are SOME of the pics I took along the way. I took soooo many but these are some of my fav's. Plus most of the other ones are of the kids . I love nature and I love taking pics of it.

Enjoy!

The views that peeked through the trees were just amazing!

Breath taking coast line!

Thatta way!!

Isn't is tradition to kiss a banana slug @ 6th grade science camp? lol

We seen some really big ones...... ewwww....

Looking up at the trees made me dizzy!

Getting closer to the water!

I just love to gaze out into the sea...... Very calming!

I love taking pics of flowers.....

A bridge that was in the middle of no where!

I have a love of horses too and seen these ones and of course I had to snap a pic! hehehe

Finally reached it!! aahhh the sand was soo warm!

My daughter and her best friend..... Wonder what they are chatting about.....

BOYS!!!! LOL

My son found this crab! It was hollowed out... But it still had some of its eyes left....

Kinda cool but creepy at the same time!

This was a very long day! The kids and I loved it and will be heading out to do this again real soon!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Gear Up!!

2011-05-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

We went kayaking!!! I have never done this before and I have to say I was super nervous. The kids were really excited and couldn't wait. Oh to be a kid again and be fearless. We had to listen to all the safety instructions and get all geared up before we actually went on the water. That alone was about 45 min. Once we got out on the water and "figured" it out.....WOW super fun!!! I think if I lived closer to the water I would pick this up as a new hobby. It was really windy that day so we didn't stay out long. WE had a few in our group that just couldn't get the hang of it and kept drifting a lot.
All in all it was really fun.... I told hubby we need to go back and try this as a family.

Here are some pics!

YOGA? On surf boards? I would fall in! LOL

Here is what happeed on Tuesday 5/10 at Science Camp

2011-05-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

It was a Coooooold night monday night! I slept maybe 2 hours and that was broken sleep. I was so tired the next day. But the adventure must continue.....

We went to the San Francisco Exploratorium. They really have a lot of exhibits there. We spent about 3 hours there. Here are a couple of pics.

Did you know black sand was magnetic?

This was made entirely out of match sticks! Amazing!

A toilet drinking fountain??? WHAT???? lol

An exhibit explaining waves and the structure of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Yep that's a big bubble! Pretty cool huh?!

Water cyclone.

This is a sand wheel. I have to admit I played with this one for a while. I thought this was really cool. Looks like a rose.

This exhibit was funny. You had to put your hand under the plate and have someone touch the fake hand on top. You are suppose to see if you can imagine feeling the tough. But on the other side was a hole that someone could actually touch your hand. LOL I freaked my daughter out.

This was fun......

Now off to have lunch at the park but the bridge.

I can never get tired of this view!

I have been to San Fran many times and everytime was on a clear day. This is the first time I seen it with fog coverage.

It was cold and windy there. Not the best pic of me but it was soooooo cold! We walked the beach for a few min before heading to Peir 39

A little shopping and a quick visit to see the Sea Lions. Not to many there this time, but still cool!

Last but not least on to the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE.....

This is really an amazing bridge! It took about 45 min to walk over. ( I stopped many times to take pics)

This was really fun!

Now back to camp. Can't wait for that nap! lol

Why did the chicken cross the road?

2011-05-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

I think to find a new home!!!! LOL OK ok lame I know
However~
My son went outside to mow the lawn yyesterday (Sunday) and found some unexpected guest! I don't know where they came from but aren't they cute?

I had a handful of feed left over from when I use to have chickens so I gave it to them and they gobbled it right up. I figured they would leave at dusk to go back to their coop but they didn't!! I think momma chic is lost! :( Those of you that knew I had chickens , I don't any longer. I had to sell them all before we had a chance to grow them big enough for meat or eggs. See, here between the almond trees where I live there are also Turkey farms. ( I rent a house on this property) My landlord was asked by the people he was leasing the turkey coops out to , for us to get rid if them. My landlord didn't know it was going to cause a problem when we got them. It had something to do with fear of cross contamination of the birds if they got sick. We were heart broken at first but...hey what can you do. I just wonder how this is going to play out now that we have some free range chickens that have decided to make our front yard their new home?

Home Sweet Home!

2011-05-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

Ahhh whatta week! Science camp was a blast! Lots of work... but a blast! I have many many pictures to share. So I am going to share a little each day.

MONDAY:
We arrived at camp and got our tents all set up.

After getting all set up.....

We visited the visitors center, learned a lot about the animals living in the surrounding area. We walked along a couple trails learning about earthquakes and Indians that use to live on the land.

Spanish Moss Trees

These are really neat to see in person! The moss wasn't very long but still very cool!

This is one of the first things we seen when we pulled up and it was deff an attention getter. The sign says that One person in One year collected all of these water bottles along the beaches of Point Reyes.

Amazing! I can't believe how much waste is left on our beautiful beaches.

This was a bug display inside the visitors center. Very interesting. My son and I checked this out for a while.

These little birds were kinda funny. We seen them scoot up the trees in a hobble time way.... LOL I caught myself watching these little critters in ahh. They had so many little holes in the trees. Busy little things!

And finally, We walked a scenic trail! Views were just amazing!! It was a great start to the week. Come back tomorrow and see what happened on Tuesday!

Where does the time go?

2011-05-07T22:04:00.000-07:00

There are never enough hours in the day! I am getting ready to leave for a week with my daughter on her science camp trip for school! She goes to a uber small school so parents are encouraged to go....they need the help! My son actually gets to join us as well, but hubby has to stay home.... Which he is fine with. He said it is going to be "MAN" week! LOL That scares me a bit! Haha. Just kidding. We are going to be camping out! Super excited about that. I will try and post while I am there but I am not sure how service will be. I made the girls in my daughters goup team shirts. They are so cute. They named their team....TEAM GAGA! Go figure! I will post pics of them tomorrow. They are drying and I need to put the finishing touches on them. But as of right now.... I can barely stay awake....

Hope all you mothers have a wonderful mothers day!!!!!

(((hugs)))

On a brighter note....

2011-05-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I now have to ward off STINK BUGS..... My garden is doing fairly well!!! Here are a few photos I snapped this morning! Most of what you see has all been planted 2 weeks ago from seeds straight into the garden. Then of course, a few of the seedlings I started in doors a few weeks prior.

Here is a pic of the garden from the end with my ham of a doggie Zoey getting front and center! She just loves to get her picture taken!!

I have 4 hoop houses total aprox 8 ft x 5 ft. The board at each end help with closing up the plastic on each end. Just something I did on a whim. I works... I just used stuff I had around the house.

I think I only spent about $40 bucks on them. Since I already had the wood.

I have all my shorter growing plants in them.

1 out of 4 big boy tomato plants that I have. The little stinkers haven't gotten to this one.....YET!!

Here I have 2 tomato plants and 4 cucumber plants. I built this trellis out of 2x4's. I just used a table saw and cut them down to about 1 inch sq. We will see how it holds up. I am going to try and grow my cucumbers upwards this year.

Here is a green bean plant those little stinkers have munched on..... grrrrr.....

my 4 rows of corn!! mmmm can't wait to eat some of this! Born and raised in Iowa, the corn state.... I have deep love for my corn... specially on the cob!! mmmmmm...

I know... I know... I need to get to weeding! But I was waiting a little bit for them to come up and get strong before I go moving my hoe around in there.

My watermelon I am super excited about!! I tried to grow on last year but it never got this far! So for it to have made it to the next stage like this....gives me hope.... I have 4 of these just like this one!! I'm getting gitty!!!

4 rows of green beans.... in the red pots I am starting strawberries. I have one that is already growing from last year in a hanging pot, plus I have 6 more plants planted next to the corn!!

The strawberries did ok last year just fought the buggies for them. Prob the slugs!! NOT THIS YEAR! LOL

mmm..... Broccoli! YUMMY! This is my first time growing this! And I am excited! Love It!!

I have 4 plants of this!

That is all the pics I have but not all the veggies I'm growing! I also have cabbage, lettuce ( ice burg and romaine) beets, cherry tomato's , bell peppers, jalapenos, sweet peppers, carrots, and radishes. I think thats it... I am sure I am missing something.

But, until next time I hope you enjoyed the update on my garden!

(((hugs)))

eeeekkkkk!!!

2011-05-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Today Between the Almond Trees, there is sadness. :( My poor little tomato plant has just about been devoured!! *tear

Since I am new to gardening and realizing that it isn't just about sticking a plant in the ground , giving it a little water and ta~ da! you get a wonderful crop of fresh veggies....... I am quickly learning it is more like guarding something valuable from poachers!! Trying to stay organic and 100% fresh, well.... I have found that to be difficult. I am sure through the years I will learn all the tricks of the trade but for now...... I am arming myself and going to war! I keep seeing my poor little plant dwindle away thinking what?? the heck is eating it!! UGH!! Go away buggies! Hubby suggested slugs and as naive as I am about them ( because I don't see them during the day while I am patrolling the grounds) I thought he was crazy. I thought is was ants? flies? So, hubby stopped by Lowe's and picked up some organic slug bait and we spread it all out. A couple days have gone by and nothing.... HA! I said to hubby.......You were wrong! Well, that didn't go over well!! LOL He said, oh just wait and see.....Guess what!!! He was right!! SORTA! I started seeing dead dried up slugs in the garden yesterday. I thought yay!!! problem solved! So last night hubby took me to the garden at night and OMG!!! MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of slugs!!! EVERYWHERE!!! GASP!! But, I quickly thought ...hahaha sluggies go to my garden, go ahead!! I had it protected!

SO I THOUGHT!!

We went to examine the the damage for the day and LOW AND BEHOLD we found the true culprit eating our beloved tomato's and some of our other crops.....

STINK BUGS!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH................................

So, now the hunt is on to figure out how to rid my garden of these horrible creatures! I have read online that they are very, VERY hard to get rid of!!

Anyone have any advice?

How does your garden grow?

2011-05-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

Today Between the Almond trees I would like to share with you the process thus far of my garden for this year! I am so excited that it is time to get our summer garden going. Last year we planted a few things and some veggies grew and others well.... LOL I did have an awsome tomatoe plant last year that produced the best tasting tomatoes I have had since I was a kid. My Grammy ( RIP ) use to have a garden every year and us kids would always gobble up her fresh tomatoes right out of the garden. MMMmmmm...... Add a little salt and let the flavor explosion happen. Now, I never thought of it that way when I was a kid. It was all I knew. But, NOW, now that I have had store bought for most of my adult life and then to taste that sweet sensation, INSTANTLY took me back to my Grammys kitchen. I would give anything to be back there once more just to relive that moment knowing what I know now.
Anyway~

We started some of our seedling indoors, well in the garage. I had a perfect window I could set them next to, they got just a couple of hours of sun but all the warmth of the day.

With a little love , sunshine and some water we had our little seedlings sprouting in no time. Yes, i did buy some starter plants at Lowes! I'm not that good!! hahaha!
We left them there for a couple of weeks while we prepared the plot.

I decided to try some hoop houses this year. Well, I quickly found out that it gets a bit warm in there for my little plants and I took off the plastic. I am going to put it back on in the fall and try gardening through out the winter. Since it doesn't get to cold here and it rarely frost I should do ok. But...... we will see how that goes. LOL I have some research to do on that. Thank goodness I have a couple of months for that.

My really good friend came over and we planted all the veggies in the garden! Whooo we were in the garden for 10 hours!!! Yikes! We got them all snuggled in their new homes and can't wait to enjoy some garden fresh veggies in a couple months!!! YUMMY!

Hey Ya'll!

2011-05-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

Glad you could stop by! I hope ya'll will enjoy my adventures from day to day here between the Almond trees. There is always something different going on around here So, let's see what's happening between the Almond trees today...........