2017 August | The Back Way

pow wow time AND august, 2017

Posted by Cathy Sullens on Aug 28, 2017 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

sure did enjoy watching miss Phoenix dance fancy shawl. never gave any thought to her shawl…it fit 2 years ago, this year it was tiny and PJ’s wing span has grown. no wonder it was giving her arms fits. now i understand, sweet child. we enjoyed watching the others, visiting with friends and checking out the vendors. got goodies for 3 grandsons. phoenix found a cool 3 picture wolf 8 x 10 framed…that was her prize! we had great fun…next time i’ll just get her a new shawl and she can dance intertribal with it, no pressure of regalia. will work much better, i believe. was sorry to read that the Cosby Powwow was cancelled this year. i think someone bought that section of land, hope they tend to it with love and care and respect.

have enjoyed many many many watermelons this year. literally and the cantaloupes were all delicious too! a GREAT year for melons. my local CSA even grew some for me. i’ve been buying fruits, veggies and meats from these guys for several years. they deliver to dandridge every wednesday down at the dike. and now, misty morning farms are some of our new best friends. i wish them every success. they are working their fannies off on the farm and at the fruit and veggie stand, but they have a good location, near the interstate I-40 exit 415 by the marathon station (only gas station on this exit) and close to dandridge, but far enough away to be country! smile it’s amazing to me how much MMF’s Angie looks like my friend Becky. they could easily be sisters.

watched an eclipse this week. the moon covered the sun, the world all got quiet (need ear plugs here) haha it was magical, mystical, i really did enjoy it! 99% here…total across some TN robin and family and many friends of theirs i know met at billy’s house is crossville to watch it as total…know we all looked so cool in our eclipse shades from AZ! smile

had fun going shopping and lunch with robin on friday. tried out a new burger place in morristown, hunted up a shade tree (good luck) then got to look at everything at the new aldi. they have a manuel wheelchair with a basket on front. was hoping the basket came off for getting in and out, but i guess if it did, someone would help themselves to the basket. i was thrilled to be able to go shopping. it’s been forever! i still think their 25 cent buggies are the bomb! no buggies out in the car area, you bring back that cart to get your quarter back…genius idea….we found our first Aldi in Rolla MO wayyyyy back in the day. we’d shop for us, the ol man and sue and for uncle john. 3 lists, a truck bed full of goodness. we found a good butcher shop in rolla, rolla was 60 miles from elk creek and we’d make a once a month shopping run. but still not as good as the butcher shop at norwood. local grass fed..we fed our family well, beef, pork, chicken, fish, huge gardens…no chemicals…glad we had the chance to do that, to live that life…to raise our 4 children with a country life. no sirens, traffic horns, yelling people, smog, fear, danger…instead, we had a skeleton key for the back door, christmas lights to light up the back porch, animals, chores, stars, respect for water, land, family! quiet. until it was a celebration and we put the big speakers out on the porch roof and we ROCKED that valley! family and friends always there to help us in our joy. my family, we ALL did a lot of work, money was always tight, but lordy, it was fun! that was our life on the Johnson farm in Bado, MO…thanks Mina, for taking a chance on us! we loved tending to your farm. it made us a most wonderful, HOME, too. just like you gave your family there before us. it was a beautiful home, acres of grass and trees and wildlife. Our BEST garden spot, EVER!!! big SMILE

my dreams did come true.

this years porch garden

Posted by Cathy Sullens on Aug 28, 2017 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

do you enjoy the sunshine warming your shoulders? the smell of fresh dug earth? the feel of the dirt sliding through your fingertips? the smile on your face as you dream of all the plants to be? this can happen not once, but twice a year! yes, it’s time for fall planting!!
if these words are close to your heart, my friend, you are a gardener. you can’t help it. it brings such joy to you and your friends and neighbors too. if you’re like me, you’ve gone from many outside gardens to something a little smaller. you’ve moved from the farm to the city, your growing area is now limited. i live in an apartment building outside the great smoky mountains of east tennessee. my front porch is my gardening area. it is 6′ wide by 15′ long. there is an upstairs with a railing. after asking nicely and sharing plants, i also use 10-12 chains connected from their balcony to hang down on my side of the porch. those hold hanging baskets, bird feeders, hummingbird feeder, wind chimes and crystals of many colors and sizes. my entire garden is now grown in containers. you would be amazed by the many sizes, styles and shapes that you can grow things in. i have commercial pots from greenhouses, window boxes in my two outside windowsills, pots from tiny to large and even a few grow bags that i can also use over and over each year. at the end of each season, i watch for the pots to “go on sale”, to get good deals on various size pots that i could not afford during the peak of the season. yard sales, thrift stores, online offers all help to add to my collection of gardening containers.
 
it’s true…container gardening needs extra care. unlike their “in the ground” cousins, their very survival depends on you! the mixture of the potting medium, the variety of seed you want to grow, the space needed, stakes for the taller plants, their only source of water. and you will need to water at least every other day. you can also move your pots around as needed for sunshine during the growing season. highlight the plants that are doing best! i also have a gardening secret to share with you. i, myself can’t stand to wear gardening gloves. i like the feel of the dirt in my hands. but as we all know, the aggravation of getting the dirt out from under your fingertips. here’s my solution. when your bathroom bar soap gets down to the slither, take it to the gardening area. before each session, scrape your fingernails down the soap, be sure to get them all. the soap will stay under the nails, keeping the dirt out, making for easy wash up each and every time! SMILE
i like to mix my potting medium, an organic potting soil, compost, sand, peat moss, a little vermiculite. this makes for easy watering, nutrients in the soil and everything your plants will need to grow happy and healthy. Fall gardening is even easier than planting in the spring. the weather is warm so no plants get stunted by a cold snap, the seeds germinate quickly and produce even faster. whether it’s flowers or vegetables, trees, or shrubs, there is no time better than fall. you can clean up the pots of plants that have gone to seed, refurbish the dirt and start all over again. I have planted basil, onion sets, lettuce, spinach, carrots, moss roses and snapdragons just this week. it’s always exciting to watch the seeds grow into lovely plants. why limit that joy to once a year? take a chance, plant those leftover seeds and watch your gardens bloom with color and fill your table with the bounty of vegetables you can produce! most of all, Happy GARDENING! 

exciting adventures

Posted by Cathy Sullens on Aug 9, 2017 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

it’s been awhile since i’ve written here….

lots of medical things that i’d rather not get into….

but now, new things are on the horizon….

hoping to write about my love of gardening…..

from the patio container perspective of growing veggies and flowers….

even gardening from my wheelchair, surely there are more folks than me!

hope all are well, be good to each other and always, always share the love.

pow wow time AND august, 2017

this years porch garden

exciting adventures

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