It blooms 'early' every year!

My Christmas cactus needs to be renamed to Thanksgiving cactus - because in the seven years I've had it, it has never bloomed for Christmas. Its buds start forming in October and I keep it outside as long as possible to keep it cool and slow the blossoms. By the middle of November, it has a few blossoms and it normally peaks just in time for Thanksgiving Day. This weekend I think its reached its maximum profusion of blossoms. Now the trick is to figure out how to make them last through the week so family can comment "How gorgeous!", and "What a beautiful cactus in bloom!", or "That Christmas cactus is so pretty!"- just like they do every year at Thanksgiving!

This will have to do.....

I intended to take a different picture today. There was a church in downtown Flemington that often has really, really, really cheesy church signs.What they had out yesterday when I drove by wasn't even cheesy, it was almost dumb - something about life being a constant choice between carrots and chocolate. I thought it might have had at least an iota of theological significance if I went back and read it correctly. Trouble was, the sign was changed by this afternoon and I was so mad I didn't bother taking a picture the averagely cheesy saying it displayed on its marquee. So, plan B brings you a hastily shot still life of the centerpiece I created for my Environmental Science class this evening. It might be cheesy of me to bring centerpieces to class, but I like to provide different visuals that go with the evening's topic since I don't get to do bulletin boards. Let's see if you can guess what kind of natural resources we discussed this evening.

Let's be honest, I am procrastinating.....

By wandering around the Homestead and snapping photos of garden prep work, I am avoiding some necessary work on my never ending research. Right now I figure, "What's the harm in taking a few minutes after a crazy day of tutoring 3 different topics (Geometry, The Great Gatsby, and Siddhartha) to transition my thoughts towards spending the evening critically detailing the finer points of the theory of practice as it concerns the discipline of Practical Theology and Christian Education by recording Dad's preparations for this year's garden"? OK, I am not JUST procrastinating, I am whining a little bit too....but let's get on with the tour!
Above you can see he has set out his own little makeshift greenhouse. These are REAL Jersey tomato(e)s, the Ramapo variety that he started from seeds of last year's crop.

A shot of his "deer proofed" garden plot waiting for the last danger of frost before planting next month.

Scallions and some lettuce sets are already in place.

A few years ago he had blueberry bushes planted. He and I pruned them about a month ago. We normally pick in late June through mid-July - this year, who knows!

My father is NOT a fan of mint, but when I convinced him several years ago that if planted in pots mint does not take over the yard, he decided to submerge a few pots next to the back door. It makes for a nice herb garden. Spearmint is to the left front, peppermint is in the green pot to the left rear and chives are in the center rear. (I will be clipping some chives in a few days when we get to have some trout for dinner. Yum!) Basil, parsley, and other herbs will be planted in the other pots when it is safe for them to stay outdoors overnight.

Thanks for hanging out with me for a bit on a little escapism.

Going back to the books - I promise!

Well, maybe after I make dinner for Dad....Mom is dining out!