Monday, May 14, 2007

Flowers and Heartbeats

We put in the veggie garden Saturday which was quite a workout for me. The whole thing had to be weeded and Pete laid down three bags of new soil and one of compost along with some grass clippings from the pile behind our fence. This year we 'quartered' the garden to allow room to weed. I'll have to pick up some straw and lay it down in the 'walk-way' so I limit how much I compact the soil. We planted cukes, grape tomatoes, 6 jalapeno and 6 bell peppers, peas, carrots and 6 strawberry plants. Another tomato plant will be added after Memorial Day when I finish up my plant purchasing. Can you tell we're planning on making some salsa this summer?? We did it last year and it was great! We're also hoping our strawberry plants will make it this summer ~ last year they seemed to be a favorite of the deer/rabbit/raccoon/woodchucks that live around our house. Last summer I bought a couple of books on non-chemical mixes (Jerry Baker's Giant Book of Garden Solutions & Flower Garden Problem Solver) and I am itching to put a few together. One of his mixes targets the animals who try to eat your garden. I'm going to make a huge batch of that and spray it not only around the veggie garden but also all over my hostas. Hopefully the deer will decide my yard is not as attractive as the others this summer. Oh well.

We also planted many of the annuals for the summer. I have a large perennial garden in the back and love to add some pops of additional color with zinnias, dahlias, snapdragons, salvia, aster and other jewel toned flowers. Every year I think I should get a part time gig working at a nursery or garden just to pay for my habit. Last year I tried to plant a few more perennials so I would be less tempted to spend as much. Didn't work. I have to make another trip in a couple of weeks to coincide with a fundraiser for my nephew's school anyway - why not add a few more pots??

So I was sitting in the tub Saturday night relaxing after the day in the yard. I was looking at my belly sticking out of the water and what do I see... either her heartbeat or her breathing. My belly was moving on its own. This wasn't like a kick, it was very subtle and sometimes I thought my eyes might have been playing tricks on me. I could have just sat and stared at it until the water got too cold. What a cool feeling to see my belly moving and knowing that she is in there growing away and getting ready to join us in a mere 12 weeks. I called Pete in to see, but as is her norm (I swear she knows when I am doing this), she shifted and my belly stopped moving. Hopefully he will have the chance to see it sometime soon. I'm waiting for the day when I can see an elbow or knee sticking out. I know it's only a matter of time since she is nearly 14 inches long and my upper body is pretty small. She's not going to have a heckuva lot of space left. After she is born she'll either be moving like mad because of this new found freedom or want to be cuddled all the time because she grew accustomed to having close surroundings. We shall see!

2 comments:

kmd said...

Wow, what a garden you'll have! That's great! Happy Growing to you and Baby Whitcomb!

carrster said...

I saw Kathy's triplets moving in her belly last week! It was crazy. Two of them are very active (one is probably but the placenta is in front so she can't tell as much). What an amazing site though! I felt them for the first time too - which was very cool. Eeek. .I can't believe yours will be here in only 12 weeks! THAT IS CRAZY!!!!! I can't wait to meet her!