Well... we finally did it. We put our house on the market yesterday. We've been busy doing stuff to increase the curb appeal, clear out the clutter, and organize the closets. I've spent all morning cleaning bathrooms, with a toothbrush, in places that only a very tall or very short person would see.

I very much underestimated the difficulty of this feat with five children. The house is 1200 SF, if you didn't already know that.

Twice this week Fairlie, age 6, has found two dead squirrels in the yard. Having five tall hardwood trees in the yard means from time to time a squirrel underestimates the distance from one branch to another.

Fairlie, ever unafraid of dead critters (unlike her mom), and with a healthy respect for the deceased, digs a hole in the backyard and gives them a proper burial, Book of Common Prayer and all.

Well, it rained last night. That meant all the earthworms and pillbugs (or roly-polies for all you Southerners) came to the top. And what better time to gather them. What better place than in some fresh mud....

So, they disturbed the Squirrel Cemetery.

I go outside to the back, find the rocks that marked "Flowers" and "Rocky's" graves disturbed, "Flowers" -- at this point rigor mortis is still very present -- has taken on an icky greenish goo -- has been gently laid to the side and Fairlie and John are putting fresh dirt and mud in...my stemware.

I wanted to cover my face with my hands and run but remember my responsibility to keep Caroline, 1, from discovering something new to play with in the yard. I remind the kids that it is ill-mannerly to disrespect a grave by disturbing its occupant.

Fairlie, ever unfazed, tenderly lifts Flowers and replaces her to her resting place. With her bare hands.

Flowers re-interred, I scoop up the kids for a bath in antibacterial soap and a hot shampoo, instructing them that under no circumstances are they to put anything near their eyes or mouths.

Two filthy, smelly kids track dirty footprints onto my bathroom floor. That I just cleaned. With a toothbrush.

:::sigh::: I hope this house sells quickly.

Natural pest control formulations

From Sharie

Fortunately aphids are generally only a problem during a few months each year. One of the simplest ways to control them it to use a soap spray.

I prefer dove dish washing detergent and I mix ½ tablespoon with each quart of water. If your problem is bad you may need to spray every day for a week and then back down to every other day for a week and then to twice a week. Add 1/2 tablespoons of baking soda to kill fungi. Add a small amount of sulfur to eradicate mites. Put solution in a properly labeled spray bottle. You may also want to include the proper amount of liquid organic fertilizer in the spray for exfoliating and feed the plant leaves at the same time. Try these other Organic pest control methods.

Basic Oil Spray: This is a general insect repellent.
Mix 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid.* Put solution in a properly labeled spray bottle.


Peppermint Tea: This is an all purpose insect spray, and is also useful for repelling ants

. Brew peppermint leaf tea. Cool and place in a properly labeled spray bottle.

Garlic Spray: This spray will repel insects

.
Mix 1 quart of water, 2 teaspoons of garlic juice, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap. Put solution in a properly labeled spray bottle.

Minced Garlic

: Minced garlic placed around tulip bulbs will discourage squirrels from eating the bulbs.
Lemon Spray: This spray will repel white flies and soft bodied insects. It also gets rid of pet fleas. Boil peels of 3 lemons in 1 quart of water, cool and remove peels. Put solution in a properly labeled spray bottle.

Basil Spray:

This spray will repel white flies.
Boil water and add a few basil leaves. Let it steep and add dishwashing liquid.* Put solution in a properly labeled spray bottle.

Banana Peel Repellent

: Banana peels will repel aphids. The potassium from the peels also stimulates large blooms. Place banana peels around roses and other plants.

Hot Pepper Spray:

This spray will repel insects and eliminate black spots on roses. Mix 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper, 1 quart of water and _ teaspoon of dishwashing liquid.* Put solution in a properly labeled spray bottle.
Tomato Leaf Spray: This repels insects in the vegetable garden. Mix 2 cups of tomato leaves with 1 quart of water. Bring to a boil, cool, strain and add 1 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid.* Put solution in a properly labeled spray bottle.

Lemongrass Wasp Repellent:

Place lemongrass in a vase on your picnic table to keep the wasps away.
Natural Alternatives to Controlling Fungus:

Anti-Fungus Spray

: This solution will repel and combat fungal disease. Mix 2 tablespoons of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil and 1 gallon of water.
Vinegar Spray: Use this solution to combat fungal disease and black spots on roses. Mix 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 1 gallon of water.
*You can find a natural dishwashing liquid at stores that specialize in organic products.
This Information was found at the following sources, which you can visit if you want to find out more about this topic:
Gardening Without Toxic Chemicals (leaflet), Huber Woods Activity Center, Monmouth County Parks System, Monmouth County, New Jersey
Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey, brochure entitled, "Healthy Farms, Healthy Food, and Healthy Land."

Home Improvement

It's kind of a joke in my neighborhood what a "natural" yard I have. Mr. Wade, the prior homeowner, was apparently quite the horticulturist. I inherited a rose garden with named roses, a wildflower patch, and a shady spot with hollyhocks and green ivy. I, however, manage to kill about everything I plant, and guess "natural" is a nice word for "mows the grass and gets up the leaves but not much else."

My neighbors behind me, Susan and Lisa, are the proud owners of the greenest thumbs I know. Their yard puts me to shame. With that in mind, and some starter plants from Susan, I undertook edging, weed-eating, splitting monkey grass, planting hostas, and laying pine straw to make my yard a better place.

A couple of years ago, my mother in law was in horticulture school, and with her newly-acquired skill of identifying the hollius americanus, pinus treeus, and the wildus weedus, set to drawing out my yard and advising me that certain plants grow better in the shade than in the sun, and that my rose garden got too much shade to grow roses real well.

A few weeks ago I commenced the weed-eating, the flower planting, and the pine-straw and mulching. It's going well.
My next project is to add a bench, some garden decorations and pea gravel to my former rose garden for a backyard oasis. I'll keep you posted.

Birdwatching

We are fortunate to live near Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, and an abundance of wildlife and birds. If you enjoy watching and identifing our feathered friends, you'll love this neighborhood.

Today, Woody, our red-headed woodpecker, lit on the dogwood in the yard. I wonder if Woody has a family somewhere he's not telling us about.

We have a ton of squirrels in the trees in our yard who bark at us as we get into our car.

Hot Real Estate in Birmingham!

What a wonderful article! Right when the rest of the country's real estate market is pretty soft, a report is published that our community is smokin'!

"Ten years ago I would not have thought that buying real estate in the city of Birmingham would be a good investment," said Otis Brown, chairman of the Board of Equalization.

According to the printed report, which is longer than the online report and mentions our area specifically, he's quite surprised. We knew it all along.

Come to My Garden..

This is my week for getting my hands dirty! The previous homeowner had a lovely rose garden, was a member of the rose society, and I am fortunate enough to inherit his hardy antique roses. Over the years, though, the shrubs and trees have shaded the garden to the point that it the roses simply aren't thriving there.

So, we dug up some of Mr. Wade's (the prior homeowner) roses from our rose garden and transplanted them to large clay pots. We're putting our spring and summer flowering annuals and shrubs in our English garden.

Nifty Needlework

The best thing about doing needlepoint for very small children is that they are so uncritical. The don't say things like, "I see you've missed some stitches over here on the leg, was that intentional?" or "Was this creature blinded in a fight?" They will clasp it in their little arms and love it besottedly, inseparably as the thing becomes more and more rancid. ~Carole Berman and Jennifer Lazarus

When my first child was born in 1991, I developed a deep love for smocking and sewing and making dainty little creations for her. Most of those creations have also been worn by my younger three daughters.

Sew Beautiful has some lovely how-to's and smocking plates available on their website. Sand Pails and Antics are particularly sweet for summertime.

When school is recessed and yours truly has more time, I'll happily show off my creations!