The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
(This will all look and work better if you click on the actual post and do not remain on the main page.)
The peonies are blooming — what a gift! Their scent is heavenly.
I am still “procrastibaking” (link below) — sourdough has its ups and downs, have to keep working at it!
I've decided to leave a strip of buckwheat in the middle of each bed. That way the beds can be tidy (well, tidy for me) and the veggies will benefit from their additions of nutrients to the soil, their weed-proofness, and their attraction of beneficial insects. That's the theory, anyway! We'll see!
I planted hops culled from a neighbor's vine. The idea is that the hops will grow up that trellis and do two things: make a bit of an obstacle for any bees trying to fly towards the driveway (although so far they seem not to do that) and offer Phil wherewithal for his brewing. We've been wanting to plant hops for a long time now, but I couldn't find a place for them and I was super resistant to paying for them, since by all accounts they grow like weeds! Finally I just went onto my Next Door network and asked. Sure enough, a generous fellow offered.
On to our links!
- In the Department of Musings on (Self)Education, I was aware of my son Joseph's plan to read intensively in one subject for a span of time/number of books, but I hadn't realized that he had written a post about it. Maybe one of your students would enjoy this approach!
- The Chief liked this one from Tony Esolen about What Mothers Cannot Give to Their Sons. It is a good one.
- Procrastibaking — sourdough is particularly suitable for this activity.
- I think most of us can't even when we hear that a child has been slapped with a fine for having a lemonade stand. My own kids raked it in with their stands, especially when we lived across the street from a high school. One bus driver made students buy a cup of lemonade from them before they could get on his bus! It's fun to read that Country Time is offering to pay fines and fees for kids' lemonade stands!
- I have mentioned Sonia Singh and her Tree Change Dolls before. I keep thinking about why I love what she does so very much. The other day when I was scrolling through her Instagram feed I thought about how the dolls reflect something we see in our children. It's not just that their innocence is under attack, with real forces of darkness trying to invade their minds with corrupting ideas. It's that their faces actually reflect their stresses. Sonia's dolls (which she thrifts or finds rather than buying) arrive with expressions of worldliness that could be masks — and sadly, we see these same expressions in real children. Some child actresses are like this (and we can track the changes all too well, since they are recorded for us). I remember one girl striking me as the perfect, perky, all-American lass, so fresh-faced and sweet. Just a few years later, while she was still young, she was ravaged. It showed in her face. I remember my husband pointing out to me that you can see what school often does to children in their eyes. They begin so bright-eyed and eager, and somewhere in the third grade or so, some light goes out.
Sonia works her magic to reveal a soft and healthy light in the dolls' faces. They become innocent under her brush. To me, she is offering not just refurbished playthings but a real image and even an object lesson in the “two possibilities” that our children might be faced with, so easily…
- “Only dogmas can assure us that what we were promised “from the beginning” remains possible in this impossible world.” Fr. Schall on the dark days for dogma.
- I have mentioned my respect for Roger Scruton here before. If you are not familiar with him, he is a philosopher of sorts who writes and speaks about beauty, tradition, and other permanent things. I don't always agree with everything he says, but very often, I find that he has a way of saying what needs to be said. Here, he argues that we need stigmas (I would call them something on a scale from taboos to standards) because without them, all we have is the law, and the law only deals with what has happened, without really preventing things that hurt people. Bring Back Stigma.
Today is the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! She is the mother Jesus gave us while he was hanging on the cross, and she has a mother's heart.
From the archives:
- This post has my recommendations for books about marriage, including what types of books not to read.
- Some feasts are coming up that may require some planning and forethought (e.g. what cocktails will you serve!): Three Martyrs for Marriage.
We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).
Kate says
I planted hops at our old house for a screen and brewing intentions (never happened). Beware, it grows very FAST, as in growth can be measured daily, if not hourly. It needs a lot of support which I don’t think your little trellis will provide. Mine went over the top of its support quickly and I ended up building a sort of “Hops House” with a wire roof to support it. Since it dies back in winter, the stiff dead vines are a bit of a mess to deal with, but I often just left most of them to provide support for the vines the following spring. Its very generous with sending up new shoots every year, so make sure you’ve planted it in a spot that won’t interfere with anything else.
None of my peonies had any odor. I wonder if the newer varieties don’t. Your buckwheat experiment is intriguing. We’ll have to try it.
Leila says
Kate, yes, this is what I’m thinking about the hops. I am going to let it get established and then figure out something more sturdy and — bigger!!
Katie says
Agree, if the hops get established, they will take off like crazy! And the tendrils are *so* sticky… beware for the plants in the nearby bed, because it’s tricky to disentangle hops once they start roaming. Really can be the difference between an evening and a morning. Ask me how I know…
We’ve tried different things, always with the rhizomes in planter buckets— haven’t committed to a permanent spot yet. This year they’re at the base of the (two-story because split level between back and front) deck, with strings of twine tied to the upper railings for them to climb. And they’ve already climbed all the way up and are insinuating themselves around our table and chairs! I’m thinking the next step is twine tied to the highest gutters in a (very) generous hypotenuse—if we decide we can deal with going back and forth under a bower of hops till harvest time. =)
Leila says
I’m starting to re-think my hops plan!
Maybe I’ll put a clematis there…
Laura in Ontario says
Leila, do you have any tips for keeping weeds in control? I have a similar garden set up to yours, with raised beds and woodchips in between, but it is virtually nothing but a sea of green – weeds, not vegetables. I have almost given up on this year’s garden, it’s already so choked up with weeds, thistles and quack grass especially. Your garden on the other hand looks really good! I can hardly see any weeds at all. I think maybe our our soil is just really weed-infested and we need to cover it with plastic for a couple of years to kill off everything, but I am always hoping that I will find a way to control the weeds that will still allow me to keep gardening!
Lisa G. says
Laura, I don’t know what Leila does, but try looking up Charles Dowding – he uses a no-dig method. He says when you till the soil, it causes weeds to grow. He’s got lots on youtube. 🙂
Leila says
Yes, I dig very little. If there are weeds, I pull them. In the fall, I try to get manure and compost on each bed and as we mow, I dump the grass clippings and especially the chopped up leaves on each bed.
The buckwheat has been awesome at keeping out the weeds! My main issue is the garlic chives — they are intractable. The good side is that the bees LOVE their flowers.
My neighbor is a tree guy and occasionally dumps a load of wood chips for us. I know… living the dream 🙂
Adele says
We also do very little digging but have a much bigger garden. A word to the wise with the buckwheat. Do not let it go to seed or it goes bonkers though it is relatively easy to pull out. We hoe alot (especially before planting and in the aisles) and use black plastic to kill weeds in between crops. It has taken us five years of semi consistent weed control to get the issue dealt with. That said we do have half acre of garden. Chickens are also a good way to weed control a garden if its totally out of control. They also eat all the weed seeds so we put our actually weeds and larger animal manure through the chicken yard to cut down on weed seed. Hopefully this all makes sense as I’m trying to condense alot of method into a few sentences.
Axon says
I’m so glad you continue to post these great links. I always look forward to the Anthony Esolen articles. And this week’s has reminded me of a question I have been meaning to ask you. I have one son, my oldest child, who has recently turned ten years old. My husband and I are just at that point of trying to figure out how we should be dealing with this exact issue…the things I cannot give him. I homeschool him and his sisters, but recently I have become increasingly convicted that he needs challenged by other teachers, specifically male teachers. We are in a rural area with a terrible local school system. The closest Christian school is 30 miles away and our local homeschool community is sparse and pretty uninterested in co-ops. He is very close to his dad and to his grandpa, my father. We live in the country so he has to work hard and is around men who work hard. But he is an intense and restless child with a tendency to OCD, and he is adversely affected by my tendency to worry and our inevitable connection as the oldest child and only son. I know it is impossible to know our exact situation, but do you have any nuggets of wisdom or principles to share. I’ll be perusing your blog for any posts about sons in the meantime 🙂 Thanks, as always.
Leila says
Axon, Esolen’s piece is to say that your son needs the men in his life — and he has them, so that is good. As to his education, pray! God will provide. Sometimes things seem not to have a solution, and sometimes the situation is such that it won’t be perfect or anywhere near it, but all will be well.
Mostly, you will see — God will put a stepping stone under your foot along this path — when you need it.
Stay peaceful, above all. He is still very little, very young. The more you can see him that way, the better things will be.
Email me if you want to talk more about it!
God bless!
Meghan says
Your link to the Sonia Singh dolls reminded me of a sweet picture book I found at the library recently – “Dahlia” by Barbara McClintock. It’s the story of a stiff and starched doll becoming more beautiful and learning to smile by being played with by a tomboyish little girl. My 4yo daughter and I both loved it! Just thought I would pass on the recommendation for those who are on the lookout for high quality picture books.
Matilda says
Auntie Leila, I can’t believe it! I was just at a glorious (fun happy beautiful Catholic) wedding this weekend, at which the homily called to mind ‘Three to Get Married’–and afterwards I couldn’t help but wonder which books on marriage are must-reads, and if LMLD has anything on that.
Mrs. T says
Reading your blog is like coming home. I just love it.
Thank you for posting the article by Anthony Esolen. As a mother to six boys, it is something I needed. A bit of cold water in the face.
Leila says
Thank you, Mrs T! Thanks for coming here!
jadeddrifter says
I don’t know how I missed this post when you originally posted it (somehow some of your posts just sneak up on me even though I think I check here neurotically every week) (and I don’t know why I don’t get emails). Anyway, I was thrilled by the buckwheat in the middle of your beds, because I have let purple vetch grow in the middle of my one bed with similar thoughts in mind! I don’t know yet how easy or hard it will be to control, but we shall see! This is my first, very-own garden bed and I’m loving the heck out of it. I just feel like God is a gardener and that he meant for us to be gardeners too. 🙂
Leila says
jadedrifter — sometimes when I feel bad about missing a post on my already light schedule, I think, well, they will find ones they missed!!
David Clayton is big on gardening as an activity that mirrors God’s creation in a particular way. I had to sort of talk him out of a chapter in our book about it, as not really pertaining to The Little Oratory — but he did manage to get it in a subsequent book, I believe! I do agree with him and with you. I think there is something actually healing about gardening!