GimletBlog

Thing Two has been very pleased to watch his plants grow bigger and bigger.  He is less excited about the need to thin the plants, as he hates to lose any of the seeds he has so carefully tended.

The mint starts we received last year from Thing Two’s great-aunt outgrew their pots, so this year we’ve moved the mint into small raised beds:  spearmint on the left, peppermint on the right.  The transplanted mint looks rather dismal; while we keep repeating the promise that “you can’t kill mint”, we’re reminded of Jane Austen’s 1811 letter to her sister:

I will not say that your mulberry-trees are dead, but I am afraid they are not alive.

However, today we were relieved to observe several tiny new shoots in the boxes, so perhaps reports of the mint’s demise are exaggerated after all.

We also added a rosemary shrub to our herb collection.  We have been enjoying its fragrant leaves, and our honeybee neighbors have started collecting water from its drainage holes.

Our week of sunny, hot weather did the trick and Thing Two’s seeds are flourishing, much to his satisfaction.

This year we have increased the amount of basil and chives, and Thing Two chose to add carrots, cucumbers, and pumpkins to his crop.  One tomato plant has two tiny green tomatoes on it and we hope more will follow.

Our neighbor’s honeybees have provided much to observe this week as well.

Every day they cluster in the drainage holes of our peppermint and lemon mint pots. (but not the spearmint; we wonder why?)  An internet search revealed that the bees are most likely collecting water from the mint pots and taking it to their nearby hive, where the water evaporates and cools down the hive.

Sure enough, if we watch closely, we can track the bees flying back and forth between the hive and our potted plants.  We assume the water is minty and lemony fresh, and wonder what effect this will have on our neighbor’s honey.

It has been fascinating to watch our friendly little apian neighbors find a way to stay cool.

Between all the preparations for sending Thing One off on his adventures, and the decidedly unsummery weather we have been experiencing, we’ve been a little slow to start up Thing Two’s garden.  He wants to grow cucumbers and pumpkins this year, so inspired by this Sunset magazine article, The Gimlet built a 4′ x 6′ raised bed.

Thing Two supervised the construction process from a safe distance.

The finished product met with Thing Two’s approval, except for the fact that the box has no growing vegetables in it.  But that will come soon …

The Gimlet and Thing One are going to WashJam this weekend, while the Team Gimlet: At Home Unit will hopefully spend a quiet few days recovering from the souvenir cold or flu brought back from the last scout camp.

But before we got sick, we harvested chives from Thing Two’s garden to use in our Sunday dinner.  Thing Two was very excited that his garden had a role to play in the meal, and carefully supervised the cutting (“My chives are getting a haircut!”) and preparation of his precious crop.

The tomatoes are getting redder and redder, but aren’t quite ready to be picked yet.  As for the mint, we’re thinking about making some mint jelly; any other ideas for putting our mint to good use?

Thing Two is delighted to report:  his tomatoes are ripening, and turning his favorite color!

This week’s theme at preschool was the rainforest, so he made a python (which is sometimes a rattlesnake, when he remembers Camp School) and story pictures, which involved lots of monkeys.

Meanwhile, Thing One is spending the week at Camp Parsons on Hood Canal.  When it looked like Thing One would be missing scout camp this year due to our Philmont trip, Troop 125 invited him to join them for their traditional week at Camp Parsons.   Later, our troop’s calendar was rearranged and Thing One will be attending Camp Pigott with his own troop later this month after all.

This week promises to be a lot of fun.  Camp Parsons provides the scouts with the unique opportunity to camp on a salt water beach, and is one of the oldest scout camps in the USA (established in 1919), so there’s a lot of history and tradition to enjoy participating in.  The Gimlet took a few photos when he helped drive the scouts to camp, and if Thing One has time to take any pictures, we’ll add them to the Gimlet Gallery.  Watch for Thing One’s report when he returns!

Here’s a last visit to Thing Two’s garden before we leave on vacation.  The mint and herbs smell wonderful, and look at all the little tomatoes!

Grandma and our neighbor have been entrusted with watering the plants while we’re away, and we look forward to seeing how much everything has grown when we return.

While Thing One was away at NYLT last week, The Gimlet was reminiscing with his box of scout patches and other memorabilia.  He decided it would be more fun to have his favorites out where they could be seen, and spent an evening assembling this display case.  Looking at the different badges and awards brings back lots of memories, especially now that Thing One is having similar experiences.

Much to Thing Two’s delight, the little herb plants are getting larger.  The spearmint, peppermint, and lemon balm cuttings took root and are flourishing too, so we look forward to sharing our own cuttings with family and friends some day.

Our kind neighbor donated an additional pair of extra tomato plants, one with a tomato already growing on it.  Between our herbs and tomato plants, we may be able to make one Thing Two-sized piece of bruchetta from our harvest.