Happy 4th and other random happenings

Happy 4th of July! Tonight we are having our 4th annual BBQ and Fireworks show. It started when we moved into our current house and realized that, being in and Unincorporated area, we could set off our own fireworks on 4th of July. So we invited over some friends for food and explosives and a tradition was born! I believe that this year we have about 10 families coming over, which is about the same as last year.

In other news, Olivia the fish bit the dust and has been replaced by Fuscia the Beta. So far Turtle2 the beta is still swimming around and doing well. Goldfish are just too hard to keep alive, I think if any of you are planning to get a fish for your child or yourself, a Beta is the way to go. They are more expensive, but worth the extra cost. A goldfish costs about 27 cents and a Beta costs about $4. But keeping in mind that you get about 27 cents worth of life and enjoyment out of a goldfish, a Beta is still a better value.

The garden is doing very well! I harvested my first beets the other day. They were about the size of golf balls, which is a little small to harvest, but they were too close to another beet. We haven't eaten them yet, but have eaten some of the greens. Yummy! My spinach is starting to bolt, so I've harvested almost all of that. The lettuce is getting big, too, but I've been snipping leaves off of it for quite a while now. I got a few strawberries off of last year's plants, but the plants aren't looking very healthy. I think they needed to be repotted this year with some compost. Hubby weeded all of the grass out of the front row in the garden last weekend, and put down a layer of compost. I'm planning to take all of my strawberries, the volunteers in the corn, the ones from last year's pots and the alpine ones in the hanging baskets, and plant them all in that front row. I think they'll be more healthy planted there...I hope they will anyway. I noticed that my pea plants have flowers and so do a couple of zucchini plants! If all goes well, I should get a few peas and zucchini in a few days or weeks. My cucumber plants have a lot of little tiny cukes on them, too! So I'm just waiting for those to grow big enough to eat. Oh, and the bean plants that the kids planted in their rain boots have some flowers, too. They are very excited about that! I think hubby ate the last of the cherries off our our tree the other day. They were very yummy, too! Now we're just waiting on the apples and blueberries!