Why I Oughta...

Last year, my garden had some hits and misses - both in terms of placement/design and selection.  This year, I've decided to pare it back a bit and focus on the basics with fewer experiments.  One of those experiments is going to be carrots.  I've never grown them. I picked up this seed packet at Menards of Touchon Carrots that are described as one of the 'finest' carrots from France .  I'll plant the seeds in Mid-April and just 65 days later (right around July 1), we'll have (hopefully) a bumper crop of carrots.

It is still early March and these Allium in our front yard are way ahead of last year.  I posted a photo on March 30th of last year and they look to be just about the place in development as these.  Another sign of the mild winter/early spring, I suppose.

Per this blurb in the Elmhurst Press , we're gettting a Mariano's Fresh Market on the site of the old Elmhurst Ford.  More choice is good for consumers, so in addition to Mariano's bringing some new things to town for grocery shoppers, I'm hoping that the new competition will keep the Jewel on their toes more - because they're just two blocks away from our house and get (almost) all of our non-Trader Joe's shopping. Here's some video of the annoucement:

The Babe got right up there in the front with her Cousins and mixed it up with the big kids to get all the candy she could eat.  The weather today couldn't have been better for a parade and while the company was good (my sister and Equation Boy/Man invited us to tag along with their group of friends), some dear angel brought a cooler full of cooked/bun'd hotdogs and I was able to enjoy one of those beauties.

That's me on the back left (behind Equation Boy/Man) right before we took on the Elmhurst Chiefs Hockey Club in a Father/Son (in my case Uncle!) game.  My nephew plays for the Chiefs and I was lucky enough to be able to get on the ice along with these Dad's. I'm not standing that far away from the other guys because I don't like them.  Nope.  It's because I'm not that adept on the skates as some folks and I didn't want to risk falling in any attempt to move closer to get into the photo.  No injuries were reported and I had a lot of fun.  Equation Boy/Man had a hat trick and my nephew had a goal off of a nice rebound!

The three of us caught the Twins/Cardinals game in Ft. Myers this week.  It was the first time I'd been to a Spring Training game (ever) and it was a lot of fun.  It feels A LOT like Minor League baseball, but it certainly isn't priced like Minor League baseball.  We left before the end, but the Cards were up 3-1 when we took off.  Even though it was a 'home' game for the Twins, there were plenty of Cardinal fans in attendance.  Not one peep about Pujols.  Not one.

Well, well, well.  What do we have here?  Looks like lots of thin white roots are springing from the French Pussy Willow cuttings that I put on our window sill just two weeks ago .  With warmer temperatures right around the corner, looks like we'll be able to put these in the ground in a few weeks.  Looks like I know what I'm giving my mom for Easter?!?

While they're always one of our earliest bits of green in the Spring, these are coming up particularly early due to the VERY mild winter we've had.  *Fingers crossed* that we'll see the continued mild weather and these won't get a frost shock treatment from the lingering Old Man Winter.

In a week, my niece turns two!  To celebrate, her parents are having a party for her where our whole family with gather.  I came across a fun project that *seems* appropriate for a two year old, so I started to put it together.  Can't spill the beans just yet on what it is, because my sister reads these posts on occasion.  After the party, I'll post a full how-to with more photos.

Anyone ever use these solar chargers from Solio in a pinch when they're stuck somewhere with a dead mobile?  Do they work?