If you were to go to a natural health store to purchase wheatgrass you will actually be looking for “wheat berries”. I don’t know why they are called wheat berries, it is just something I learned in the search of the wheatgrass seeds.

Wheatgrass is surprising easy to grow. It only takes 3 to 4 days to germinate. Wheatgrass looks just like everyday grass in the lawn. Please see the pics below. This shows wheatgrass growing. It is about 4 days from the time the wheat berries were planted.

I have a 6 inch clay pot full of garden soil where the wheatgrass seeds are planted. Plant the wheatgrass at the top of the pot. No need to bury the wheat berries in very deep. Just a thick layer of wheat berries and a sprinkle of potting soil on top. Then get the wheat berries and soil moist with water. I usually cover the top with clear plastic wrap so the heat and sunlight are captured in the pot. This seems to allow the wheat berry seeds to germinate quicker. After 3 or 4 days I remove the plastic wrap cover. By this time you should see short growth of the wheatgrass. Keep watered and in the sunlight. It is just that easy.

I let the wheatgrass grow about 2 and one half inches high then cut the wheatgrass with scissors. Then juice the wheatgrass.

When juicing wheatgrass properly, you need a wheatgrass press. They are easily found all over the internet. I found plenty for sale on E-bay. The recommended amount is one ounce per day up to 2 ounces per day.

I have read many health benefits of wheatgrass. Although I cannot prove any to be true or not true, I have found that I feel better and more energetic when wheatgrass is introduced into my diet.

Thank you for reading,
The Fixie Chick

This grasshopper was hanging out on the side of my house about 5 feet off the ground.  He is about an inch and a half long and I snapped these pictures using a Canon EOS 10D digital camera using a SIGMA 70-300mm telephoto lens in macro mode.  I think the photos came out wonderful considering I was about 2 feet away from this guy when I took the pictures.

The above photo shows a top view of the grasshopper.  He is about at eye level with me when I took the picture.

Here is a closeup of the grasshopper with his back legs in focus.

Here is another closeup of the grasshopper with the focus more on his head.

You may use these images free of charge for anything you wish, we only ask that you provide us with the credit of taking them. Enjoy!

The above image is a picture of one of the yellow sunflowers before it had opened up.

Here  is a picture of a red Sunflower before it opened up as well.

And now a picture of the yellow sunflower opened up.

Here is a great shot of a bumble bee in the center of the yellow sunflower.

There you have it.  Those are our sunflowers that we have growing around our house every year.

Rhododendrons plant at home

Rhododendrons in the garden

Rhododendrons at home

Rhododendrons can be small shrubs or very large shrubs depending on how you prune them and the amount of space they have to grow. If they are crowded by other trees or shrubs, the rhododendrons will not expand to their full potential. I have seen them get to 15 feet tall. The plant can have different color flowers depending on the variety you get. I have purple and pink flowered rhododendrons in my garden.

The location of this garden is in my back yard where the rhododendron plants do not get full sun. They only get maybe a half day of sun.
One of the best secrets to making my plants look great is not only frequent watering but frequent fertilizing. Particularly I use Miracle Grow plant food. The recommended amount is about once every 14 days. I use the plant food anywhere between 7 and 25 days.

I have provided a link for you to order some Miracle Grow plant food for yourself.

Thank you and enjoy

Toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls, the cardboard tubes that are left over when the toilet paper or paper towels are used up, are a rigid tube that can be used as starter containers for your seeds and small plants. 

To use them, start out by getting a flat tray container with an edge that extends up about a half an inch.  I use a window box drip tray.  This tray will be used to hold the tubes as your plants grow.  Now take a toilet paper tube and cut it into three equal height tubes and arrange the cut tubes on the bottom of the tray.  If you use a paper towel tube, cut it into six equal size tubes.  Fill each of the toilet paper tubes about half way with clean quality garden soil from a garden center or hardware store.  Do not use ordinary dirt from the ground since it has all kinds of vegetation already living in it (weeds, grass, etc.) and you will not know what is your seeds and what is weeds.  Place your seeds on the top of the soil and then cover the seeds to the top of the tube.

The beauty of the cardboard tubes is that they will absorb and hold water for a longer period of time keeping the seeds or small plants wetter for a longer period of time.  In order to water the plants, pour the water into the bottom of the tray and not on top of the tubes.  Pouring the water on top of the tubes will bore holes in the dirt and may displace the seeds.  By pouring the water into the tray, the water will fill the bottom of the tray and the tubes and dirt will suck the water up through capilary action keeping the seeds or plants moist.

Starting your seeds in this manner will allow you to bring them inside if cold weather or frost is suspected extending your growing season by starting earlier.  Once your seeds have sprouted and grown a couple of inches, you can take the whole cardboard tube and plant it in the garden or other final destination.  Any roots that the plant grows will extend below the bottom of the tube and into the ground without problems.  The tube can also easily be removed if desired before transplanting.

Pea Seed In Toilet Paper Roll

The picture shows the toilet paper rolls in the window box drip tray with a pea plant growing from seed.

This year I purchased a hand held gas leaf blower that is very light weight and compact. I thought I would try to make my gutter cleaning chores easier than they had been in the past. I placed my ladder in one spot against the house at the start of the gutters, started my leaf blower and climbed up on the roof. I started to blow out the gutters with the leaf blower and low and behold was done with all the gutters in 20 minutes! Something that would take me a painful and agonizing hour and a half was just reduced to 20 min! I was very excited how I just discovered to simplify this awful chore. As always, be careful climbing ladders and walking on the roof.

Preparing your home for painting can be broken down into two areas: tools and surface preparation.

Tool preparation is necessary to get all of your tools in one place, a central work area, for your project. Gather all of your tools you will need for the job and put them in one place. Some of the more common tools that are necessary for an exterior painting project are:

• Paint Brushes
• Paint Rollers & Roller Naps
• Sand Paper & Sanding Blocks
• Paint Stirring Sticks
• Ladders
• Scrapers
• Masking tape
• Sponge or mop
• Paintable Caulk
• Wood Filler or Putty

For the surface preparation, you must create a sturdy, clean surface for the paint to adhere to. In order for the paint to adhere, it must be clean and dry. If there is mold on the surface it must be removed before painting or the paint will not stick. Any rotten wood must be repaired with wood putty or replaced prior to painting.
Remove anything that you can from the exterior of the house including house numbers, shutters, signs, wreaths, and any other accessories that can be removed easily. Anything that can not be removed will have to be painted around and will make painting more difficult.

Scrape the surface using a paint scraper to remove any loose old paint. Next sand the area where flakes have been removed to make the ridge between the old paint and the underlying surface less pronounced. The idea is not to necessarily sand off any paint that did not come off with scraping, but only to make the edge less pronounced once the new paint is applied.

Trim any shrubs or bushes so that they are at least a few inches away from the house. You will need to paint behind them and trimming them now is better than when there is wet paint near the wall with shrub trimmings flying into the fresh paint.

Once all the scraping and sanding is complete, wipe down the surfaces with a mild solution of bleach and water. This will remove loose flakes of old paint, spider webs, bugs, and any standing mold and mildew that may be on the surface. This can be applied with a sponge, a mop, or a brush and rinsed by spraying down with a garden hose.

Caulk any cracks between windows and doors and the siding. Hammer in any protruding nails and fill in any holes in the siding and trim with wood putty or paintable caulk.

Give everything about a day to dry and you are ready to paint! Proper surface preparation will make the painting go more smoothly since you will not have to stop and remove paint, bugs, nests, etc. but will be able to continuously keep a wet edge of paint while coating the surface.

What about in your backyard? Invisible Fence® Brand of Upstate NY, located right here in Rochester, took home three national awards for outstanding business growth in 2008, including National Dealer of the Year for the 3rd year in a row! This is an achievement honoring a team who strives for excellence in customer service, guaranteeing results, and who is determined to make stronger relationships with people and their pets.

Did you know?

Every year, 10 million dogs are lost due to behavior problems!
Every year, 5 million dogs are euthanized due to behavior problems!
Every year, 1 million dogs are killed on the road ways!
The Invisible Fence® Brand’s sole premise is to be the most trusted brand in the pet ownership experience by keeping pets safe, happy and well-behaved at home all the time. And it’s not just about containment— we also offer solutions to help manage other unwanted behaviors like barking, jumping, digging, and chewing. We offer lifestyle solutions such as heated beds for arthritic dogs and automatic feeders for people who have busy schedules. We offer love and compassion for people who truly need help managing their relationships with their pets.

Trip to Lollypop

A few weeks ago, Princess and I were at Lollypop Farm. She always looks forward to the trip! I can tell because she starts whining as we pull in the parking lot, cold nosed pressed against the window, her breath starting to become more rapid. She’s like a kid in a candy shop! She darts out of the car and pulls me to the door. Her tail is wagging with excitement. As we peruse down the hall, I know she wants to run, play and sniff the other dogs. Her innocence is so sweet. She has no idea what’s going on. I always experience a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from loving every puppy in the place, to sadness at their droopy “take me home” faces, and anger when I read why they are there.

I once saw a 10-year-old Schipperke who was given to the shelter because of “barking”. Seriously? After ten years you are just getting fed up with it? I wonder why they didn’t call Invisible Fence® Brand—we can take care of that in just a few days. I see a Siberian Husky who’s claimed to be “an escape artist”. Are you for real? Why didn’t you call Invisible Fence® Brand? There’s a Rottweiler that keeps tearing up the couches. I wonder if they would have given him a second chance if they let us create an invisible barrier that kept him away from all the couches. I think back to the day I adopted Princess and realized she had severe separation anxiety, breaking out of three metal crates and hurting herself in the process. I wonder if I would have known to call Invisible Fence® Brand to train her to use an invisible crate if I didn’t work for the company.

Help reduce the number of shelter admissions, euthanasia and lost dogs on the roadways—call Invisible Fence® Brand today and let us talk to you about how we can help improve your relationship with your best friend … before it’s too late.

Kate Siwik is the Director of Sales & Marketing of Invisible Fence® Brand of Upstate NY—National Dealer of the Year in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Her dog, Princess, was adopted from Lollypop Farm in 2007. Contact Kate at 271-1700 or email her UpstateNY@invisiblefence.com.

ere’s a quick and easy recipe for Pico de Gallo that we were able to put together entirely from our garden harvest.

Dice up equal amounts of:

• Tomatos
• Green Peppers
• Red Peppers
• Onions
• Cucmbers

Chop up and add a Cayan Pepper, some fresh diced celantro, and a tablespoon of lime juice. Add some tortilla chips and you got yourself a quick and easy party favor!