Let's drop a BOMB!

Oh Spring - Where are you???  This is the view off my porch this morning towards the greenhouse.  It is our Spring Break here.  Mid March.  WTH???  It was -2 degrees this morning.  The sun is beautiful but it is still too cold to melt any of the 4 feet of snow that we have going on.

So we shall make Guerrilla Fairy Garden Seed bombs! These make great spring gifts for Easter, or just for fun for someone who needs a lift.

Go to your happy place and get some of your dirt (compost mix is best).  Im using some of my Wicked Birthday Dirt! Bring your dirt in the house (if it's not already) and let it warm up.  For this project you will also need a little clay if you have some - its not imperative but it helps greatly, and you will need a couple of packages of flower seeds.  Make sure you get seeds that are healthy for your area - you dont want to bomb with invasives!

This is also a great time to refill and renew those herb pots from your windows that you have wintered over, while you have the compost and dirt already in the house and warmed up. Above picture shows the dwarf banana tree getting a little compost renewal.   The mixture makes way way more than you need for the seed bombs.  I lost a couple of my herb plants (rosemary and sage)  while we were gone - I told the house sitter that I would water the plants before I left and for her not to worry about them and then I forgot - darn!

So I am also freshening some of the pots that I will plant new sage and rosemary in as well.

The tin can is a great tool for scooping soil out of a bucket!

One of the lemon trees desperately needed some additional compost now.

Sad, dead rosemary plant that didn't make it through our trip recently.  I'm recycling the dirt back into the compost mix.

Included in this seed mix are Bee Feed seeds, Phlox, Poppy, Forget Me Not, Columbine, DIanthus, Johnny Jump Up, and a Wildflower mix for Alaska.  I also added a package of "Naughty Marietta" Marigolds to the mix - its just fun to have them in there since we might be "naughty" spreading our Guerrilla Fairy Garden seed bombs!

That metal can is also a great seed mixing utensil!

Pour your seed mixture into the small spice jar and replace the sifter/shaker lid.

It makes it really easy to get a good seed spread on your soil.

I used the medium rectangle Ziplock type container to mix my soil and seeds in.  I didn't have clay for this batch, but if you are using it use about 1/4 clay to the rest of your soil mix.  just enough to make them stick together well.

Water it down in layers and stir in between.  The mixture will seem like it is more wet than you think it should be.  It has to hold together and that is the only way to do it.  You don't want mud but very damp soil.

Once you have the soil watered and damp, sprinkle a layer of seeds on and stir that up good.  Make sure you dig into the corners of the container you are using.  I have heard some people say that they use a Ziplok bag to do the soil mix but sometimes all the small and large pieces of soil and seeds layer according to size so I like the shake and stir method.

There are a couple of ways you can make the bombs.  One way is to just scoop some of the seeded soil and make a small ball with it.

My favorite way is to use the plastic trays that the boxed candy (right side of the picture) and the mini quiche (left side of the picture) come in.  Small candy molds work great as well.  They make great shapes and make it easy to move the bombs around and dry them.  I sometimes don't have room for 100 ball bombs to dry out!

Press your soil mixture into the molds and press hard!  Make sure it is full but that it doesn't have any edges or rims.  It should all be level and make sure they dont overlap - dirt from one spills over and touches dirt from another.  After those dry they sometimes break when you try to separate the two.

Fill all your molds and put them somewhere they can dry.  If you run out of molds and still have seeded soil left - just make balls!  Don't put them in hot sun area though - you don't want the seed to cook.

Now for the really fun part!  Wrap and decorate!  Once the seed bombs are dry take some saran wrap, small snack bags work well also but I like how the saran wrap finishes up.

I put three bombs per package but you can do whatever your heart desires!  Make sure you get the wrap closed around the bombs so that no seeds can escape into your plants or where ever you might not want flower seeds.

Use some fancy ribbon to tie them up.  I used spring colors for these since they will mostly be Easter gifts.

I printed some tags on card stock (see wording below).  Use a hole punch to make a hole to put the ribbon or twine through and you have a great spring garden gift of guerrilla fairy garden seed bombs!

Happy Spring and have fun with this one!

Guerrilla Gardening Wildflower Seed Bombs

Throw one of your bombs out anywhere that needs a bright spot of flowers!  Watch that spot and see what wonderful things grow! 

The Power of Perspective

I talked in an earlier blog about a "matter of perspective".  Today I would like to talk about the "power of perspective" and introduce you to Andrew Kurka. Andrew is a next level athlete.  He is also 

partially paralyzed.  He is attempting to get to the Olympics.  

 

Check out this link - 

https://www.gofundme.com/andrew-kurka

I met Andrew many years ago as a High school student - at another school - he went to Colony High. He approached me during our hockey tournament that we hosted at the Menard Memorial Center and we didnt always have an announcer.  He said he would like to help us out when we were short announcers for the game and he didnt care who was playing - I said I can't pay you anything except food and he said "Right on"!

The first time I met Andrew he was in a wheelchair.  I knew nothing about how he got there but Im a nosy little mother so I asked a lot of leading questions and Andrew was never afraid to answer anything!  He had been in a 4 wheeler accident that broke his back.

 He was a wonderful announcer for us and ended up doing a lot of our games even when it wasnt tournament time. It turned out that the local radio station interviewed me about the tournament and games while Andrew was announcing the game and I let them know that he was interested in becoming a DJ - it really was fated as he had just mentioned that to me earlier in the day.  I was so nervous about being interviewed and Andrew said "Mrs Humphreys - just relax and talk - its what you do all day!"  It was way easier than I thought it would be - mostly because Andrew told me it would be.  IF you watch the video at the bottom of the link page above you will hear his great voice - he can say "wafflestomper" and make the chicks swoon!  Im pretty sure I was one of the "old ladies" who called him a lot!

Andrew has never felt sorry for himself that I could tell - the first time I saw him cry is in the video in the link - he always had a smile and a positive attitude - even when his car blew up in the Menard parking lot when it was twenty below zero.  He smiled and said "I can sleep in the car if I have to"  I said "No you wont"!  I took him home that evening and learned even more about this amazing young man who makes friends everywhere he goes and can uplift the most downtrodden soul.

The Houston hockey team played sled hockey with Andrews team one day and the guys thought it was awesome - Rye (my son who recently passed) said "Mom - they are amazing - I cant keep up with them and Im in really good shape"!  Sled hockey is a sport on the ice where your blades are on the bottom of a sled and you use little hockey sticks to steer, sled and score.  You can find lots of videos on you tube if you are interested in learning more..

We have been struggling in our journey with the "why us" question and with connecting to one another.  Andrew addressed it wonderfully in his video - there are lots of "why us" moments.  I never saw or heard an inkling of it from him when we got to hang out together (its been a while - he is busy as heck on the race circuit and I couldnt be happier!)  There are no clear answers, and we have also thought hard about "if not us then who would have lost their child?"  It is not something I would wish on anyone.  It is one of those things that has no answer in this realm.  We will survive this when maybe another mother would not.  Andrews mother has survived this with him - making her a different person Im sure as my experience has made me a different person.  Stronger maybe.  Maybe a touch too "smothermother" as Reed says.

When I look in the mirror now I sometimes see a new reflection of me.  In pictures, we sometimes are smiling but it doesnt quite reach the eyes the same way it used to - I wonder if that will ever go away?  I often through the years thought about Andrews mother and how she made it through - as I made it through when Reed shattered his elbow a few years ago and how terrifying it is to let your child do anything at all afterwards.  Im not sure I am imagining it the same way it has been for Andrews mother - I think her road has been longer than mine thus far - who knows.

Since I started this post Andrew has won at least three Gold Medals on the race circuit and his positive attitude and positive perspective carries on in everything he does and everyone he meets!

I am so incredibly honored to know this young man and to be a part of his journey!  Forward with faith Andrew!


Check out more about Andrew HERE!

Wicked Cowboy Beans

Today Im going to share a great recipe that is a staple here at Wicked Raven - Wicked Cowboy Beans!  As you all know by now - I am a huge fan of the crock pot!  It makes my life better and I actually own five crock pots!  One has three crocks that can be going all at one time in one unit, one is for casseroles and has an auto timer on it so the dish doesnt over cook, two are 3 quart pots and one is a 5 quart pot (the Big Boy we call him - on the left below)!  

Casserole crock below - I just used it for rice and meatballs (recipe for that later) and it was awesome!  But for this recipe we are using the Big Boy!

I use all of them - not the "three banger" as often but it is great for taking to hospitality rooms, or for those team pot lucks that we have so often.  

 So get out your "Big boy" and get ready:  Start with the beans:  I use an equal mix of  small red beans, black beans and great northern or Navy beans then add a handful of Pinto beans in as well. Should equal about 1 1/2 to 2 Cups - so 3/4 C of each. Soak that mixture overnight or simmer on the stove in enough water to cover the beans for two hours.  In either case drain them and then go forward.

In your "Big Boy" crock pot put the soaked beans in the bottom and add:

1 lb. browned sausage (I like Jimmy Dean sage or something close)

or

a few items of left over grilled meats - steak ends or roast or even corned beef works alright!

Fry up some bacon - I always fry 2 pounds at a time and then use part of it in this dish - about 8 strips - save the rest for other dishes later in the week - It always gets used!

A seasoning packet (1 Tbsp. Chicken broth mix, 1 Tbsp dry oregano, 1 Tbsp Cumin)

A Large diced onion

3 cloves of smashed garlic

1 Quart of Chicken broth

1/2 C Ketchup

1/4 C Worchestershire

1/2 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

1/4 C brown sugar or molasses (optional)

Give it a little stir and let it cook on low about 8 hours.  Serve with chips or cornbread, over rice or even potatoes.  Put a little cheese on top and it is delicious!  It also freezes well if you need to freeze the left overs - we make this on days when we have everyone here fishing and that way they can eat when ever they come in.  Its a hearty hot dish that fills folks up and comforts them - in case they didn't catch anything!

Enjoy!