Morning Glories

I got some flack from a few readers when they saw that I was actually TRYING to grow morning glories at the tiny bungalow. I had a batch take root by our garbage cans. I think they are very attractive and atypical of the anemic weeds that I associate with the species. They have thick stems, massive leaves and the flowers are two colors - a deep purple (pretty much the color of everything in the yard is deep-something) and a pink.

This year, I sowed seed for a batch and trained them up one of the porch columns. They've really taken over and look great. Also, unlike typical climbers, they don't seem to be attaching to the house so they should come off without any damage to the stucco. I figure that anything that can cover some of the siding and whiteness of the front is a good thing. Even better if it has flowers, right? Better yet, I haven't seen them popping up "all over the yard" so, for now, they are under control.

And to think I was starting to make progress

We had a swallowtail butterfly in the yard last week. Actually, we've had several of them over the past couple weeks but I have not been quick enough with my camera in order to capture a pic for the blog. I have been very excited at the array of butterflies in our garden this year. Perhaps I'll get more time next year to learn what their names are. I only know this one because I saw the same butterfly on a fellow blogger's site: Building a Better Bungalow I am also surprised that no one warned me of this (ha ha) but our morning glories have officially taken over the back fence. They look great and they have no where else to go so I think it's fine. If I see them anywhere else, I might start getting concerned.

I didn't do much on the house this week. I did go pick out more paint samples and mowed the lawn but that doesn't really count. Oh, and I did go to Great America! Awesome!!! I know sarcasm doesn't play well on the net so I should save my sarcasm for real life. Hopefully I'll make some more headway on the room next week. It is painfully close to being done so it drives me nuts that I haven't been able to work on it.

Cooking at the Tiny Bungalow Part 2

I can't believe we never tried this before. Tonight we decided to make pizzas on our grill. A few years ago, we tried this after seeing it on an episode of Martha Stewart. Martha grilled the dough directly on the metal grate of the grill and then added the toppings and re-heated. When we tried it, it was a disaster. This time, we decided to throw our pizza stone on the grill, stoke up the coals, and see what happens. There are still a few temperature issues that we need to work out but all in all, I would consider it a success. We were able to use several tomatoes from the garden (we have tons) and we used quite a few herbs. We have tons of fresh herbs as well. I never thought I would tell my wife to just throw the leftover basil and oregano in the compost bin but we can get so much more out of the garden. The pizza came out great.I have spent another week doing nothing on the house. I am studying to take the LEED AP exam on Monday so I have been a hermit. The more I study, the less confident I feel about passing. Nice feeling. I have a couple of days and hopefully it will turn around. Studying, I've spent a lot of time in my dining room. This has compounded my angst as I am surrounded by pealing paint, broken plaster and poorly finished wood - all that I need to fix some day.

It has been raining in Chicago for a week straight. Serious rain. Inches of rain. Our garden may appear happy but it isn't. Everything is pretty much falling over. I spent a day staking up the sunflowers and other plants. The clematis is blooming again - though the plant looks a little anemic. Maybe these are supposed to be miniature??? The plants are all filling in and have taken over. I have given up on trying to control things for the time being.
We do have one pleasant surprise that seemed to come with the rain. Down the alley (about 6 houses), our neighbor has the nicest morning glories - massive leaves and stems and deep violet flowers. Very cool looking plants. The other day when I walked by my back fence, to my surprise, I have the exact same morning glories blooming there. These were not here last year and my wife and mother in law cleaned out the entire fence area on the alley this spring. It was once covered with choke cherry, baby ash, and raspberries. Now we have morning glories.