Be Entertained
Just some of the best stuff I’ve found poking around on Twitter this week :
40 Perfectly Captured Motion-Blur Photographs
Crazy Cool Phone Book Sculptures
12 Amazing Photos Of Urban Camoflauge
Dancing Brazil Baby Does A Mean Samba
10 Web Design Bloggers You Should Follow
Jesus In A Tortilla Meet Satan In An Oil Spill
Oh, and – if you tweet? Follow Me 
Summer Squash! And some linky love :)
Summer Squash!, originally uploaded by Phae.
Did you know that you can eat summer squash blossoms: fresh on a salad, stuffed and baked with cheese, or even deep fried? I didn’t. Now you know too! (Or maybe, I was the last one to know, ha!)
We are really enjoying the summer squash from our garden; we’ve steamed and fried and sauteed it in butter. Every time it is just fantastic. Perfectly textured and flavored- not at all mushy or tough or bitter like some of the aging summer squash we’ve picked up in the market. My husband and kids went from squash haters to fighting over the last pieces at dinner!
And summer squash have just been so easy to grow- they need little water and they don’t seem prone to pests like some of our other crops! These were grown from seed, planted directly in the garden instead of the peat pots we use for more fragile seedlings. Of all the different types of vegetable seeds we planted they were the most viable and productive this summer season.
Now that I know the blossoms are edible I’m anxious to try them. Perhaps deep fried alongside some fried green tomatoes?! Mmhmm.
But anyways!
If you are on Twitter and you are a gardener of any experience level, you should check out #gardenchat on Monday evenings at 9pm PST. I’ve been a lurker for a while and have learned a lot!
Also, check out these cool cooking/gardening blogs I’ve enjoyed recently!
The Kitchn
Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef
You Grow Girl
Sweetnicks
Happy Gardening & Cooking
Silkie Chicks – 2 Weeks Old
Our Silkie chicks are 2 weeks old today! They have changed so much in such a short time; going from fragile yellow & gray poofballs to hardy, nearly white mini-chickens with pin feathers and toe tufts! Yesterday they took their first walk about the chicken yard and showed off their mad bug-catching skills.
The three you see here are what remains of the clutch- four went to our good friends and bird farmers to start their lives as breeders and egg-layers. The kids were relieved to know they wouldn’t be sold for meat, and they could visit them again.
It’s interesting that we take for granted the meat we so often put on our table, that we are often emotionless and detached.. and how the act of raising your own baby animals makes you look at everything differently. We are certainly considering raising our own meat chickens and rabbits now; because while it might be a little tough to treat our animals like pets and then eat them? We know our animals are safe, well-fed, healthy and happy.
Thinking about raising your own backyard chickens, or animals for meat but don’t know where to start? Ask any question and I’ll be happy to help. This experience really has been great- it’s not hard or expensive at all. I’m of the mind, now that I have some experience at it, that everyone should.
DIY Dog Treats
It came to my attention some time ago that the treats we have routinely been buying for our family’s 5 dogs are unhealthy, filled with additives and preservatives, and costing us a pretty penny. In my effort to be rid of unnatural chemicals from our diet and land and to live more frugally, I began considering making our own treats. Yesterday I twittered a request for good dog treat recipes, and God Love Twitter- I soon had a good amount to choose from.
We made the first two kinds recommended:
Peanut Butter Nom Noms & Tuna Training Treats
Not only were both super easy and cheap to make- all five dogs LOVED them! The kids really enjoyed lending a hand in the process and it offered an opportunity for me to talk to them about dog nutrition… something I’ve never put much thought into before now, and no doubt will inspire them to be more conscientious dog owners one day.
I haven’t tried these other recipes, but I plan to so I hope you will bookmark them as well:
Frosty Paws Dog Ice Cream
Homemade Dog Cookies
Favorite Dog Treat Recipes
Doggie Stylish Dog Treat Recipes
Do enjoy! Also, Happy Hump Day!
Abandonment Issues n’New Stuff!
Long time no see!! It’s been a crazed several weeks in a row but I’ve been painfully aware of my lack of ambition when it comes to maintaining this blog for some time. There’s so much stuff I’ve wanted to post yet put on the back burner while other endeavors made first priority. I’ve come to question if it’s worth keeping this blog, since it makes me feel unfulfilled and guilty… but my current thinking is that I should instead get back on the horse and make this a place that I enjoy, that you want to be. And no doubt, I’m always creating and finding great new stuff to share.. it’s really a crime to keep all this good stuff to myself!
Also, I’d like to announce the relaunch of my photoblog: Phaedra Photography
I’m very excited to have my photoblog back- it’s been months since I’ve been able to add content due to unresolvable database errors with my host. It’s really a shame that I had to dump 5+ years of content to start over, but nothing lasts forever, right?! And, isn’t it pretty? Maddie & her fabulous associate at Better In Pink made me the pretty theme. I usually make my own but when she drew this one up for me I was touched and excited. She really is the most talented, sweet friend anybody could have.
Please do check out the new site and let me know what you think, about the look, functionality and photography!
So yeah, I’ll be back- and with bells on! Now that the kids are out of school and I’m swimming in free time there shouldn’t be any excuse as to why I can’t write more often. 
Happy Summer!
-Phaedra
What I Want
