Update on Mars' Flora & Fauna

Lots happening among the flora & fauna of Mars this week.

First, more harvesting (by me) & cooking (by Adrienne) of delicious, homegrown veg!

Roasted chicken thigh & carrots, with a homegrown butter lettuce salad topped with pistachios, and pan-fried beets & goat cheese nibbles. 

Slow-cooked pork over rice, with tomatoes, bell pepper & homegrown snap peas!

Dinner served in our new dining room layout -- trying something different with the dog kennel thing. 

The hydrangeas on the table are courtesy of Jackie, the previous owner, who I like to think of as a third grandmother.

In other news, a kitchen garden has been planted! Here is a new bed of sage, summer savory, oregano, & basil, nestled in between yellow roses & the thicket of Jackie's mint:

Some dill, sage, & more basil in the office window:

Some marjoram, chives, parsley, cilantro & yet more basil in the back porch:

Marjoram & parsley are in the egg container, & are destined for the outdoors bed. 

Why so much basil, you ask? Just because we want to be able to make pesto. Why both indoors & outdoors, you ask? I've read that you can get good ongoing harvests by having a couple sets of indoor pots that you rotate outside, while also growing the plants in your outdoor beds. Seems like it's worth a try!

As for the status of the other plants in the established garden, the brussels sprouts plants are growing furiously, the front porch planters are sprouting lettuce already, & most of the collards are doing very well. This one, however, not so much:

Is there a variety called Lace Collards?

Some of the other plants are getting nibbled by bugs, but none are as bad, or as wimpy as this one. It  was in what I like to call my 'Failure To Thrive' bed -- much too shady for most veg, as it turns out. I just put a ton of cilantro in that same bed yesterday -- that apparently does well in shady conditions, so I'm hoping for the best.

As for the fauna, the little dog has been enjoying the stuffed toys she received as a gift in the mail. Looks like I have a sewing project this week: