so many things!

1. I like babies.  A lot.  You may remember Tate from a few months back.  He is growing like a weed!  I love babysitting for my friends’ kids.

 

2.  I also like bluegrass music.  A lot.  Last weekend we checked out Greensky Bluegrass at Mishawaka Amphitheatre along the Poudre River.  Fabulous location for a music venue.  Per usual, Greensky did not disappoint.

3. My friends do amazing things and I just have to share them with you.  Below you’ll see info for an outstandingly impressive language app for kids called, Gus On the Go.  Alice + Yono created this app from start to finish.  If you have an iPad and you have a kid be sure to check out Gus On the Go!

4. Answer me this.

My cucumber plants [back right] are growing like weeds!  They are flowering [underneath] and expanding every single day but there are NO signs of cucumbers.

What gives??

The same goes for my 4 pepper plants [front right].  Growing, growing, growing, and flowering, but NO peppers.

HELP!

5. The chard continues to flourish and I continue to scarf it down.  I planted more butter lettuce, spinach, kale, and romaine about 3 weeks ago and it’s coming along nicely after being a no-show a few months back.

6. New favorite yogurt.  Nothing else to say about that.  Just go get some.

7. Can you believe I’m telling you about TWO apps that TWO different friends launched in the same week??  My sister-in-law’s sister-in-law [got that??] created this app with a little sound effect help from her husband.  Britta’s inspiration?  Their sweet little girl, Hazel.  With DinoChime you can paint, play a xylophone, or poke a dinosaur to hear different musical dino-notes!  Check it out at the iTunes store!

Too cute!!

8. If you visit our house you will most definitely encounter some kind of construction project.  We’ve been going strong for 1.5yrs on fixing up this house.  Exhausting but rewarding.

The other night Chris decided it was time to say goodbye to the ramp out the back door.  There was absolutely no reason for it to be there.

Buh-bye!

9. This is a happy dog that just got back from a bike ride. 

10. This is happy dog #2 after her ride around town.

11. I may have forgotten to mention that I recently made a camera upgrade.  I’m currently working with the Canon 7D and have been for the past 3 months.  We got a killer deal on the Canon site.  It was a refurbished body and they had an extra 20% off refurbished equipment when we bought it.

Sold!

My [errr, Chris’s!] Canon Rebel xti served me well, but it was time to move on.

 

Size comparison.  Both fitted with a 50mm.  I have the 50mm 1.8 on the Rebel and the 50mm 1.4 on the 7D.  And yes, there is a noticeable difference in quality between the two lenses.

Face off.

I don’t know 1/2 of the capabilities of the 7D yet, but I couldn’t be happier with it.

12. Also new to the equipment lineup is my very first flash.  This is Canon’s new 600EX-RT.  I bought it mainly for the upcoming weddings I’ll be shooting. Yes weddings.  Four of them.  Yes I am scared. 

It will be extremely helpful to have both camera bodies at the wedding.  I can keep the 50mm on one and the 70-200 lens on the other and easily switch back and forth. 

13. The lens lineup, thanks to Chris putting this set together about 4.5 years ago.  The only lens purchase since then was my 50mm 1.4 in January.

From left to right:

• Tamron 28-75 f/2.8L
• Canon 70-200L f/4
• Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6
• Canon 50mm f/1.4

14. Wedding safety kid!

• 3 camera batteries + charger [I’m paranoid]
• 16 batteries for the flash [better safe than sorry]
• 32gb [new], 16gb [new], 8gb, 4gb, 2gb memory cards on hand
• Black Rapid camera strap – I’ve heard this is a must have!
• flash diffuser cap – a little hard to see on the white table

15. My very first wedding is THIS Saturday.  You may remember my friends Jenna + Dave from a few months back.  They’re getting married near Winter Park, CO and I’m honored, excited, and slightly nervous to capture their big day.

wish.me.luck. !!

16. Happppppppy weekend.  Be on the lookout for a BIG announcement next week!  It has nothing to do with babies.

Ashley

Comments

[Katie @ Talk Less, Say More]

oh yay for new cameras! I keep thinking about trying to get a REAL camera (as opposed to my iPhone camera) but I'm pretty sure I couldn't figure out how to use something that fancy... ;)

[Heather]

You're going to rock that wedding!!! I can't wait to hear how it goes!

Ashley--> Thank youuu!! I hope so!

[kim@hungryhealthygirl]

Thanks for sharing what camera you are currently using.....I'm thinking about taking a photography class soon. Good luck at the weddings. I'm sure the pics will be beautiful!

Ashley--> Thank you so very much!

[Anne]

I am so jealous of your garden!!! I can't wait until I get a real back yard!

[Chrissy]

Peppers! I am having the same problem as you - lots of flowers, no peppers. I did some reading, and figured out that the first flowers that bloom are the male flowers, but for peppers to produce fruit, they need male and female flowers. The female flowers don't bloom until later in the summer. Which means that as long as your peppers appear healthy (tall and green and growing) then they will eventually make some peppers. Or so I've read. Fingers crossed!

And I'm curious about your news! I have a few guesses, but I'll keep them to myself. :)

Ashley--> You just made my day. I hope this is true. I haven't gotten the chance to look up possible causes yet, so this is appreciated! Let me know what your guesses were once I announce. :)

[Tina {My Life as a Mrs}]

Good luck with the wedding... i'm sure you're photos will be AMAZING. :) PS - love that you clarified that the news has nothing to do with babies lol... you KNOW that's the first thing everyone jumps to haha

Ashley--> Definitely the first thing everyone jumps to. Especially after I get don't saying how much I like babies, hahaa. THANKS about the wedding!

[Katie]

That language app is fantastic! I can't wait until A is old enough to play with stuff like that.

Also, cucumbers. Ours did that for two whole months...just grew wild without any cucumbers, but NOW, just this week...we have a bazillion baby cucumbers sprouting up everywhere. I say hang in there...I think they'll come.

Ashley--> My friend Alice [who made it] said her 1.5 year old LOVES plunking around with the app, even though he's not really going through the lessons at this point. If you have an ipad it may still be fun for Baby A! Thank you for the vote of confidence that the cucumbers may still be coming.

[Evan Thomas]

I just upgraded to the 7D this Summer, too. It's a great camera for the price point

Ashley--> I would have to agree!

[Kinley @ Better off Barefoot]

I keep waiting for this exciting news you promised long ago ;) But I like that you clarified it has nothing to do with babies! I'm hoping it has something to do with a book re food/photos?!?

Ashley--> I still love your name every time I see it pop up!

[Cait's Plate]

Gah! I have such camera envy! I can't wait until it's time for me to upgrade. I need to master using my rebel first though...

Also - is it sad that the first thing I thought of when I say your broken down ramp was "I want that wood for a photography background!" Haha.

Ashley--> Hahaha, it must look better in the photo than it does in real life.

[Sonya]

Haha, I like that you clarified it has nothing to do with babies. I am sure you will do a fantastic job photographing those weddings!

[Christine]

You can try doing giving the peppers an Epsom salt spray - the magnesium will help them to set fruit. I'm not sure if this will work for cukes. Cukes have male & female flowers that need to be pollinated. If you look very closely, you might find some female flowers - they'll have very very tiny cucumbers behind them. If they aren't pollinated, it'll fall off just like a male and obviously won't result in a cucumber. It is possible to hand pollinate also although I have tried once without success.
The plants themselves look really healthy in the photo, so it may just be a matter of time.
Good luck!

Ashley--> Thanks so much for the tips! They started to pop the very next day. Go figure. :)

[Chelsea]

My peppers looked healthy and had a lot of flowers for quite awhile now, but they are finally producing peppers so don't give up they are just really slow this year! I am loving your site and trying out lots of new recipes. Thanks again for the healthy recipes that are easy and fun to make!

[Kayla]

Our pepper plants did the same thing -- grew like crazy (when we actually were getting rain around here) without a pepper in sight. Our cayennes came in (only one has turned red so far, though) and our jalapenos, too...but our bells just refused until this week, a wee pepper bud popped up near the top. I think you'll just have to be patient. :)

Ashley--> The very next day they started to pop!

[Marissa@ohhhsolovely]

that's a really nice garden that you have. i completely understand the construction site thing, as our house has been a construction zone for the last 5 years - still going strong, but i love it. it's so fun to make it my own. good luck with yours!

Ashley--> 5 years??? I think I would lose my mind. Props to you!!

[Katie @KatieDid]

congrats ashley on booking the weddings, you will do such a fantastic job! Just keep snapping away, you'll catch some incredible emotions I'm sure.

Ashley--> Thanks so much, Katie!

[Christa @ Edible Balance]

Your wedding debut will turn out fabulous, I'm sure of it! Look at all the amazing equipment you have... you're totally set :) our garden is gorgeous, love the colors of the chard!

[Beth]

Yay for the new 7d! I'm sure you will love it. I've found that when you are growing chard or kale or lettuce alongside something like cucumbers or peppers, it seems like it takes forever for the cucumbers/peppers to grow. It just takes much longer for those plants to flower and bear fruit than it takes for their leafy friends. We're just picking our first cucumbers and eggplants now, but we've been picking kale and lettuce for six weeks! Good luck with the weddings; I'm sure you'll do a fantastic job!

[Britta]

Ashley! Thank you for the Dino Chime shout-out. Congrats on your new baby camera! That is exciting! Have a great weekend! xo

Ashley--> Of course, Britta! It's such a cute + fun app. Best of luck with it!

[Hanna Nichols]

I live in Denver and my zucchini plant is doing the same thing...HUGE...but has produced two thus far. I read up and sometimes this happens when there are weird weather patterns (like lots of rain and then long periods of dryness like we've had in CO). Apparently it just takes awhile that way!

[Katie @ Blonde Ambition]

Good luck at the wedding! From what I've seen of your photography, I think you'll be just fine! I'm going to a wedding tomorrow too, the first of my cousins is getting married :D Enjoy!

[Megan]

My first thought was also that pollination might be the issue with your plants. In addition to suggestions already made, I was told by a gardener long ago to plant flowers in your veggies garden, too, in order to encourage bees to pollinate your garden. I usually put some in the bed and have even plunked potted flowers nearby. Good luck!

Ashley--> You are all so helpful. Thank you!

[Andrea]

I agree with the other suggestions for your garden... I also have a book of garden tonics on the natural side and a suggestion for pepper plants to really get them producing is to mix some epsom salts with a little baby shampoo and some water and flood the plants with it. It supposedly makes them go wild! And for your cukes, I think they will probably take off soon! Mine did and now they are overflowing my kitchen counters! I planted pickling cucumbers so I've made 3 of your pickle recipes so far... I LOVE them! And I know you'll do awesome at the wedding!

Ashley--> Thank you! Great tips! So glad you are enjoying the quick pickle recipes.

[AnneWF]

I love that fuzzy baby head. I want touch it it's so cute. He reminds me of my son at that age. Sighhhh...he is 21 now, with a curly head. I love babies too.

[Heather]

Put a pot of Marigolds or Rose geraniums at each corner of your veggie garden and the bees will come and work their magic.

Ashley--> Thank you for the tip!

[Suzanne H]

We've been getting Straus Family Creamery milk and cream. We love it. And I love how they raise their cows. I'm pretty sure they have it better than I do, Marshall's gorgeous!

Ashley--> Oooh, I wonder if I can get their milk here? I'll have to be on the lookout for it.

[Ellen]

I know cucumbers and squash plants require external pollination for them to produce fruit. i.e. you need some bee friends! I highly recommend the book Food Grown Right, In Your Backyard. The last third of the book is about how to grow common plants and covers common diseases/pests and its worth its weight in gold. I always find it surprisingly hard to find basic info on plants outside of the very limited tag seedlings come with. But I've learned so much from this book. Like that peppers like a really hot, dry climate and peas won't germinate when the temperature is over 75 degrees. I also spent a long time thinking I didn't need to fertilize my organic garden because I was adding lots of compost, etc. But once I added some organic fish emulsion every few weeks, BAM! Zuchinni, tomatoes, cucumbers, they love it!!!

Ashley--> Thank you so much for the book recommendation. I will definitely check that out. The peppers and cucumbers started to come in the very next day. :)

[Kate]

Hahahah first thing I thought of when I saw the word "news." Still excited regardless!!!

[Erin Hess]

I am encouraged to hear about the peppers and cucumbers. My peppers (both red bell and jalapeno) have been producing lots of flowers, but only one pepper on each plant so far. And each pepper is small and has been there for quite some time. The red bell has finally started to turn red. My swiss chard however looks nothing like yours. I don't know if I just don't have a swiss chard thumb or what. I planted the seeds around July 4th and the leaves are 4 inches long on a couple, and barely sprouts on the rest. I have swiss chard envy!
Congratulations on your first wedding!

Ashley--> The swiss chard was the only thing that grew at first. No clue why or how! Gardening is really quite fascinating.

[christina @ The Beautiful Balance]

LOVE the garden! I can not wait to have my own. One day, one day.
How long after first plant did you begin to see growth?

[Cohen @ Cataract Surgery]

These apps are great, I hope they will succeed! Sister in law's sister in law.. Nice! :D

[JulieD]

ooh can't wait to hear what it is!! Loved this post and huge huge good luck today...I know you'll RAWK it!!

[Sara @ sarasmiles]

Hey! I nominated you for the Liebster Blog Award. Check out the post here: http://sarasmiles.com/2012/08/04/the-liebster-award-11-things-you-might-not-have-known/

Ashley--> Thank you, thank you! Going to check it out now!

[Becky]

Previous commenters were correct about plants having male/female blossoms. The reason you'll have lots of males and no females at first is to get bees used to coming to the plant. By the time the females appear you'll have lots of handy pollinators showing up to do the hard work! The male blossom dies within 24 hours, but the female will have a little bump behind the flower. =)

Ashley--> Everyone has been so helpful. Thank you for the tips!!

[sonia the mexigarian]

I've been getting into the Bluegrass music ..... could you recommend some? I dunno if they're considered bluegrass, but I love Ten Mile Tide.
Love your garden. Mine's being terrorized by ground squirrels :(