What A Day!

I mentioned before that this is probably the coolest summer I can remember. We have been having really crazy weather. It's late August, so I should be wilting in the heat and doing nothing but sitting in front of the air conditioner with four fans blowing on me drinking lemonade. Instead, I am outside and it's 73 degrees! I am loving it!

Today is seriously the most amazing, angelic, bewitching, delightful, divine, exquisite, magnificent, marvelous, pulchritudinous, radiant, resplendent, splendid, stunning, superb, and wonderful day imaginable. (This sentence brought to you by my thesaurus.)

I hope you're having a great day too!

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a...skink?

Friday morning I was checking on my garden when I caught a flash of electric blue out of the corner of my eye. I scanned the area until I saw it, a little snake-like thing with a black and cream-striped body and a bright blue tail! I grabbed my camera, but it shot under the porch before I could get a picture of it. I ran inside to figure out what this thing was. I have never seen anything like it. The color was so amazing! This photo is courtesy of Wikipedia and Michael Holroyd.

After doing some research, I discovered it was a five-lined skink, which is a type of lizard. The blue tail means it is a baby. When it matures into an adult, it will have more visible legs (like the one in the photo). When it fully matures, in about two years, it will have a red head. Apparently, it is beneficial to my garden and will eat some of the nasty bugs. Yeah!

Here's a little fascinating tidbit for you. If a skink is threatened, they can actually detach their tail and run for cover without it. The tail will stay behind and wriggle, distracting whatever is trying to attack the lizard. The lizard will eventually grow a new tail. Who knew?

Welcome!

Welcome to The Modern Victory Garden!

About three years ago, I moved from a tiny apartment in Kansas City to my family's 80-acre farm a little north of the Ozarks in Missouri. I have been coming to this farm since I was a baby and have always loved the quiet peacefulness that the country gives you. I am an absolute beginner when it comes to gardening. However, just this last year I realized, I have so much land available, why am I not using it? I started very small this year with just a 4x4 raised bed in my backyard. That was all it took to get me hooked. Since the beginning of the summer I have been reading every resource I can find on gardening, and I have big plans for a MUCH bigger garden next year. I am also going to try some winter gardening. I'm starting this blog to catalog my ideas and share the information I have gathered along with photos and progress reports of my garden as it changes from season to season. I also love to hear about other gardeners' experiences in the garden.

My garden is located in: USDA Hardiness Zone 5b.

Growing in the garden currently:
Cantaloupe
Carrots

I have tomatoes, broccoli, and snap peas planted in homemade newspaper pots (more on how to make those later) ready to be transplanted in the garden for fall. I also plan on fall lettuce and more carrots.