Party Favor from the Garden for Colin's 2nd Birthday

I forgot to mention this back in August, but we thought of a fun way to enjoy some sunflower seeds, and promote the Center Avenue Community Garden at the same time.

In early August, we harvested a couple of the Orange sunflowers (Colin's favorite color), let them dry out, and gently pulled out the seeds that were left.

We packed a few seeds together with a little note about the garden, and a link to David's blog, and added them to a simple party favor basket for Colin's friends.

We thought it was a cool way to spread the word, and give others the opportunity to plant a few sunflowers on their own, and hopefully watch them grow!

Roasting Strawberries in the Yard

Wednesday at the Garden

Colin and I stopped by the CACG to drop off our compost, and spent a few minutes running around.  Here are a few quick pics of what's been happening at the garden:

    Colin acting as the gatekeeper in the northeast entrance.  The scarlet runner beans have taken off over the    top of the mulberry branch entrance. David thought there might be some other vegetable growing over as well. Which was it again, David?

              David secured a measuring tool near the greenhouse to catch the rainwater amounts.

    Another view of the entrance.

      I moved the pallet garden bench that Mike and I built underneath the volunteer tree that's been sprouting  up.

     The artichoke plant that was transplanted along Center Ave has found a nice home underneath a  Sunflower.

          Carlos, Jenn, and I planted some lettuce and garlic into the herb spiral near the sign along Center Avenue.

   A variety of vegetables are growing comfortably together in a garden bed along Center Avenue, including red leaf lettuce, kale, calendula, and broccoli, among others.

                    Colin running wind-sprints along Main Street in the garden.

                                   

Garden Hopscotch

The kids found another activity for the Center Avenue Community Garden.

Karen's Tomatillo Salsa

David helped us dig around the Tomatillo plant at the Center Avenue Community Garden this Fall, and we rounded up some great looking ones! The tomatillo looks like a green apple, and has a nice, sweet taste if you dig into it raw.

Karen found a tomatillo sauce/salsa recipe online, and it turned out great! Here are a few pictures of the process, with more information on the recipe to follow:

Picking Raspberries at the CACG

Brenna and Colin found some gems in the Raspberry patch near the northeast entrance of the Center Avenue Community Garden.

An Underrated Spot for Kids in the East Bay

While there are plenty of great parks and museums throughout the East Bay, one of the kid's favorite spots to run around is the play area at the Concord Airport.

Tucked just beneath the Control Tower, the small, fenced-in area provides great views of planes taking off and landing.

The play structure is subtle, and along with the painted runway, gives the kid's plenty of room to use their imaginations.

It's also a perfect spot to practice riding bikes or scooters.

There are no bathrooms, though, so plan ahead.

Here are some pictures of a recent trip with Colin: