The new blog is online! Visit us at http://bentbirch2009.blogspot.com/
Hope to see you there!
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September 8 2008
Harvest season is in full swing, although we are horrible procrastinators and tend to wait too long to get the majority of our produce out. We are still working on storage and saving systems, but in the meantime anyone is welcome to have some fresh, organic vegies.
I sent Cole out to the garden this afternoon to bring in some potatoes for dinner. The first row is our "unique" potatoes, the All Blue and All Red, so of course he went there! They look awesome all cut up and mixed together, and the taste is even better. Then he brought in some Atomic Red carrots. I'm on the fence about these - they really aren't that much different in taste or colour to warrant the unique status, but they're still kind of neat.
Gary tells me that the picture of the fractal cauliflower on the side isn't very good (daring isn't he!?) so here are a couple more:
Not only do they look cool, they taste pretty good too!
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September 7 2008
I'm back!
August was busy. Cold and wet for the most part, but with some lovely bursts of real summer in between to make us all regret the cold rainy parts. The garden had some highlights - the brassica section, in particular the broccoli and cauliflower, did great! The potatoes and carrots are prolific. The lettuce lasted most of the summer without bolting - surely a record around here! I even have two artichokes. But the peas were sadly lacking with only one real pick and two freezer bags full. We will definately not be eating garden peas for the next year. The squash and pumpkins did not do well. Every time we had a pollinated female, it was too wet for them to grow! So I highly doubt that my year will be any better than Gary's...so I will have to stop bugging him. That will never do! Do you think he will notice if I bring in some store bought ones?
September and the new school year has started out very well. Cole loves his teacher - Mr Bennison - and is in a grade 2/3 split. Unfortunately, none of his buddies are in the class with him but I think academically that will work in his favour. Emma started Kindergarten - with Mrs Bennison - with hopefully no real lasting problems. There were a few hiccups with the handicap bathroom not being prepared for her and playground equipment not being accessible after all, and therapy is still up in the air, but over all the first week of school was satisfactory. Her worker, Uli, is a very sweet, gentle lady that Em is quite happy to play with. Right now Emma is going half days but within the next couple of weeks she will be going all day every day. It will be interesting to see how that works!
On to a few pictures!
My favourite lily. For this year anyway!
The first apple off of our trees. It had great flavour, we can't wait until the trees and fruit are full grown!
This is our final broccoli and cauliflower harvest. I froze 4 large bags full of broccoli last night and am doing the cauliflower today. In total we have three heads of each type of cauliflower: regular white "Snowball", purple "Confetti", orange "Cheddar" (not shown, it was already cut up when I took this picture) and fractal cauliflower "Veronica". All of these were grown right from seed by us, so I am especially proud of them!
I'm sure I will think of more things to add later, but for now this is good bye. Thank you so much to everyone who either wrote or sent messages telling me to get off of my duff! Take care and enjoy this beautiful fall weather while it lasts!
Oh and be sure to check out the new pics on the side as well!
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July 29 2008
We had so many volunteer potato plants this year that invariably some were left to grow to full maturity. Seriously, we found spud sprouts beside the pea beds 30 feet away! So the other night I decided to pull the biggest volunteer to make baby potatoes for dinner. There is truly nothing like the sweet, buttery taste of just picked baby spuds; I was in heaven. I have also pollinated about a dozen different pumpkins and squash, so hopefully they will take.
The garden is doing well, enjoying the nice, deep watering the constant rain is bringing. Here's some of our vegies:
Green Cabbage up above, Swiss Chard Bright Lights on the left and a tiny little broccoli head on the right.
The kids and I went for a four wheeler ride yesterday to check on the Saskatoons: almost ready to pick! Gary and Chris are getting excited thinking about Saskatoon Pie, Saskatoon jam (I hear Berit has a great recipe, I'll have to ask her for it) and various other berry delights. I'm more excited because Saskatoon season means Huckleberry season is just around the corner! My sister Janette knows where a really good patch is, so I might have to find a babysitter and go picking with her.
Well, hope everyone had a good July and is ready for August!
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July 25 2008
Wow, end of July already! Hard to believe that the summer break is half over and school is just around the corner. I'm not ready for Emma to be in kindergarten yet! It has been a fairly uneventful summer so far. The weather has been far too cool for a lot of the crops, but the vegies that like the coolness are doing awesome. We had the best salad last night made up of red oak leaf lettuce, green lettuce, corn salad, endive, swiss chard (Bright Lights - a beautiful rainbow SC that tastes a little bit sweeter and less strong than the regular), beet tops, carrots, sugar snap peas, kohlrabi, green onion, celery and cucumbers all fresh picked from the garden. The potatoes are flowering, so soon we can start picking them too!
Some pics of the flowers:
Hmmm...Nicole wins on the sunflower front, but my nasturtiums rock!
This is a seed pod for Love in a Mist - a breed of Nigella. The plants are maybe 6 inches tall at this point but they are covered with these small blue flowers and funky pods. I grew these from seed that Mom and Janette found me last year. Unfortunately they are an annual, so I'm going to try and save some seeds and grow them next year too.
Cosmos - one of Gary's favourites, they are really just starting to bloom, a little late this year. The only problem I find with them is that they are constantly needing to be deadheaded.
That's it for now, take care!
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July 11 2008
Yesterday we got the garden completely weeded!! For the most part everything is doing well. Unfortunately some things - the bush beans and parsnips for example - had poor germination where less than a quarter of the seeds planted came up. Oh well, that's what next year is for! Last year we planted Strawberry Spinach, an odd little plant that has slightly bitter (but very nutritious) greens and sprays of "berries." These berries are fairly flavourless, but simply burst in your mouth. I didn't start any this year, mostly because I didn't think we had the room, but Berit assured me that I would find thousands of them in the garden anyways. Sure enough, as I was weeding I kept coming across them so finally I decided to keep some. Free plants are always a nice surprise!
The rest of the yard is looking good, benefitting from the addition of a whippersnipper and proper lawnmower to our arsenal. The flower beds look great, most things are blooming beautifully and I'm already planning what new plants I want! A little bit of plant thievery is in order - there is a big beautiful oriental poppy in an abandoned lot on the way into town. I want it. Or even just a chunk, I'm not greedy!
This past weekend, Gary got the chicken tractor up and running. No, this isn't a torture device for bad birdies. It's their summer (movable) coop that is as close to freerange as they are ever going to get. So far they really like it and all are still alive three days later...I guess it's a success! And I'm pretty sure they have recovered from the trauma of Gary scooping them up in a fishing net to move them. Meanwhile, their old coop is going to be torn down and a new one is half done. This new coop will support a lot more chickens, so we are looking into getting some dual purpose birds in the spring.
I have started adding random (mostly plant) pictures to the column on the left so be sure to check them out!
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July 4 2008
We are finally getting some actual summer weather with the mercury topping 35 Celsius several days in a row. For those of you who have ever lived in a trailer you know that that translates to about oh....35 C inside as well! The good news about the hot weather is our garden is finally showing some life. The hazelnut tree has even finally sprouted a few leafs - so not a total dud after all.
Gary has started on both a new chicken house and a chicken tractor ( a small moveable coop for the chickens to live in in the summer). Hard to believe the chickens are 2 years old! And that their current coop has lasted that long...
Summer holidays for Cole means he can spend countless hours on his bike, practising exciting new techniques like one hand, no hand and his newest: the jump. Remember those days? Back before you really worried about broken bones and embedded rocks? Oh to be young...
Emma is slowly getting better at her wheelchair. She only lasts about twenty minutes before she gets tired of it, and I refuse to let her run it in the hottest part of the day so it'll be a while before she gets to be an expert. Meanwhile she wants to live in the water! Either the pool or the lake, she doesn't really care. She even went in the river by Tchilcoh Falls (thanks Berit, for the spelling correction!) the other day and would have stayed there too if Cole hadn't come up with leeches on his feet!
As for me, I've been busy doing senior portraits - Gary's cousin, an absolutely gorgeous girl - and am going to be doing Hannah and Casey's engagement pictures, too. And of course with the kids off of school, my days are just plain full.
To round out this post, here's some flower pics:
Lilies
Bleeding heart
Allium
Hens and Chicks just starting to bloom
Schizanthus
Enjoy and happy Independence Day USA!
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June 26 2008
Today is the last day of school for Cole. He was so excited but I'm not sure if it was because he is off for the summer or the prospect of being in grade 2 next year. Emma graduated from preschool on monday. She was adorable up there - so happy to have such a large audience, and when she was handed her diploma she just lit right up. It was actually more emotional than I thought it would be. She got to do her own poem, with the aid of her techtalk and Hannah. A lovely little girl named Aquinnah was her voice, and she only hit the wrong button once...I'm not so sure it wasn't on purpose though. She really liked the one line!
The garden is doing all right. The weather has not been cooperating, staying very cool and rainy, so only the brassicas are actually growing very much. I don't mind - usually the cauliflower and broccoli I start from seed are replaced by store bought starters by now! The biggest surprise has probably been the apple trees. Three of them are blooming right now, and while I don't expect fruit this year, it is still nice to see. Unfortunately a moose or deer has been nibbling on the bottom two. Damn critters! Hopefully they surivive. Any tips on how to make the apple leaves look less attractive?
In other news, Emma got the power wheelchair on loan from PG SurgMed on tuesday! It was a little tricky to unload (Cole repeatedly told me that "this was not a good idea"!) but oh so worth it when she was sat in it and started zooming around. She has backwards down pat, loves to do circles, and when she really wants to go somewhere she's gone! Mommy was mean and wouldn't let her take off down the driveway, and Cole figured he should be able to run the power part for her, but other than that Em says it rocked.
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June 17 2008
Weeds. Blah. I have not been home a lot lately, and my garden is trying very hard to revert back to the weedy patch it was several years ago when we first tilled it up. It's astounding how quickly those little buggers grow; chick weed, dandelions and the dreaded Canadian Thistle thrive in the dirt that is supposed to be nourishing my vegies! As I walked the paths this morning, I cursed and plotted...and then came in and had a coffee... The weather is truly perfect to get out there and weed: it has been raining quite a bit so the ground will be nice and soft for the roots to easily pull out, there's a slight wind so the bugs will stay down, and it's neither too hot nor too cold. The problem is that there is so much else to do! Yesterday Emma's physical therapist was here. She's doing great, getting stronger at pretty much everything, but it definately feels like her Botox is completely gone all ready. We had been hoping for it to last a bit longer. Today we went to the school to meet with the lady who will be working with Emma in kindergarten - sadly not Hannah, but we haven't given up hope yet! Still she seems very nice and quite eager to work with Em.
Cole got to go fishing with Gary for Father's Day. It was his first time and he loved it! He only got a few nibbles but not catching any fish didn't stop him from declaring that he had had the best time ever. Maybe next time he can catch dinner!
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June 5 2008
Introducing Mr Tumnus!! Cole's school had a literary parade today where they had to pick a character from a book and make a costume and Cole picked the faun from the Chronicles of Narnia. Very cute!
I came home the other day to this:
and if for some reason you don't see anymore from me on here it's because Gary buried me in the backyard for posting that pic!
And I only put yellow flowers up today...
Double daffodil
Salpiglosis aka Painted Tongue
Narcissus
Monkey flower
Not much of a post today but some pretty pics for you to enjoy!
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June 3 2008
Well the garden is all in, the peas are up and the greenhouse is looking fantastic! We somehow managed to squish all 18 varieties of squash, gourds and pumpkins into their end of the garden. Most of them have two plants per variety since I like to have more than one for pollination purposes. The last thing (hopefully) was bush beans, planted by me and Emma today. There are going to be a few plants popping up in interesting places, but Emma had a blast out there helping mommy!
The rhubarb is in dire need of picking, so I'm going to dust off some recipe books and bake up some pies, cakes and tarts.
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May 29 2008
Have I mentioned that I was putting in a new perennial bed? It all started when Gary decided he had to have some lovely Bee Balm - Monarda - and ordered a collection of three. My Gramma had given us a white lilac that has struggled through several years without a true home, so it was going to go in there as well, and the Chinese Lanterns, maybe some bulbs...not a huge amount, but a nice, colourful addition to the yard nonetheless. That plan changed pretty quickly! Berit offered to divide her perennials for us and I came away with three boxes full of plants, Janette helped me pick out some lovely Delphiniums and Sweet William (among other things) on our trips to the greenhouses, Rick and Sandi are selling their house, so we are liberating some lilacs from them....it's now a huge bed. The funny thing, though, is that those lovely Bee Balm Gary just had to have? Yeah, I kind of forgot to plant them.... Oops.
Here are some pictures to catch you up on the changes in the yard:
First weekend in May that was actually nice enough to be outside.
Cole learning how to drive the digger...nothing's safe now!
Our first apple tree in...it's now budded out and looks a little more impressive! It's dwarf cousin actually has a couple of lovely pink blooms on it. That was a nice surprise last night!
Tumbler Tomatoes on their new pully system. They're hanging over my 13 melon plants, so it had better work!
Nanking cherries...an impulse buy at Maxines that had Gary scratching his head and wondering why we needed yet another cherry.
The tulips in the front bed and the front bed as it looked this morning. We have narcissus and tulips, a few daffodils, some annuals, grape hyacinth and almost some lillies blooming. Gary and Chris brought in a load of crush for the walkway this past weekend, so it is almost officially a completed project!
Now that I've finally posted some new pictures, I had better get back outside and try to figure out how to squish everything into my garden. I found a female flower on a Turks Turban last night...time to get them in!
Take care,
Shawna
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May 27 2008
Well the greenhouse is up and the garden is tilled! We finished the plastic on the greenhouse last night at about 10:30...well, I watched while Gary did most of it! There are a few finishing touches that need done, edges that need taped, that sort of thing, but it should be planted by tonight. I am so excited to get everything in finally!
Meanwhile the plants covering my kitchen table and invading my bedroom are telling me it's time to get planted - they are covered in flowers and they've sent out their vines to curl and tangle with each other, both great signs but clearly indicative that they need new homes!! Anyone want to adopt a cucurbit?
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May 19 2008
Wow it's been a while! Time seems to be moving quicker now that the snow is gone, leaving nothing but work in it's place. OK, not nothing - the flowers in my front garden are up (or coming soon), the trees are that sublime shade of green that only lasts for a few days in the newness of spring, the weather is beautiful and we get to spend hours upon hours outside enjoying it. The work...well it was to be expected really. We got the garden cleared, lifting over two hundred pounds of potatoes - three quarters of which were rotten, big surprise! - and the planting...we did order a lot didn't we... The good news is we started our orchard yesterday. Seven apples and one hazelnut now reside down by the bent birch in the gully, looking fabulous and somewhat small although the largest of them is over four feet tall. My cherry trees are also in, but they are currently budding out gracefully in my very crowded living room.
It looks like Emma will be getting the use of a power wheelchair for the summer, which is exciting and scary! She loves to zoom right up to - and sometimes into - things just to touch them. Watching her is amazing; the fact that she can move herself quickly to where she wants to go and do things on her own is indescribable. It is going to be an interesting summer with her and her wheels and Cole and his faithful bike!
I shall try to post some pictures tomorrow of the yard and kids. Also on the agenda for tomorrow morning is pea planting! We are only doing four types this year. Hopefully the harvest doesn't suffer too much from it: we are still eating last years peas!
Take care!
Shawna
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April 1 2008
Woohoo it's April! The month we start most of our seeds - the last two orders should be in today or tomorrow - and lose most of our living room to the Grow Op! Some years, we can't walk in here. The salad bowl I planted is doing well - the lettuce can start having minimal cuttings, the radishes are forming, the carrots have some good leaves...I think the most detrimental factor has been that there hasn't been as much sunlight as they need to grow faster. Yesterday Cole, Emma and I transplanted 14 Globe Artichokes into bigger containers (note the half naked boy in the picture. Summer must be coming, because he can't seem to keep pants on!).
Last week, Mary Ann and I took the kids out to the Stark's acreage to meet the horses we will be riding. It was love at first sight for Emma and she wanted to stay on that horse forever...despite the fact that there was a mishap - one of the horses thought Emma had a treat curled in her fingers, so he tried to get it from her...he let go as soon as he realized she didn't and I have never seen a horse look so sorry. Poor Twister just hung his head and looked woebegone at Little Miss. Cole took a couple of laps with us and figures horses are all right...just a little scary to stand beside! We hope to go riding at least once a week. It's such wonderful therapy for Emma, and we appreciate the Stark's letting us borrow their horses! And next time I won't forget my camera.
Well, Happy April Fools!
Shawna
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March 25 2008
So I split one of our small Spaghetti Squash in half last night and inside I found...a ton of sprouted seeds! I had planned to make the squash for dinner, but it was actually a little under ripe and didn't want to cook very well. It was kind of neat though, to see those seeds trying so hard to get out, makes me wonder what is in those other two!
It is Spring Break up here, and I think Cole is already starting to get Cabin Fever. Poor Emma only got to go to preschool one day in March, so she really wants to get out, too. Tomorrow we are going to meet some horses that we are going to start riding, so that should help!
The seeds are all doing well, with a huge rate of germination. I'm not sure where we're going to plant everything! I have homes for a few of the peppers and artichokes, and can always throw some Chinese Lanterns over at Moms. Anyone else want some? Please?
Take care, enjoy the sun while it's here!!
Shawna
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March 11 2008
The seeds are sprouting! The seeds are sprouting! We have several Chinese Lanterns, lots of Globe Artichoke (I may have overplanted these), radish and lettuce sprouts and I think I saw a few carrots this morning as well. Those ---> are radishes just emerging a few days ago.
This has been the sickest household in FSJ lately. Emma has missed 4 days of preschool and is currently a snotty, coughing mess - but at least her temperature is down this morning - and Cole missed school yesterday and this morning. I think I'm taking him in this afternoon, though. He still has a cough but he is driving me crazy bouncing around the house like a chimpanzee. And I think Emma wants Mommy to herself. Of course, with two sick kids it was only a matter of time before it hit me.
Here's another shot of my forced bulbs that is getting us through these nasty last days of winter:
Have a good one everybody!
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March 3 2008
In like a lion...out like a lamb? I hope so because the lion is roaring this morning! It snowed all night (Emma and I were up all night since she couldn't breathe, so I can personally vouch for this), and not dry, light snow either. Wet, heavy, you ain't going anywhere snow. Emma was finally sleeping fairly deeply at about 8 so I called her in sick to school, and Cole is having a snow day since I couldn't leave Emma to take him to school. I don't think he minds.
Yesterday I planted Baby Spike carrots, Easter Egg radishes and a lettuce mix in a small planter to see if we could get a bit of a garden salad going to tide us over until the snow is gone. Hmm..did we tempt the fates a bit?
Hopefully the weather breaks soon!
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March 2 2008
We got our first batch of seeds in on friday - a huge order from T&T Seeds that I am surprised didn't come with a Thank You card for buying so much! As always I am impressed with the speed they sent the package: ten business days. So yesterday Gary and I went through all of our seeds (including the ones that we haven't ordered yet) and planned the garden. It took most of the day of wrangling and arguing over where the best place for everything was, the space needed, etc, but I think we did it! Until I find something else we absolutely must have and need to squish into the plot. Not that I've done that more then once..maybe twice...a year...!
We have been reading a lot about four season gardening and root cellaring, and while I still don't think we can have cold frames working for us all winter long, I do think there may be ways to grow salads in the middle of winter (imagine a fresh garden salad at Christmas Dinner!). And the root cellaring book just cements that we need one to get the most use out of everything we grow. Of course, everything takes time and money.
I love the beginning of garden season, which is probably why it creeps in earlier and earlier each year!
Happy March!
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February 27 2008
A taste of spring for all of you!
Want another? OK.
Lovely forced crocus bulbs I bought at Art Knapp's last week. They are just perfect to block the view of the snow falling outside!
As most of you know, last Friday was my 28th birthday (that's right - I officially can't call Gary "old" for another 8 months!). Gary's present to me was a computer chair that doesn't hurt my back and isn't falling apart. It came in a giant box which became my real birthday present - a kid jail/babysitter/club house for the kids! It really proves the old story that the best toy for kids is a big ol' box!
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February 21, 2008
Well, so much for New Year's Resolutions! Let's try this again.
With any luck spring is truly on it's way. We have ordered most of our seeds - plus apple trees, a hazelnut tree, and some flowers. And for my Christmas present, Rick's gift certificate bought me 2 Russian Haskap Honeysuckles, 4 Cherry trees, 2 Highbush Blueberries, and 2 Highbush Cranberries. Fabulous present, thanks again Rick!! We even started some seeds and have our first sprouts up today! Yeah! Gary planted OC Cross Cabbage (the very same first sprouts) and Giant Spanish Onions just three days ago, and I started Chinese Lanterns. I tried them last year but they didn't go so here's round two! Apparently they take up to a month to germinate so I probably gave up on them too early last year. Gee, you learn a lot by reading the back of the package, right dear?!
The kids are doing great, but Cole has major cabin fever. Poor thing has his bike out as often as he can. It's kind of funny to see: snowsuit: check; hat: check; gloves: check; bike dug out of the snow bank: check. Speaking of bikes, our new physical therapist wants us to get a hold of Variety to see about getting Emma a special bike so that could be interesting! We'll know more about that in May.
That lovely owl that slept in our tree even came back for a visit one night. We could see him trying to figure out a way to get into the chicken coop but he finally gave up and found an easier meal. I don't mind him keeping the mouse population down, but our chickens are off limits!
Hope everyone is having a good February!
Take care!
Shawna
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January 24 2008
So...anyone grow sweet potatoes? Every year I ask people around us if they would like anything in particular grown - a favourite from last year or a new vegetable that I haven't tried yet. My sister called yesterday with her request: sweet potatoes. For those of you that don't know, sweet potatoes are a warm weather crop, needing a long, hot summer to really produce, commonly found in the southern United States. So our short, coolish summers...hmmm. There are now new, short season cultivars that only need between 95 and 100 frost free days, but finding them is fairly hard and costly to get the slips sent up to us in the frozen north! I have found one place in Nova Scotia which looks promising, called Mapple Farms (no, that's not a spelling mistake), but with any luck I'll find some closer to home.
Of course, the fact that it would be hard to get them to thrive in zone 1 and are not usually found in these extremes only makes me more interested in trying them. I would be the first to admit that if someone tells me I can't grow something I just try harder, find a way to adapt it...get Gary to build a bigger greenhouse... Hey wait - I do need a new green house! This might work.
Hope everyone is surviving this cold spell! And hey, if any one has some advice, feel free to share!
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January 19 2008
Yesterday the greenhouse roof collapsed. Again. Second year in a row. Yup, I think we need to rethink our winterizing (or rather lack thereof!) of important out buildings. Gary had been planning for months - say since October - to go in and cut the plastic, and it just never got done. Then the snow came. Actually it lasted longer than I thought it would!
Add new greenhouse to the list of spring projects.
Cole and I sat down yesterday and did up a preliminary sketch of his section of the garden:
Subject to change of course. The arrows are pathways, seperating each of his crops. His garden is 6 feet by 4 feet.
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January 15 2008
Another cold, sunny beautiful January day! It's 9 am and the sun is just peeping over Mount Dickenson, staining the skies a light rose and buttery yellow...although really the sun doesn't get too high in the sky this time of year. The air outside is cold enough to burn your lungs but not so cold that you can't be outside for a little while, however I think coming in, having a nice cup of coffee and a cinnamon bun is always a good alternative!
Of course, today is special for another reason. Today our little girl, Miss Emma Rose, turns 5. 5! Surely it hasn't been that long since our sweet baby came into the world? But it has, and she is. She's getting so big - half my height! - and doing so much. She's eating normal food. She's army crawling and so close to being up on all fours. She's doing well in her walker and loves preschool. *sigh* She is growing up.
So happy birthday baby! We love you!
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January 9 2008
Well, Garden Porn season is in full swing and the negotiations have begun! Gary is pretty adamant that he wants to try a bunch of new pepper varieties from seed and I am thinking we need to go more practical this year. In other words, if we won't use it, we don't plant it. I'll keep you updated on our choices for the season!
Cole is going to be planting his own section this year - nothing big, just a 4X4 plot at the end of one of my rows - and the first thing he asked to plant were Brussel Sprouts! I won't buy the ones in Overwaitea for him because let's face it: they don't taste anything like the ones we had last year in the garden. He also wants carrots, peas, snapdragons and marigolds, and I'm pretty sure the list will grow fast! We will teach him about spacing and care for his plants, but otherwise it's his section to care for. The other thing Cole has discovered is Gary's book for identifying mammals in Western North America. Ever since we had the Owl in our yard, he has pored over that book asking what each drawing is and where they live, what they eat, do, etc.
Time to go get Emma from preschool! She was so excited to go back to school on Monday, to see all of her friends and most especially Hannah.
Take care everyone! Shawna
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January 4 2008
See this sweet, innocent, precious little baby boy?
I wonder what happened?!
Happy 7th birthday Cole!
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January 2 2008
Well lookie there - two posts in a row!!
I woke up this morning to the sound of Cole being sick...not the nicest thing to wake up to, but I'm sure he was thinking the same thing. He had been up for a while, though, and had even taken Emma out of bed (she's getting heavy so that's no mean feat there!) and was carrying her out to the living room when his stomach went blech. Luckily he gently put Emma down so no head contusions, but the poor guy is now wrapped in a fuzzy blanket on the couch with a bucket.
I had even kind of planned this post! You see, my darling man bought me an awesome Christmas present: a Nikon d40x. I had figured that I was years from getting a digital SLR, so it was quite a teary surprise to open that! I have taken a plethora of pictures since then, learning the ins and outs of my new baby. Last Saturday we had the bluest skies I have ever seen and a visitor in our front yard that didn't mind posing for us; how often do you get to see a Great Horned Owl up close? He/she was gorgeous and not just a little eerie as it tracked us walking inside and out...imagine walking down the hallway, looking out the window and not 50 feet away a big bird is staring at you...creepy. But mostly he/she just slept in the sun for at least 6 hours before swooping away.
In garden related news, we have ripening! The Italian Pumpkin and one of the three remaining Spaghetti Squash are finally ripe! They are turning, respectively, a lovely deep orange and vivid golden. They had been picked at the beginning of September, so that's not too bad for storage! Especially since they just sit on my kitchen counter.
Well, it's 8 am, and I already have laundry on. Bedding needs washed today, not my favourite thing to wrestle. Hopefully Cole's feeling better, and Emma and I don't get it.
Take care and have a nice day!
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January 1 2008
Happy New Year everyone!!
Well 2007 was certainly a non productive year after all. There was so much that didn't get done this fall and that we will have to now do in the spring; pull three types of carrots and a hell of a lot of potatoes, kale, swiss chard and brussel sprouts, too. At least with the carrots we will still have an edible crop! There is something just a little bit strange and sweet about picking carrots in the spring when you live this far north. It's a fine balance where your only hope is that the frost didn't set into the ground before the snow hit or all you will find is a sticky, mushy mess in the cold clay.
We also have huge dreams and plans for this spring. With my gift certificate from T&T Seeds (thanks again Rick!) I plan to pick up a lot of fruits that otherwise would have had to wait...Russian Haskapp Honeysuckle, Rose Cherry, Golden Raspberries...I swear I dream about the decadent, succulent fruit we will have growing right outside the bedroom window. Gary and I also started planning and plotting the beginnings of our orchard. What grand delusions do we have? This far north it seems a little preposturous to say we want an orchard, but we have found, again through T&T Seeds, 7 apple cultivars, a plum, a hazelnut and hopefully more to come that are designed for the colder zones 2 and 3. So if anyone wants to come dig holes for us, we'll share the bounty when it comes in!
My New Year's resolution is to post more often - at least several times a week. Welcome 2008...and hopefully this year beings us all joy, health and happiness!
