Little Things

February 28, 2016 Elizabeth Boegel

Spring is the season for little things. Unlike summer, there's no tall, golden corn plants to catch the eye; no bushy, fragrant tomato vines to brush up against. You have to search for the beauty: the special things are hidden.

Manzanita. Can you find the tiny, winged creature?

I love taking the time to walk around both my yard, and the open spaces around us, with an eye for tiny treasures. The fruit trees are gorgeous and showy, but everyone sees those. What can you find when you search for the hidden things?

Different Every Day

February 26, 2016 Elizabeth Boegel

Work and other activities have kept us extraordinarily busy lately, but one of my greatest pleasures is a daily walk through the garden at about 4:30 pm. It's still warm and sunny, and I can see everything that has changed during the day. And every day, there is something new to look at.

We're still hoping for a very rainy March (a miracle, in other words) as El Nino definitely hasn't impacted us the way we were hoping.

As I've said before, I've had to work at adjusting my attitude where the lack of rain is concerned. I'm just trying to enjoy this warm, sunny Spring, without thinking about the hot Summer that will soon arrive. Green hills and abundant growth are a fleeting thing here in dry California, so it makes sense to just soak it in while it lasts.

It's hard not to be delighted by all the changes I see in the garden each day. Yesterday, I surprised a lizard, sunning itself on the unused plant marker bricks I have laid by the train shed. I spied a cedar waxwing just next door, eating privet berries.

The first true leaves of a cherry tomato

On my walks, which have been unfortunately quite brief, it's fun to see the wildflowers blooming; mustard, poppies, buttercups, hairy vetch.

We're enjoying eating fresh greens every day, either in morning scrambles or as a side for dinner. Salad turnips have been abundant, and we eat them sliced and raw like radish. The chickens get daily greens that are already going to seed and sending up bright yellow flowers.

Soon we'll be eating peas and carrots and broccoli.

Every night, we leave a window or two open to let in fresh air. It's been in the high 40's every evening and the low 70's every day. As soon as nighttime temps reach about 55 degrees consistently, it'll be time to think about planting summer crops.

It Must be Spring

February 23, 2016 Elizabeth Boegel

"sweet spring is your
time is my time is our
time for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love...

... (such a sky and such a sun
i never knew and neither did you
and everybody never breathed
quite so many kinds of yes)...

... not a tree can count his leaves
each herself by opening
but shining who by thousands mean
only one amazing thing...

... sweet spring is your
time is my time is our
time for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love"

e.e. cummings

Some Firsts

February 22, 2016 Elizabeth Boegel

Here are the first blossoms of the plum tree we planted just last spring.

This is the first shoot of asparagus this spring (we ate it raw, shortly after taking this picture). We're excited because we planted this asparagus bed three years ago, and now we finally get to eat what comes up. We're hoping for lots and lots more.

This is the first time I've ever potted up tomato seedlings that I started from seed. I was surprised how long the roots were.

And this morning we had the first taste of Tom's home-cured bacon. I don't have a picture (because we scarfed it down so quickly!) but it was delicious.

Morning in the Garden

February 21, 2016 Elizabeth Boegel

We've had a busy week, as our daughter Kate performed in "Guys and Dolls," and all our free time has been taken up with volunteering backstage, and of course watching the show. Tom managed to get a few things done yesterday. We traded some hard cider and eggs with Ruby Blume of the Institute of Urban Homesteading for some of her freshly-dug 'Cascade' hops. Tom got those settled in to one of the new planters. He'll order three more kinds of hops from Freshops, in early March, for the other three planters. Hopefully we'll get the hop trellis built today. Tom also obtained a smoker from some dear friends (thanks Jo and Bob!) and so he's getting ready to smoke some bacon.

The only project I got to yesterday was using my ginger bug to make some homemade fermented ginger lemonade. I didn't even get to bread baking. My plan for today, other than boring things like house-cleaning, is to get the seedlings potted up. I'd like to thin the beets and carrots, and add more hay to the potato bed (I'm trying an experiment, using hay for 'hilling,' rather than dirt).

Meanwhile, I thought you'd like to see some pictures of the garden, since I have little else to share. Our recent hot spell, combined with a good soaking rain, provided the plants with the impetus they needed to really get growing. It's fun to walk around just after sunrise and see what's happening. The birds are busy, the bees are just starting to get warmed up, and the dew (or maybe it's melted light frost, as we've had cold nights lately) sparkles on the leaves. Enjoy!

All the fruit trees are fixing to blossom. This is the peach tree.

I often forget what seeds I've scattered. This is coming up all over the North Pollinator garden; can't wait to see what it is!

A squirrel strikes again! I pulled out this oak seedling as soon as I took the picture, as it was in my vegetable beds. Pretty, though.

Broccoli. It's hard to wait for this; fresh broccoli tastes so much better than from the store. — Broccoli. It's hard to wait for this; fresh broccoli tastes so much better than from the store.

Not sure what this is - some sort of variety of braising green - sure is pretty.

We are busy again this week, as Adam has his "Odyssey of the Mind" competition next Saturday, so once again the garden, and outdoor projects in general, will have to take a back seat. Which turns out to be ok, because the next project is filling the new raised beds with dirt, and planting some perennial veg, a fruit tree or two, and some herbs, and all of that is expensive. I don't often talk about the money side of things, but we have to carefully budget for our outdoor projects. February's earmarked funds have been spent. So we'd have to wait until March for this next step, anyway.

I imagine that all my mid-west and east-coast readers are contemplating starting their seeds indoors, about now. Here's hoping some of our sunshine comes your way! (and how often I've wished some of your rain and snow could come ours...)