daffodil from the yard
Took this shot yesterday evening — have I mentioned how much I love daylight savings? These beauties are out by our mailbox and between the light at that time of day and the color of these flowers, they look kind of unreal. We also have yellow daffodils, both small and large. I don’t know what types they are.
Mr. Wolf and I did a quick inventory while we carpooled to work this morning. Here’s what we have planted so far:
- 3 blueberry bushes (plan to get at least 3 more)
- 1 peach tree
- 2 cherry trees
- 1 fig tree
- several strawberry plants
- 3 grapevines (table grapes)
Additionally, I have garlic and onions waiting to be planted. In the front bed, we have rosemary, thyme and sage… I hope they survived the frost. Haven’t checked. I’m sure the rosemary did, but I wonder about the others. Oh, and we of course have the hazelnut trees which, well, we’ll try again. Dratted birds. We also have the ever prevalent blackberry bushes that just grow and grow and grow. And groooowwwww.
Today, with any luck, we’ll pick up the chickens. Last week, the farm store had sold out by the time we got over there after work!
For the rest of the garden this summer, I think we’re going to go for some pole beans, tomatoes (urg), a few kinds of hot peppers, lettuce and… hm… can’t think of what else yet. Oh! Carrots! Lurve carrots.
Now, it’s 28 degrees outside, so someone please send me some slightly warmer temps, kthx.
I raked the driveway today. Not sure if the maple tree is ours or the neighbors, but we got a fair share of the fallen leaves & are going to use them as mulch in the garden.
Behold, our first hazelnut harvest:
Hard-won spoils from our battle with the blue jays and at least one squirrel. There’s one jay that likes to fly overhead as we leave for work and point and laugh.
“That jay is mocking us. It knows we’re leaving for the day!”
Yeah, well, I just roasted my first batch of hazelnuts, so… suck it, birdie!
Of course, like most things involving me, food, an oven, and a hot pan, I’m not sure how these actually turned out. They smell divine, but they seem soft and oh my stars will you look at this! Oh, ho ho ho, I am SO making THAT someday soon.
Where was I? Oh yes, what I did wrong… probably did not roast them long enough or let them steam in the towel long enough. Next batch, I’ll try to fix that.
This house we moved to is out in the sticks, but not actually. It’s, like, fake-rural. We live right off a relatively busy highway, but we have a little under half an acre and it’s a dead-end street with not too many houses. The bugs like it here. We have wasps building nests way up on the gable where we can’t reach them. Bastards. Last night a spider the size of a dinner plate ran under the dryer in the basement. Bastard. I told my husband there’s a reason I don’t do laundry… We also have plenty of flies, mosquitoes and I don’t even want to know what else right now. I’m kind of freaking myself out.
*cries a little*
Anyway, as I write this, I’m hanging out on the front porch with the wasps and a couple of spiders. We are so cozy. I can’t wait to hang out here on a warm, rainy day.
I plan to paint those chairs a glossy cobalt blue. Was going to do red, but then realized they’d clash with the porch. Wait! Don’t look at the porch. It’s all chipped and scuffed. For that matter, don’t look at the siding on the house, either.
Look! It’s an herb garden!
Yesterday, we tore out all the neglected and dead things that were not!growing in this little area and replaced them with some sort of fancy rosemary from Italy, some lavender plants from the sale rack, some thyme and some sage. And some flowering perennial thing. Can’t you tell what a good gardener I am?
The neighbors are very interested in our gardeing efforts. Pretty much everyone has stopped by to check on our progress. One lady who has lived on this street for 37 years just came by to tell us how pristine this street used to be. But, uh, no pressure. Just, you know, hurry up and FIX IT. (Okay, not really, they are very nice and have offered the use of garden tools. So we’ll FIX IT ALREADY.)
Seed-saving update: Some well-meaning soul threw away my jalapeño seeds. I’m looking in Mr. Wolf’s direction (!hi honey!), but we had lots of people over on Labor Day for a BBQ and it could have been anyone who was helping us clean up. My fault for not labeling them. My fingers are no longer burning… THE BURNING!… so maybe I’ll try again.
What. They were hot this time and there were like a thousand of them. Or thirty.
Armed with information from the International Seed Saving Institute, I have attempted to save some seeds. Only time will tell if I have had any success with the cantaloupe (it’s actually muskmelon, I guess) and the jalapeños. Once I get the seeds in the ground next year, we’ll just have to [...]
Armed with information from the International Seed Saving Institute, I have attempted to save some seeds. Only time will tell if I have had any success with the cantaloupe (it’s actually muskmelon, I guess) and the jalapeños. Once I get the seeds in the ground next year, we’ll just have to wait and see if anything sprouts. My finger tips are still in a bit of misery over the jalapeños, so it better work!
I can say with certainty, though, that my heirloom tomato seeds = FAIL. The process for tomato seeds is pretty fascinating, if a bit squicky, and in re-reading that now, I see I did a couple of things wrong. My cover wasn’t loose, and I didn’t stir. And I may have added too much water.
Dealing with that tomato just grossed me out. I mean… look at it. But I will try again because my husband loves tomatoes and this way he can’t say I never did anything for him. I’ll just say, I grew tomato fungus on my kitchen counter, dear.
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