What I've been up to...

I traded some peas and lettuce to get a yard guy to mow our lawns. They were so tall that there are now a few dry patches. We're hoping that, with love, those go away!


The pergola is nearing completion. I ran out of stain. SIGH! But that's all that's left to do: stain and screw. We've also been painting our patio set. Chair on the far right: not painted. The other two: sporting black paint. Loving it. We were out here last night with the fire pit. Please excuse our empty wine bottle.


The chickens are almost all introduced. There are three older hens left to go! I decided to give it a day or two break before introducing another one. There are four older red birds in here right now, the older barred rock, AND the 8 "babies." They're not really babies anymore... as they are all almost four months old.

And on to the tomatoes. I know. This looks like something from the old computer game Myst. But hey, I am NOT going to spend money on FIFTY-TWO tomato cages. Eventually, I'd like to make myself some nice tomato cages, but we don't know where our next home will be and what type of backyard it will have, so for now? I'm making my cages.
We had a LOT of dead laurel branches that my neighbor had taken down. I tied them in tripods and then added some wood. They seem to be doing quite nicely.

It may look a bit chaotic, but it WORKS. And this makes me happy. I need to clear the area of some weeds (the forever-tasking chore), but the tomato plants are still 52 for 52. One is looking a bit tired, but the rest are pretty darn great.

B is working on creating a nice rose garden. Each plant will be in a nice adobe pot, so that's easy to take with us. We had two roses on the deck, but they were just not getting the sun they needed. So, we've moved those two, and, so far, we've added one more. The one is called "honey dijon." LOVE IT. There's a smoky/dusky redish rose I'm trying to find, so that'd be a great next addition.

Meanwhile, back in the house, I managed to score a new table set off craigslist. It's a tall, pub-style table. It has four chairs, but, with our new set-up, we can store two in the one area. This is GREAT, because we can put our briefcases and other things ON the chairs. Fabulous to give things a home.
Here's the actual table. We're still mid-organizing, but it's already a LOT better than before. A LOT.

I'll have to take a photo of it, but I actually got around to moving the wine rack yesterday. When your wine rack holds 144 bottles and is half full, this is a chore. I moved everything, and then I sat down and LABELED everything too. I've organized it by white and red, as well as by the winery we belong to and all other wineries. I put the winery, year, and type on each bottle lid. I am very happy with the result. I also put all my empty bottles that I'm saving for my homemade wine in the bottom of the rack. Perfect! Now, I just need to make my malbec... Maybe next week. And, when our case of Syrah comes from Orfila in November, we'll be ready!

In other news... my sister is visiting... TOMORROW! eeek. Gotta fix things up. It's going to be a crazy weekend. Sister arrives, then there's a party with a friend, then there's breakfast on Saturday morning, followed by Art and the Vineyard, followed by BBQ on Sunday and Bobby McFerrin on Monday. Wow!

I need to clean the deck and finish the pergola for the BBQ, but I want to enjoy myself on Saturday, so those things need to get done, by, um. Tomorrow. Still, so exciting.

Bring on the fun

Man, oh man.

This weekend, there is Art and the Vineyard. http://www.artandthevineyard.org/ Also known as "The Pacific Northwest's Premiere Art and Wine Festival." We have been the last few years and we've dubbed it pretty much the best weekend of the summer.

And then, the following weekend? The Oregon Country Fair. Woodstock meets Oregon forests. Hundreds of arts vendors. Homemade food. Bands worthy of rockingoutness. Time to bring out the tie dye and handmade skirts. http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/

Heh.

Goin' old school

Last night, I made jam. I hate making jam. Ok, no, I love jam, and I love making things, but I hate how much gosh-darn sugar is in jam. I had 12 cups of raspberries. How much sugar does the recipe call for? 12 cups. Gag. Unfortunately, you need the sugar in order to get it to jell. Blast! I cut back a bit on the sugar still, and I used a packet of pectin. I need to boil it again some more, but here's hoping. Yes, I stopped halfway through. I was frustrated with how runny it was. :)

I've also been pondering putting up a clothes line. No underwear (refuse!) but oh, for sweet smelling shirts. Hmm. But it's a lot of work. But it smells nice.... but it's a lot of work. Hm.

I realize that by the two things above, I could easily sound like I'm 80. Whatever.

I'm up to four adult hens now living with the younger chicks in the big coop. I have four more adult hens to go. I've been adding one adult hen per night. So far, so good. There's an obvious pecking order, but not a super mean one. Unfortunately, the baby runt red hen is really teeny. I've still had to separate her. I'm thinking of perhaps posting her on craigslist for someone who wants a small chicken in their (fenced) yard. I feel bad, but she's just languishing. She's so tiny. I'd feel ok about posting on CL because no one would eat her. She's too tiny! Like quail-sized. It makes me sad, but she just needs a nice yard to run around in by herself, which we don't have.

I need to move around our furniture for the final push in the reorganization process. Sigh.

I also need to build trellises outside, as my beans are growing at the rate of over 1.5" a day.

I need to clean the laundry room of the chicken bins, as the two adult chickens have been moved into the coop and the room now smells like chicken. Bleh.

I just want to go sit in my hammock.

Happy note: Anniversary!

Yesterday, B and I celebrated our FIRST anniversary. It's been a year. Craziness.
In many ways, it feels like time has gone by in a blink of an eye. But then I think about all the changes over the past year, what we've done. What we've been through. What we've accomplished. When I think of that, I'm amazed it's been only year.

Makes me wonder what will happen by the second anniversary!

Happy anniversary B. I love you so much!

Remembering Kerry L.

That's my friend Kerry. There, on the far left-hand side (that's me on the far right). The photo doesn't do him justice. His hair was usually disheveled a bit, and he was tall and fit. Strapping. 27 years old, he just graduated with a JD and a masters in late May. He probably looked a bit glowy in this photo because he had just proposed to his fiance in the days prior. But that smile. That smile was always there. Kerry was known for his smile and his friendship.
This past Thursday, Kerry committed suicide.

I find myself searching for a why, though I realize that's fruitless at this point. It's done. Final.

Moreso, I just keep thinking about things. I'm not even sure what. The sadness of this has just remained in my head over the past day and a half. Occasionally, I replay a memory, but he's just been lingering in my mind. The sadness. The "what happened, Kerry?" The "where was the exuding happiness you were known for?" The "the world is a dimmer place without you in it."

I want to know if his happiness he exuded was a facade. I want to know if there was a constant deeper sadness. I want to know if someone broke his heart, or if he had a recent terminal diagnosis. I want to know what made this vibrant, one month short of being TWENTY-EIGHT year-old decide his seemingly-wonderful life wasn't livable. Why could he not find peace?

And even if I never know the answers, it breaks my heart to know that he couldn't find any answers either.

Oh Kerry.

So, I'm not sure what I feel. Do I wish his life was miserable and this was the final straw? Or do I wish for a horrible thing to have happened that sparked this? I don't know. And really, why do I want to know his reasonings? It's not going to change anything. He'll still be gone. Are these the types of questions people ask when dealing with suicide deaths?

What a loss. The world is much dimmer. He had such life.

The ridiculous woman with tomatoes up to her eyebrows

Yesterday, I did the dirty (work). I hauled the soil, which had been in unsightly piles on my driveway, into the backyard to this patch (see below). I'd already picked most of the weeds in the area, and the tall weeds are set to be weedwacked by my husband this weekend.


After hauling the dirt and making nice raised rows, I planted my tomatoes. I had purchased two (they were $1 each, I couldn't say no), but the rest were from seed.

While starting my tomatoes from seed is work in mid-spring, the benefits are reaped now. I have FIFTY-TWO TOMATO PLANTS.

Good Gosh. FIFTY-TWO. I mean, what was I supposed to do? Toss out the "extra" plants? Um, no, I don't think so. Especially in Oregon, when tomatoes sometimes are but sometimes are not prolific. And especially since they're being put in the ground in late June (may not have a great growing season).

But still. FIFTY-TWO. I could label each plant by an alphabetic letter, and I'd work through the alphabet TWICE. Insanity. (As a note, I kinda want to do that, just so I can have a plant labeled "ZZ."

A few were looking a bit droopy after transplanting yesterday, so, after hand-watering each plant well, I set the sprinkler out there to gently water for about an hour. I did it again for about 15 minutes this morning. When I let the dog out a few minutes later, I finally ventured over to see how the droopy plants were doing. Verdict? FIFTY-TWO alert, happy, growing tomato plants.

Part of me asks myself: What have I done?! But really, tomatoes, for me, epitomize summer. They say that the olfactory (your nose) memories are the strongest, and when it comes to tomatoes, I agree. There is NOTHING like the smell of a tomato plant and a fresh-picked tomato. It reminds me of summer. And of happiness.

Speaking of happiness, the blueberries are right behind the tomatoes. And look at those pops of blue!


Yesserrie, we have blueberries. It is very difficult to wait until they are 100% ripe. They taste pretty darn good with a teeny bit of green (the blue ones in this photo are about 3 days away from "ripe" picking, but they taste yummy now too).

And, I'm also pleased to report that ALL OF MY OTHER SEEDS are sprouting. Every type of plant I planted has at least 70% of the seeds coming up.

My yin yang beans are slowing coming up (they were slow to arrive, for some reason). They are on the left side of the box, below.


In the middle of the box, there are my sunburst squash. With vines for beans going up and over each side of the box, I have room for squash down the center of the box.


And, on the far right side of the box, there are my green, yellow, and purple pole beans!

On the right side of this box, my triofono violetto beans (purple pole beans) are poking up.


And my eggplants are doing well also! They're the bottom two plants here.

I have also added to my pepper pack. There are three gypsy peppers, one chocolate bell pepper, and one Anaheim chili plant.


I decided to break down a while back and I bought two pumpkin plants, good for baking and making into pie filling (or any other cooking pumpkin recipes). I say "broke down" because we have a place where we can buy this type of pumpkin for 25-50 cents apiece. But, I'm planning on the peas not being around for too much longer, which means I can train the pumpkin vines to go into where the peas are. Might as well use the space, right? I may end up getting one more plant, for that purpose. Either a butternut or another pumpkin.


My cucumbers are almost complete. I need 2-3 more plants, preferably lemon cucumbers. I need to also see if it's possible to freeze tzatziki sauce. That would solve the possible influx of cucumbers I may have. But, I can always make pickles!

My find of the day yesterday? SIX GROUND CHERRY PLANTS. Just when I had given up on having any this year. Oh my. Oh my oh my. I literally squealed in the nursery. They are all healthy, and I am so excited. I should note that all my plants were labeled as $2 apiece, but I had a buy one get one gift certificate, so they became $1 apiece. In my mind, at least.
And, to add to my excitement, my YARD LONG BLACK SEEDED BEANS are coming up. I've wanted to grow these for a while, so this is super-exciting.


On the right side of this bed, my rattlesnake and purple pole beans are also coming up! They're doing REALLY well, actually.

And, in between my two rhubarb plants, my additional bed of sunburst squash are doing well too. In fact, I was able to thin them out (I put two seeds in a few holes, and then had 100% germination and had to thin), and move them to another spot successfully!

On the right side of this bed, my scarlett runner beans are coming in full force. They are near the deck so (hopefully) we will have great views of the red flowers.


My croockneck squash are popping up. YUM.


My eastern delight squash is also doing really well (see right side of this bed).


And, finally, my okra are coming up!!! I got clemson spineless okra, so here's hoping they are good.

And remember, in addition to the above there are:
Lettuce, spinach, basil, arugula, cauliflower, yellow/white/red sweet onions, walla walla onions, red onions, fingerling potatoes, yukon gold potatoes, 4 types of carrots, broccoli, 3 types of peas, garlic, chives, rosemary, mint, sage, oregano, plums, apples, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, cornelian cherries, jostaberries, red currants, and cherries.

I love summer. And I still have more to plant.

Hello lovelies!

While walking in the backyard to check on the chickens yesterday, I decided to check out the cherry tree in the far back. And by far back, I mean in the FAR BACK, as in behind and to the far left of the backyard chickens. Not visible in the photo below, but this should give you an example of the wildness of the far backyard.


The tree, previously, had bitter small cherries. Either it was a bitter, small cherry tree, or they were not meant to be eaten as yellow/pink/red cherries.

Yesterday? I discovered nearly BLACK cherries. I ate one. Oh my. Hello lovelies. Yes, we now have edible, sweet, backyard cherries.

B is not a huge fan of cherries. I know... what is wrong with him?! But I'm ok with this because it means more cherries for me! But, being the sweet sweet wife (he does read the blog), I know he does like cherries if they are dried.

So, I intend on picking as many as possible, pitting them (I have a pitter), and then sticking them in the dehydrator to make raisin/craisin-sort of dried cherries.

YUM.

I should also note that yesterday? My seedlings that sprouted more than doubled in number, and they are growing rampantly. RAMPANTLY. We're talking 1+" per day. It is so exciting to come home after work. How much have they grown!? Pretty nuts, I tell ya.

Hammock and garden update!

At last, yesterday, the hammock was hung. No further head injuries.

More hammock goodness. Note the stump/magazine rack by the hammock. :) And the huge pile of firewood (to be stacked...) behind the hammock.

FINALLY, BEAN AND SQUASH SPROUTS!


And, oddly, rhubarb sprouts. They're not usually summer plants. More spring....

The peas have gone nuts. They're over 7' tall.


I'm particularly excited about the shelling peas (the type you eat the peas, not the shell). They're coming in nicely. I am patiently waiting for those peas to plump....
Here's an example of a shelling pea. Looks a lot like a string bean, doesn't it?


The weather is what my sweet potatoes wanted! They're finally beginning to put on some more leaves.


The broccoli is beginning to come in.

Um... I have a lot of lettuce. I'm thinking about making pizza tonight and putting a raspberry/feta dressing salad smack dab on top of the cooked pizza. Pizza and salad, on one plate.


The onions are bulbing so much that the ground is cracking. The bulbs shouldn't be huge (especially given the late planting date and the funky summer, but it's still onion success!!!)

So that's the status update. After work today, I'm hoping to haul some dirt and plant more squash AND.... MY TOMATOES!!!!!

Lump on my noggin.

Yesterday's tale of the darn hammock has ended as well as it can: a sore head and a nice bump on my head.

Yes, I was stupid. Ok, maybe not. That "throw the rock up and over the branch" trick has worked well in the past. I just decided I didn't want THAT branch, which meant a redo, which pulled the rock out of the rope as I was pulling the rope down. Dammit!

Add to it that I was already having a SUCKY evening. Things hadn't gone as I had hoped/planned, and I was in a pretty lousy mood. Which is possibly why I got up the gumption to put out the hammock. Hard to be mad when lying in a hammock.

But, in other news... you know, now that I will live without substantial brain damage and all...

My peas are still producing like mad. Normally, by now, they have petered out. Not this year! Granted, the hot weather crops are SLOW, but we'll just ignore that while snacking on sweet peas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, ok? I should say "I'll", as my crazy, nut-brained husband has decided not to eat much of anything from the yard. The man has a loathing for lettuce. And peas. We'll see what else as other things become ripe.

BUT, this morning, I found SPROUTS! FOR MY SQUASH! I think a few bean sprouts too! This is exciting. I am very very hopeful. Perhaps this crazy summer will be ok for some of my heat-loving plants after all.

How to NOT hang a hammock AND get a concussion

Do not throw a rock with rope tied to it over a branch. It may actually go over the branch and hit you on the head.

No joke.

Sitting on the couch right now with a damn bag of frozen edamame peas on my head and an egg-sized knot forming.

Drat.