ruby crowned kinglette

autumn beauty

the lovely, and continually beautiful, oak leaf hydrangea my mom gave to me about 10 years ago.  i love this plant.

out side my window...

this one sits, just waiting for dinner.  i was lucky to have seen her when i did, as she was just beginning to build her web.  so much fun to watch.

i had no idea that she was as pretty as she is... still, she must always stay outside.

this is why i think i can be a farmer

it is a beautiful day here and tomorrow is supposed to be nice too, but they may be the last beautiful days for a while.  and these? these are what didn't entirely ripen this year because it was such a late spring and cool start to the summer, so in turn, the tomatoes were late too.  i didn't reap nearly this many ripe fruit, but i will put some of the more colorful ones on the window sill to continue to ripen, and i might make some kind of green tomato somethings with the others.  has anyone pickled the tiny little green ones? was it worth it? did they even taste good?  it could all end up compost but that is ok with me.  the fact that three plants grew so well, and finally produced was good enough for me.  and, it has me inspired to plant more next year - and then some...

these little red ones i was quite excited to find... didn't have more than a couple that ripened so i am thrilled to eat these two in the next few minutes.  i can't remember the variety, chocolate something or other... the tag is outside, but i am inside now and doubt that i am going to outside again in the next little while....

this here is the plant matter i cut down today...  three little plants in june.  i am, from here on out, quite in love with tomato farming.

{this is my second post with photos using typepad's new and 'improved' platform.  i have changed the picture size but it is impossible to tell in the preview what that really is... i found that out last post as they were all to be the same size and well... you can see they are not. so, more fussing is probably in my future. hang tight}

{ok, the photos are huge, but i might like that, so will stick with it for a while and see... but, does it mean it takes forever to load on your end?}

the farm out back

this was the plan.  once i decided to turn my patch of unused space into a garden that will grow veggies to feed more than the occasional varmint i couldn't stop thinking about it.
and then, once i measured it out i had more space than i expected... now, it i am sure is going to seem like less once i start planting and things begin to grow, but right now i am pretty pleased.

and sore.

i spent all of last monday and tuesday digging, sifting (until i decided that rocks in the soil are not all that bad) building, composting and covering with cardboard for the winter.  my muscles were hurting something fierce on wednesday, and my left index finger still hurts and seems like it might for some time... but that's it and i am done with prep.  i didn't expect to finish in two days so i was on a little high because of that.  now, all i need to do is hunt some worms during the rainy days and toss them under the cardboard and let them do their business for the next 5 months and i will be set.  that and some mulched up leaves and maybe some coffee grounds too.

 
the alley end of the bed is different than imagined.  so is that lone post up toward the top sticking too far up.... i am going to plant herbs and things in the little outside triangle bits and work up an irrigation plan over the winter so i can have that ready to place when spring and planting comes...  my huge downfall in gardening, both inside and out, is watering.  it bores me.  but, i have found that living things like water.  and i did not bust my ass digging this beauty to have everything go to waste because i end up being too lazy.

hmmm.  a metaphor for my life, possibly?

nevermind.

this is the list so far. of stuff to grow.  squash is out, expect maybe patty pan or one if it's close heirloom cousins.  but they take up a lot of room and i need that room for the list.

and there might be some asparagus up at the top of that little rock wall.  it would be experimental but what the hell... i might as well try.

crop reports to follow from here on out.

who else is tired of the popcorn?

first.... although the popcorn is great, it is far past time to post about something else.
second.... yes, i am still a blogger.
third.... i am also still a crafter; a sporadic one at the moment, but still one nonetheless.
fourth.... i am also a farmer. well, i will be next spring.  right now i am just a digger, forker, turner, composter and mulcher.

several weeks ago i went to visit my friend debbie and took my deer head and ears with me.  i bought the form from a taxidermy company in the hopes it would provide me with a model that i could scale down and make deers of fabric.  well, it didn't work so well and everyone went berserk over deer mounts and then tired of them... i felt a bit behind the curve on that so i just let it go... until august.  i was visiting for a couple of days and it was so nice.  we spent the mornings eating a nice breakfast and then went into the neighboring woods to forage. for lichen. lots of lichen.

and then came back to sit in the sun, enjoy the wildlife and the view and the searing, burning joy of a hot glue gun.

so this is my contribution to the deer mount community... where i finally decided i have room to put it is not the most ideal location for photography.  none of the photos are great, but i have to say it is something that really is so much greater in person...  all the different textures of lichen is just spectacular.  and the branches as antlers.... also super great. 

i love it, and as mentioned above? almost couldn't find room for it in my house.  it isn't small. from the bottom of the chest to the top of the head is about 36 inches and then maybe 48 inches from antler to antler.  it didn't look so big when i was making it outside, or testing it on debbie's walls.  but getting it into the car wasn't a breeze, not hard either, but not a breeze.  it was when i got it into my house that i thought... yikes.  but i wasn't going to give up either because he is too wonderful to not have keeping an eye on me.

so then... other crafting later. and the farming?  that too will be a post for another day.  i worked so hard getting the 'land' prepped i can hardly function... so more too come on the farming front as well.

hope you are enjoying the fall season (or spring for you southern hemispherians).  i am, tons.

summer has arrived in the pacific northwest.... finally

and it took it's sweet time too... it still isn't summery warm yet, but the sun has shown for more than two hours at a time and i am happy to report that there is blue sky above us - a fact that i wasn't so certain of a week or so ago. 

in my zeal for summer, i did what i have needed to do for a year or so..... i weeded and got my back yard/patio area ready to go, you know.... for summer.

i cleaned the water fountain of all it's slimy grime and it was bubbling away attracting little birdies within about 5 minutes.... i gotta say, just that alone made the effort worthwhile.

i weeded the side area and pulled down just about all of the just-now-flowering clematis.  it had to be done. it was one big hump of growth, not doing at all what i wanted it to do, so... i am starting over with it.  while back there it was hard to ignore the light shining through the vine maple... lovely isn't it?

i didn't go berserk and pull all the new garden plants. plants planted by the odd ant or bird or wind gust.  this fern - probably a huge sword fern - is so pretty right now.  i am sure one day i will regret not pulling it, but until then i am going to enjoy it's new green growth and the lovely shadows it cast.

i also went to work bright and early - before we opened - and bought myself 4 chairs for the back and have already used them to hold me up while a friend and i had a dinner of swiss chard omelet and a green salad with a nice red wine. and, then, the next morning while i ate breakfast. 

i am filled with summer-is-finally-here joy. now, i hope it doesn't get too hot, i hate the heat....

purple

it was pretty yesterday.... so i spent a little time outside appreciating the spring, now that it is finally here.  my wisteria is in full bloom and the day had just the right warmth to fill the house with it's heady perfume.  there were lots of honey bees flying around trying to fill themselves up... they didn't ever stay at a flower long and i wonder if they found what they were looking for?  the ones i saw didn't seem to have any pollen on them, but they certainly were working the plant over.

see? not much pollen... but they were persistent. a good thing considering the enormous loss of hives in the last few years.

this little unspotted beauty landed right in front of me, demanding i take a photograph of her.... so i did.

and this? is looking straight up the raceme. i love how the light is filtered a lovely wisteria purple.

i have more photos... but it seems that i should just stick with the purple today. we are having some rain here now so that means inside work and completed tasks are on the horizon...

15 hours on the farm

my sister and her fiance have some property, with a house and a whole lot more, a ferry ride from seattle... it is a wonderful place, completely wonderful. saturday evening, at 6, i decided i needed to get over there for the night.  sunday morning i awoke early and in the hour or so i lay in bed listening to the birds the fog rolled in. it took a while to lift, leaving lovely views as it did...  this is what the walnut tree they are going to be married under looked like at 7:30 or so...

suzy has decided she is going to be a farmer....

rhubarb - for a pie one day...

chives, lots and lots of chives

strawberry leaves and dew. beautiful.

i decided i am going to enjoy her crop...

i was on the ferry again by 12:30, headed home to go to the symphony with mom and then a kind of family dinner - but i panicked because i ran out of time... the real dinner will be on the 17th or so with a mother's day celebration in the meantime...  instead we had pizza and the rhubarb pie suzy and i made after looking at all the little plants popping out of the ground that will one day feed us...

thanks suzy...  it was a very good 15 hours.

i went outside and noticed more spring had arrived...

my maidenhair fern, just beginning to unfurl itself.  so tender and fragile...

they look a bit otherworldly, seen up-close like this... i will have to remember to go back to see what happens over the next week or so. i will need to get out there again because my little apple tree is just starting to show the pink in it's flowers.  that means another trip through the neighborhood collecting pollen doing my best to johnny appleseed my way to some kind of crop. 

obviously the sun was shining this afternoon, that hasn't been the case lately so even a tiny bit has been quite welcome.

spring

it's here...

i am so glad to see you spring, you have been missed.