Potato Tower Update

The potatoes in the tower are budding. I would be excited, but they would do that in the cupboard. My experiment is still in the trial phase.
The greens in top (which appear yellow, not green, as they are covered with pollen) are nearly ready. They will be our 'first fruits'.

Making a House, a Home

There have been times that I felt like I was missing something.  Like an ache I can't pinpoint.   A void.  Moving so much in the past few years made it clear what that illusive hole was.  Now that we have a house we can mess with again, I/we put in raised beds.  The ache is gone. Just in one weekend.

I need to grow stuff.  I know it's a hobby that is not glamorous, like fast cars, skiing, sunbathing, shopping, traveling, or biking.  It is slow, and dirty.  It is the incarnation of the word 'humble' (okay maybe 'incarnation' is a bit transcendental and hyperbolic, but the word displays the unseen call my spirit has to gardening).  It fills the hole in me with soil, and leaves, and vines, and hope.

This is the modest beginning of what could be several years of tomatoes, cucumbers, berries, and satisfied tummies.  If not, I can grow something somewhere else, but this summer, we will have a bit of hope growing in the front yard, for the deer to munch on.

P.S.  These photos might lead you to believe that I had little to do with the project, but I was there, thankful that I had a crew that wanted to be a part of something that is mine!

August Garden

No real change in how the garden looks, but the big change is the food! I guess I should post photos of that. Really what is the point of a garden?

Scarry Tree

This tree used to look like a Christmas tree. I would post a photo of what it used to look like, but you know what a Christmas tree looks like already, so I'll post a photo of my dead Christmas tree.

Last summer, this tree died.
Then it's needles fell off in the winter.
Then it sat there looking very grim, and quiet.
Then, about 3 months ago it started making noise.

I pass this tree every time I go into my garden, which is quite often. At the beginning of the summer I started pushing the thought aside that this tree actually was making a very loud noise. I assumed that I actually was loosing my mind. Trees, for the most part, are a quiet species. Maybe they are quite loud in a wind storm. Maybe they are loud when children are in them. Maybe they are loud in their last days. I believe that is why this tree is so loud. It is beyond it's last days, even.

My assumption is that it died because of whatever is making noise inside of the tree, and making sawdust. Whatever it is in there, is very very loud for a quiet tree. I can only describe it as clicking/chomping/sawing noise. Passing by you can hear it. If I hit the tree, it stops, but as I walk away, it starts up again.

This to me is a bit frightening. I think everyone hates hearing something destructive, but not being able to see it. And the tree looks so, well, dead. dead things usually aren't loud.

Termites!!

July Garden

My garden is making food.
Here is the 3rd set of photos I took of it on July 1oth.

Garden #2

Here are more snaps of my garden, from mid June 09. I think we are doing well. I got a drip going on a timer, and feel quite accomplished! We are eating chard, lettuce, strawberries, peas, and cilantro.

Cut Flowers

I love my flowering yard!!! It isn't just how I want it yet, but I have a lot of flowers!!