Diary 11/30/12

The rains have moistened the soil deep enough and the temperatures are still mild enough that the mushrooms are starting to poke up on the forest floor.  I have spent a great quantity of time trying to learn new ones only to come up against either not being able to identify the mushroom for sure or finding out it is maybe not poisonous, but not palatable. So I just don't mess with the the ones I don't know anymore.  I think these might be Slippery Jacks, indicated by their slimy tops. I love to admire them, but for now that is all.

Diary 11/28/12

Sounds like we are for some wind and quite a bit of rain.  Sometimes they build these things up to a frenzy.  Talk about a frenzy, the power ball mania is a sad state of affairs.  1/175 million? I guess. What if there isn't a winner? Where does all that money go?( the $2 each ticket cost, not the measly prize ___million.)Where did the money go when there was no winner last week? Schools? Jobs?Food and shelter? How much really accomplishes what we really need?  I don't know.  I think I am a bird-in-the-hand kind of girl. Buy a ticket for fun, to be involved in the biggest scam ever, but don't start planning your life around it. I'm sorry.   

We had some cool lighting the last two evenings as the sun gets low enough to peek in under the cloud cover.

Diary 11/27/12

Kitty yoga on one of the last sunny days for awhile.

Warm wind and dark clouds coming in for the first of three strong storms headed our way.  I will get some town shopping done this morning and then hunker down doing crafts and decorating for the next few days.  Cats are outside feeling frisky in the excited ions of the low pressure.   These storms should certainly knock down the rest of the leaves which have hung in there on the trees way past what used to be usual. Glad the trees in the yard are so well trimmed by Monkey Man.  Maybe our power will hang in there.

Diary 11/26/12

Another cool, but sunny day.  Working outside on roads, trimming overhanging branches and having a fire to burn them up.  Long period of rain ahead, so good day to further get ready for winter.  Moving vehicles, charging batteries, sealing the stove pipe leak on the roof, and raking leaves.  One of the added bonuses of blueberry bushes is their beautiful autumn foliage(and even a late berry!).

Diary 11/25/12

Another week of mild weather in the prediction.  So weird.  I still have zinnias in the yard and a continuous harvest still coming out of the top greenhouse.  Nice days for walks in the forest though the afternoons are short.  It is dark by 5.

Diary 11/24/12

The forest is appreciating the rain we received last week.  Although it caused some flooding in the coastal rivers, locally it swelled the creeks to a healthy wash out. Everything is alive and well for the moisture; the mosses, the trees, and the clear water in the Bitter Lick Creek.

Diary 11/23/12

Worked on cleaning out tomato, cucumber, and bean plants from one of the greenhouses.  I salvaged what was not getting moldy or had splits.  I left the cherry tomatoes, a cucumber plant with lots of almost ready cucs on it, and one side of the beans that I saw some I will pick tomorrow.  Turned the compost pile and added the old compost to the greenhouse clean out.  It is too cold for it to work at this point, but we can be ready for spring when it will.  The beds I pulled plants out of will get to take a break until late winter when things like peas, kale and spinach can go in.  Only enough for us, I keep reminding myself. On these nicer days, I have let the chickens come out to rove around.  There is really nothing they can hurt at this point and they love it.  I stapled plastic on a couple of the windows in their coop to help keep it warmer in there for them.  They are molting and the egg supply varies day to day including zero on the really gloomy days.  May get a couple new hens soon.

Diary 11/21/12

The bread is torn and drying for the dressing.  The pies are made.  I have so much to be thankful for tomorrow.

Diary 11/20/12

Glad to be able to stay home today.  Cleaned house and organized piles here and there.  It still has not frosted inside the greenhouse, so there is still quite a bit of food out there.  I found zucchini, cucumbers, and more tomatoes today.  We had fresh salsa with a jalapeno and green chili which were still left over from my previous picking.  I think I will pick about 30 lbs of orange tomatoes tomorrow.  On top of that, the lettuce is starting to size up, the turnips are large enough to eat, and I have carrots and a few beets. So, after a big stir fry tonight, I think I will make a large salad tomorrow :).  Time to attack a pumpkin for pies on Thursday.  I have several pumpkins left and this one was one of the biggest.  The chickens will get the insides and I roasted the seeds for a great snack. I have set the chunks inside down in the steamer and heated them until they were soft.  Will render the orange flesh in the morning and freeze what I don't need for two pies.

Diary 11/19/12

One of the perks of being a grandmother is being the recipient of some of the earliest works by budding artists.  They are often signed which of course heightens their already priceless value.

Prize Winning Flowers

...and the prize for the best surviving flower inside the greenhouse goes to~ The snapdragon for its vibrant color compared to everything else in the garden.
And the prize for best of show outside is the Tatiana rose, which despite all conditions, continues to bloom.

Diary 11/16/12

When you are a little boy and you live in the city and the guys come to pick up the leaves with a dump truck, bucket loader, skid steer, and a sweeper, it is a good day!

Diary 11/15/12

Getting ready to go play Grama again, and someone wants to go with me...He can't resist a bag or box. Not sure he would enjoy the ride, so gonna feed him(his other passion) instead.

Diary 11/14/12

I am lucky to live in the foothills of the Cascade Range at an altitude of almost 2000 feet, so it was sunny here today.  In the valley, they were not so lucky and stayed in the cold fog most of the day.  The inversion will last until the weather changes which is only a day away, so they won't have to deal with it for long.  It can be depressing to not see the sun for weeks on end as can occur this time of year.

Diary 11/12/12

It was a gloomy rainy day with just a spot of sun this afternoon, one time.  Tried to be interested in cleaning one of the beds in the top greenhouse for some lettuce I still need to transplant, but I could not stick with it.  Instead I picked some of the last zinnias and went back inside to peel the tomatoes I picked yesterday for yet another small batch of something tomatoey.  Tomorrow a friend is coming in the morning to haul of some produce to make lunch at the community center.  I will feel better knowing those cucumbers go to a good home.  We can eat only so many, and they keep coming.  She will also pick the orange tomatoes in that greenhouse as she didn't get very many out of her garden this year, and I already have a box to watch change from orange to red.

Diary 11/11/12

Well, it didn't freeze as hard as they predicted.  I think we had an inversion where the temperatures in the valley were lower than they were up at higher elevations.  So, though I thought this might be the last picking of tomatoes and peppers, I don't think it will be, now.  Meanwhile there is a basket of strawberries every other day and a mouthful of raspberries on the vagrant plants that have stolen there way into the greenhouse under the side. I am a lucky woman!

Diary 11/10/12

We had a skiff of snow this morning.  I mean a skiff.  Across the draw and up the hill I could see that it stuck to the trees, but still no major event. The temperature was only 33.8, so maybe not going to freeze in the greenhouses as I suspected.  With all the covering I have done, produce may continue past this weekend. Every time I harvest, I think it is the last.  So it becomes more precious as time goes by.  If I can keep the deer out, there is plenty of vegetables to eat over the winter.  I totally forgot that I had planted this bed of spinach as it was covered.  Happy surprise!

Diary 11/8/12

For the last two days, we have had so many bird visitors in our yard.  I think there are both northbound and southbound birds out there.  They take baths and get several serious drinks at out little pond and then they are gone as a new few come through.  I see robins, both brown and red adults and some taupe juveniles.  There are varied thrushes with their v-neck sweater looking breasts.  I saw a couple flickers, so much larger than the others, a definite woodpecker flight when they takes off.  Added to this is a basic scrub jay or three that have been here for weeks harvesting acorns. The picture does not do justice to what was going on out there, but every time I hid with my camera, they must have been on to me because they did not return. That is two robins sitting on the rocks at the rear of the picture.

Diary 11/6/12

Did you vote?  I did, it was late, but not too late where I had to drive our ballots down to the drop off box.  I have been that much of a procrastinator before!  I think it is important and even though it makes only small changes, it still is a way one can affect change.  Others say it's useless, futile.  I say to them, be careful.  I think there are the wrong people counting on you feeling that way.

Diary 11/5/12

I know I said it before, but I just wanted to reiterate that I LOVE FALL!

11/4/12

I am a sucker for a yellow tree.  I think I take a picture of this one almost every year.  I like the way the maple stands with the row of firs on the edge of the field.  I included the encroaching pine tree this year. In the past the field was larger, but little by little the young trees are moving in to fill it.  It a succession the native Americans dealt with by setting fire to this field each year to keep it open.  That is something we have not done, and so we lose a little open ground each year.

Diary 11/3/12

Harvested 25 pounds of tomatoes, a few split, a few still needing to ripen. I made a batch of Chili Verde.  Picked the meatiest long green chilies, and roasted them in a 300 oven for about 30 minutes, then covered with a wet towel. Peeled the meat away from the skin after removing seeds and added some of them to the tomatoes and onions.  Put the rest in the freezer. Picked a half gallon of figs to make some fig bars. I feel so cozy using up what is left in the garden. A couple very nice days ahead.  Lots to accomplish.

Diary 11/2/12

It's gonna take awhile...