Diary 6/30/13

It was hot day. Not as hot as some parts of the west, but still pretty hot here. I did some weeding early, three of the five rows of corn that needed help. Then moved on to other activities. I did get quite a few things watered. It never was unbearably hot, so I think I am starting to get used to these temperatures which is good considering the fact that it is supposed to be hotter over the next two days. Then thunderstorms are in the prediction which at this point means fires. Oh dear~ The berries are coming on. We are able to pick more than we want to eat so I will start freezing them to make jam. These wild dewberries are delicious, a pain to pick, but delicious!

Diary 6/29/13

Up early

loading the logs onto trailer and dump truck to take to the mill. There they will turn into 12'x12' or 10'x10' uprights and horizon pieces for the initial H framing to begin the building. From here on out the hope is to take logs down and bring "cants" back. Just depends on how busy the miller is and how hot it really gets over the next few weeks. At some point a higher restriction level for fires will kick in and that will limit when milling can occur. No big deadline, so it is all progress.

Diary 6/26/13

Framed up the Romas that grew to 7 feet tall last year. Have a head start on them for now, but I still know I will be going higher. The greenhouses gt a makeover on Tuesday with Allen and I attacking the aisles and beds. Looks alot better. Still needs the finish weeding, the little guys that are trying to come up already. Lots of squash, cucumbers, and green beans soon. There are a handful of cherry tomatoes to pick tomorrow and then on to greater quantities soon. In fact, I have too many cherry tomato plants!

Diary 6/25/13

This is the "Love" rose. I bought it as part of a three rose deal. I received Love, Honor, and Cherish together. Love has always had nice red blooms stuffed with petals. Cherish is an unusual rose with white on the underside of the petals and a pinky red inside. We get lots of flowers from it each year. Honor is a peachy pink rose with tinges of yellow inside. It hasn't been the strongest of the three, but it hasn't died. I try not to read anything into the fact~

Diary 6/24/13

This young buck deer has been hanging about the garden and orchard. I keep for

getting about him, and then he jumps up from some corner where he has been resting, trots a little ways away and then usually starts eating, not afraid of me at all.  He has some ridiculously small nubbins where one day some sort of antlers are going to show.  I have nicknamed him Dufus, and I think he is beginning to know his name.

Diary 6/23/13

Wanted to share a few pictures from a visit to the Owen Rose Gardens in Eugene that I visited yesterday.  There was an amazing display of perennials,also, so crazy full of blooms.

160 year old cherry tree

Diary 6/22/13

Hope everyone enjoyed their Summer Solstice. Now the full moon! The closest it will be this year at only some 220,000 miles away. It will be 13% larger and 30% brighter. Not here, however, as it is overcast and we are in for a heavy soaking according to our meteorologist gal. Good thing I thought it was big last night and took a picture from my daughter's backyard in Eugene!. Ate our first cherry tomato tonight. I picked a handful of green beans, and we will have our first cucumber in a couple days. Woohoo!

Diary 6/18/13

Only a few sprinkles,and changeable all, though mostly sunny. tried to catch up with watering as I am off to play with grandchildren tomorrow. I haven't seen then since Easter and I am anxious to see how much they've grown and what new games we will play! When I come back there will be cucumbers to

eat, the first red raspberries, and maybe even the first cherry tomato. Oh boy!

Diary 6/17/13

Just went out for the evening rounds, turning off waters and shutting the chickens in for the night. It is getting dark and clouds are building up on the divide.  I even heard some thunder. The news has been saying it was going to change for the last three days and finally it did. Must be rough to be a weatherman!

Bulldozer in the daisies

Diary 6/16/13

HAPPY FATHER"S DAY! I hope all the Dads had a fun day. It was mellow here. We started out with range cows and ended with a barbecue. There was weeding and watering in between, but on the whole restful.

Diary 6/14/13

The cucumbers are coming! The cucumbers are coming!

Cedar Waxwings

It is cherry season and our trees have set quite a bit of fruit, properly pollinated by bees. The little green dangling cherries survived hail storms and wind gusts now ripening to be eaten by a beautiful bird I am trying to love.  The Cedar Waxwing is a smooth buff-feathered creature with black eye make-up and a crest on his head. They travel in herds, five to seven at a time together. So, if I want any cherries, I better eat them soon.  The Mt. Rainier fruits are yellow and just starting to blush.  The birds don't see them as well as the reds. There is hope for us there if the birds haven't eaten every other cherry and then spy the blush

in all the green foliage.

Diary 6/13/13

You know how a small task can turn into a giant project? That happened to me this morning.  I spotted some mouse debris in a drawer. I set a trap in there for last night, but did not catch anyone. So, I pulled everything out of the drawer this morning. Then I pulled that drawer out of the cabinet. I could not see any poop in the next drawer down, but I pulled that one, too, and the next one. I took everything out of those drawers. They were jammed full of loose baggies, four rolls of tin foil, hundreds of old dry rubber bands, plastic spoons that escaped their box, birthday balloons, and twist 'ems galore. After pulling those drawers all the way out, I saw where a  mouse could squeeze into the cabinet, so spray foam went in there. Luckily I just bought a can or all this cleaning would have been on hold. So while I had those three drawers empty and clean, I might as well put new drawer liner in. So, phew! All done, back together and mouse free. Now, how about under the sink and under the stairs...

Diary 6/11/13

The Mock Orange, Western Syringa, is blooming.  The blossom do look and smell like orange blossoms. Though the shrub has been cultivated into many gardens, we get to enjoy the bushes here as part of the forest landscape.

  The new growth comes off of the older branches in straight shafts which were a favorite of the local indigenous people for use as arrows.

Diary 6/10/13

Finished grouting the shower yesterday.  Can seal it on Wednesday.  Will get it caulked in the corners and bottom by then.  Trying to decide about walls.  I am now leaning towards drywall because it is so easy to clean in a bathroom.  Have to purchase greenboard if that is the way I decide to go.  Otherwise, have to hit my friend up for some redwood boards to finish the walls with.  Just not sure yet.  Garden is growing, but so are the weeds. Quite a few flowers starting to bloom. I have been mowing the edges and hope to get my son to weed eat out there later this week.  He attacked around the yard, and it looks much better.  Don't expect much rain, so that will be the final weed eat for this summer. Working on a small rock garden in the lower greenhouse using the alpine plants I bought and the rocks from my Arizona adventure.  It is going to look cool!

Diary 6/7/13

When I arrived at the greenhouse this morning, Felicity was already there hunting. Hopefully she will stick to gophers as there are also mother birds with fledglings in the bushes here and there. I did see her pounce once, but the rodent slipped under the framework of the greenhouse wall. She didn't pursue it further as if she knew it had reached safety, with more options for escape than she could control. I know she has been a successful gopher hunter by the prizes she brings. She always announces the gift with a particular mew. She receives kudos for gophers and mice. She isn't much of a bird hunter, thank goodness. Miles, aka. Gopher Getter also mews when he brings in his trophies, just as he did at 5:00 AM this morning... He is basically ornamental and hunts rarely, but occasionally he brings in a treasure with that special mew. I think he was worried as she continuously

 

shows him up.

Diary 6/6/13

These sunny days have been delightful.  The yard is drying up some now and if we weed eat areas, they will be goners. It is too dry to come back until first fall rains.  Some berry bushes are trying to sneak in along the edges of the flower beds, while the flowers are doing well if not in full bloom yet.  Seems like quite a few plums have set and we have eaten a few cherries though I expect the birds to find them soon. The strawberries are finishing their first crop and blooming to make another. Lots of plans for the greenhouses tomorrow.  Garden Girl had gone for awhile and I look forward to accomplishing more.

Diary 6/4/13

Planted a couple sweet peppers today, a red and a green. That should do it on peppers.  I have a variety of hot peppers in already and I hope to have enough of them to make some pickled jars as they turned out very useful during the winter.  I also have a second planting of melons to put in including some Crimson Sweets that grow to enormous plants and require lots of room to spread.  I will put them out after I figure out how to keep deer from sampling them.

 Looks like there is going to be more early figs than usual.  That's good because if we have a cool September they stop ripening and just sit on the tree green and then brown through the winter. 

Diary 6/3/13

Today was the first day of fire season which means no more open burning, so yesterday we worked on burning up the rest of our slash piles from logging.  When I went back out midday to check to see if the fires needed to be thrown back in on themselves to burn the last bits, this young doe was bedded there by the pile of ashes.  She appeared to be waiting to ask

                                                       "Where are the marshmallows?"

Diary 6/2/13

Today was a glorious SUN day!

New Blog!

I know, I know, not more time on the computer, but I had to do it.  I am hoping to publish some writing someday, so this seems to be the way to start getting the word out.  It is not going to have daily posts, and the posts it does have may not be about gardening at all. They will, however , hopefully make you curious about what I have written. In the meanwhile, I will give background to what I am writing. Things that I have learned. Helpful hints, maybe, to anyone else working through the process of writing, and in general introduce any works I have finished.  Then at some point when I get to a self publishing stage if it comes to that, the curtains will open and ta-da! there will be a book to read and you will want to read it.

Diary 6/1/13

Went hiking with Cheryl on the Upper Rogue River Trail on one of my favorite sections.  We are planning a picnic and hike with our gal pals and this place will work with a nice riverside area to hang out and the trail for hikers and an outhouse. There were a few hikers and a couple people fishing, but even if that was all going on while we were there it would be nice.  There should be more sand and a little less water in another three weeks. Planted some butternut squash plants that I bought.  Still waiting for the Delicatas to emerge.  Hope the seed is still good.  I have the few plants I started that I transplanted that are just getting over transplant shock.  Also bought a second eggplant, a different kind.  Still, two eggplants may be too much.  Ah well, I will have them to trade...