Diary 8/31/14

Chicory is certainly a pretty weed.

You can't pull it; the roots go down and spread out to hold tight to the dirt below and abstract the least bit of moisture they can find to survive on. They don't make a good cut flower, turning from their perky daisies of ice blue to a limp dull grey in hours. I roasted the roots many years ago,. It is a substitute for coffee. To grind the roots would take something of a ball mill, as they are rock hard. So, for now, I will enjoy them poking out here and their around the edges of the greenhouse and garden.

Diary 8/30/14

It was cool and cloudy this morning, so reminiscent of autumn. Though the clouds broke up in the afternoon, a steady breeze and the low temperature felt so great. Looking forward to a few days of cooler temperatures. If we can't have rain to relieve the dryness, at least cooler temperatures will help. Back from a break to giant zucchinis,

the lead berries on the raspberries, and a box of tomatoes to can. Really not as out of control as I might have expected.

Diary 8/25/14

It's Blackberry time at the old truck again. They lean off of the bed of the truck as a trellis making picking easier, once I cut down a few of the new killer canes trying to get me.

Diary 8/23/14

When I went out to turn off waters this evening, I was met by 9 turkeys, 7 teenagers and two moms. Then 5 deer bounded away. In the olden days when we were a full fledged farm, seeing this abundance of wildlife would have horrified me. They all can devastate a garden.

 These days, I am much more sharing and don't get so annoyed. The turkeys were eating weed seeds and the deer were cropping back a patch of pigweed, so really they were all doing me a favor!

Diary 8/21/14

Ut-oh!!! Look what I found in the orchard today...

Phew, a pretty butterfly clip.

Diary 8/21/14

The new chickens are settling in well. I do think the older girls are shunning them, but then they are young and fresh. They made it to the roost OK, but I could use a better set-up for them, tomorrow night. Fruit trees are going crazy. This white peach is loaded. I should have thinned them, but I have such a hard time picking who goes and who stays...

Diary 8/20/14

    I am picking up four new pullets tomorrow. I am very excited about it and I tried to talk to the rooster in hopes we could share the anticipation. Although I explained it all to him, he did not seem overly excited. But then, he is a mellow Barred Rock, cautious, not quick to jump to judgment, a good protector when anything flies overhead.
   
    I told him he was going to feel like a young man again after I got home with his new harem. I bet it he hits the roost early tomorrow night. For now, he sits in his favorite hangout in the corner of the coop with the two old women left of our flock; all of them innocent to the changes ahead.

Diary 8/18/14

Canning tomatoes and freezing corn. I haven't blanched corn in a long time. I cut it off the ears, freeze it on cookie sheets and then package it in large bags either vacuum seal or not.

That way when I heat it up, it is for the first time. I snip open the corner of the vacuum seal bag and pour out what I need instead of using a so many plastic bags. Then it can be resealed also. This also works well for berries or anything juicy that tends to stick together.

Diary 8/16/14

Abraham Lincoln said, "You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot please all of the people, all of the time." Sometimes I can't please any of the people any of the time, and then not myself.

Vultures eating salmon

Diary 8/14/14

Just returned from a wonderful break going down the Wild and Scenic Rogue River in a raft. Good news is, my son helped put out a local forest fire and there is a bunch of produce in the garden. The bad news is, I have NO idea where my camera is...

Diary 8/9/14

The table grapes are looking luscious, but definitely not ready. I tried a couple and boy were they sour!
So the weather is shaping up to be crazy again with some potent thunderstorms on the way. The Rogue Weather Guy explains that there is a thing called CAPE, convective air potential energy, that usually runs in the 1000 to 1500 jules/kilogram of air, jules being the unit of measure. The storms on Monday are looking to be in the 2500 jules/kg range or alot of potential for energy=lightning. We already have fires everywhere and resources stretched thin, but this event looks like it may add substantially to the problem as the first part of the storm will have no moisture associated with it. Fingers crossed with lots of respect for what these storms can do~

Diary 8/7/14

Zinnias symbolize summer to me, just like corn and tomatoes. I just love their perfect petal arrangement.Lower temperature today made it easier to get more done in the greenhouses. Since the gophers have bothered the roots of several things in there, I have aphids. I have watered the areas with castor oil mix for the gophers and tried to fix the soil around the plants. Then, I sprayed a light dose of diatomaceous earth in suspension on the aphids. So much work and disappointment. I hope this gopher thing plays out soon.They are over populated and eating more than their share of my hard work.

Diary 8/5/14

Killed a rattlesnake at the front door just when I was starting to fix dinner. We saw the cat acting weird, stalking slow and not excited, but wary. Sure enough, the snake was layed out along our front door! Heads Up! 
Meanwhile it's     TOMATO TIME !!!

Diary 8/5/14

Still cloud watching, but I think the coast is clear for any thunderstorms here for a week. So many fires around the area. They are slowly gaining control. Still a month and a half of dryness left. Hope for early rain season this year despite raspberries, etc. that do so well in an Indian summer.

Diary 8/2/14

Looking pretty good for 88 years old!