April 26, 2012
by Crystal
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I’ve been pretty busy in the garden lately, and I owe you guys updates on that. I will, as soon as I get my own recordkeeping up to date. Meanwhile, here’s a pretty spring storm that came up from the south this evening:
March 17, 2012
by Crystal
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I took so many photos yesterday that I ended up with a few that wanted a little extra editing. I present spring in a slightly different light.
This peach tree was in the shade yesterday morning, and the light came out soft and diffused. I took the saturation down a notch to soften the look even further.
The pear blossoms were my favorite subject yesterday, and I played around with several of the photos. This one was my favorite of the bunch.
While I was wandering around, I noticed how the light shone through the forsythia. It was so stunning. I’m not sure I captured it, but it is an interesting picture.
March 16, 2012
by Crystal
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It was so beautiful outside today that I couldn’t resist taking photos of everything. The nectarine trees in the new south orchard were blooming prettily:
And the newest plum tree was just gorgeous:
One of the pear trees had the most perfect blooms:
Pear blossoms in black and white:
The redbuds are budding, and are going to be amazing:
There are several forsythia around the place, but this one was the first, and has been around since I was a child. It’s an old friend:
And finally, one of my favorite heralds of spring, daffodils:
March 10, 2012
by Crystal
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February went quickly downhill after the Teenager’s birthday. It got wintry and miserable, and life somehow followed the weather’s downturn. However, the weather is warming up again, and life’s getting better every day.
I really should be planting my lettuces and starting some seeds, but as usual, I’m running behind. There is a new belt on the rototiller, though. It’s a start.
February 4, 2012
by Crystal
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The Incipient Teenager is now The Teenager.
He’s already talking about driving lessons.
Somehow, I must find it in myself to deal with the next eight or so years, without having a nervous breakdown. Yup, that’s the plan.
Oh god, is that another white hair?
February 2, 2012
by Crystal
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I talked myself out of going outside today. The cloudy, cool weather was my excuse. I thoroughly enjoyed the thunderstorms this evening, though. Honestly, is there anything that smells as good as rain?
I did a lot outside yesterday — besides chasing butterflies — though. I walked up the road and collected more of those rosy pebbles to put around my barrel cactus. Then, I walked around all the fruit trees — anyone who’s been here knows there’s a lot – to see which ones were budding. Most of them are, to some degree. This one’s a peach tree:
After that, the Incipient Teenager and I played soccer while Mom watered her flowerbed. Some of the bulbs are coming up, and her dianthus are actually about to bloom. I don’t care what that groundhog says. It feels like early spring.
February 1, 2012
by Crystal
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It must be spring. See? Butterfly.
Fun fact: I can’t sneak up on butterflies.
January 31, 2012
by Crystal
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When I was a kid, I had a barrel cactus in a pot. Mom must’ve potted it for me, though I don’t remember. I thought it was really special, because 99% of all the cactus you see out here are prickly pears.
Recently, I’ve found just a few barrel cacti here and there in the pasture. So, I dug one up, potted it, and put some pretty pebbles around it. He lives on my porch, and seems to be happy there.
Fun fact: Potting cacti without gloves is not recommended, but it can be done.
January 27, 2012
by Crystal
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Mother Earth News is one of my most treasured magazines. I picked up a copy at Tractor Supply last year because of the bread recipes. I immediately got a subscription because of all the other great articles that applied to my life.
They have articles about homesteading, gardening, livestock, self-sufficiency, and DIY projects. And they’re not necessarily geared toward people who live in the country. There’s information about people homesteading in the middle of a city, gardening on apartment balconies, and having chickens in your small back yard. If you’re interested in even just one of their major topics, it’s worth buying a copy.
I opened their website to look up some links for you, and got completely distracted. An hour later, I remembered that I was writing a blog post.
There are several articles that caught my eye in this issue (Feb/Mar 2012). The one that excited me the most was “Radish Renaissance.” Dad and I are planting radishes for the first time since I was little, and we have three varieties. I haven’t done anything with a radish besides put it in a salad, so I was excited to see several recipes and ideas. Thanks to my experiment with dried bell peppers, I’m sure that baked vegetable chips will become a favorite.
“Seed Starting Made Simple” was useful, because I’ll be starting some seeds to transplant this year. I didn’t realize that peat moss was a nearly nonrenewable resource until I read this article. (It grows slowly, and peat bogs are mined at an alarming rate.) I’ll have to see if I can buy the better alternative, coco peat, locally.
I enjoyed “Why I Eat Wild Meat,” an article by a traditional bowhunter. The author’s ethics and morals in regards to animals closely matches my own.
And finally, I love the quote on the last page: “Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.” –Victor Hugo
January 22, 2012
by Crystal
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I just wanted to show you how pretty this grass is. I don’t know what it is, or why it’s so colorful, but it’s growing near one of my water faucets.