The beginnings of Fall have long since passed by time but only in the last week have the temperatures started to drop. It has been a warm season that makes one believe that the cold will be delayed indefinitely. There is a seasonal constant, however, that does not waver in its reminder that Winter is […]
Waiting for rain
For the past month, the weather forecasters have been delivering nothing but bright and wonderful prognostications with the exception that it is sometimes too warm and humid. Sunny skies and no rain have been the the repetitive mantra of their joyful predictions. Unfortunately the garden doesn’t see such a forecast as goodness as the lack […]
Summer’s Fall
As Labor Day fades along with the crowds at the beach, the signs of Fall accelerate. The first hint of change ironically is not spawned by nature but man in the mid-August appearance of Halloween candy in grocery and drug stores and mums and asters in garden centers. The heat of the season tests us […]
An embarrassment of vegetables
Though a heat wave is abating, the early signs of fall are in the air. A few leaves are beginning to turn and the sun has started to set over the hill much earlier than has been typical for the past few months. In another few weeks, the back yard will be in the shade […]
Back in the garden
The good thing about summer is that gardening can be put off a bit if needed. In the heat of July and August the lawn doesn’t need much mowing. The propagation of weeds has slowed. And it is harvest time. We still have blueberries though the raspberries/thimbleberries have pretty much been spent. The blackberries have […]
Shirts and summers
A few weeks ago we had a new bamboo floor installed by a contractor we have used over the last 20 years. Joe is a good fellow, well-skilled in the art of flooring. It was warm when he started the job and within 60 minutes his shirt was off and his body was dripping. His […]
Ramping up
With our expanded garden (more on that in a future post) we are beginning to find ourselves feasting on more vegetables than we can handle. The spring greens are still producing like gangbusters with only the slightly hint of sourness. Most seasons by now I would have dug up the garden to plant the late […]
Birds at bay
My wife Juana has always said that we need to share our crops with our animal and avian friends. I agree with her to a degree though I point out to her that the definition of the word share, a part of a whole, esp. a portion allotted or assigned to a member of a […]
Back in the saddle
I’m not sure why it happened or that I choose an altitude of 35,000 feet to reverse course. But after a year of sparse postings I am going to give it another shot. It is not as if I haven’t had lots to write about: the crazy winter, the non-existent Spring, the early Summer, new […]
Ice Capades
We are now in a warming period that has the optimistic among us believing that Spring will arrive not only by calendar but by the emergence of soil from under its icy blanket in less than two weeks. Getting back from Florida last week, I spent four days chipping and shoveling out the (hopefully) final […]