Tag Archives: Pacific Northwest Gardening

Daily Life #12 – Handmade with love

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I love that man of mine! Every day, all day. But there are times when he does something which just melts my heart an extra bit.

Like what’s happening right now.

We are not really what you would call sports fans. But we do like to watch the Super Bowl. So in preparation for tomorrow’s game, my wonderful husband is sitting down explaining football to Princess Girl so she can follow along easier.

Be still my heart!

Yeah, I know it’s not much. But one sure way to this girl’s heart is through her children. Not only that, but I just love seeing a man being a good daddy.

And speaking of love, Valentine’s day is just around the corner.

I am almost finished with Hubby’s Valentine gift. In an effort to stick with our new, healthier ways of eating, we have decided to forgo the candy this year (I know, it’s almost sacrilegious to not have chocolate on Valentine’s day, but I think I’ll survive. Maybe.)

Anyway, I came up with some inexpensive and easy gift the girls and I can make for our main man. I wish I could show it to you right now. But it will have to wait.

I also started another bookmark for a special someone. This one is extra special since there is no printer involved. I’m drawing and coloring by hand. And I’m actually excited about how it’s turning out.

Working on these things by hand is so much more personal than just buying something from the store. No, they don’t cost much, and may not look as nice as something you can buy of the shelf, but each one is infused with love.

And speaking of love, you know what else makes my heart melt?

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My three year old washing the last of the carrots from the garden. I was able to start her on the task and walk away to finish other tasks. Yes, she took forever, but she did the job and did it well. When did she get so big??

And, for those of you who have been around for a while, yes, these are the last of the carrots which we planted from seed last February. They are oddly misshapen, I think because they stopped growing over the summer, and then started growing again this fall. They overwintered wonderfully in the garden. WAY better than they would have if I had picked them. One of the reasons I live growing carrots in this area!

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121

Happy New Year

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I know, I know.

I’m a little late with my holiday greetings. But as I said in my family newsletter (which I just sent out a few days ago), better late than never, right?

I’ve been doing a lot of reflection the past couple of weeks, as is typical this time of year. And also looking toward the future of this year. Are any of you already planning for your spring and summer gardens? Now’s the time to order your seeds and in some cases, get them started indoors.

I just read this online article (How to Pick Your Vegetable Seeds Without Going Crazy) and it’s got me dreaming!

But alas, my biggest decision this year is that I am scaling way back on my plans for our garden. Any when you have a tiny plot anyway, “scaling way back” means that I don’t plan to do much of any gardening this year.

The reason why is actually pretty exciting. We are hoping to be in the process of actually building our house this summer. Which means frequent trips between Oregon and Nevada. And as I learned last year, my garden doesn’t do so well if I’m not around to care for it. Imagine that. 🙂

So, I’ll probably throw some carrot seeds in the ground and call it good. Those were what did the best and we ate the most of last year. And I love that they are frost tolerant and you can leave them in the ground all season and just go out and grab some as you need them.

It kills me not to really be making plans for the garden. But the trade off is worth it as we make progress on our house.

A couple days ago was a fairly mild day here in the Portland area, overcast but dry and not too cold. So I used the opportunity to get outside and do some yard work.

Almost done! And it's a good thing, too, because the debris can is almost full!

Almost done! And it’s a good thing, too, because the debris can is almost full!

I scooped up the walnut leaves and put them in the yard debris can. Yes, we have a compost pile, but not the right set up to cook the toxins out of walnut leaves.

Just after New Years, we had snow here. It was a rare treat for us in the Pacific Northwest. Normally, any time there’s snow here, it’s covered in ice. This was a light, fluffy, “dry” snow. At the beginning of the day it wouldn’t even compact into snowballs. The girls and I spent 3 hours playing outside.

Going for a walk in the neighborhood
snow angels in the street, because, why not?
Exploring in the park woods near our house
Exploring in the park woods near our house
Exploring in the park woods near our house
The wild onions are already growing! And the snow didn’t seem to affect them at all.

Our back yard looked quite different with a thin layer of snow.

A light powdery snow covering the backyard
My little 25sqft garden with the caterpillar eaten kale and aphid eaten brussels sprouts, neither of which did I harvest much of because I was too busy to deal with the pests.
Snow dusted honeysuckle vines

 

And then, that night, a freezing rain came in, covering everything in a layer of ice.

Same honeysuckle just 24 hours later
Icicles on the EZ-Up
Iced fence
Iced branches
A really cool ice leaf found by Flower Girl.

For this girl from the desert, ice storms are pretty magical. It is surreal to see ice coating everything. However, I am glad no one in our family had to go anywhere. One of those times I am thankful that my man works from home.

The hens don't mind a bit of snow.

The hens don’t mind a bit of snow.

We had a bit of sad news recently. One of our hens (“Pepper”) was killed by a predator of some sort. Considering it was during the middle of the day in broad daylight, we think it was one of the many neighborhood cats.

Flower Girl with Pepper this past spring.

Flower Girl with Pepper this past spring.

Now we’re down to three hens, one of which doesn’t lay very many eggs per year and none in the winter (our English Game Hen). The other two, however, have laid fairly steadily this winter (after their molt), even without supplemental lighting (for more information on supplemental light in the chicken coop, see this great article from Jill at The Prairie Homestead). I would love to add to our little backyard flock, but then I think of how much we are hoping to be gone this summer. And I think of transporting them back to Nevada when we do finally go. And I think, three chickens is enough. For now. 🙂

And in the mean time, we’re dreaming. We’re dreaming big!

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121

First Frost

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We had our first frost here in the Portland area this morning. November 22nd and we just now froze! Gosh, the growing season is long here!

I love frosty mornings even if it does mean a bit more work to care for the animals.

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This morning’s chore was pretty easy, though. I just broke the ice layer in the chicken’s water dish and plucked it out. Not so easy when it get’s frozen solid.

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Frost sure is beautiful. God’s design frequently amazes me.

How’s the weather in your neck of the woods?

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121

Garden update

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While we were in Nevada, Dad decided that the big garden was done for the season. This is good news for the chickens.

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They are happily roaming the backyard again.

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Scaredy thinks the garden is her personal dust bath.

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Our small garden is going pretty well. The kale is finally taking off. I’m thinking I might still plant some spinach in the spot that the lettuce was in this spring. But I don’t know.

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The carrots have done well. We have really enjoyed eating those straight out of the garden this year (after a washing, of course!). I don’t think my squash is going to do anything. But you never know. We still have a month or so left of growing season (I know, right?!) Yes, it’s fall season, but on average, we won’t get our first frost for another month or so.

My container garden did not do so well this year. At least not nearly as well as I would have liked.

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The tomato plants were tall and scraggly and only produced a few tomatoes each.

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Nearly all the bean plants and flowers have struggled or flat out died.

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Really, the only thing I can say did half way decent was the jalapeno plant.

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And even then, the only reason I think it did well is because I don’t use jalapenos very often, so it has produced more than enough.

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Oh, and the garlic actually survived. I was shocked to see it growing back after not being watered all summer.

So, nothing did very well in the containers. I’ve been trying to figure out why and I think I have it nailed down.

Neglect.

Yep, that’s right. When a person travels at least one week out of nearly every month, things at home tend to get neglected. Especially since for me, all the days in between are filled with catching up or preparing for next time. Somehow, making sure the plants had the right nutrients, enough water, the proper sunlight as the season change, etc wasn’t high on my list.

Though I was glad to see that the crushed egg shells I put on the tomato plants stopped any more blossom end rot. And I did give them all a compost tea at some point. But it just wasn’t enough, I don’t think. That and maybe I didn’t have big enough containers. Or maybe they got too much sun. Or not enough.

And now here it is, the beginning of October and I really haven’t gotten much out of my plants.

But. They still have fruit on them, and I’m reluctant to give up on them when I know they can survive a while longer.

However, where they were on the deck was getting too shady with the waning season. So I moved them down to a corner of the otherwise barren big garden.

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They still look forlorn and scraggly, but I’m hoping that at least this was they’ll get the sunlight they need to survive for a while longer. Hopefully long enough to get me a few more tomatoes.

Well that’s it for now. How did your garden do this year?

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121

Summer Doings

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I know I’ve been horrible at posting for months.

So, what have we been up to this summer?

Take a look and see!

We went camping:

We traveled to Nevada to work, see family, and spend time on the Homestead (click or hover over pictures to see captions):

preventative maintenance on the drainage ditches so they don’t wash out the driveway.
My little helper
Can you see the orange markings on the dirt? We started laying out the house!
Tea time with my sister and nieces
Working at the Ropes Course.
Working at the Ropes Course.

We worked on house plans:Exterior views

And found a building almost the exact size of the one we are going to build:20150610_155031It’s cool (and helpful) to see the dimensions in real life rather than on paper.

We harvested cherries from our very own cherry tree:

Dad and Flower Girl planted the garden.20150609_161319

Princess Girl and her BFF ran a lemonade stand and made quite a lot of money!20150613_170558

One of my sisters came to visit and we made raspberry jam after picking the raspberries from her extended family’s farm!20150701_103628

We had some weird stuff happen in the chicken coop:20150702_102452

We were messy like a typical 2 and a half year old (there’s STILL specks of paint in the bathroom from this!):20150702_153057

We had our first tomato (and a couple more since then). Mmmmmm….

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We played with sparklers to celebrate the 4th of July:

We traveled back to Nevada once again, then to Missouri for a family reunion (click or hover for captions).

Nevada beauty
Our “Shuttle” van which carried 7 people to Missouri and back.
Looooong road trip (34 hours on the road!)
Full van!
It’s my restaurant! (Almost spelled it right, anyway 🙂 )
Princess Girl and some of her cousins whom she just met.
Havin’ fun out on the lake.
Havin’ fun out on the lake.
Missouri sunset on the White River.
Cousins having some fun!
The Castle Rock family on the salt flats in Utah.

We did other typical summer type stuff (click or hover for captions):

Handstands!
Summer camp. Princess Girl is in that crowd somewhere and this Mamma’s heart was squeezing tight at the prospect of letting go, if for only 5 days.
Playing in the fountains at a park.
Playing in the fountains at a park.
Taking walks in the lush greenery of the PNW.
Hanging out on the nice shady deck in the warmth of the afternoon.
Hanging out on the nice shady deck in the warmth of the afternoon.
Hanging out on the nice shady deck in the warmth of the afternoon.

And we traveled back to Nevada once again so I can work –  (click or hover for captions).

Checking on and watering out apple trees.
Hoeing the weeds out of the driveway.
Working on the ropes course.
Putting up a tipi at the ropes course.
Putting up a tipi at the ropes course.

So, you know. We’ve kept busy.

🙂

Not all what you see

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I read a great article from Mother of a Hubbard today that really spoke to me. Here on the internet, it is so easy, and really kinda necessary, to present our selves and our situations in the best light possible while still being real (at least I try to be real).

But all you ever see is half the story. The good side. After the mess has been cleaned up – or at least hidden from view.

I, on the other hand, have to live with the other half as well. I have to live with the messes and tantrums and stress of not having enough time in the day. And sometimes, it seems that the other half – that oh, so messy half – is closer to the whole than a half.

But then beauty happens. And when beauty happens, I feel the urge to share that with everyone. So, all you ever see is the best picture out of the 20 I took. Or the fun times. Or the happy, helpful kids. Or the successes in the garden. Because, who really wants to talk (or read) about the not-so-fun stuff anyway?

But you know what?

Even though there are times that are messy and chaotic with dishes piling up in the sink, poopy diapers which need to be changed, chicken coops needing to be cleaned, children waiting to be taught, all-natural DIY everything to be made, gardens to be tended, family and friends to cook for and spend time with, etc, etc, etc – it is still so very much worth living this lifestyle.

Because beauty happens. All you have to do is look for it.

And suddenly, the other half of life – that oh, so messy half – tends to not seem quite so large afterall.
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Just a few things over the last week which have been beautiful.
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And just as a small insight to what you see online, here’s the picture I eventually posted on Facebook a couple days ago.
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But in order to get that one picture, there were many that looked like this….
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And this…
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And even this…
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Or this…
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Because, let’s face it, a 2 year old is not a very good photographer.

But then again, considering it was my 2 year old taking the pictures, maybe they are beautiful after all. Thus why I have such a hard time deleting them. 😉

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121

Fresh salad!

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Fresh salad, straight from our garden/yard. Yum! I needed to thin out the lettuce from the small garden, I picked some of the over-wintered-but-not-doing-so-well spinach from the big garden, and I found some dandelion greens in the yard. I had a head of purchased iceburg in the fridge and add to all that some borage flowers which just started blooming and you have a gorgeous salad almost too pretty to eat. Almost, but not quite. 🙂

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I love that dandelions are considered a weed, yet they are edible and good for you. And the borage is a volunteer which comes back every year.

Edit: For the health of you and your family, be sure if you are harvesting any wild edibles that they come from a trusted source not treated with any harsh chemicals! We don’t use any herbicides or pesticides or even any fertilizer on our lawn, so I know the dandelions are safe to eat.

Garden Update

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So, I went away for 10 days and came back to some radishes and lettuce ready to pick, or at least thin out (and eat the thinned one’s 😉 ). And just about everything too tall for the glass cover.

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Princess Girl was excited to pick some of her radishes, even though she’s not even sure if she likes them.

I’m not quite ready to leave the garden completely open to the cat, though. He likes to curl up in the warm sun, right on top of my baby onion plants. So, I’m thinking I’ll put another level of boards up around the garden and raise the glass that way. Then we can continue to let the chickens roam free too. Yeah, the chickens would decimate the garden right now. In fact, they were out and about while I was checking on the garden this morning and were VERY interested in what was in that box!

In other news, the spinach in the pots on the deck are doing much better than the boxes on the fence. I’m thinking the fence boxes might be holding too much moisture. Need to drill a few holes in the bottom and see if that helps. And I need to trim the honeysuckle already. It grows so fast, but I knew it would. Hmmmm, looks like I have some gardening work ahead of me tomorrow. Ahh, shucks! 😉

 

Harvesting Green Onions

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I went back to that park where the wild oinions are growing.

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All of that "grass" is onions!

I picked a large grocery sack full and brought them home. Kinda weird to be walking through the neighborhood with a bag full of produce which I had just harvested from the “wilds” of the neighborhood park.

Once I got home, Princess Girl and I got to cleaning.

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After cleaning, I ended up with what amounts to about 15 to 20 bunches from the grocery store.

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I gave them one last cleaning in the sink, then got to chopping. Once chopped I put 1/2 cup servings into small baggies.

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When they were all bagged, I labeled them with the what they are, today’s date, and serving size. I ended up with 22 servings (11 cups).

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All the little baggies went into a large baggie and into the freezer for future use

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We’re headed to Nevada next week (yay!), and when we get back, if the onions are still harvestable, I’ll probably do it all again. Visions of quiches and soups and all sorts of recipes are dancing in my head!

Maridy

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.” Ps 121:1-2

The city…grrr (And a garden update)

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City living can get me down sometimes. Sure, there’s beauty here. I run across it all around. Like this lovely little scene just down the street.

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Looks like a beautiful spot to explore and maybe have a picnic. Until you look to the side. And see this.

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I understand why they have to set boundaries and protect the natural places. But the limits can be stifling to this country girl. So, I come home to my little garden and try to shut out the sounds of the city and dream of the day we’ll be back at Castle Rock.

And speaking of my garden, here’s some recent pictures. It’s just about time to start thinning the radishes and lettuce. I actually picked and ate a couple of the lettuce seedlings which had somehow* gotten planted amongst some of the carrots. It was a delicious foretaste of the salads we’ll be eating in just a little while.

*somehow – like maybe because a two year old was helping me plant? 😉

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Seeing my little garden and how well it’s coming along helps me to better endure our time here. Gives me a purpose outside the house. And will eventually give us healthy food to eat. A win-win situation.