I Planted, I Harvested, I Canned

Yesterday, I took these:




And made this:


Lessons learned:
-It takes more tomatoes than one thinks to fill up canning jars
-And each step takes longer than one thinks it will
-With some practice, I think I can become a canning pro
-Once again, I realize how much work my mom put into things that through my childhood eyes didn't seem like a big deal (thanks for manning the canning hotline, Mom)
-For my first time solo-canning, I think I did pretty well!

Chickadees

We have a makeshift bird bath set up on the deck railing. It's very popular with our resident population of birds. Yesterday, a family of Chestnut Backed Chickadees stopped by for bath time. The fledglings are smaller than the adults and have an overall rough/fluffy appearance due to the newness of their feathers. The little guy on the left in the top picture is a good example. They were fun to watch as they tried to figure out how it all worked. My favorite fledglings this year have been the Stellar's Jay youngsters but I wasn't able to get any decent pictures of them.

Gleeful Dog

This picture is for Jeff, who commented on the last post that he didn't sense much glee from Abby.

You Say Potato, I Say Potahto

I am ridiculously excited about this. To the point that I want to call everyone in my phone book to tell them the news. I stuck my hand in my potato hill to see how things were going in there and pulled out this gorgeous Red Norland potato. Even my dog wanted to see what the fuss was about. You'd think I'd won the lottery I reacted with such glee!!

Not too late to change

I have too much stuff. For a few months now, I've been accumulating things to contribute to an August garage sale. Anything that doesn't sell will be donated to a needy organization. Goodwill is easiest, but they charge too much in their stores so I'd rather support someone else. The books that don't sell will go to the library where they'll either add the books to their lending list or sell it in their next fundraiser. I've reached a point in my life where I feel burdened by the things I own. I'm sure part of it is because I'm in an apartment that doesn't have a whole lot of "extra" room. But I also have a hard time getting rid of things. I'm going to change, though! One technique that has helped me is the attitude of "one thing in, three things out". If I bring something new home, I have to get rid of three things I already own. I'm at a point now that my momentum is accelerated and my garage sale boxes are filling up quickly. It feels so good to get rid of things! I really like the sense of freedom that comes from it. I've eliminated nearly a third of my closet! My goal is to whittle my clothes down to an amount that...wait for it...can actually ALL be put away. AT THE SAME TIME!!! What a concept, huh?

This book has been helping me: Clutter Rehab: 101 Tips and Tricks to Become an Organization Junkie and Love It! It has great, easy, approachable ideas to streamlining your home and clearing clutter from your life. The author has a helpful website, too: orgjunkie.com. I have always loved the idea of being an organized person. However, all the Rubbermaid totes in the world aren't enough to magically make me so. My dream is to have a home that is always ready to receive unexpected company. I'm proud to say I'm slowly getting there!

Leaning Tower of Tomatoes

I visited the garden today to shore up a tomato cage that was threatening to fall over due to my huge Sun Gold tomato plant. I feel so much satisfaction to see just how far the garden has come in the months it's been under my charge.

The beans are growing!

Las Fresas!

No other fruit reminds me of my childhood like strawberries. They also remind me of my Grandpa Elmer Berger. He's the only grandpa I ever knew; my grandma married him after being widowed for several years. I don't remember the exact year Grandpa Berger passed away, but I can tell you exactly what I was wearing at his funeral. Strange how a child's mind works, isn't it? As I remember it, Grandma and Grandpa Berger had quite a large garden. My family lived about 15 miles from them and I could always count on Grandpa B bringing me strawberries when they were in season. They are, hands down, my favorite fruit. I don't recall how those childhood strawberries tasted, but I do remember how special I felt about being singled out. Today, I harvested the first strawberries of the season from my garden and thought about Grandpa Berger as I ate them.

Fuchsia thief

Has anyone ever had birds eat the buds off a fuchsia plant? I planted a basket full of fuchsia plants and someone has come along and chewed open the buds, rendering them un-bloomable. I've done extensive internet searching without any real answers. I don't know who to blame for the thievery. Although, I now know how to spell fuchsia correctly every time. It's always been a tricky word for me. I wish I could reason with the birds. "I provide seed, suet, and a bath. Will you leave my flowers alone? Thank you. Except you hummingbirds. You're free to sip nectar at your leisure." Where's Dr. Doolittle when I need him?

Garden Picture

Garden Stuff

Today I built a teepee for my pole beans.


Planted zucchini.


Checked my lilies.



And admired some apple blossoms.


What did you do?

Making Progress!

I'm making progress! As a true Pacific-Northwesterner, I did not let the intermittent rain showers these past few days hold me back. All four beds are now weeded and looking so much better! Abby gets to go over and patrol the yard while I garden. Brett comes with me when he can. There is some evidence of mole activity and Abby is VERY interested in the mounds they leave behind. One particular bed held her interest so much, that she just stood there, staring at the ground cocking her head back and forth. Is it possible she hears and/or smells some critter below ground plotting against my efforts? So far, all that has gone in the ground are some summer bulbs (glads, lilies), carrots, radishes, and a couple lavender plants. But there is much more to come!!


















Abby helping Brett with the weeds.















The rhubarb making a strong comeback!




















The front of the John Tigard house.

Yay For Gardens!!

I am so excited!! About a five minute walk from my apartment is a historical house that belonged to the founder of my town, John Tigard. I have a connection on the Tigard Historical Association committee and through her, I was put in touch with the director of said committee. I am now the proud foster mother of four garden plots in the John Tigard House backyard!!! After years of container gardening, I am over the moon ecstatic about having actual ground to play around in. It is so difficult to get a community garden plot around here. I've been on the waiting lists for a couple years now - to just have four plots handed to me is such a blessing. They're providing me my water and aren't even charging me a rental fee. THA is just happy to have them put to use and looking good. Last year, the gardens were maintained by a local private school group, but for whatever reason they're not tending them this year. There are eight plots total and Mary was willing to give them all to me. I know my limits, though, and didn't want to get overwhelmed so just took the four. But I did tell her that if she can't find someone to take the others, I'd figure out some way to handle them. It's in my garden's best interest that there aren't beds of weeds adjacent.

Each of my beds is a different size but together they equal ~225 square feet of sweet dirty goodness. The first order of business is pulling weeds and preparing the beds. Then I get to decide what I'm planting!! I'll definitely be doing the usual tomatoes, peppers, carrots, radishes, beans, and onions. With all that space, though, I can really try some new things. There is some established rhubarb that Mary asked I leave be.

Now I need to buy some real tools and really learn composting as there's a composting bin for me to use. Did I mention how excited I am? If I could do a cartwheel, you bet I'd be doing them all over the house.

Here's a before picture of my plots. As you can see, there is a LOT of work to be done. Even the paths between the beds need some attention (i.e. weeding). I can't wait to get started! Let's hope the growing season is better this year than last. You got weeds, I'll pull 'em. You got slugs, I'll kill 'em. You got seeds, I'll grow 'em. So happy!

Baking 101

It's official! I'm a bread baker and my home smells like my childhood.

For the Birds

January has been a good month. I went on my first birding expedition. I've had a long interest in bird life and claim the bird nerd title proudly. It's a part of the animal kingdom that we can observe with immediacy and the more behavior I see, the more fascinated I become.

The Audubon Society of Portland sponsors small birding expeditions regularly. I was on their site a couple weeks ago and saw they were going on a birding trip at Summerlake Park, about ten minutes from where I live. I figured it was a good opportunity to get out of my comfort zone, meet some strangers, and look at birds. The park has a small lake with paths and bridges and a variety of resident and visiting birds. I introduced myself as a newbie at the outset and throughout the two-hour tour, the others made a point of showing me things and giving me identification tips and really making sure I had the best experience possible. I had so much fun! I saw birds I see all the time: varied thrushes, flickers, nuthatches, house finches, goldfinches, western gulls, etc and ones I don't get to see very often: egrets, blue herons, wood ducks, green-winged teals. I even saw birds I'd never seen before: buffleheads, mergansers, widgeons, ruby-headed kinglets, bewick's wren. I even saw a redtailed hawk perched up in a tree thanks to my companions.

We'd just had a freeze, so parts of the lake were still frozen, giving the birds the appearance of walking on water in some areas. The gulls, in particular, seemed to enjoy the ice as they came in for slip-sliding landings. They'd coast, land, slide, and repeat.

I was the youngest member of the group by at least 15 years but couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable experience. In a couple weeks, I'm going to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Preserve to participate in a night hike all about owls. I Can't Wait!!