Pretty Bird

 

A time to grow...

I just loaded a slide show with some yard stuff. Recently, I received some inspiring pictures from my aunt and uncle's brand new vegetable / flower garden. They live in rural southeastern Oregon and just put in their lovely garden this year. I was so excited to see some of the neat things they have done with used items already. This runs in the family...I LOVE it!

In the midst of our home study preparation David and I have managed to find some down time here and there these last few weeks. We are painting the upstairs hallway and bathroom, an area of the house that we have not done anything with since we bought this old house so it feels good to be making some headway there.

David built us a mini greenhouse out of some used shipping crates we got for free last fall. Complete with a drip system, we now stand a chance of getting some yummy melons and cucumbers in our short growing season. I started musk melon and watermelons from seed in March so they should be about ready to go into the ground. Last year we almost had some but between the hail and the dogs who found them before they could ripen completely...it was a battle lost.

The main raised bed garden is pretty well planted except for squash...I am waiting another week or so.

Potatoes - Planted 4 different types and all have sprouted - Early season Red Pontiacs first, mid season rose and apple fingerlings next and the late season yukon golds sprouting last. I dug 12 inch deep trenches that are filled in gradually as the plants grow taller. Did not go that deep last year and we got fair yields but I am hoping the depth will give us higher yields.

Tomatoes - Planted over 15 plants which is 3 times what I planted last year and I gave about 10 away to my friend. We got carried away. So we will have an interesting variety of rainbow hierlooms, cherokee purple, borghese, roma, yellow pear, super sweet 100, cherries and a couple of mystery ones. I planted them really deep this season and tried planting some sideways to see how that technique works. Inter planted in the tomato bed is sage, walla walla sweet onions, lemon and sweet basils, cilantro, purple and red bell peppers, white alyssum, nasturtiums and marigolds.

Greens - Lettuces (romaine, butter crunch, black seeded simpson and red leaf), yellow onions, garlic, nantes and 1/2 danvers carrots, cylindria, detroit and gold blend beets, cutting flowers -straw flower, zinnia, asters, baby's breath, rudbeckia, sunflowers last years thyme and a volunteer California poppy!

Roots - More beets and carrots mixed with onion. Trellis of peas, snapdragons, marigolds and more lettuce and spinach.

Cabbage - Yuk..hate cabbage so I just planted broccoli, cauliflower, asters, northern lights swiss chard ( another yummy treat if your a salad lover) and in this bed we added three rows of strawberries ( Davids favorites), another trellis of peas and some dill, nasturtium and sweet alyssum.

Squash - Have not planted these guys yet...they are hardening off in the green hut but we have yellow and green patty pans, yellow crookneck, zucchini, green pumpkin and mini pumpkins. For now all my beneficial annuals are getting going in that bed.

Corn - I just started corn in containers. I wasn't going to bother with it this year since the birds tore up the tassels last year and they never pollinated. Well see...

I have a bunch of perennials and annual to plant yet....and I started more in basement last night so when mom comes in August, we'll have some gardening to do!

Around the yard - The apple tree Tish and Tom gave us last year look fabulous! Irises are budding, tulips and grape hyacinth are fading and the irises, day lilies, roses and peonies are budding up to take thier place! We lost a japanese maple in the snow pack but the other three are looking pretty. The hostas and ferns are up under the pines. All the perennials I started from seed and planted last year are all coming in too! So rewarding! Hollyhock, yarrow, Shasta daisies, painted daisies, milkweed, lychnis, black-eyed susans, blanket flowers, cone flowers and lupine and the annuals I started from seed last year re-seeded so they are on their way up too! Seeds.....a super cheap, SUPER rewarding way to garden!

Spring has sprung!

The Best Macaroon's - The Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. The refrigerate mix for 15 minutes.

Drop the batter onto cookie sheets using a ice cream scoop or large spoon. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.
Dip bottoms is melted chocolate for an extra sweet treat!

Well, it was sunny enough this afternoon to take a look at the dresser and now this is what it looks like. The wood is beautiful and its in great shape! The drawers have to be sanded yet but the hardware is off. Have to wait for another sunny but dry day for the paint.
Meanwhile my dh David ( dear husband) is working on a fence for a chicken yard so the girls can get out and do what they do without getting into our garden and wrecking it. I have beet and lettuce seed flung far and wide so all my hard work from Friday was scrapped. Grrr...

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