Starting Seeds
Feb. 18th, 2026 08:49 amI am NOT an expert in seed starting, but I have learned some stuff over the last 5 years.
( Cut, under which I go on, and on. Pics )
( Cut, under which I go on, and on. Pics )
Busy, Rocks, Visitors!
Feb. 14th, 2026 08:32 pmYou haven't heard from me because life has been very, very busy. Early last week I spent time trying, with some success, to eliminate more grass from the garden. I also got the annual water use report done - finally. Also got my burn permit for the year.
At some point Martin called to say there was a dead cow up by Split Rock. I called Cody who went and rescued the cow's calf. We all hope that the cow lived long enough for the calf to nurse at least once. If she didn't the calf will probably die, if it got some of that first milk with all it's antibodies and other goodies, it should live.
At some point Martin called to say there was a dead cow up by Split Rock. I called Cody who went and rescued the cow's calf. We all hope that the cow lived long enough for the calf to nurse at least once. If she didn't the calf will probably die, if it got some of that first milk with all it's antibodies and other goodies, it should live.
( Read more, pics )
Obstacle Practice, Firefly
Feb. 8th, 2026 08:16 pmAnother weekend obstacle practice successfully completed.
This horse is having a good look at that stuff hanging on the fence. I tried for a vaguely Valentine's Day theme, plus the nice shiny, silver insulation from a box that M brought back Alaska Salmon in.
This Arab gelding was showing off as he trotted over the Tic-Tack-Toe.
Lots of people found that the jousting was harder than it looked.
On Saturday we only had four riders (Sunday there were 10). I got Firefly out. She was both very interactive and calm. Sunday I wanted to turn her loose in the arena while I cleaned up. When I went to get her I wanted to ride through the corrals. I started to climb on a fence panel to mount (my knees just won't bounce enough to vault on anymore). Several months ago she had fussed and moved away from the mounting block. At that point I picked up a whip and simply showed it to her. That was enough for her to be very polite when I mount - from her left side. Today's effort was on her right. Horses don't transfer skills from side to side very well. Firefly thought she would just step away. The third time she stepped away I gave her a single, open palm slap on the side she was moving toward. The head went up and she offered to run away from my cruel beating. Then stood nice and quiet and calm while I got on. Today, for the first time, I opened the latch on the two gates from horseback. It wasn't elegant, but it did teach her that the noise was ok, and that the gate would open if she stood in the right place. While I cleaned up the arena, she got to run around in the nice soft sand, and roll. At least sand doesn't stick like the mud in the corral does! When I was done she walked up to me and we went off to a nice patch of green grass for her to graze as a treat. What a greedy thing she is. She stuffed grass in her mouth as fast as she could bite it off for at least 10 minutes, chewing extremely hastily, before slowing down.
Tomorrow is another walk up to the Dogbane patches, this time with some of the local basket weavers. I'm excited about this.
This horse is having a good look at that stuff hanging on the fence. I tried for a vaguely Valentine's Day theme, plus the nice shiny, silver insulation from a box that M brought back Alaska Salmon in.
This Arab gelding was showing off as he trotted over the Tic-Tack-Toe.
Lots of people found that the jousting was harder than it looked.
On Saturday we only had four riders (Sunday there were 10). I got Firefly out. She was both very interactive and calm. Sunday I wanted to turn her loose in the arena while I cleaned up. When I went to get her I wanted to ride through the corrals. I started to climb on a fence panel to mount (my knees just won't bounce enough to vault on anymore). Several months ago she had fussed and moved away from the mounting block. At that point I picked up a whip and simply showed it to her. That was enough for her to be very polite when I mount - from her left side. Today's effort was on her right. Horses don't transfer skills from side to side very well. Firefly thought she would just step away. The third time she stepped away I gave her a single, open palm slap on the side she was moving toward. The head went up and she offered to run away from my cruel beating. Then stood nice and quiet and calm while I got on. Today, for the first time, I opened the latch on the two gates from horseback. It wasn't elegant, but it did teach her that the noise was ok, and that the gate would open if she stood in the right place. While I cleaned up the arena, she got to run around in the nice soft sand, and roll. At least sand doesn't stick like the mud in the corral does! When I was done she walked up to me and we went off to a nice patch of green grass for her to graze as a treat. What a greedy thing she is. She stuffed grass in her mouth as fast as she could bite it off for at least 10 minutes, chewing extremely hastily, before slowing down.
Tomorrow is another walk up to the Dogbane patches, this time with some of the local basket weavers. I'm excited about this.
Grass, Voles, Water Report
Feb. 4th, 2026 08:51 pmThe war on grass is in full swing. At the moment I'm winning. Saw a vole scuttle away when I picked up a piece of plastic that had blown off the compost heap. That led to lots of grass removal in the area to make it a less attractive habitat.
The State of California requires us to report how much water we "divert" from our spring/stream/well and store in our tanks/ponds/whatever. It is a Huge PITA. This year was worse than most. This year they moved to a new computer program. I get really anxious about such reports so of course I was one of the people for whom the new system did not work. Today a very nice fellow named Scott, with a very calming voice called and between us, and the programmers I finally got my report done. Whew!
Tomorrow I'm off for Fort Bragg to have Richard work on my back. Can't wait, I always feel so much better afterward! I get two trips this month, next week Donald will be here and we will go over together. Speaking of Donald, he is currently on his way back from a couple of weeks in Australia where it is HOT.
I realized today that I need to build a little platform before this my Obstacle Practice weekend (this weekend). I have a 4' x 8' sheet of 1/2 inch plywood, used. I think I can cut it in two, stack the two pieces together for strength and build a frame for it fairly quickly.
The State of California requires us to report how much water we "divert" from our spring/stream/well and store in our tanks/ponds/whatever. It is a Huge PITA. This year was worse than most. This year they moved to a new computer program. I get really anxious about such reports so of course I was one of the people for whom the new system did not work. Today a very nice fellow named Scott, with a very calming voice called and between us, and the programmers I finally got my report done. Whew!
Tomorrow I'm off for Fort Bragg to have Richard work on my back. Can't wait, I always feel so much better afterward! I get two trips this month, next week Donald will be here and we will go over together. Speaking of Donald, he is currently on his way back from a couple of weeks in Australia where it is HOT.
I realized today that I need to build a little platform before this my Obstacle Practice weekend (this weekend). I have a 4' x 8' sheet of 1/2 inch plywood, used. I think I can cut it in two, stack the two pieces together for strength and build a frame for it fairly quickly.
Seeds! Plants!
Feb. 3rd, 2026 09:34 pmI now have five dozen cells happily growing seeds. Some of those cells just have a couple of peas in them, but others are more densely planted. Very soon some of that stuff is going to have to be pricked out and moved to the greenhouse. ( Read more... )
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kaishin108 I think you need to replant the iris in your bed. There seem to be some amazing ones out there! This is Day By the Bay.
I don't know the name of this iris, but I have a couple and love them.
kaishin108 I think you need to replant the iris in your bed. There seem to be some amazing ones out there! This is Day By the Bay.I don't know the name of this iris, but I have a couple and love them.
I cleaned out a whole cabinet plus another very small drawer unit and several shelves in San Francisco. I remembered my drawers as being quite a lot better organized than they were. Now I have 5 crates of stuff to sort. A couple of them won't be bad, but at least two or three need a lot of work. I'm tempted just to toss the lot, but can't quite make myself do that, there is a lot of hardware in there, much of it new.
Discovered that there were no large sized screwdrivers left down there. I'll take some back.
Dug a few iris, including a light blue one that will very much be in the way of the construction project. I really wanted that color in the mix here in Ukiah. Took a bunch of containers with fertilizers and other soil amendments that will never get used in SF but can be used one way or another in Ukiah.
It is a bit overwhelming.
Dealing with our elderly downstairs tenant was no fun. He is resisting both our project to fix the house and my attempt to get the electrical fixed, saying that it is an enormous disturbance and he will have to move everything in his flat when we do it, which is not true. Yes there will be some disturbance, but he's way out in left field. Then he started in telling me that we had told him we were starting our project "right away" when we started the planning process 3 years ago. The opposite is true. We have told him repeatedly, monthly, weekly (basically every time we talk to him) that we are NOT starting yet, and that he will have at least 2 weeks notice before we do. I know it is just him getting more frail and less able, but it really rubs me the wrong way. Sigh.
Discovered that there were no large sized screwdrivers left down there. I'll take some back.
Dug a few iris, including a light blue one that will very much be in the way of the construction project. I really wanted that color in the mix here in Ukiah. Took a bunch of containers with fertilizers and other soil amendments that will never get used in SF but can be used one way or another in Ukiah.
It is a bit overwhelming.
Dealing with our elderly downstairs tenant was no fun. He is resisting both our project to fix the house and my attempt to get the electrical fixed, saying that it is an enormous disturbance and he will have to move everything in his flat when we do it, which is not true. Yes there will be some disturbance, but he's way out in left field. Then he started in telling me that we had told him we were starting our project "right away" when we started the planning process 3 years ago. The opposite is true. We have told him repeatedly, monthly, weekly (basically every time we talk to him) that we are NOT starting yet, and that he will have at least 2 weeks notice before we do. I know it is just him getting more frail and less able, but it really rubs me the wrong way. Sigh.
Curried Cabbage
Jan. 29th, 2026 02:18 pmThis recipe came from "The Swallow Family Heritage Cookbook" that my friend Lisa wrote. I have changed the recipe somewhat, mostly adding more spices and cooking them into a sauce. I'm almost happy with this version.
1 head cabbage, preferably red. Chop into chunks about 1 to 1/12 inch square. Read chop into easy to eat chunks.
3 baked or otherwise cooked potatoes in about 1 inch cubes, or to taste size wise. I like russets for this, but any potato is fine.
Knob fresh ginger grated or very finely chopped. Last time I used about a tablespoonful of finely chopped.
2 tsp of cumin seed.
1 tsp ground cumin.
1 Tbs + mustard seed
Small pinch cardamon seed cracked. You could certainly use a pinch of ground cardamon.
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 -3 tsp ground coriander
2 cloves Garlic, minced (I use garlic oil, or omit).
Chili powder or cayenne flakes or omit. I use a pinch of jalapeno flakes.
Salt to taste.
In a large pot, I use my 4 quart pan:
Bloom the spices in oil, seeds first, (heat for a moment until fragrant, usually a few seconds to a minute). Add about a cup of hot water and simmer slowly for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the sauce begins to smell really good and look more like a sauce and less like spices in water. The object is to get the seeds to soften and flavor the sauce. Water may need to be added during this process.
When sauce is ready add potatoes and cabbage and cover. Cook over a low heat until the cabbage is just beginning to soften, you want it to remain a little crunchy. Stir a couple of times and add a little water if it begins to stick. Overcooking the cabbage will remove the flavor, texture and sweetness of the cabbage.
I sometimes add 2-3 cups of diced corned beef to this mix. If the corned beef is very salty omit any extra salt.
1 head cabbage, preferably red. Chop into chunks about 1 to 1/12 inch square. Read chop into easy to eat chunks.
3 baked or otherwise cooked potatoes in about 1 inch cubes, or to taste size wise. I like russets for this, but any potato is fine.
Knob fresh ginger grated or very finely chopped. Last time I used about a tablespoonful of finely chopped.
2 tsp of cumin seed.
1 tsp ground cumin.
1 Tbs + mustard seed
Small pinch cardamon seed cracked. You could certainly use a pinch of ground cardamon.
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 -3 tsp ground coriander
2 cloves Garlic, minced (I use garlic oil, or omit).
Chili powder or cayenne flakes or omit. I use a pinch of jalapeno flakes.
Salt to taste.
In a large pot, I use my 4 quart pan:
Bloom the spices in oil, seeds first, (heat for a moment until fragrant, usually a few seconds to a minute). Add about a cup of hot water and simmer slowly for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the sauce begins to smell really good and look more like a sauce and less like spices in water. The object is to get the seeds to soften and flavor the sauce. Water may need to be added during this process.
When sauce is ready add potatoes and cabbage and cover. Cook over a low heat until the cabbage is just beginning to soften, you want it to remain a little crunchy. Stir a couple of times and add a little water if it begins to stick. Overcooking the cabbage will remove the flavor, texture and sweetness of the cabbage.
I sometimes add 2-3 cups of diced corned beef to this mix. If the corned beef is very salty omit any extra salt.
Eating with allergies.
Arena, Iris
Jan. 26th, 2026 07:53 pmCalifornia is basking in reasonable temperatures and even sun. It did freeze last night but warmed right up.
Yesterday's chore was to "groom" the arena. This required taking the tractor down from the house, a distance of about 2 miles in the chilly morning air. Before hooking up the drag I made a faint effort to move some sand from the south side of the arena where the sand is thick, to the middle where there are some dips that become pools when it rains. I did get some sand moved we will see if it did any good in the next good rainstorm. Got the whole thing dragged, fluffing up the sand and hopefully killing all the grass that had germinated. Took about four passes over each square foot of sand in a 140 x 250 ft rectangle. With that done I got out the sprayer and sprayed the edges for the second time this year. I suspect there will be a third time as well. There was spray leftover to use on the weeds in the pastures. Almost all the plants I target are mustard, dock and fiddleneck. Horses don't eat any of them unless starving. Dock and mustard can take over a pasture, reducing the area that can be grazed dramatically. Both plants are perennial in this climate. Mustard at least has the advantage of fixing nitrogen in the soil, but that isn't enough for me to want it in the pastures.
Today's chores involved paperwork and a trip to town to take iris starts to a lady, plus grocery shopping.
Rain tomorrow, the first rain since Jan 8th. Apparently a one day wonder before it goes back to being reasonably warm and sunny.
Yesterday's chore was to "groom" the arena. This required taking the tractor down from the house, a distance of about 2 miles in the chilly morning air. Before hooking up the drag I made a faint effort to move some sand from the south side of the arena where the sand is thick, to the middle where there are some dips that become pools when it rains. I did get some sand moved we will see if it did any good in the next good rainstorm. Got the whole thing dragged, fluffing up the sand and hopefully killing all the grass that had germinated. Took about four passes over each square foot of sand in a 140 x 250 ft rectangle. With that done I got out the sprayer and sprayed the edges for the second time this year. I suspect there will be a third time as well. There was spray leftover to use on the weeds in the pastures. Almost all the plants I target are mustard, dock and fiddleneck. Horses don't eat any of them unless starving. Dock and mustard can take over a pasture, reducing the area that can be grazed dramatically. Both plants are perennial in this climate. Mustard at least has the advantage of fixing nitrogen in the soil, but that isn't enough for me to want it in the pastures.
Today's chores involved paperwork and a trip to town to take iris starts to a lady, plus grocery shopping.
Rain tomorrow, the first rain since Jan 8th. Apparently a one day wonder before it goes back to being reasonably warm and sunny.
Wormer, Garden, Wood
Jan. 24th, 2026 06:04 pmRussel and his wife Karen called and came out this morning to cut wood. They are such nice people! I showed them several options including a huge tree that is down right next to the road.
There is a lot of grass trying desperately to go to seed in my garden. Grass is supposed to start in Nov-Dec, grow only a little until early March and go to seed in late April or May. Instead there is grass 2 feet tall now, in January. A lot of grass has already been pulled out of the garden and added to the compost. All that nice high-nitrogen grass has brought the compost up to a toasty 130F. At that temperature there are millions of little microscopic organisms happily chomping away at the pile, aided and abetted by fungi.
I went down to Winter Quarters today, got Firefly and gave her a good grooming. We had a short ride in the arena to review leg and weight aids. Afterward, back in Winter Quarters, I stopped to chat with Glenn who was there to exercise two horses. Such a nice person! Firefly had a little lesson in standing around waiting for me to finish talking. She is getting ever so much more patient. Before I let her loose I gave her a dose of worm medicine, it is past time to do so. The wormer was apple flavored which helped a little (horses often object quite forcefully to having nasty paste squirted into their mouth). Firefly barely put up any resistance. All the other horses on the place are getting their doses as well. Throughout everything Firefly was really good. She even stood quietly next to the fence as I crawled on her. (For non-horse riders: horses are smart. If they decide they don't want to be ridden they will step away from the fence or mounting block until trained to stand by it quietly. Horses that are ridden with kindness and sensitivity learn that they don't need to dislike being ridden - it might be nice or even fun!)
Tomorrow the plan is to take the tractor down and groom the arena. Also spray the edges again. Once that is done it will be time to hook up the post hole digger and see if it will dig some holes for me. Some places may be fine, others may have too much rock for the auger to work.
Finger seems to be healing nicely so far. In this case the no-antibiotics approach appears to have worked well. The nurse at the hospital cleaned the wound with a stream of saline solution, about 3 cups of it. The stitches were top dressed with a dab of Neosporin and a bandaid. So much better than automatically giving a week's worth of oral antibiotics to absolutely everyone.
There is a lot of grass trying desperately to go to seed in my garden. Grass is supposed to start in Nov-Dec, grow only a little until early March and go to seed in late April or May. Instead there is grass 2 feet tall now, in January. A lot of grass has already been pulled out of the garden and added to the compost. All that nice high-nitrogen grass has brought the compost up to a toasty 130F. At that temperature there are millions of little microscopic organisms happily chomping away at the pile, aided and abetted by fungi.
I went down to Winter Quarters today, got Firefly and gave her a good grooming. We had a short ride in the arena to review leg and weight aids. Afterward, back in Winter Quarters, I stopped to chat with Glenn who was there to exercise two horses. Such a nice person! Firefly had a little lesson in standing around waiting for me to finish talking. She is getting ever so much more patient. Before I let her loose I gave her a dose of worm medicine, it is past time to do so. The wormer was apple flavored which helped a little (horses often object quite forcefully to having nasty paste squirted into their mouth). Firefly barely put up any resistance. All the other horses on the place are getting their doses as well. Throughout everything Firefly was really good. She even stood quietly next to the fence as I crawled on her. (For non-horse riders: horses are smart. If they decide they don't want to be ridden they will step away from the fence or mounting block until trained to stand by it quietly. Horses that are ridden with kindness and sensitivity learn that they don't need to dislike being ridden - it might be nice or even fun!)
Tomorrow the plan is to take the tractor down and groom the arena. Also spray the edges again. Once that is done it will be time to hook up the post hole digger and see if it will dig some holes for me. Some places may be fine, others may have too much rock for the auger to work.
Finger seems to be healing nicely so far. In this case the no-antibiotics approach appears to have worked well. The nurse at the hospital cleaned the wound with a stream of saline solution, about 3 cups of it. The stitches were top dressed with a dab of Neosporin and a bandaid. So much better than automatically giving a week's worth of oral antibiotics to absolutely everyone.
Long, Long Day
Jan. 23rd, 2026 01:25 pmYesterday I got in the car and went to San Francisco. Donald and I sorted through clothes, and boxes from closets. We loaded lumber, boxes and a small amount of clothing into the car. We had some lunch and I headed home. Total driving time about 5 hours.
As a treat I stopped at Dharma Trading Company and purchased a few dyes we were short on for tye-dying, and some other supplies.
Eventually I got back home. While fixing some salad as a late dinner the knife I was drying (having washed it) slipped and cut me across the top of my left index finger. It bled a lot. So at 9:45 I got ready with a bit of extra coffee and water; and headed to the emergency room for a few stitches. I truly do not trust the hospital in Ukiah, and my insurance is through Kaiser in Santa Rosa. I arrived just before 11. It took 3 hours to be seen, which I kind of expected. I was very low on the priority list. Turned out that the cut was nowhere near as bad as I feared. In fact it was borderline for needing stitching. Since I'm so active the (very nice) doctor put 3 stitches in it. I got home at 3 am and had to be up at 6:30 to feed the horses.
Pretty slow moving today.
As a treat I stopped at Dharma Trading Company and purchased a few dyes we were short on for tye-dying, and some other supplies.
Eventually I got back home. While fixing some salad as a late dinner the knife I was drying (having washed it) slipped and cut me across the top of my left index finger. It bled a lot. So at 9:45 I got ready with a bit of extra coffee and water; and headed to the emergency room for a few stitches. I truly do not trust the hospital in Ukiah, and my insurance is through Kaiser in Santa Rosa. I arrived just before 11. It took 3 hours to be seen, which I kind of expected. I was very low on the priority list. Turned out that the cut was nowhere near as bad as I feared. In fact it was borderline for needing stitching. Since I'm so active the (very nice) doctor put 3 stitches in it. I got home at 3 am and had to be up at 6:30 to feed the horses.
Pretty slow moving today.
Still chugging away at the tie-dye project. The whole tie-dye kit looked exactly like what it was: the end result of someone who was doing small scale commercial tie-dye who stopped suddenly. She had all kinds of poorly labeled stuff, things she had purchased from other people at a very low cost, and stuff that a single person doing the dying would know, but not an outsider. Huge bottles of dye with the label almost completely washed off, application bottles that were not washed out with two or three names on the bottle. Dyes in dozens of identical containers with only the tiny print on the front to identify them. Dyes for which there were no swatches and swatches which there were no dyes. I can't function very well in that kind of chaos. I'm methodically cleaning everything, labeling things with easy to read labels, making swatches for the colors that are missing them, and so on. I may do a couple more shirts, mostly for M, to use up the dye I have mixed. When I'm done everything will be clean, labeled and sorted into boxes by color family.
It is cold today and overcast after a string of beautiful sunny days. Tomorrow isn't going to be much warmer, but the sun is supposed to be out. I plan to go down and groom the arena to kill all the tiny grass plants that are trying to come up in it. While I'm there with the tractor I'll hook up the post hole digger and try to put in a couple of posts on the new fence line at Winter Quarters.
My burn permit finally arrived. Sadly today is not a burn day. I'd like to dispose of the brush from that tree we cut up a couple of days ago.
It is cold today and overcast after a string of beautiful sunny days. Tomorrow isn't going to be much warmer, but the sun is supposed to be out. I plan to go down and groom the arena to kill all the tiny grass plants that are trying to come up in it. While I'm there with the tractor I'll hook up the post hole digger and try to put in a couple of posts on the new fence line at Winter Quarters.
My burn permit finally arrived. Sadly today is not a burn day. I'd like to dispose of the brush from that tree we cut up a couple of days ago.
Mark O. came up today to "help". He has been one of my deer hunters for 25 years and is a really nice guy who is very helpful indeed. At random I chose to work on the tree below the garden. Back in July of 25 several of us cut down a really big blue oak that had been mutilated by PG&E tree crews. We got the tree on the ground and just left it there. A few weeks later I spent a couple of hours cutting off some of the smaller limbs and chopping up some firewood. It barely made a dent. Today Mark piled brush and loaded rounds into the Gator while I cut. I started out using my little Stihl 250 (Belin) which works great for limbing things up but isn't powerful enough to chop up bigger diameter limbs. When the branches got to about a 1ft diameter I switched to Rosie the big 391 with a 25 inch bar. I'm always impressed with that saw's power. It just chewed through that oak like it was nothing. The saw doesn't do anything fancy it just chops down through wood in a straight line. I chopped up limbs until even Rosie was slowing down a bit. Here is Chena very unhappily sitting on the log. There was some critter hiding from her down there...( Read more... )
(no subject)
Jan. 18th, 2026 06:06 pmPhoebe came over on Friday. We spent several hours pulling her tye-dye tubs off the shelves in the carport and going through them. They were all jumbled up. Phoebe sold tie-dye for a while and had lots of odds and ends that needed to be sorted. Ultimately she took three large tubs of stuff away. The rest of the stuff is pretty well organized and labeled. We were planning to do some dying that day, but decided to put it off to the morning.
Saturday morning I dumped old dye bottles and rinsed them out. Shirts, handkerchiefs and a couple of sweatshirts went into the soda bath. M picked out some colors and Phoebe and I began mixing powdered dye with water and urea. Before we could actually start applying dye Dave and Kim arrived. We had a nice, social lunch together which was just perfect.
Then we got back to dying. I got 2 shirts done for M before quitting. Donald got a long sleeved shirt tied up in a mandela pattern and dyed. Phoebe, who had more time, got four shirts and one sweatshirt done.
Today we washed out yesterday's shirts and I did 5 more. Hope we like them! Donald's shirt came out great. Pics tomorrow.
My obstacle day for next month is filling up already, which is very encouraging.
Saturday morning I dumped old dye bottles and rinsed them out. Shirts, handkerchiefs and a couple of sweatshirts went into the soda bath. M picked out some colors and Phoebe and I began mixing powdered dye with water and urea. Before we could actually start applying dye Dave and Kim arrived. We had a nice, social lunch together which was just perfect.
Then we got back to dying. I got 2 shirts done for M before quitting. Donald got a long sleeved shirt tied up in a mandela pattern and dyed. Phoebe, who had more time, got four shirts and one sweatshirt done.
Today we washed out yesterday's shirts and I did 5 more. Hope we like them! Donald's shirt came out great. Pics tomorrow.
My obstacle day for next month is filling up already, which is very encouraging.
Garden, New Panels, Radio
Jan. 13th, 2026 06:02 pmSince the sun came out the garden has gotten quite a lot of love. The iris bed with the white irises in it got dug over, the irises lifted and divided. It has been at least two or possibly 3 decades since the iris have been divided and they were in a sorry state. There are great numbers of various iris plants sitting around waiting for new homes most of them quite small. The (few) replanted iris should thrive. They will be extra happy without the grass that was threatening to choke them out. Some of the white iris will be replaced with bronze/pink iris from Henry St, and possibly some other colors.
Elsewhere in the garden; A couple of beds no longer have dying tomatoes in them which makes the fava beans, which were trying to grow in tomato plant shade, really happy. Tons of grass has been pulled out and dead sunflowers pulled out to add to the compost. Still have two big beds to go but things are definitely looking a lot better. Sadly there are vole trails all over. They love all the overgrown plants. Yesterday traps were set out to reduce the vole population. So far I've caught 3.
Today the new metal fence panels for Winter Quarters arrived. Dave and his son Grant came up to help. We removed the old beat up/broken panels that decidedly did not fit and put new ones in their place. It all fits and looks SO much better. Included in this order were several gates, one of which is now hanging from the front-center of the Winter Quarters run in shedrow. For months we have been using a temporary panel as a gate. This meant lifting it and hooking it on a hinge pin fitting that was loosely attached. It worked surprisingly well as a latch, but it was a pain in the neck to use. Today we replaced that panel with a nice gate on real hinges!
This afternoon I had an interview down at the local community radio station. I think it went well. Hopefully I didn't say "um" too many times! It was kind of fun: The lady who was interviewing me was using some new equipment; when she had trouble getting her sound levels right, my Stagehand training kicked in and we were able to solve them together.
Elsewhere in the garden; A couple of beds no longer have dying tomatoes in them which makes the fava beans, which were trying to grow in tomato plant shade, really happy. Tons of grass has been pulled out and dead sunflowers pulled out to add to the compost. Still have two big beds to go but things are definitely looking a lot better. Sadly there are vole trails all over. They love all the overgrown plants. Yesterday traps were set out to reduce the vole population. So far I've caught 3.
Today the new metal fence panels for Winter Quarters arrived. Dave and his son Grant came up to help. We removed the old beat up/broken panels that decidedly did not fit and put new ones in their place. It all fits and looks SO much better. Included in this order were several gates, one of which is now hanging from the front-center of the Winter Quarters run in shedrow. For months we have been using a temporary panel as a gate. This meant lifting it and hooking it on a hinge pin fitting that was loosely attached. It worked surprisingly well as a latch, but it was a pain in the neck to use. Today we replaced that panel with a nice gate on real hinges!
This afternoon I had an interview down at the local community radio station. I think it went well. Hopefully I didn't say "um" too many times! It was kind of fun: The lady who was interviewing me was using some new equipment; when she had trouble getting her sound levels right, my Stagehand training kicked in and we were able to solve them together.
Sun, Garden, Health
Jan. 7th, 2026 08:45 pmThe sun has finally returned, which is very exciting. It is SO wet out there. Season to date is now 21 inches (150% of normal for this date).
The sunny days allowed garden cleanup to continue. Which is very much needed. Sheesh, it is the beginning of January and there is grass going to seed! As usual the pink rose is blooming instead of going dormant. Pulling grass out of the soggy clay is a chore, but otherwise the garden is just going to disappear. Quite a lot of evidence that the voles are still around. Grrrr.
Did a quick trip over to Fort Bragg so Richard could fix the things that hurt in my back and neck. Also he fixed my left foot. A few days ago I slid and fell going down a terribly steep hillside in the semi-dark. The fall didn't hurt at all but it did mess with my foot. The slip pushed the cuboid bone in my foot just slightly out of kilter. It hasn't hurt a lot, just been a little ouchy at times. Took Richard about 1 minute to put it back in place. I'm under strict orders to warm my foot up (and strengthen it) by pointing my toes in and up, then down and out, before getting up from bed or after sitting for a while.
Once back from Fort Bragg I cut pieces of what the English call "fleece" for the garden. It is supposed to be right down to freezing tonight, and a couple of degrees below freezing tomorrow. Amazingly enough I have peppers still chugging along! I think they will get through the cold and really enjoy the 70F weather that is supposed to be on the way. Also covered one of the two lemon trees (I'll cover the other one tomorrow). The lime tree has gone into the greenhouse. The fava beans and collard greens should be fine. Speaking of collard greens, I find my self really liking Champion. I still like the old Vates plants too. Both are under serious attack from slugs this year. I've picked dozens of slugs off the plants. I blame the rain.
The sunny days allowed garden cleanup to continue. Which is very much needed. Sheesh, it is the beginning of January and there is grass going to seed! As usual the pink rose is blooming instead of going dormant. Pulling grass out of the soggy clay is a chore, but otherwise the garden is just going to disappear. Quite a lot of evidence that the voles are still around. Grrrr.
Did a quick trip over to Fort Bragg so Richard could fix the things that hurt in my back and neck. Also he fixed my left foot. A few days ago I slid and fell going down a terribly steep hillside in the semi-dark. The fall didn't hurt at all but it did mess with my foot. The slip pushed the cuboid bone in my foot just slightly out of kilter. It hasn't hurt a lot, just been a little ouchy at times. Took Richard about 1 minute to put it back in place. I'm under strict orders to warm my foot up (and strengthen it) by pointing my toes in and up, then down and out, before getting up from bed or after sitting for a while.
Once back from Fort Bragg I cut pieces of what the English call "fleece" for the garden. It is supposed to be right down to freezing tonight, and a couple of degrees below freezing tomorrow. Amazingly enough I have peppers still chugging along! I think they will get through the cold and really enjoy the 70F weather that is supposed to be on the way. Also covered one of the two lemon trees (I'll cover the other one tomorrow). The lime tree has gone into the greenhouse. The fava beans and collard greens should be fine. Speaking of collard greens, I find my self really liking Champion. I still like the old Vates plants too. Both are under serious attack from slugs this year. I've picked dozens of slugs off the plants. I blame the rain.
