Call it Lucky!

We bought these Orchids about 5 years ago and after the initial flowering, nada!

This summer, I got mad and was going to throw it out. Elaine gave an emphatic "No" to that idea.

So, I bought some orchid soil, split the roots, repotted and voila! instant flowers.

 I should have split one of the plants one more time, but I didn't  Anyway, a long story short. Elaine was right and we have flowers for about 5 more weeks. Life is good!

There is Nothing Like...

Growing your own apple trees. Every place we have lived, we have planted fruit trees, Kenora, Iroquois Falls, Fort William and Whitecourt (2X).

 I have been watching them for a while and decided it was time for the harvest. Shake the tree, and down they come!

So far, I have seven of these dudes in the freezer. We had to sacrifice one to ensure they are edible. It was definitely edible! If I shake the tree one more time, I will have lots for desiccating. Dried apples are very good.

Oh yeah, there are two more trees besides this one.

Bumper Crop!

Lots and lots of beans this year! 18 meals for 2 processed and in the freezer with about two more pickings to go. The yellow bowl was filled also. They are nice and tender and will be great when the S**w starts to fall. That was pretty much my day for today.

Maybe Prepper?

This year was fabulous as far as the garden went! I look around town and I don't see many gardens. The space is there, but nobody can be bothered to do anything with it, perhaps, because it involves a minimum of work. From the raised gardens below, I collected 26 meals for two that are now in the freezer.The carrot patch was one row long at 12 feet. I also got 52 meals of green beans (Scarlet Runners) that grew 1 1/2 feet over my 7 foot trellis. The bean row was 8 feet long. 

The garden also produced enough onions to last till next crop and enough potatoes to last till Christmas.

The apple trees did not produce this year due to a late frost, but that's OK, because we still have pies and crumbles left over from 2014 and 2015. Not many, but enough for the winter.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot the beets. I pickled up 12 pints and froze 18 meals for 2.

Now, as the apple crop failed, I splurged and spent $20 on a case of peaches which were then canned. This is not a bad year for the garden, and not a lot of work.

Now, I haven't got to the point of stashing away things like rice, flour etc., just in case... but I'm starting to wonder if I am becoming a "Prepper". What say you?

Many beets, carrots and beans were seriously hurt in this activity, but I am not going to apologize.

By the way, I am also a second generation vegetarian, cows eat grass, and I eat cows!

The garden is 168 square feet, total. 

Gardening Season Starts...A new idea!

The snow is almost gone (again) , the garden plots are now clear and I am getting the urge to go plant things. I got some Ginger from the grocery store, washed it well and potted it. It has now thrown up one shoot and hopefully more will come.

I got to thinking that maybe I should start some more stuff in doors as sort of an experiment. I got a pot, some dirt, and an egg.

The egg was centered in the pot with the big end up and buried 1/2 inch deep and carefully tamped down. A stake was planted to support the future crop. Watering involved a good soak, and the pot put in a sunny window.

The egg was supported on a pop can temporarily to give you the size of the pot used.

I figure with watering twice a week, I should be harvesting a crop in about 8 weeks!

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Stay tuned to see how my experiment in growing an egg plant turns out.

Garden Progress

So far, the garden has been doing well in spite of the drought. Daily watering helps a lot as does the 100% compost. 

 The garden may not be large, but it is productive. I like potato yield to be 1 potato to feed 4 people. Elaine likes baby potatoes. When you have a small garden, yield is important!

 These are our tomato trees. We have been getting tomatoes daily for the last 3 weeks. A lot get taken by grazing as we walk by.

 The pumpkin patch is starting to take off. Hopefully there will be enough growing time left to get a few. Pumpkin pie! Yum!

 The garden in back is lettuce romaine and leaf plus multicoloured  Swiss chard and a few peas as a trial.

 Next year the potatoes will go up against the fence and the potato bed will become veggies.

Here are the last two shots of the baby Tree swallow. He left yesterday. Maybe we will get a second nesting. If not, there is always next year.

 Cute little gaffer! The wren and chickadee babies have also gone for the year. The parents are still free loading at the feeder.

Hopefully, you are having a good gardening year also.

Getting Ready for Gardening

It's tough adjusting from 10 acres and a large garden to a town lot and a small garden, but you gotta do what you gotta do! I decided to go with raised beds as they warm up faster in the spring and are easier to weed

 So far it has taken 4 half ton loads of compost to fill them and I need at least one more load to finish them. There is also half a load of half inch screened rock around the patio stones in the walk ways. I put down gardening mesh to keep tree roots from coming up and to keep the grass from doing the same.

A quick look at one apple tree budding out. We got apples of it last year. Hopefully we will get some this year to.

 The second tree starting to bud out

 Our choke cherry tree is also popping leaves. I tried to get another one, but the nursery is not bringing anymore in due to a black knot blight that is taking it's tole. The Town Transfer Station stopped composing tree branches etc, for the same reason. Too much disease getting spread in the compost.

Wednesday we are anticipating another snow dump, so things could look a little different then. We normally don't plant seeds until mid June, other than nursery bought stuff that can be covered up, or brought in.
Only in Alberta, eh?

Just in Time!

Yesterday, I listened to the weather forecast and decided to pick these. The forecast was for a severe frost warning!

 It only got to -1C (30F), but it was enough to wilt off the pole beans.

 It also got the bush beans.

 I figured that Brooklyn might not want to swim. This was a bad assumption. The ducks were enjoying the warmth of the sun on shore, but not for long.

 Around and around she went, trying to catch one of those pesky ducks.

Still in hot pursuit.

 The muskrat was not involved in the chase.

 Nor were these ducks that were hiding in the weeds.

 The ducks are getting very close to flight. There have also been several large flocks of Sand Hill Cranes way up high "V" ing their way south.

It would appear that fall is upon us!

More Bits and Pieces

What creature up and died in this photo?

 Actually, nobody died. Boots just decided to shed his winter coat, and I attacked his bod with a Furminator, the best tool ever for getting rid of undercoat!

 The peonies are coming out, finally.

 The roses are starting to bloom again.

 The septic field was slightly overgrown with weeds.

 The Grim Reaper (me) with my scythe made short work of cleaning out the mess.

 Baby Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers are starting to show up. I never did find their nest this year.

 And of course, the drab, boring, tent caterpillars have disappeared.

Only to come back  as the dreaded moth. There will likely be a gadzillion of them this year.

 They appear to be slightly more intelligent than wheat!

Work Load..

Spring time always seems to be loaded up with work! Now and again, a fellow has to stop and observe nature. This crane fly was doing much the same thing...nothing.

The automatic lawn mowers were back working on the driveway. A few more days, and it will be nicely trimmed up, and partially fertilized.

The green house is starting to fill up. Lots of green and red peppers growing well. they will stay in the green house all summer.

We also have these non-edible things Taking up space growing, almost ready to go inro baskets outside.

One tomato plant is producing like crazy. the other three are coming along nicely. There are no pictures of ripe tomatoes. Someone keeps nibbling them as they ripen.

The back splash project in the kitchen is almost done. there is just a little clean up to do. This has been a 10 year request, however, I feel that one should not jump into a project without thoroughly analyzing it.

The backsplash in the bathroom is also complete! Now I can start to relax!

Oops, it has been raining almost every day for 2 weeks, so I guess I can't relax until the garden is fully planted.