1977

Chris, somewhere in the Atlantic, August 2011.

If I'm going to ever start posting photos here again, I might as well start here.  Thank you to Chris and my parents for the new camera!

6/20/11

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Bush Beans

Yellow Bush Beans, 6/14/11.

I borrowed the camera from work tonight to test it out (see above).  I'm in the market for a new camera and have only had my camera phone, for…way too long (see photos below).

This is my first year trying to grow beans.  I ordered Yellow Beans from Johnny's Seed catalog way back when.  These are of the bush bean variety (as opposed to climbers) and only grow 2 feet tall or so.  The beans are yellow and long, and we'll see what they're like.  Who knows.  I planted a crap load of them, in little patches--one on the left side of the garden and one on the far right, in front of the sunflowers.  

I seeded them directly into the ground on 5/28 and only 4 days later they busted through the ground.  I love these fast-to-germinate seeds.  There's something encouraging about seeing results so quickly.  Plus, these beans can be planted in batches every few weeks throughout the summer, to get a steady crop.  I should probably start another batch in any empty areas.   

6/11/11.

6/11/11.

Hydrangeas (I think)

New flowers in the front yard, 6/12/11.

More Surprise Flowers: Pink Dianthus Chinenthis

Dianthus Chinenthis, 6/11/11

These are Pink Chinese Dianthus (pics).  I bought one small grassy plant plant last year at the Southside Community Land Trust plant sale.  It grew quite a bit and i read that you can split them, so I did.  And then the summer ended, the plants, which was only grass-like leaves, turned brown & purplish.  I assumed they had died.  Then the snow came.  


When it melted, the plants were still there.  We moved this box with us to the new house, have kept it watered, and I dug one out and planted it in the ground in the new garden.

Then come the flowers…

...and more flowers…and more flowers.  I love this plant.  Since it's a perennial, we've got it forever (or until I kill it).  I'll keep splitting the plants, and maybe slowly line the borders of the yard with them.

Playing Dead

5/20/11 -  Doesn't it look like she's playing dead?  Here, Spicy is laying on her side, of all things.  The first time I saw her do this was in the run and it seemed to be part of her dust bath.  I had read about chickens flopping around in the dirt, taking dust baths, to clean off their feathers in places where they can't reach.  

For a brief time when I was a kid, I had two chinchillas.  They took dust baths in a silver/gray powder.  They too flopped around like little tazmanian devils. So the first time Spicy laid down on her side, I rightly guessed this was a version of or part of the dust bath.  In the rocks she doesn't flip around like she does when taking dust baths in the run, but I have to imagine she was sunning herself.  Too cute.  Within seconds she had popped back up on her feet and flitted off.

5/27/11

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Another surprise flowering bush

5/26/11, back yard

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Drawer bed success

The drawer beds are doing well. Harvesting greens in the morning helps keep them crisp. So, this saturday morning I'll collect enough for a big salad.

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Garden update: almost everything planted

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90% of the garden is finished, meaning all purchased seedlings are planted.  Only bush beans need to be seeded.  Above, in my first in-ground garden, I've got the following:

• 5 Yellow squash plants (from seed)
• 10 Sun flowers (from seed)
• 3 white pumpkins (from seed)
• 1 cilantro seedling & 2 small sungella tomato seedlings that I don't expect to make it (from seed)
• 2 cornflower seedlings (from seed)
• 3 zinnia flowers (from seed)
• 9 corn plants (from seed)

• a flowering grassy plant, overwintered from last year

• 1 Best boy hybrid tomato plant (starter purchased at last weekend's plant sale)
• 1 mortgage lifter tomato (plant sale)
• 1 sungold sweet tomato (plant sale)
• 1 mammoth sunflower (plant sale)
• 1 verde pueblos tomatillos (plant sale)
• 1 Matchbox hot pepper plant (plant sale)
• 1 Early jalapeno hot pepper seedling (plant sale)
• 5 genovese basil plants (plant sale)
• 1 Tall Climbing nasturtium (plant sale)
• 9 white onions (plant sale)
• 1 oregano (plant sale)

Corn seedlings, 5/21/11.

Outside of the garden, the love goes on and on.  In the raised "drawer" garden (above): 4 kinds of lettuce, arugula, kale, spinach, and carrots.

 Thyme (from Elizabeth's community garden, gifted and planted in a hanging planter)

...as well as 2 sweet peas (from seed) and 6 climbing morning glories (from seed) in a hanging planter & a row box, an unknown squash plant in a blue bin (volunteer), and 3 more white pumpkin seedlings in a round planter on the deck.

The roof is caving in...

5/19/11
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It wasn't a major disaster.  We had torrential rain on and off for an afternoon last week, and the weight of the water on the tarp tore through the chicken wire ceiling of the run.  We've had lots of leaking into the coop itself, as well.  With a week of rain, the pine shavings that cover the floor of the coop were continually soaked in one corner of the coop. 

The leaks in the coop probably need a different solution, but for the immediate, we've changed the tarp and re-rigged how the two tarps overlap. Chris cleaned house in the coop.  This gave us the opportunity to lay down mite prevention dust to lay under the wood shavings.  Our chickens' previous owners passed it along to us, and I imagine it's like getting a flea & tick collar for an ourdoor cat.  I climbed in and e-stapled the wire to the side of the coop to close the hole, and we'll add reinforcements there soon.

5/19/11.

plant sale pics

Quick drive by to the southside community landtrust this morning. A few tomatoes, peppers, and basil--the things I haven't had luck with growing from seed.

Down for the count with a bad cold, and a big day tomorrow. Terrible timing.

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