gardening « BlackDogHair

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a ripe peach in your hand …

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Good news, got a new laptop … bad news took a week to get it and the software I typically use to post to this blog working. My workflow is to capture pix as we stumble about and then at the end of the day pull those images into Lightroom, add some meta-data in the form of tags and titles and then upload to Flickr.com. While writing a post it’s very simple to grab images from Flickr and a WordPress plugin links to my flickr account placing those images in the side bar of my blog. Laptop, well more to the point software update messed up the workflow. In the end it was a few simple tweeks but the new lightroom changed how Flickr exports work … i actually had to read some instructions … seems to be working fine, back in business.

The shift of seasons is underway. With harvest marking the close of summer we are finding lots of local fruit and produce.

Have made two trips to this orchard to pick peaches, same place we went for blueberries. First time we got nearly 30 lbs of Suncrest which were canned, some in light syrup, a few as spiced peaches and a few sliced to freeze. Last week we pick 20 lbs of Veterans which are going to become chutney … more on that when it happens.

It’s great to be able to pick peaches a few minutes from the house. This place is only open on specific days, and then typically from 8am to noon and this last time we got there at 8:15 only to find the place packed and the trees picked over pretty heavy. The Alberta crop will be ready in another week, going to try to get there early and hope to not have to fight the crowds.

In the mean time we are cutting/stacking firewood and killing blackberry bushes. Days getting shorter, nights cooler and the feel of fall is in the air … school is going to start very soon and then summer will be over … hard to think of fall with a ripe peach in your hand … js

Posted in Food & dinning, gardening, just blogging | 1 Comment »

where you been …

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Was a bit surprised by the date of the last post. Has it really been nearly 40 days since the last update, sorry about that. I’ve been playing with Twitter and thinking about building another page to BDH aimed at the technology and training stuff.

On Red Alder Hill we’ve lived through a very wet June and a scorching start to July since that last post. One thing we did manage to get done was plant the garden and install an irrigation system install … quite a bit of mess’n before it watered all beds evenly. All that fiddling came in handy when I helped some friends with their system.

The other challenge is to post, the stuff directed at what is happening on RedAlderHill and it’s inhabitants, a bit more frequently than once a month. I’m also working on getting a new page up and running, which I’ll post a link for so if there are any readers interested in my technical wanderings they can read that as well.

Looks like we are though the worst of the heat wave which means we can get back to the chores around here. Plus attempting to make regular posts and hopefully you won’t find yourself asking where you been … js

Posted in gardening, just blogging | 2 Comments »

spring growth spurts …

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

While it’s been a very wet spring we’ve managed to get some work done … the extended weekend is going to be a good time to finalize the projects started weeks ago. Have to stop complaining and find ways to work around the puddles or make them work for you.

Not that we’ve needed it but the garden irrigation system has a few connections to complete.

Maybe with a year passing since construction was complete or the windowed vantage point this house offers but either way we are seeing a bunch of wildlife. Bird feeders recently set up are very busy and the elk herd has been by a couple of times … then today JQ got a shot of a pair of coyotes which we’ve seen before but they are hard to get pix of.

The rain seems to be holding off so we’re going to cut up some of the trees and limbs that winter storms knocked down. Also have overgrown road side and fields to trim back, basically just try to keep up with spring growth spurts … js

Posted in gardening, wildlife | 2 Comments »

Weekend chores

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

There have been enough breaks in the rain to get some of my tasks marked off the list.

Even managed a trip to BackYard Bird shop to acquire some feeding stations. I’d put out the one still functional from Troutdale and to our suprises it got discovered rather quickly. Over run with Blackheaded Grossbeaks we figured to capitalize on this popularity.

About 30 yards from the front door is a new fly through and then right up on the veranda is the old station with a seed try under … making a very nice double decker bird feeder.

Between the two we have great bird watching. Besides the Grossbeaks there has been Junkos, brown headed cowbird and a crow stop on today. We have also had early, too early for ang good pix, visits by a herd of about a ndozen elk. And yesterday a coyote padded by the front windows. Rain has stopped again so I need to get back at the wekend chores … Js

Posted in gardening, iPhone, wildlife | 1 Comment »

summer approaches finally …

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

We have taken advantage of the weather spending all Saturtday in the garden.Some plants got nipped off … I’m assuming a rabbit or some small rodentia. It is mostly my fault for not finishing the lower part of the fence that will be remedied today. Also spread ground cloth around all the berry bushes, which were starting to get overtaken by grass. This should help, plus it looks like there might even be a small berry crop this first year.

The alders are filling out and everything is growing … including scotch broom and blackberry so there is also a weed abatement job on calendar. The good news is we have all this space the bad news is we have all this land.

Spring has also brought out the wild iris … there are several patches of these with ten or twelve in each … summer is approaching finally … js

Posted in gardening, iPhone | No Comments »

Really, snow in may …

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

Meant to get this up yesterday day … There was snow falling as we got up Wed.

Looking like a change for the better is on the way. JQ can uncover her plants and get back to gardening. Really, snow in may …

Posted in gardening, just blogging | 1 Comment »

Woodland visitors …

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

The rains have made it possible to know who is visiting the garden. From the studio windows the is a slight rise that hides elk for view but these tracks are fresh.

… Also good thing I put up the fencing or we’d have been planting deer and elk food. Guess we need to keep a sharper eye for our woodland visitors.

Posted in gardening | 1 Comment »

more on gardening …

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

The entrance to RedAlderHill is getting lined with Daffoldils … something JQ put in the ground a couple of years ago. We are hoping they will just naturalize and pretty soon there will be a welcoming carpet of yellow every spring.

My tasks for the current nice weather are to get more planted in the garden. Acquired a couple of “potato towers” from Territorial Seeds that along with peas and beans need to get into the ground soon. JQ laid out berry plants nearly a month ago … I’ve been remiss in my gardening but this weekend that will change.

also have put up some protection from the deer for the fruit trees … the yellow plum has blossomed and the others are doing well. The deer desimated them last summer.