The lilac is starting to bloom. I'm still amazed everything is so early, but it does feel like it's slowing down a little bit with some cooler temperatures.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Photographic Evidence
The lilac is starting to bloom. I'm still amazed everything is so early, but it does feel like it's slowing down a little bit with some cooler temperatures.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
A good start to the week
Today I increased the amount of grass I took out of the front yard with my trusty garden claw and I planted 2 for-get-me-nots and one bug gloss. I also planted a purple daisy like plant (I have to find the tag for that one lol) and a flax plant. I transplanted a fern and a columbine from under the front porch to the front yard too.
The lilacs started blooming earlier in the week, the lily-of-the-valley is about to bloom and the buds on the Dianthus superbus are getting larger every day.
In the backyard I planted one planter with romaine lettuce, one with a butter crunch lettuce, transplanted the pineapple sage and pineapple mint, the honeymelon sage and regular sage and planted 1/4 of the raised bed with detroit red beet seed. I also planted the two lavender plants (pinnata and Red Kew) into my new face pot.
The oriole feeder is out on it's new post with fresh food and the humming bird feeder is on the window near the favorite plant of the hummingbird we had last summer.
All that I have left to plant from the plants I have already purchased are the apple mint, tarragon and the cherokee purple tomato and roma tomato. Then I get to go plant shopping again lol. I hope to post pictures tomorrow.
I also got the 2 liter bird water bottle hung up much to the goldfinches delight. We seem to have 2 male goldfinches (I've seen both of them at the same time). We might have 2 females as well, but I only see one at a time. We also have some house finches and what looks like a song sparrow (I'll have to look it up to be sure). The robins have been enjoying the bird bath more than anything, and we have an occassional bluejay.
The lilacs started blooming earlier in the week, the lily-of-the-valley is about to bloom and the buds on the Dianthus superbus are getting larger every day.
In the backyard I planted one planter with romaine lettuce, one with a butter crunch lettuce, transplanted the pineapple sage and pineapple mint, the honeymelon sage and regular sage and planted 1/4 of the raised bed with detroit red beet seed. I also planted the two lavender plants (pinnata and Red Kew) into my new face pot.
The oriole feeder is out on it's new post with fresh food and the humming bird feeder is on the window near the favorite plant of the hummingbird we had last summer.
All that I have left to plant from the plants I have already purchased are the apple mint, tarragon and the cherokee purple tomato and roma tomato. Then I get to go plant shopping again lol. I hope to post pictures tomorrow.
I also got the 2 liter bird water bottle hung up much to the goldfinches delight. We seem to have 2 male goldfinches (I've seen both of them at the same time). We might have 2 females as well, but I only see one at a time. We also have some house finches and what looks like a song sparrow (I'll have to look it up to be sure). The robins have been enjoying the bird bath more than anything, and we have an occassional bluejay.
Nowwwwwwwww We're Cooking
Solar Cooking.
On an whim Easter Sunday I grabbed one of my solar cookers and cooked green beans for our contribution to the bigger family Easter celebration. Of course I forgot to take pictures, so I had to "re-enact" the bean cooking inside on the kitchen table lol.
The beans were well cooked in about an hour. Solar cooking is supposed to be a "burn-proof" way of cooking, time will tell of course lol. For the beans I put them in a zip lock bag and then put that inside an oven bag. There is a black mat to really absorb the heat and a mirror to catch the sun. I found some glass casserole dishes with lids to use in this because I'm not crazy about cooking in plastic. It's definitely the most portable of all the solar cookers I have. Their website is http://www.surferchef.com/ if you want more information. This is the Deluxe Solar Cooker System.
Last week I decided to use my HotPot solar cooker. The metal reflector folds flat and the hot pot set up with its black enamel bowl that fits in a glass bowl with glass lid is extremely efficient. I cooked 2 cups of raw red rice in 5 cups of water in 3 hours. You can read a lot more about HotPot Solar Cooking at http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/HotPot .
On an whim Easter Sunday I grabbed one of my solar cookers and cooked green beans for our contribution to the bigger family Easter celebration. Of course I forgot to take pictures, so I had to "re-enact" the bean cooking inside on the kitchen table lol.
The beans were well cooked in about an hour. Solar cooking is supposed to be a "burn-proof" way of cooking, time will tell of course lol. For the beans I put them in a zip lock bag and then put that inside an oven bag. There is a black mat to really absorb the heat and a mirror to catch the sun. I found some glass casserole dishes with lids to use in this because I'm not crazy about cooking in plastic. It's definitely the most portable of all the solar cookers I have. Their website is http://www.surferchef.com/ if you want more information. This is the Deluxe Solar Cooker System.
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