Peace Posies for April

Spring is a pert little season around here. So fleeting is the wild flower show on the backroads, so sweet the weather and the green hills, and then it all goes away.

We went wine tasting at Pear Valley yesterday, which is always good for a quick buzz. There were lots of folks too. Maybe the busiest I've ever seen the place. I bought a case of Aglianico, a lovely garden wine for the coming months.

My garden is really rolling along too. We have only one Juliet tomato plant with nine red cabbages plants, six hot red pepper plants, six celery, two fennel, bunches of artichokes, and lots of chard, lettuce, red mustard, miner's lettuce, and parsley.

The irises are out-of-sight this year, and we have lavender with buzzy bees.

Oregano, hollyhocks, milk weed, artichokes, garlic chives, chard, just to name some, have all gone wild. So it's chaos, wonderful chaos. And Mad Men tonight!!!

How is Spring treating you?

Mission Irises

my irises

This old-fashioned iris came into my hands many years ago. Someone had help the brothers at the mission dig up and thin the irises around the peripheral and she received some extra and gave them to me.

I planted them at my place of employment and the irises were vandalized (pulled up), so I brought them home and planted what was left of them in my garden.

They survived and thrived and moved with me to all the various places I have lived. And, well, they are sort of a symbol of my life.

I call them Mission Irises, but I don't know their real name.

Do you?

Clashy Colors and Expectations for T-day

This little pom is the only fruit my plant did bear this year. I picked it when I went out to catch the sunset. Same light but totally different colors. So clashy!

Today it is rainy and cold and I'm getting caught up on my blogging and my blog reading. Thanksgiving is this week and I still have not decided what I'm going to serve, if anything. Going out feels like fun this year. You know, a quiet little dinner in a nice restaurant without all the have to's and should's that an emotional holiday is saddled with.

The mister is not convinced however. Of course, his stomach is talking. I make a lot of very tasty dressing (My mother's recipe :D). And he thinks cooking at home is less expensive. But after one buys all the stuff one needs to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, one could have a very nice meal in a very nice venue without all the cooking and cleaning.

Not that I mind the cooking, I just want something different.

My Garden: the summer of 2011

The garden on Mom's birthday is quite wild this year. Artichokes were quick to go-to-seed, that is bloom. Lots of eating artichokes early in the spring, but as soon as the heat picked up, their leaves spread out and you know they are going to bloom. Funny thing is they turned sort of a purple-red on the outer leaves this year. Why? Don't know.

In the early stages of bloom they look like the have crew cuts.

And the hollyhocks are spectacular this year. And they're all gypsies!

The white monster is taking over the garden.

These are digger pine cones that came with me from my last residence. That poor tree was cut down for having the audacity of losing a limb. I hope a seed or two plants itself here.

Then we can lounge on our steamers and watch it grow.

Half barrel pond

Half barrel pond, originally uploaded by Judy's Notebook.

My water element in the garden is teeming with tadpoles. In the evening many have turned into toads half the size of my thumbnail and are hopping about on the lily pads.

I expect to see snakes soon given the heat and this new food supply.

...it would appear that God has an inordinate fondness for beetles*

Last weekend a storm blew through at a rapid rate. It became dark and the wind picked up and I have to admit I was frightened. 

That didn't stop me from taking pictures though. Yet even while I snapping away, I had the feeling that something really freaky was going to happen.

Then I discovered all these black iridescent beetles on the milk weed. 

Sure glad they were dedicated to their plants!

*J. B. S. Haldane

My Favorite Things

Si's eyes, 
Totoro bento, 
Weird clouds, 
Pinwheel lunches, 
and Purple flowers.


Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

Untitled

It's kind of gnarly around here as of late. I live in between two wildfires and the smoke is caustic on my throat and eyes. Black widow spiders are popping up everywhere and seem to be multiplying like bunnies. There is air in the pipes, but no visible leaks (major oh-no). And the ants want to crave me up and take me back to their nest.

So on this fine day (I feel so lucky to be alive), I give to you a lovely picture of my flowering parsley with a bee coming in for a landing.

*Edit: yes the ants do crave me, but the word I was intending was carve

Death or Delicious?

mushroom in garden, originally uploaded by Judy's Notebook.

I don't often see mushrooms pop up in 90 degree heat, but this area gets regular water as it is a foot from the raised bed. I am not certain what kind of mushroom this is. 

At first I thought it was a shaggy mane: a common delicious shroom. The book I have says the shaggy mane also looks like a poisonous mushroom called a green parasol. So named because the spores are green and the cap opens like a parasol. And that the green parasol is responsible for the most mushroom poisoning in the United States. Gives you pause in plucking it up to eat.

My rule (seeing how I am an expert wild mushroom hunter) is quite simple.

Don't eat wild mushrooms.

Lavender Farm

We went to the Lavender Farm yesterday and found that it was a very large house sitting on an acre or two that was planted with two different kinds of lavender, neither of which were in bloom.

 

I made the best of it and took some pictures. They look better on Flickr. I wanted to reduce the size of the photo space so I made this composite for this blog, and I just noticed The Mister's hand looks kind of weird on the cat's head.

  

I was hoping to buy some plants. For some reason I thought this was a nursery that carried different types of lavender. Oh that's right. I was told that by that earth mother who works at the in-town nursery. 

 

The Lavender Farm had lots a lavender-derived products for sale, but I didn't see one plant. Oh well.

 

I got off on the hippy nature of the greenhouse and trailer with a little garden. I was transported back in time when I wanted to be the master gardener of an organic winery and restaurant in Hopland. I like to change my careers every once in awhile. Sometimes really quickly if I figure out after a year or two that I hate what I'm doing. That's what happened with the theatre.  

 

I love all things about the theatre, the performing, the creative arc one must endeavor to get from point A to point B, the make-up, the costumes, the front of the house, even building the scenery. What I could not stand - maybe I would feel differently now but I doubt it - were the people. All those would-be stars. The most annoying people e-v-e-r!

  

Boy, that was aside. 

But to run with it, I will continue. Not in any particular order. I've been a university research specialist. I've been (and still am some days) an independent research specialist. I was a newspaper columnist for seven (or was it eight, I can't remember) years. I was the editor-in-chief of a newspaper, a college newspaper, that is. A dance teacher. A movie theater manager. A toy store clerk (but that was a job not a career). Another job I had was behind the cosmetics counter in a major department store. That was a trippy job. Women would come in starting at about age 35 with a very scared look in their eyes asking for wrinkle cream (you know the kind that really works, they would say in hushed tones). Like there is such a thing. 

I wonder why agism is so prevalent in this country. It's tolerated, even encouraged. You want to see "just plain mean" in action, visit your Hallmark store. Birthdays are all about rubbing it in. You're old! HAHAHAHAHA. And by being old you are automatically: A. Senile, B. Hard of Hearing, and C. Saggy

 

Wow, I'm all over the place today. Better go make a wish and eat some cake.

Harvest Pantry Soup

I'm launching a new site, well, actually it's an old site revamped, now called Judy's Garden and Recipes. Since much of my creating in the kitchen is due to the inspiration of my garden, I thought to combine. So this will be a double post to get it going and hopefully I will have enough to say to keep it alive.

  

My recipe tonight is Harvest Pantry Soup. In my garden I have zucchini, carrots, green beans, and tomatoes available for this soup. In the pantry I have canned beans, Orzo pasta, and chicken stock.

  

This is an easy side dish to dinner or a quick main dish for lunch. I saute (all finely chopped) half an onion, two stalks of celery, and carrots in olive oil for a few minutes. Add to that dried oregano and basil, some cumin and ground coliander, and a bit of cayanne. And fresh garlic, minced. Cook for a bit.

  

To that add a can of beans and 8 oz of chicken stock. Get to full burble and add a small amount of the pasta called Orzo. 

  

To this add chopped vegetables like green beans and zucchini, and simmer for awhile.

  

When ready to serve, spoon into a bowl and add chopped tomatoes and shredded cheese. Stir. Top with tortilla chips. And enjoy a healthy yummy harvest soup!

This Is...My Favorite Children's Book

I have difficulties with having just one favorite. Simply because I like a lot of different things, people, places, and books. Especially books. I remember really digging Macbeth and reading it over and over, and not wanting Little Women to end, wishing I lived in that family. I adored The Green Lantern (Do comic books count? Of course they do.) And there was this story that my father would tell me about princesses sneaking out at night to go dancing and flying on the backs of geese. I could be mixing up two different stories here, but that's the way of the memory.

  

I still come back to Beatrix Potter's books. So charming. The recent film Miss Potter renewed an longtime interest in these books.  I wish I could visit Hill Top. Maybe someday.

  

Unfortunately I turned into a "Mr. McGregor" chasing bunnies out of my garden. They really chewed down my Japanese eggplant early on. But it does seem that once they have fright or two, they don't come back.

Anyhoo, after searching around for images, I found the first edition online. Go to the link

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Thanks to Three Buttons for hosting, and Potty Mouth Mama for the theme.

This Is...How I Like To Spend My Weekend

This week's topic, bought to you by The Bird Bath (nice blog too!), is right up my country road. I live to garden. These pictures were taken at dawn on Saturday, our 23rd anniversary. We decided to go out because I fell in love with a purse I found online, and there are two stores in the local village that carry the brand but alas not the particular item I so desired. We found other stuff to buy, mind you. That was easy. I got a pitcher vase with a buckin' bronco and he found a book on cattle breeds, and I got a really cool belt. 

  

After that we went out for a light lunch at our favorite restaurant and to the market for a few supplies, and then home to watch the Olympics. All in all a very pleasant day. 

  

Today we stayed home. Another thing I like to do. I am a home and garden and online person. One can get me out of the house but only if it entails a free meal.  

Arty Chokes Three For A Dollar

The garden is producing some pretty nice stuff right about now. I harvested this loot this morning. Three artichokes from the best artichoke plant, a couple of Juliet tomatoes, a tiny zucchini, and other veggies. I've have dozens of green Romas (still on the bush). When they go red, it will be paste making time, but I might skin them and freeze them in small batches instead. I've been hearing lots of good feedback for freezing as opposed to all the work of canning. Yet I do love shiny mason jars filled with a finished product of my making stacked neatly in the pantry. 
This is my straight out of the camera shot of my ten-foot sunflower. I took it yesterday after we got home from the fair. It's a mighty flower, king of the garden, lord of the sky, lover of the sun. And we gets lottsa sun here.
But it wasn't too hot this year for the fair. It's usually triple digits! And the fair was a blast this year just like every other year. I got some great photos of cookies and quilts, pigs and goats, and all sorts of other things. Maybe I'll figure out how to do a slide show. 

Nothing Is Quite As Exhilarating

As being chased around the garden by a tarantula hawk. I must resemble the biggest tarantula ever seen, or perhaps this insect just wants to dance with me. I'm not sure.

A tarantula hawk is a wasp, a very large wasp. The first time I saw one, I thought it was a hummingbird buzzing along about 10 feet above the ground.

When I finally figured out what they were, I became concerned. Nothing like a little knowledge to wreck your day.

Wasps and spiders have a unique relationship, and if you ever need to stay up in the wee, wee hours, I recommend finding a good picture book on the subject.

Yellow jacket wasps have stung me twice: once when I was 5 and again about 10 years ago. Being an adult did not make me scream any quieter.

This is an experience to avoid at all costs.

So I give to you a small nugget of free advice: Never stay at a campground called Yellow Jacket Camp.

"Gee, honey," I said. "Isn't this great! We have the whole campground to ourselves."

And then we fried up a steak, and 500 of our closest neighbors invited themselves over for dinner.

He said, "I read somewhere that all you have to do to get rid of them is put a little piece of meat downwind, and they'll leave you alone."

Moments later, reinforcements showed up.

We swatted a few like we meant business. That's fine, the yellow jacket swarm might have replied. They eat their dead, too.

So into the tent I went, zipped up tight for the remainder of our short visit to the memorable Yellow Jacket Camp.

I accept wasps as a part of the package here in North County, even though they scare me. Just like I accept the threat of fire here in the middle of summer when everything looks like a tinderbox.

I'll tell you though, nothing makes my knees shake like spotting a smoke plume in close proximity. Nothing.

Last week, for example, my man called me at work to tell me not to be concerned when I see the cloud of smoke.

"The fire is south of us," he said calmly. "I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't worry."

So zooming home, I rounded the first bend exposing the big sky to the south, and there it was.

This was no puff of smoke. This was huge.

Don't worry, I told myself. He told me not to worry. But, I thought, that was half an hour ago. It could have spread. So now I'm zoom-zooming down the road.

And the closer I get, the more ominous it looks.

At twilight, the cloud enveloped the sky above our home. It was miles away and right next to us at the same time.

I don't know how it started. I have no details at all. But I do have a suggestion. A lot of fires are started by carelessness. A cigarette thrown from a vehicle, an unattended barbecue or an unscreened fireplace or the clearing of dead weeds in the middle of the day, and a spark occurs.

Nobody wants to deal with a fire, so let's be careful and save our excitement for an event that really matters when it is sweltering.

That's right, the Fair opens soon. See you there.


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Who Is This Crazy Lady Chasing Me Around With A Camera?

Don't step on me!
Quick! I'm getting away..
What is with her hair?
I'd go through this door if it were open. Mmm, tastes good.
Here's looking at you, snake eyes! 

The Pea Adventure

Last Saturday afternoon I thought it was time to pull up peas. Most the pods were plump with peas and that's the way you want it, or else one gets too little peas to do anything with. In other words, in the best of all worlds, one wants a mass harvest of peas.

  

These are shelling peas not snap. The pods are not edible, well, they wont kill you, they're just not fun to eat, as we experience a month or so ago when I thought I was growing snap peas, and I harvested a few and added them to soup, and they were okay because I cut them up really small. But I did notice the string and thought to myself,  "How on earth do you expect to remember what you planted over 2 months ago if you can't remember what you had for dinner two nights ago?" 

  

"Keep a journal, or maybe a better blog, and you'll be a better person," I scream at myself on the inner-com. This approach almost never works, by the way, but I must say I'm very good at it.

  

Anyhoo, on Sunday morning I thought I was a genius. There sat my pea plants all pulled up from the day before underneath the gazebo on dry concrete with gentle rain falling. Had I waited until today to harvest, I thought, I'd be in muck and mud. But now I can pull the pods and enjoy the rain too. Sublime!

  

So after breakfast, I go sit out in the chilly air and cut pod after pod after pod after pod off these tangled vines and place them in a bowl. More than an hour later I am frozen, but my hard work has paid off. "Look at all the peas you have, Farmer Judy!" 

  

So after much self-congratulation, I set out to shell some of my petits pois for pea soup, which sounded super yummy in this cold weather and in my current state of numbness. And about an hour later of shelling, I have one cup of peas. 

  

Let this be documentation for future gardens that I might grow: a 16 oz bag of frozen organic peas cost what? Five bucks top? Two and half months of caring for the plants and two and a half hours of preparing peas for cooking is a bit much for One Cup of Peas.

  

Anyway the fresh pea soup was okay. I think it would have tasted better made with dried peas, or it probably would have tasted way better if Andersen's made it.

  

Note to readers: Judy woke up Monday morning with a head cold the size of Alaska.

PS. 

I always eat my peas with honey

I've done so all my life.

It makes the peas taste awful funny

But it keeps them on my knife.

- anonymous

Just Another Sunday

Yesterday I started to sort through and prioritize my many sewing projects. There is stuff I want to sew for myself, and stuff for the house, and gifts. The projects for myself are all experimental, and if they work out, well, that’s great. But I’m not going to worry too much about it. I’m going to make it fun if it kills me.

The house projects are accent colors. For some reason when I lived at the big ranch, I was into the color gold. Probably because the house’s carpet was dark green, and I wanted to lightened it up. I guess my preferences are the “jewel tones” but I like everthing from time to time.

The new ranch house is very white with vaulted ceilings and white carpet. All the cabinetry is honey oak, and the fixtures are brass. It’s all so shiny and bright it feels like the high beams are on all the time. So I need to tone it down a bit.

I guess I’ll post up some pictures because one can spend an awful lot of time describing something that a single picture defines.

After I got sidetracked and then sidetracked again, I ended up making another potato gratin dish, and because I was having so much fun with my mandoline, I made a cole slaw with vinaigrette not mayo.

Boy, this light supper hit the spot. There were no leftovers.

We were enjoying late afternoon when he said, “Oh look! A King Snake!”
And there under the woodpile was an adolescent king snake. So we immediately jump up and rushed out to have a better look.

Now snakes are no dummies. The moment two giant heads with giant eyeballs come peering in your face, you might recoil too.

But we had to look. California King Snakes kill rattlers. That makes them really cool is my book, plus they just look cool, like they are a warning tape. Bright yellow and black striped.

I went back into the house and got my camera, and practically had to stand on my head to take the snake's portrait. I started to wonder why would this little guy come for a visit this hot Sunday?

Well, most animals are motivated by water, food, or procreation.

And then it dawned on me. Lizards. Food for young snakes of all kinds, and I have tons of lizards in my garden. So many, you have to be careful where you step.

Where there are lizards, there are snakes.

So after shooting some blurry useless pictures, I came back inside and in my animated fashion started lobbying to “The Man of The House” for the removal of The Snake, and promptly knocked over in grand animated fashion a full glass of wine, which sprayed over everthing in the dang dining room including table, floor and window, and library books (shh), important papers, and cat.

However the wine glass did not break because as I watched it slide horizontal in slow-mo, I managed to grab it and put it upright making everthing a whole lot worse.

To which he paused for just a moment and then started clapping.

Get Thee To The Kitchen

Last weekend we had record breaking hot spring weather, which is always tough on my white skin, but I suffered though it. It felt like summer. What happened to spring? It was spring for like two weeks and then boom! 90 degree heat!

Anyway. Sunday morning I raced to get the newspaper before some dodo steals it, and comb the ads looking for a deal, even though I know you get what you pay for, but still I'm a cheapie cuz I know the store always get 100 percent profit and the stuff is just crap, but I found a gazebo at T for a song, so we bought it. When we arrived home, he decided he wanted to put it up. It's blazing hot out ther, I said. Don't care, he said.

So I'm out there in the garden in shorts and a tee, sipping a cool beverage, and running around taking snaps of him and the garden while he's putting together 1,267 pieces of what looks like an erector set.

I sensed he wasn't a very happy builder, so I offered to make him a snack. Or perhaps dinner. With some of my lovely lettuce. So check out what I made over here.

Garden News

After feeling a bit yucky these past few days, I woke up this morning craving biscuits and gravy. That's a good sign because yesterday I thought I was going deeper and deeper into that dark hole when I had to leave work early. But a very light dinner and a good night's rest and I feel much better today.

So I made biscuits this morning using an old recipe. Put brown gravy on them too. And it all stayed down, so I ventured off to the garden and pulled about six radishes and a handful of lettuce. Came in and washed the dirt off and ate all the radishes with sea salt. Man, nothing tastes like spring like a fresh radish!

I planted the French Breakfast variety. Some garden centers sell Renee's Garden Seeds around here. I've had some problems getting her flowers going, but the vegetables are pretty reliable. 
Way back in the 80s, I visited her test garden in Felton when she was Shepard's Garden Seed. (She sold that company and it has since gone out of business.) That's a really fun thing to do during harvest time. I don't know what seed companies offer tours, but I think I'll look into it. Anyhoo, when she was Shepard's, those seed catalogs were as informative as a book, plus they were full of recipes, so if you were growing something unusual, you knew what to do with it by the time you harvested. And the drawings were so pretty. I save those catalogs for years. 

The lettuce seed was leftover from a year or two ago, Thai Lettuce from J. L. Hudson, Seedsman. I've been mail ordering from them for years. In fact this year I plan to plant Hopi blue and Oaxaca green corn that I bought from them last year. 

I guess my biggest obstacle this year are the birds. Easily remedied with floating row cover though, but it's not too pretty. Still I think I'll go out and take a few pics today to document the before and after.