Here are a few of the hundreds of pictures I took on our trip. Michael always tells me to leave the camera and just enjoy the scenery but I just can't seem to do that. Alcatraz Island as taken from a motor home on the new Bay Bridge. Cool ...
Rose Bushes 1, Deer 0
The rose garden has managed to escape the night-time marauding deer. The tomato plants have not been so lucky. The game camera will be out tonight to see how they are getting in. But, this is about the roses. The drift roses we planted along the ...
First Harvest
Today was the first real harvest from my modest little garden of raised beds. I have basil which is bolting. Sugar Baby Watermelons Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Pineapple Sage Rainbow chard, which I harvest ...
Lilacs, oh my goodness
I have always loved lilacs but have never grown them. I always thought of them as an east coast plant, adorning the estates around Martha's Vineyard. Ina Garten has lilacs. Martha Stewart has lilacs. Mary O'Brien? Not so much. That was before we ...
My rose garden
Michael and I converted a neglected garden bed in front of the house to a rose garden. I bought some lovely old style roses that work well with the farmhouse. Looking down from the porch. Today I had time to take a few quick ...
Intruders
Lately the locals have been making pests of themselves on our property. I know this because I relocated my office temporarily to my upstairs bedroom until the downstairs air-conditioning is replaced next week. Being upstairs all day has ...
Give him a pile of dirt…
He's gonna' dig! We had five yards of raised bed potting mix delivered for our new garden boxes. We managed to keep Tucker out of it for a couple of days. But he wanted it. He wanted it bad. On the second ...
California Poppies
We have a large patch of California poppies in the front flower bed. I have been meaning to photograph them before they were past their prime or Michael hit them with the weed whacker again. I picked the windiest day of the week to take the ...
It’s like adopting a toddler.
It's been ten days since I succumbed to the voices in my head and adopted Tucker, a two year old terrier mix. Michael said at the time that life as we know it, would never be the same. Truer words were never spoken. I watch a lot of ...
We’re here.
Just a brief catch-up on the move. We are in but not anywhere near unpacked. We have sort of a Helter-Skelter system going on. Our first priority was getting the livestock over, minus the poultry. The goats, Laverne and Shirley rode over in the back ...
I know you’re out there.
I see you. I see your IP address and what pages you read. I see what search terms brought you here. I obsess over whether you are a spy bot and nobody really reads my blog except me. My stat page tells me that you are real and some of you come back ...
Craigslist Score!
I have been looking for a large and imposing object to place on the ranch near the front entrance. I looked at farm implements, mining artifacts, and anything else that caught me eye. Nothing seemed right, until last week. As I do every morning, I ...
I am flat lining………
My health has been a bit fragile of late, which means I am down more than I am up. I don't like to whine about my physical condition, but sitting in a chair causes excruciating sciatic nerve pain. I have been remiss in posting to my blog just ...
On Frozen Pond
We had what the news reporters refer to as a "hard freeze" last night with temperatures dipping into the mid twenties and staying there until 9:00 a.m. I was dreading going out to feed and release the animals from their various compounds around the ...
Fall in the Foothills
When we lived just 30 miles down the hill in Sacramento we didn't really have fall. If you had a maple or liquidamber tree in your yard, it would change color, but for the most part the leaves were green one day, brown the next and on ...
Nikki’s Garden (Color Me Green with Envy)
My neighbor, and fellow nurse, Nikki Duncan is an avid supporter, promoter and teacher of the gardening method known as Bio-Intensive Mini Farming. On a small plot of ground, Nikki grows 80% of the food she eats as well as feed for her chickens and ...
Yes, I Can!
I added a new section to the website today devoted to canning and preserving foods. It won't be a fast paced journal as I am a novice canner at best, staying with the classic like jams, jellies and pickles. I don't remember my mother ...
Meet Skye…
Our new Ameraucana hen arrived today from Washington state. I bought her from a breeder online, Pips&Peeps. I have named her Skye because of the beautiful blue eggs she lays. I added the "e" because it looks so pretty. Normally, when ...
Tag, I’m It!
Crazy 8's KentuckyFarmGirl at My Country Blog of This and That tagged me to do this! The Rules: 1.) Mention the person who tagged me. 2.) Complete the list of 8's. 3.) Tag 8 bloggers, and let them know they've been tagged. 8 Things I Am ...
Lucy, you have some ‘splainin’ to do.
I went out this morning to feed the chickens and goats. Everything seemed fine except Lucy was waddling around the yard squawking her head off. She usually quiets down when I call her name but not today. "Bawk, bawk, bawk!" Non-stop. I gathered two ...