Just Around The Corner..

Call me superstitious, but I heavily dislike the idea of thinking that summer is here, Washington and I have trust issues. That said, I can almost hear her coming around the corner. Lilies bloomed well this year, but they didn't get very tall so I couldn't cut any of the flowers. We have potatoes sprouting well, corn is right on schedule and my sunflowers get stronger each day. My zucchini is just exploding with blooms and I can't wait to get my hands on it this summer, I have plans to really see what I can do with shredded zucchini now that I'm seeing food from a whole different perspective. It's no longer just for bread. 

I have recently learned that I was never really shown how to trim lettuce from the garden. Luckily I only killed one red leaf lettuce, the other i growing back at supersonic speed. My husband schooled me, I say lucky for me.

This is what many dinners look like for us. One big baker, topped with fresh grated cheese, herbs spices, butter, a fried egg and one slice of bacon. In exploring our options and suggested meals, my husband has perfected the ultimate baked potato! Who knew being gluten free, and eating only local produce meats could be so darn fun? 

Purging is going really good - and keeping me so busy. I cannot get over what we have accumulated in just the last three years. So ready to see it all gone! Just around the corner..

Slugs And Butterballs

Slugs. Their numbers deplete a bit each year, but they are still ever present. I would like to give a shot out to Espresso Connection and the amazing baristas there that happily fill my small bucket of coffee grounds for me. I think a morning has started out good when I get free coffee, and free coffee grounds. 

As long as I stay on top of the grounds, but be careful with the placement of, I won't change the ph of the dirt, and slugs and snails alike will stay away. I found this comic I thought was funny, so I thought I would share. 

Mark planted a good row of these potatoes, German Butterballs. I hope they're as good as they look in this picture! Lots of shoveling going on this week, at least the sun is shining! 

Crimson King, Is Queen

Although the day started earlier than preferred, it's been an amazing start to our summer break. The sun is back, veggies are happy, and things are coming out. Like these four tree's below:

This little corner has heard much conversation about how it's utilized. It provides so much privacy, homes for little critters, and hunting cabins for the beast of the house. In keeping with the current theme of finally starting fresh all around, we decided it was time. Mixed in between these four small trees, were different sages, roses, blackberries and vines straight out of the bowels of hell. 

Bye-bye privacy! Lucky the other side of the fence is the corner of our neighbors lot and the dead end of an alley so as far as sudden lack of the privacy we were used to goes, it's really not too bad. I got rays of sun in the living room from the back yard for the first time since living here. What a difference!

So then we planted this beauty. It's a Crimson King Purple Norway Maple. This little tree has been after my heart for about 2 years now. It seeded in the front yard, in a spot it would never be able to stay in. I kept cutting it down, and pulling what I thought were all the roots, but it just kept coming back. It refused to go away, or die, instead it just thrived and constantly tried to get my attention. So after another round of discussions, we decided it deserved to be planted somewhere where it could really take off. We plan to turn all that area into grass, and plant along the fence line evergreens that will grow to be about 15 feet tall (in many years to come). Still in the early stages of getting all the stumps out of the ground plus the vines, it might be a while before we get grass seed down and more trees in the ground, but I think it's already an improvement. 

Here's what the leaves look like. This tree should grow between 20 and 35 feet tall, and can be anywhere from 15-25 feet wide. Wish our little tree the best of luck!