Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
Posted on 04/10/2021 6:03:07 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Fortunately, the past few years, I’ve seen re-blooming irises - those bloom twice a year instead of once, usually around October, which is really nice.
I collect them and am happy to share them! The more unusual, the better.
The whites are my favorite, they are very large and perfect. My Amaryllis is starting to bloom too, I’ll post a photo next week.
I have two peppers growing on my indoor pepper plant with a third one forming. I can’t believe it.
I put borage and nasturtium seeds out a couple of weeks ago and they are coming up. My sage, thyme and lemon thyme retuned, Got tons of dill going from last year’s flowers. Already getting brown butter and sage sauces in the kitchen. The chive blossoms are coming. Looks like I am replacing the oregano. Going to get that, marjoram and tarragon seedlings at the farmer’s market shortly.
Running later this year then last, when we started most of the toms in 20oz cups iun mid March on a (”deceiving”) warm day, but this last month was rather warm for March, yet i started toms early April. Last year a “plague” wiped out much of the crop, though they were recovering until the cold nuked them, so this year I need to pray more and plant less, with more spacing (no masks though) and cut off any diseased part when I see it.
Wow, what is pic. But atheists have no one to thank for such.
Thanks for adding that. I was going to bring that over here, too!
Greetings from southern New Hampshire, where Household Six is deep into planting in the basement. Lufa is the watchword, here.
She is converting a tall, laundry basket into a strawberry tower. I need to screen compost for it, this afternoon, along with raking our bog filter to get rid of last year’s residue. I need to repair the plumbing, feeding it, and get a new pump for it and hope that it comes clean. It could be a couple of hours or a couple of days!
Last week, I hung three bee swarm traps on our property. Today, I will start making the parts for a Layens horizontal hive as well as checking for visitors. I need to pick up a couple of bags of sheep wool for the insulation on that horizontal hive.
So glad that we decided to “retire” from seasonal RVing. We want to spend our time at home.
I was quite busy in the garden this week.
I continued building some of my raised beds. I got some onion seedlings planted and got some broccoli, cabbage, and brussel sprouts plants planted. Everything is somewhat under cover as I mulched it with straw.
My garlic is poking up and the onions I put in the ground last summer for seeds are also coming up.
The weather this week is not forecast to be quite so warm and sunny, but we could use some rain and I have plenty of indoor stuff to do yet.
The tomato seeds I started last week are coming up, too.
So far, everything seems to be under control.
We’ve gotten a good bit of rainfall over the past week here in Central Missouri. It comes at a good time - should make for some bumper crop morel harvests over the next few weeks.
It’s too muddy to do anything outside, and it’s raining again today, so I should have some time to tackle Mr. Clarence’s sticky lift cylinder.
Something has been wrecking Mrs. Augie’s bird feeders, so I set the live trap and baited it with sunflower seeds. Caught a nice fat raccoon Monday night, and moved him into a new stainless steel condo in my refrigerator. Bird feeders got wrecked again Tuesday night. Trap back out on Wednesday and caught the co-conspirator. Moved that one to the condo in the fridge. It seems there’s at least one more still around so the trap will go back out tonight. I’m going to wind up with a nice BBQ out of the deal.
Yep. My first time using grow lights.
I researched and thought I had my timing right.
Nope. I didn’t. Next year will seed Peppers and tomatoes in mid to
late Feb.
I was a month too soon.
But they are going in the garden today, regardless.
And praying for no late frost.
You and I both made the same mistake, Mtn Man! I also created a small inexpensive seed-starting setup — shelves, lights, even a couple of warming mats. Oh boy! In my enthusiasm I started things way too soon . . . and I live out in the desert! In my defense, however, we did have an unusually long stretch of sub-zero nights. We’ve suddenly warmed up so now I’m hauling my gangly teenage seedlings outside . . . where they’ll no doubt succumb to the heat soon enough.
We will get better the more we hone our timing down.
I sure would like to see your ‘trash panda’ recipe~
on your tomatoes - if a frost does come you can put tomato cages around them and put a dry cleaners bag over each one it will save them
‘Good Day Sunshine’
Better choice with that Sunshine thingy. Better for your immune system too. : )
Thanks for the ping. Was out early this AM dirt is still to wet. And it wasn’t long before it started raining again. I have plants ready for transplanting, but can’t do it because of the weather.
I had planned to go ahead and transplant them into larger pots in the green house, but all the panels on the roof have somehow slipped down and it rained so hard there was water and inch deep on the floor and also huge deluge from the window, which got blown off and damaged immediately after we got it set up.
Hubby is still “thinking” about how it could be fixed. He needed a couple of more boards to complete the stairway for the shed/root cellar. Prices have tripled, since the original order.
I called that one correctly, when I advised hubby to go ahead and get the order in before he had the trees cut and land cleared. No way we could have afforded to build it at today’s prices.
Raccoon is easy. First step is to remove as much fat as possible from the carcass so you don’t wind up with a gallon of grease in the roasting pan.
Then cover the bottom of the roasting pan/crock pot/slow cooker/dutch oven/whatever with chunked up potatoes.
Place the varmint carcass on top of the spuds. You can part it out or leave it whole, however you want to do it is good.
Fill up the space around/on top of the varmint with carrots, celery, onion, garlic, or any other veggies that you want to use.
Season to taste - I like to use Montreal steak seasoning, and plenty of it.
Roast at ~350° for a couple or three hours, just long enough for the bones to pull free from the meat.
You can serve it just like that, or if you want to notch it up a bit, remove the meat to a stainless grille basket, get a good hot fire going in the grille, slop some of your favorite sauce on and pop it into the grille just long enough to carmelize the sauce.
Good stuff.
To start, grab a jar of pickles and some Kool-Aid powder.
Kool-Aid pickles, anyone? I love pickles of all shapes and sizes, but the sweet and fruity taste of Kool-Aid plus a vat of vinegar-soaked cucumbers leaves me a little skeptical. I would still totally try it, though. Kool-Aid pickles are sure to surprise your taste buds, and will most likely turn some heads in your kitchen, too!
What Is a Kool-Aid Pickle?
At first glance, the combination may sound like a recipe for disaster. But people have been soaking pickles in Kool-Aid for quite some time down South. Mississippi is the birthplace of Kool-Aid pickles, which people have nicknamed “Koolickles.”
The colorful and crunchy products are a combination of dill pickles and Kool-Aid powder, and fit the pickling culture of the American South quite well. (Even if you aren’t from Mississippi, we can teach you how to pickle peaches, chard, Brussels sprouts and more like a pro.) Convenience stores make and sell these snacks by the dozen. You can find them under fun names like “SnoCo Pickles,” which are made with snow cone syrup, and “Pickoolas.”
What Do Kool-Aid Pickles Taste Like?
Curing in a tightly-sealed bath of vinegar, sugar and Kool-Aid powder adds some sweetness to the pickles, so expect bites both fruity and somewhat sour. Most people either love pickles or can’t stomach them!
Recipe at link, below.
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