welcome to my garden, part one

My garden is growing in leaves and bounds. I thought it would be fun to take you on a tour...


The door- well, for the most part the entire greenhouse- is cleverly (although not always aesthetically) pieced together from the salvage that my husband has squirreled away. I found a cute wooden sign for the entrance (note door to chickens is to the left in this shot) that draws your eye away from the dinge of the old door.

The entire east wall is the raised bed Jay built with the first bit of the bed holding lettuce we've been enjoying for months. Now our salad staple is quickly bolting as the days are warming so I've been slowing pulling the old plants and using them as chicken treats, the long stems ending up in my compost pile. Note how the lettuce leaves hang over the edge; the chickens love to come in the garden and hop up to help themselves to a bite of fresh greens. I sometimes let them come in and scratch around in the compost pile but have to watch closely or they head for greener pastures.

The inside walls of the greenhouse are either plastic, bird netting or various used sheets of wood.

Recently when I stopped at a church yard sale I was inspired by some interesting wallpaper ... 

and ended up with this...

stay tuned for part two of the tour...

after the rain

It rain all day Friday, a chilly windy rain. But before the day ended there was a ray of sunshine that crossed the horizon. The overcast sky and golden light made a stunning combination out the back door. 

After shooting multiple angles I was headed back to the warm but paused again when I spotted my two favorite people framed in the window with the mountain reflected in the glass.

orange-julie-us

Making lemonade out of lemons-gone orange. Last week Jay brought home two large containers of very ripe oranges. After squeezing OJ for several mornings in a row without making a noticeable dent in the supply we needed a new plan. Jay peeled and juiced the oranges and I froze the juice in small plastic cups. I looked up Orange Julius recipes online and came up with a yummy morning treat. I substituted the milk, vanilla and sugar with vanilla yogurt and honey. The surprise in the recipe was a raw egg yolk that makes the fluffy. Tessa surprised me with the suggestion of adding cinnamon, which ended up being a excellent idea (from a four year old!). I'm surprised Orange Julius hasn't added it to their selection. When I found some leftover pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins in the freezer it was a breakfast fit for my favorite African-Adventure-Muffin-Maker-Niece. 

for farmer fred

Dear Farmer Fred,

I thought of you this weekend as we worked on a project in the wash.
I harvested stones as the dirt was being moved around and built this rock wall (almost) all by myself.

With much love and sore muscles,
Your Rocking Auntie

for blueberry betsy

I found some blueberry plants on the clearance rack last fall and bought a couple to see how they would fare in the greenhouse. Last week I was excited to discover their delicate little blooms. 

march on in

What a fun surprise

on the eve of the month of March 

as I was cleaning up my oregano

I discovered a clover plant had move in as well.

happy birthday to me

My Aunt in Colorado emailed this photo to me yesterday. 

It is one of my favorites pictures from my baby-hood.