Happy Spring!

The vernal equinox was Thursday, and I have a new nephew born the same day! Today is Easter Sunday and it is in the 70's outside. The beans have sprouted, roses are starting to bloom, the crabapple tree is in full bloom, and it is just gorgeous outside.

Happy Day to All!

Spring is On Its Way!

The asparagus are starting to come up and we'll be eating them soon. We've been enjoying beets and chard from the garden, and the garlic is growing very nicely. Last night, we tried some of the Romaine lettuce that we are growing, and it was quite good. I'll have to do something about the slugs, though, as they are starting to hang out inside the lettuce.

I jumped the gun and planted pole beans very early and they have started to germinate. We had a spate of very warm weather the week before last, before it turned cold again this week. Tomorrow is supposed to be a little warmer although things remained unsettled--it has rained on and off all week.

It is time to think about more serious spring planting though. When the weather is dry we have been weeding the beds to prepare them for more planting. I'm a little late at starting any seeds inside, such as tomatoes and peppers. Got to catch that spring fever and get busy!

Gardens are "Sleeping" in January

As we were told on a garden tour years ago, the gardens are "sleeping" in January. This view of a formal garden maze was taken in January in a small town north of Rome.




Water features, garden mazes, fountains, columns, hedges, trees and shrubs were designed in the garden by a Cardinal Crayfish.

More from the Italy Trip

There is so much beautiful art in Florence, Italy--everywhere! This wonderful statue was near the Santa Croce church. It was one of the last photos we snapped when in Italy in January. Seems to be bidding us arrividerci.

What is This?

Doesn't look like a chicken in a garden, does it? No! It is a performer from Opera Extravaganza, during a performance in the restaurant at Palazzo Catalani in Soriano nel Cimino, Italy, in mid-January. This small opera troupe sang several famous arias. This one obviously had to do with a bird. I'll need to look it up and get back to you.

A Walking We Will Go

This photo is from awhile ago, but with the beautiful weather right now--close to 70 degrees--days are wonderful for good walks. Annie, the dog, loves her walks, and she usually gets nice long walks on the weekends. The photo was taken in Newark, near the lake.

It's Cold Here...

Hi,
Well, I know it is nothing like New England or the midwest, but it has been bitingly cold here in northern California. The chickens are chummier with each other, and our son thinks it is because they must snuggle at night to keep warm. It has been very rainy as well since our return from vacation.

In late December we took off for two weeks in Italy. What a fine time we had exploring Florence, Venice, Siena, and Soriano nel Cimino. When we took trains between the cities we first would spot the gardens in the countryside. Artichoke plants were easy to notice, especially in Tuscany. They appeared to be a bit more closely planted than our plants here. South of Tuscany we saw more cabbage and broccoli plants in the vegetable gardens.

I'm just about to give our artichoke plants some fertilizer. They should start producing some artichokes by February. A few of our plants are an Italian heirloom purple artichoke, a kind we also saw in a few of the vegetable markets on our trip.

Harley Farm Goats

On Saturday we toured the Harley Goat Farm in Pescadero. They have about 270 goats right now. The farm specializes in making chevre, soft goat cheese. The two-hour tour introduced us to the goats. We had a chance to milk a goat and help make the cheese. The tour ended with a fine cheese tasting experience in the decorated barn.

Most of the goats are pregnant and will have their kids in late January or early February, but there were a few young kids scampering about. One chewed on my purse strap for a little while.

Big Connie in the Winter Garden

Above is a photo of Big Connie, on a chilly but sunny December morning in the garden.

Asilomar

As previously mentioned, we spent a couple of nights in Asilomar, the refuge by the sea. Here is a great photo taken by Jonathan:



and another at sunset:

Phil's Fish Market, Moss Landing

On a recent two-night trip to Asilomar, we stopped at Moss Landing on the way home, and sampled the clam chowder at Phil's Fish Market. Wonderful place.

Beautiful Pathways

We had a nice trip to the Filoli estate in Woodside. I forgot to take any photos of the beautiful house, but I found myself intrigued by the pathways and garden entrances. There are 16 acres at Filoli, an estate developed from 1912-1915. Today there are over 1500 fruit trees, and we saw many apple and pear trees laden with fruit. The day before we went it rained most of the day, but the day of the trip was sunny and dry.

Figs, figs, figs

We are using figs over the past few weeks, as they are coming in thick and fast from our two fig trees. We have a Blackjack Fig (a Mission type) and a Brown Turkey Fig tree.

The other night we prepared salmon, grilled over a bed of potatoes and thyme. This was served with a fig salsa: chopped figs and onions. It was quite yummy and there were enough leftovers for a generous lunch the next day.



We are very busy inside the house with a remodeling project. We are finally remodeling our master bathroom. Previously the shower was an avocado green fiberglass insert and the room was quite dark. We are replacing the dated shower with a larger tiled shower and have added more light, painted the walls, and are adding a new tile floor. Soon we will pick out a granite top for the vanity and attach a large mirror to the wall.

Spinach, Red Onion, Fig, Apple, Pork, Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber, and Goat Cheese Salad

Last night we enjoyed the above-pictured salad. The weather is getting hotter, so this cold salad was refreshing. We used some leftover pork loin and added a fig balsamic vinagrette dressing. Very yummy, but a little messy looking.

Here is another photo after adding the dressing:

Pole Beans

We are growing some very nice pole beans on our makeshift teepee, formed from old birch tree branches and other assorted tree branches and poles. There are two kinds growing together here, a French filet type and a yellow pole bean.

French Prune Plums

We have two French prune plum trees that are extremely productive. These prune plums are quite a delicacy in Europe, known as "sugarplums." We have been busy preparing the plums for drying in our dehydrators (halving them and removing the pits), and also making plum tarts, plum pie, plum jam, plum sorbet, and plum cake. We've also been giving away bags of these wonderful plums.

Above is an excellent photo (by plum-pitter extraordinaire, Jonathan) that depicts the stages of the plum-pitting process. We will certainly have enough dried plums for the winter!

Sunflower Watching Sunflower Motif

I woke up this morning and saw a new sunflower bloom in our vegetable garden. Above is a photo of what I saw: a sunflower seemed to be watching a terra cotta sunflower.

Below is a closer image of the two interacting:

Thistle bloom

A beautiful artichoke blossom!

Sunflowers

This summer the sunflowers are blooming awfully early! They are so cheery out in the vegetable garden. Today I planted some pole beans around some younger sunflowers.

Those chicks have grown...

Above is a photo of Lacey and her three chicks. You recall that they were hatched 5/10th, 11th and 12th. Lacey, the mom, is a lace-winged Wyandotte. The three fertile eggs were not hers but are bantam cochins. Here are the chicks with their "mom" around the asparagus bed.