Twilight

Lovely garden, sir!! My first radishes are long gone but they never acquired that size! My potatoes are blooming but I have not looked for new potatoes yet. That is the joy and taste of new potatoes. You do not have to peel them, if you cook with the feelings on they will practically fall by themselves.

Yes a whole clove was Mother's ( would be 106 this fall) remedy for toothache. And for removing onion breath..chew coffee grinds.

Very nice! I have live owls here but that one of yours is a real looker! The water catchment is really great. My potatoes are blooming, onions are growing bulbs, and the first lettuce should be ready soon.

I use mullein for URIs boiling it in milk (some people use water) and drink a cup every few hours. Garlic is so good for many things, I used it in vegetable juice for serious kidney infection. Vinegar for burns Banana peel for drawing out stickers

You will probably think I am nuts or worse :-). I don't even add warm water to my yeast..just room temperature. It really has to work hard to get the sponge going. Eventually sometime within 8-24 hours depending on the warmth of the room, it will raise sufficiently for me to punch down and either let it rise again or shape into loaves.Or if I leave it out on the patio, it may gather some of the wild yeast to give it a boost. I have other things to do!!!!

77 last eve 43 this a.m 60 high today? Cool all week? Is this an extra long BlackBerry Winter?

Baking powder will lose its usefulness far too quickly. Only if you use it daily should you get a larger container. Otherwise a small can for infrequent use and you still might have it go bad. It seems to have a short life. Having never stored it in the freezer I do not know if that would prolong life or not.

On another forum it was Chinese... no doubt about it, it was spam. I am glad it was quickly caught here.

You don't say!! Whether a tent or a cottage...it is still to be done. I have canning to do maybe today or tomorrow, I bought liver for $1 lb. I want to try liver mush too. Got to get back to my sewing....

Raining off and on, I her the raincrow (yellow billed cuvkoo) calling and I do believe we will more rain. I saw the dove's nest yesterday. It is so shallow I could see an egg by standing on my tiptoes. They have nested in that area ever since I moved here.

Since you mention it ,guess I will go finish the mowing that did not get done Saturday. I finished the castile soap mess..since I had heard so many people talk about the liquid castile I got a bottle. I did not check if the lid was tight...it turned over and emptied in my towels. I had to empty/wash the entire shelf and contents. Then put down a new liner and restock. Sewing is not going well, still have one room to sweep. I am going outside.

I forgot how many tomato plants I set out this morning...might be 16 or so. Besides those there are volunteer and other seed coming up that I pitched. So if all goes well and they all come to production there might be a lot of late tomatoes for someone. I finished before the showers started. My earlier salad planting will soon be ready to enjoy.

Walking dogs without a leash is not safe! Someone was walking an untrained,unleashed pit past here. Let or rather dog going where it wanted , it got in our yard. Joy was on the porch but flew out there and barreled into the dog. Owner was incensed! Dog fled and owner had to go after. People around here do not like their dogs messed with even if they are in the wrong!!! Therefore Joy is not well liked and I had a shot fired over my head!

Three trips in a week has put me on nearly 1000 miles. I am bushed. When the dew dries I will check out the gardens. Built a small fire as it was only 41 this a.m. Maybe I will sew....

Jeepers

I saw something early this a.m. it was walking along the edge of the road and suddenly leaped off and into the woods. The body was long maybe 3 ft. It was walking like a cat. I know a panther has been seen in this area. Last night the cat stayed in and that is unusual. Both dog and cat were not wanting to go out before daylight today.

Car shopping, mowing when the grass gets dry, may transplant some tomatoes. Bobcat will mate with house cats..... The last bobcat I saw crossed the road in front of me, tawny, bobtail without curl, black tufts in ears. They can be different sizes from fairly large to small.

I as a rule do not plant potatoes either. I got a 5 lb bag of Russet Burbank to eat which I do not eat many potatoes. They started sprouting within a week, so I planted them. Covered them about a foot deep with leaves added some compost on top. They are now coming up. My patch is about 4 x4. They do need lots of water.

I have known and used Irish Spring soap as a deterrent for deer in my garden. Then I found a mouse hole in a hard to fix area, so stuck a bar in the hole. This morning I found the bar seriously chewed on, a dead mouse, and obvious signs that it died gut clean!!

When I came home last eve, I had 2 full rows of tomato plants up in my planter. This morning most of them are gone , there was a rabbit in the yard early.... My second planting of radishes are up ,spinach and lettuce. Blueberries are blooming,pears have fruit ,the Keifer has 11 and the Asian 5 plus it is blooming again, peach trees, while not loaded have a good many fruit. Potatoes are coming up, a squash is coming up on an old compost pile. I too, have my place for sale

Not that I have a lot of onions but peelings or waste have not deterred my wigglers. They are huge 6-8 inches.. Desert composting could be a challenge. Is there a way that you could change your plumbing for your bath/shower water to go on the garden? We did that one year in a drought and our garden/trees loved it. If you have access to pallets you can make a bin with 4 for the sides and if you need a lid you can put one on top. If you live in a fussy area you can paint the pallets so they are attractive. Pallets can be found at furniture stores and sometimes grocery stores, equipment places, etc.

If the grass clippings are too deep after mowing, I rake and add to the compost. Grass clippings can get very hot and break down quickly in the compost but they should be covered to hold in the heat. Having many trees around the property I have to rake leaves,so that goes on the compost. In the fall and winter the leaves add up to great piles. I wait until after a rain to compost them and they are easier to move. All kitchen scraps go on the pile as well as the dish water. During canning season lots of stuff goes out there. Since there is no manure this is more of a soil conditioner than fertilizer. If I had access to fresh chicken, cow or horse manure, it would be added in layers with the leaves and clippings. Making the new bed yesterday, though I shook most of the dirt off the grass, I left some on which added weight and help with composting. This morning after last nights rain, the new compost pile mainly of leaves, with yesterday's addition was very warm. The pile was also full of earthworms. Most anyone has the ability to make compost. Small snippets of cloth, hair, dust from sweeping with broom or vacuum,shredded paper,diaper material separated before putting in the compost or after they have composted removing the plastic that will not compost. All weeds ,especially thistles! are good for the pile,bedding material from large or small creatures. Cedar probably should not be used at least in quantity. Leather dust is an excellent addition,coffee, tea grounds,clippings from animals, feathers,,wool from sheep should be added in small amounts. Spoiled grains, feed, but never chemicals, gas, or oil, Do not let your compost get dry! it will have lots of heat and can burn. You will be surprised to feel the heat that comes from the composting action.

My mower battery, the one the company traded my brand new battery for their old one. Maybe i better check battery Mart to see if they have one. I love the fence you have protecting your yard/ garden. The deer come all aroundthe house here.

I have mowed twice another battery light came on this past week. Not sure where to find one this time as the local garage closed down due to non paying customers....... After due thought ,I decided to spade up a new garden area. The soil is much better,so I spade, come in when it starts showering and go back out. All grass goes on the compost pile. Inside I am working on my curtains, right now, trying to relax my back.....

Naw..one black cat and one blue dog after who knows how many moles..they do catch them after they plow err dig up the yard......makes for lovely mowing and interesting walking.