| garden 2012 progress... |
[May. 16th, 2012|12:49 pm] |
Looks like some of the blackberry plants that I thought deceased are recovering and spreading out, so there is hope. I'll be putting mulch on the beds for weed control soon. The Lodi apple tree is doing well, but I think the other three apple trees are not going to survive after Dad checked them out and saw no signs of life. I'll decide shortly if I want to use the guarantee to replace the apple trees this year.
The other accomplishments were removing a dead mouse from the yard, mowing the lawn (so happy I found the mouse first), and spreading some mulch around the trees.
My parents took me out for lunch at Paisanos, so I am now well fed and resting. |
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[May. 12th, 2012|10:20 pm] |
Today we took the kids to Loose Park in KCMO for a meetup with a friend in town from St Louis. The park is incredible, didn't realize it was where I attended a friends wedding about 10 years ago until Marz told me. Kids rampaged, Kiyan was very disappointed when we left. Hit Bo Lings on the way home for a late lunch.
Several neighbor kids came over to play in the back yard for awhile. I used the opportunity to cut back some encroaching brush along the fenceline. Need to figure out how to clear out all the brush and trees growing there, and chemically treat it to prevent regrowth.
Nachos for dinner, I am very full and Kiyan is asleep after such an active day. He's usually the last kid in bed. |
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| bagels... |
[May. 10th, 2012|09:12 pm] |
I'm doing a bunch of bagels for the teachers, on Marz's prompting I started doing 3 oz rather than 4 oz bagels. this gets me about 8-9 more bagels per batch, and they don't look much smaller. Overall a very good discovery. Marz and Kiyan have taken a couple while I was baking, but there are plenty so no problem.
I really need to work on my bagel cookbook. |
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[May. 9th, 2012|04:15 pm] |
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Of the four apple and one cherry tree planted this year, the Lodi apple tree has leaves forming, and I think the others are forming buds but they are kind of subtle on such a skinny tree until the green leaves poke through. I got the tomato plants tied up to the stakes, and the pepper plants have their first blossoms. It appears that two of each blackberry variety are surviving, so next year I'll be helping them establish in the beds better. I'm only worried about the arapaho blackberries, they are smaller and vulnerable to cutworms this year. |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 3rd, 2012|09:59 pm] |
Marz and Pari are off to space camp, Kiyan and I had a drive thru dinner on the way back from the airport. He demanded some back yard time, so I did some work in the garden and discovered that the twist tiller purchased years ago for the compost bin I never use works great for breaking up the ground and uprooting those huge grass clumps in the garden. We celebrated my heat exhaustion with a trip through Sonic for drinks.
And for your viewing pleasure, the kids on silly hat day.
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[Apr. 25th, 2012|04:58 pm] |
Spatchcocked chickens are in the smoker and about 15 degrees from being finished. I'm really craving an electric smoker I can keep closer to the side door, and with remote thermometer so I don't have to keep running outside to check cooking progress. I could get a decent electric smoker for around $175, the one I lust after is in the $350 range. Maybe after a good tax return in the future.
My foot continues to heal after my Saturday injury of stepping on a board with two exposed nails. Limping, but not in constant discomfort. Tomorrow morning I see a nurse practitioner to make sure it's healing as it should be. I've been good about taking my antibiotics on a regular basis, and avoiding dairy products in general even though I think I'm only supposed to avoid dairy and calcium products before taking the antibiotic. I figure that avoiding milk and cheese for 10 days won't kill me, merely annoy me.
With the increase in heat I've increased the amount of water I'm putting on the garden, and the plants appear to be fine with it. Only problems have been a few cutworms, and something snacking on a few plant leaves but not the entire plant. Today I got some purple carrot seeds to play with, probably in a container, and some general organic pesticide to use sparingly in a few locations. |
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[Apr. 24th, 2012|12:58 pm] |
My foot is still healing after stepping on two nails this past weekend. I'm doing surprisingly well, the main problem is that I can't walk very fast so I'm not working at the restaurant. Already told the boss that if he finds my replacement just kick me to the curb, my livelihood doesn't rely on the job and he needs someone working there more than I need the fun money.
I'm happy to say that I can walk moderate distances and stand for decent amounts of time when wearing my shoes, but it feels like I have a smooth stone taped to the bottom of my foot that hinders me. Thursday I go in for a followup visit at my usual doctor's office with a nurse practitioner to make sure it is healing properly.
I look forward to walking normally again soon. |
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| ouch, that hurt... |
[Apr. 21st, 2012|07:51 pm] |
Went out to a friends farm to get some old fencing for a garden trellis, took the kids. They had a great time sitting on an old tractor and riding the mower. I was in the fencing pile and stepped on a board, two nails penetrated an inch or so into my foot. Yelled for assistance in a loud but calm and masculine fashion, got driven back home, then my mother drove me to the emergency room while the kids stayed with Marz. X rays to make sure nothing broke off inside (nothing did), got an tetanus shot update (every 23 years like clockwork), and will be on antibiotics for the next 10 days.
Foot is swollen but doesn't hurt as much just sitting here (thank God for Ibuprofen). Not going to be walking much for a day or two. Otherwise, not bad.
And here are a couple pics of the kids at the farm, before the nail incident.
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| so far today... |
[Apr. 21st, 2012|12:50 pm] |
Went to Farmer's Market with the family, came back with oyster mushrooms, duck eggs, bee pollen, various sweet breads for breakfast, and twelve flashy trout lettuce starters. Managed to find enough room in the garden for them, which was more difficult than i thought.
Pari and Marz visited the quilt show, soon it'll be lunch then visiting a farm to find trellis material for the emerging cucumbers.
And for your enjoyment, a picture of Kiyan flying a kite.
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| garden 2012 progress... |
[Apr. 18th, 2012|09:02 pm] |
This morning I assembled two 2'x2' raised beds for some herbs. I snagged Dad for a trip to Vinland Valley Nursery because I like their herb selection better, came home with 8 plants. In back I put four varieties of basil (including lime basil, purple basil, large Italian leaf, and some other), in front three mints (including chocolate mint) and pineapple sage.
The small raised beds are pretty cool, but in a year or two I'd like to make a fancier herb bed that has a couple different levels and a unique shape, possibly an L shape that goes around the edge of the patio. That will require more lumber and planning, including leveling a bit around the patio. I think that is definitely a plan for next year. Or this summer if I have a coupon for lumber at Home Depot. |
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