Enjoy this photo tour of the farm, perhaps imagining yourself in the fresh air and sunshine, working up a little appetite for a dinner of just-picked fruit and veggies. Scroll down after the video for more.
This is a good guy! Gopher snake!
Lilacs – the original aromatherapyFuture pluots
Beware of the dog – yes, this dog!Apricots in bloomBees at workPre-applesFresh StartFirst row of springSweet potatoesPeasPears in bloomPears in bloomCome on bees, get to work!Winter wetnessDressed for winter weatherFresh start for fall plantingWonderberry!
Milkweed
Favorite plant of monarch butterflies
Fall fruit and Nacho Cat (who has since passed away) enjoying the sunshine, waiting for dinner.This isn’t the best climate for apples, but these were pretty nice!Smoke from the Camp fire north of here.Cosmos keep the pollinators happy!
Fritillary butterfly…
…loving the zinnias!
Pumpkin stampedes the cowsGreening upCherry plumRhubarbArtichokePlum blossomsTowheeWhite-tailed kitesSpectacular sunsetWinter skiesLittle hummerCrow in winterMimosa in the windRed-shouldered hawkCrisp fall apples. The ugly ones have already been turned into apple butter.Volunteer squash plant in with my strawberries.Red shouldered hawks. Stubborn birds try to nest in my trees every year, but the crows have other ideas. They are gorgeous, but i don’t love them hovering over my chickens and small dogs!
Fence lizard – it’s not just his name.
Goldfinches came early and are fattening up on seeds. Cold winter ahead?
Monarch on mimosa
Surveying her domain
Orange and purple sweet potatoes!
Turnips
Red Mustard
Butternut Squash
Fall veggies!
Barn owl.
Early apricots and olallie-berries
Cherry plum made into tart luscious jam.
The terrible trio…
Alvin and his dad, PumpkinOlallie-berriesBaby greens (mostly mizuna)Asian pearMagpieZinnia
First fruit of the season – tangy apricots!Getting hot out there -cows head for water.Clover – adds nitrogen to the soil.
The neighbors.
Apple in bloomBrodiaeAsian Pears
Poofy clouds and soft grass
Chocolate mint!Quince flower
Rainy day viewHawk on the huntWinter walkGoldfinch feeding frenzyCalendula – early burst of color
My friend, PhoebeCrow keeping watch
The neighborsNosyApple blossoms
Fresh green onions/scallions. Great in salads, Japanese dishes, burritos…Tangerine tomatoes – you can guess why they have that name – are highest in lycopene, great for fighting prostate and other cancers and packed with a bright, zesty flavor.
Anise Hyssop makes a tea or herbal water that tastes like Good ‘n’ Plenty candy. Also the bees are in love with this plant.
Gold and glitter (and preying on mosquitoes and other flying pests)
These sunsets…just a spectacular way to end the day.
Chili peppers – mild on my personal scale of hotness, but I have lived in Mexico….
Sugar Pie Pumpkins
Strawflowers are (practically) forever…
Get out the canning gear – time to make tomato sauce!Little pear tree is just coming into its own, with the fruit looking bigger and better than last year. All the fruit trees planted before my time were left to their own devices for a while, so they are still in recovery…getting better all the time!
Poor lizard was harassed by the pups…
… so he’s being invisible while recovering.
6/29/2016 Ladybug rambling through the dill seeds…
Zinnia
Strawflowers
Three western kingbirds – sassy, feisty bug-catchers who come to help out every summer.
It’s hitting 104 degrees today, 6/26/2006. But the crops are watered before dawn and are mulched with hay to keep moisture in, so hopefully we will all survive the heat!
Flowers of the purple sweet potato plant
When it hits 100 degrees, my poor girls deserve a little refreshment! Sure my hens are spoiled, but when it’s this hot they can go in their “air conditioned” porch – there’s a vent that let’s cool air out, and the girls love the shady spot.
6/25/2016 When i first saw this crazy tree, which looks like Dr. Seuss created it, I wondered why it was in with fruit trees. But it turns out the mimosa is a legume (like beans), so it is busy adding nitrogen to the soil for the other trees.
This crimson clover is a legume, so it’s fixing the nitrogen in the soil to help the young olallie-berry plant. You can see that the rows are mulched with straw to keep moisture in.
6/24/2016 Dragonflies are fierce little pest-predators. All the beneficials that eat crop-wreckers or pollinate or break down organic matter or improve soil structure, etc. are safe here from pesticides, chemicals, and GMO threats.
6/15/2016 Sunflowers brightening up the garden and entertaining the bees. I’ve planted some next to cucumbers to see if the strong stalks can hold up the cucumber vines. Also the roots crack into the hardpan and bring up nutrients, so it’s not only about good looks.
6/15/2016 Zinnias! Yes, they attract pollinators, but really they are in my garden for the joy of their happy colors and the fact that they last a nice, long time after cutting.
Nasturtiums are edible flowers, but they are in my rows because they draw certain obnoxious beetles away from my squashes and beans. Plus the color is awesome!
6/14/2016 Dill exuberantly going to seed.
6/13/2016 Bumble bee enjoying an artichoke in bloom.Take a breath, man, come up for air!
6/12/2016 Garbanzo beans/chick peas in the pod. Just toast them on a griddle for about 10 minutes until they are tender and enjoy them like edamame (soy beans) with a cold drink!
