Monthly Archives: May 2012

Peas

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Sandy

I did a smaller pea planting this year, but decided to plant three different varieties in one bed. The pea plants are huge! They’ve grown so much since the last photo, taken April 1. From left to right, I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged | 1 Comment

A perfect goat life

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Sandy

Ah, to be Lucy. Eat all day long and then take a long nap in the sun using a super full tummy as a pillow. Not a bad life indeed . . . Sandy

Posted in Livestock | Tagged | 2 Comments

Our new “edible landscaping” garden

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Sandy

I’ve written before about the before and after transformation of our front yard. I’ve also written about the big decision to part ways with our big leaf maple. The structural changes we’ve made to this area have created the perfection … Continue reading →

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Solar production check-in & great energy consumption progress

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Sandy

We’ve just hit an electricity production milestone with the solar production meter passing the 1500 kWh mark for 51 days of production. As I’m keeping track in the solar log, we’re currently averaging nearly 30 kWhs a day in production. … Continue reading →

Posted in Electricity usage, Energy usage, Natural gas usage, Solar | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Awkward, gawky, teenage turkeys

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Sandy

It has been about five weeks since my turkey impulse purchase and the turkeys are finally starting to look like, well, turkeys. When I first bought them, they looked just like baby chicks. No more. Their bodies and necks are … Continue reading →

Posted in Livestock | Tagged | 3 Comments

The muscle car of tomato plants

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Sandy

About a year or two ago, grafted tomato plants started appearing on the garden scene. As Valerie Easton explained in an Seattle Times article last year, grafted tomatoes “have proved more effective at taking up water and nutrients, they are … Continue reading →

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Video: Flight of the Orchard Mason Bees

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Sandy

  The Orchard Mason Bees are doing great this year! By far, this has been the best year for the bees since we started hosting them a few years ago. The weather has cooperated well, with enough decently warm days … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Wildlife | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Mushroom mysteries: What do I have here?

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Sandy

We are not a mushroom eating family. Derek loathes them. I can tolerate them if they are a small part of an otherwise non-mushroomy dish. When I came upon pretty sizable mushroom colonies in the rhubarb and garlic beds this … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged | 4 Comments

1012 things to love about solar power

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Sandy

Today, we surpassed 1,000 kWhs of solar production! This took 37 days of production, making our daily production a bit over 27 kWhs which isn’t too bad considering our spotty weather during April. As a simple measure, each kWh of … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar | Tagged | 1 Comment

Hen vs. lizard

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Sandy

One of our New Hampshire hens found an interesting snack today, a little lizard. She ran around for about 10 minutes trying to eat it herself, but the other hens kept trying to steal it from her. Eventually, she tired … Continue reading →

Posted in Homesteading, Livestock | Tagged , | 2 Comments