Author Archives: Sandy

Two steps backwards, one hobbled step forward

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Sandy

Many aspects of gardening involve adjusting for the unplanned and unexpected. Weather, of course, is a primary element to which gardeners have to adjust and readjust expectations and plans. Earlier in the week, I planned on using this weekend to … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy usage, Gardening | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Garden season 2012 commences

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Sandy

After a long blogging hiatus, I’m back! And I’m really late kicking off garden season 2012. Truth be told, I’ve been working on some other projects (not related to gardening and sustainability) that have monopolized my spare time over the … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy usage, Gardening, Solar | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Dear Big Leaf Maple

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Sandy

Dear Big Leaf Maple, Although I’ve tried for a number of years to be friends, it’s just not working out. Not to be rude or anything, but you are in the way. You see, I have plans. Big plans. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Homesteading | Tagged | 8 Comments

Squash

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Sandy

This wasn’t the best year for squash, but we did get five sugar pumpkins, three delicata squash, and this nice blue Hubbard squash. Isn’t it pretty? That’s all for today. I just wanted to share the picture of this nice … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Apples

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Sandy

Walking through the orchard last weekend, I noticed a few apples had dropped from a couple of trees. I picked the apples that looked reasonably good off the ground and then checked the trees for ripe fruit still hanging on … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Judge me by my size, do you?

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Sandy

And well you should not! We’re starting to see some ripe apples from our various and sundry trees.  The larger apple is a Chehalis and the smaller apple is a windfall Honeycrisp that was blown down in last night’s rain.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Livestock | 4 Comments

Tomatoes

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Sandy

I’ve been harvesting tomatoes in onesies and twosies for a few weeks now, but with the recent heat I’m finally getting full batches of tomatoes ripening at once. I smell tomato sauce making and canning in my future this weekend. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking & food preservation | Tagged | 3 Comments

Pears

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Sandy

After waiting nearly two weeks for them to ripen, the above box of green Bartlett pears has been transformed . . . into 33 pints of canned pears. I do still find pears one of the most difficult canning projects, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking & food preservation | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Yes, I can

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Sandy

We’ve had a bumper crop of Sungold tomatoes this season. The plants go all the way up to the top of the greenhouse (at least 12 feet up) and have been producing for weeks. Last weekend,  I picked two pounds … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking & food preservation, Gardening | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Welcome Jasmine, our new Kinder goat

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Sandy

Join us in welcoming Jasmine, our new Kinder doeling, to our menagerie. Jasmine is the black and tan goat standing in the front of the picture, with Lucy and Harry behind her. Kinder goats, a cross between a Nubian and … Continue reading →

Posted in Livestock | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments