another wee garden bouquet

happy birthday, mamos

 

crocus & bumpass potting shelf

 

The jonquils, daffodils, and crocus have come up pretty early this year. They add such a lovely pop of color to the garden. With all the rain we have been having, everything is super saturated and lush,  but mostly green, not a lot of color, so these beauties are a welcome bit of sunshine.

The a-go-gos are not grill people, sure, we love a bbq but we just don't do the bbqs. This was the sister a-go-g's old grill and we tried offering it up for free on both Craigslist, and the local Buy Nothing group with no takers. I guess grillers tend to want their grills to look pretty? There are no holes and the inside totally works. Oh well, their loss is my new potting shelf. We store the potting spoil and tools inside, and use the grill shelf to the left as a potting bench. Works for me, and the spiders LOVE it! 

same garden, same sweatpants. no rain

 

now with daily sweater

blackberry bush

lavender

i spy...

more apple blossoms

it's rainnnning...again! still?

newcomer!

the apple tree, she is confused

she really wants to go out, but it's wet! 

 

another day, another day of rain

With the wind and the cold dismantling any wintering blooms, I have resorted to the hummingbird feeders for our tiniest of friends. I whip up a new batch o' nectar every three days and they have been consuming most of it. You just want to make sure to toss out the old mix and clean your feeders frequently so as to deter the parasites that can kill them. In the spring, the feeders come down as we have enough blooms to sustain a few. Hummingbirds are very territorial. It's fun to watch them as they protect their food. 

So many new batches of mushrooms popping up. The mr. a-go-go has identified these but I have forgotten what they are called. They are pretty small and very abundant. 

It's been so wet, the garden shelf has developed a wee city of lichen and moss. I am LOVING it. Why is moss so cute? I may even coo at it when I walk by. Shhh. 

Another day of rain, and me here in my new sweatpants, again. Hey, they keep me warm! I may need to hit up a thrift store for a sweatshirt or flannel soon. Let's bring back the 90s! I'm sure it will happen soon anyway. 
 

backyard mycology

 

I lied. I have not identified these visitors to the yard. All I know is they are cool, and in the yard, whoo-hoo! The orange one is about the size of a half dollar, the fuzzy bits on the tree are on the peach tree, which may mean it is doomed, and they are not fuzzy at all, but hard as the wood they are nesting in. Gulp! 

the concords are here!

They grew much better down in Los Angeles, but we'll take what we can get. Yay for homegrown grapes! 
 

first of the season

 

herbs and seeds and seeds and herbs

garden goodness, again

 

The neighbors who live kitty corner behind us (the ones who we may have stolen polyoestre from) have this giant cactus in their backyard and it grows right up against our fence. It's probably the only thing holding the fence up (ugh, we need a new fence). Even though it is covered in cochineal (which can be cool), I love seeing the blooms when they happen. They're so pretty! 

We had to add a chickenwire skirt to our feeds because the darn cat can jump. she can jump super high. Ack! The birds don't seem to mind.  It's getting warmer everyday which means we'll soon loose our nasturtiums to the sun, but until then, I plan on enjoying their brilliant colors. haven't been adding them so salads lately, but I did try to make paint. You'll see how that turned out soon enough. 

The chickadees are still here! Hooray! I love how they constantly chick-a-dee-dee-dee. I call them Mary Poppins birds as they move completely different from the other birds, kind of like little birdie robots. We have a pair, I think. They prefer the feeder in the front yard but methinks that one is empty now. Either way, yay for chickadees! 

popped!

 

first poppy of the year!

have (sour) peaches, make (sweet) sauce

The mama a-go-go's peach tree actually produced some fruit this year...for awhile there it was touch and go. Aadly, the fruit, while stunning, is a bit tart with a slightly bitter after taste. Weirdly, the peaches also make my teeth feel squeaky...go figure. To make use of the peaches and to feel productive, I cooked two or three down to a delightful sauce. I used the applesauce approach...chop to bits, toss into a saucepan with a cup of sugar and a half cup of water, a pinch of salt, a generous twist or two (or three) of black pepper and hope for the best. We ate it on ice cream, pork roast, burrito bowls (like slasa), and on our oats. I even enjoyed a spoonful or two in fizzy water and/or iced tea. It was more sauce than we could handle really, the jar got stood up and scootched to the back of the fridge where it became forlorn and forgotten. Thee wasn't too much leftover but the fuzz came to the party and it had to be ditched. On the plus side, the jar is now fresh and waiting for a new partner!