Chickens Lily Lays an Egg! How to tell your girls are ready to lay... It’s usually pretty quiet when I’m making my morning coffee. A few birds at the feeder, a squirrel or two snacking on sunflower seeds are the norm. But, today, wow….what a racket! The clucking was loud, long and totally different from the little chirps we are used
Succulents Succulent Gardens - The Place to Buy Succulents...and Get Great Ideas! This weekend we drove to Carmel and had a wonderful time, but the highlight for me was along the way in Castroville! I’d read about Succulent Gardens, The Growing Grounds, a nursery that specializes in all kinds of succulents, so we made a side trip and I’m so
Birds How to Use a Decorative Bird Cage! A trip to Beverly’s or Michael’s crafts usually means a visit to the sale section. Decorative bird cages were the hot buy a few weeks ago so I picked up a few and finally figured out what to do with them! You can use them as bird feeders!
Recipes Peach Jam -A Simple Recipe Step by Step! Peaches just say summer to me. Growing up we picked them off the tree, huge and sweet, and ate them warm from the sun. But, they’re nearly as good from the fruit stand or store these days since our tree is long since gone… My grandmother always made her
Garden Garden Wisdom... Sharing... I have been in a snit all summer over the tomatoes I’m losing to whatever critter is sneaking in and chomping them to pieces…look at this mess! I’ve gone out in the middle of the night with a flashlight thinking it might be racoons. I sat at
Garden Crows - Entertainment in the Garden! There’s always something fun to watch in the garden. Morning coffee includes visits from our squirrels, sparrows, doves, robins…..and lately a funny crow! First he flies over the back fence with a big chunk of bread in his mouth. He must not like it dry because he immediately
Chickens Chicken Coop Maintenance - Or... How to Scoop Poop! I knew this day would come. My husband made it very clear that though he would labor to build the coop of my dreams (including the shake roof which…well, was a very tough sell!) he would NOT, under any circumstances have a thing to do with any poop scooping.
Garden Garden Wisdom - Let Go to Choose the Best! Sunflowers seem to be full of garden wisdom…or at least God uses them that way for me! I’ve realized lately, by watching my sunflowers and how they bloom, that the biggest flashiest blossom isn’t always the real prize. When all the energy goes into all that big
Tools Pocket Hose...Maybe Not! I was pretty excited about the new hoses advertised on TV. Then, when I saw them at Home Depot and saw that they used them in their nursery I was ready to try one. My daughter bought one for me for my birthday and I loved it…at first! It
Vegetables How to Peel a Tomato...the Old Fashioned Way When I was a girl, spending summers with my grandparents, my grandfather and I would frequently take drives out into the country and stop at the fruit stands. In the central valley of California fruit stands are amazing places. The tomatoes are deep red and the size of a salad
Chickens Moving Chickens Into Their New Home...Days 2 & 3...The Rest of the Story! Day Two August 18, 2013 Wouldn’t you know it would be my luck that our mild weather would suddenly soar to 100 degrees in our backyard the first day I have my new chickens! I ran out at 6:30 a.m. to visit the girls and instead I
Chickens Moving Chickens Into Their New Home! Day One... Day One, August 17,2013 The coop is done and we’re ready to get some girls! I really want a silver or golden laced Wyandotte, a Barred rock and a Buff Orpington. And, I really want to get them all at the same time, since I’ve read they
Free Download Garden Logs...Keeping track of your garden's progress (Free Download) The best way to improve your garden is to record what happens year after year. I have records dating back years which help me when selecting plants for certain spots in the yard and remind me which plants I tried before that maybe didn’t work out as well. I
Garden Garden Wisdom-Act Now or Pay Later! Walking through the garden last week I noticed something going on with my hanging basket full of white impatiens. A few weeks ago they were lush and beautiful. Deep green leaves and shining white flowers. I noticed a sunflower seed had sprouted in the container but I didn’t want
Garden Visit a Nursery - Get Inspired! Harmony Farm Supply has it all! We are so lucky here in Northern California! The weather is mild and comfortable and we can grow nearly anything. Not only do we plant gardens in the spring but now, as fall approaches,is a good time to plant as well. Perennials and shrubs planted in fall have more
Recipes Chocolate Zucchini Cookies! Always looking for ways to use our zucchini, I searched the web for a good chocolate zucchini cookie. After checking four or five sites I discovered the Crazy for Crust blog and tried their recipe….oh yeah….that’s a good cookie! Oatmeal, zucchini, great taste….what else do you
Flowers White Flowers Brighten the Garden... If you have a dark spot in your garden that you’d like to lighten up….try white Impatiens. A few pots will do the trick. They do well is shade as long as it’s not dungeon dark. You can add some height to your composition by layering your
Flowers Trim Roses for Another Round of Blooms... Once your roses are done with a nice flush of bloom you can let the petals slowly fall away ….or….you can “dead head” them by cutting off the old blossoms to an outward facing leaf, feed them and stand back for another round of color! Right around the 4th
Garden Digging Dog Nursery - Worth a Visit! I’ve wanted to visit Digging Dog Nursery in Albion, Ca. along the Mendocino coast for years. When I recently saw their website and the beautiful Alstromerias they carry that settled it. My friend Melinda and I decided to make a day of it, stopped for coffee in Cloverdale, and
Flowers Hydrangeas - Hang to Dry for Winter Color! July and August are the time to cut hydrangea blossoms to hang and dry. If you pick them too young they wilt and die…if you want until now they will dry and make beautiful bouquets this winter! They will hold their color quite well if you wait until they
Recipes Zucchini = Chocolate Zucchini Cake! I’ve been making Chocolate Zucchini Cake from the same recipe since the early 1970’s. I cut it out from Sunset Magazine way back then and got so many rave reviews I’ve transferred it from my old metal recipe box to numerous updated recipe binders. It’s a
Flowers Hydrangea Cuttings...Make More of the ones you love! July is the perfect month to take cuttings of your favorite hydrangeas so you can have more to grow and give away! The stems should “snap” when you bend them. Not bend like rubber….too soft and young….not be hard and woody….too old….but a nice “snap” is
Vegetables Beans...time to replant and other garden chores! There’s still time to replant crops for one more harvest before fall…at least here in Northern California. I just finished picking purple and green beans planted in May so it’s time to turn the soil and begin again! While I got lazy and just seeded long rows
Flowers Cut Flower Tests- Results! Recently Elizabeth, a friend and reader, mentioned that when she has roses in a vase she cuts the stems 1/4″ each day and gives them fresh water. I’ve always done that as well and wondered if it is giving us significantly longer vase life. I tried it on
Garden Garden Legacy - Passing on the Love of Gardening to the Next Generation I began playing in my grandmother’s garden at a very young age. I’m sure I was more a nuisance than a help, but I never remember feeling she was annoyed as I followed her around. Her garden was beautiful to me. A magical place of yard long green
