better

Both health and weather have improved - a few days in the 70s, and perhaps 80° tomorrow! I have added a few  nice features in the yard: a dark-grape vine, two hanging flowerpots, an azalea and many new bulbs.  Even a Willamette hop, in memory of yards and ales past.  I also bought two raspberry plants, and then took as much of the old layabout 2x6 wood-ends as I could find & created a zigzag wooden wall behind the blueberries.  It turned out well, and oh my I ache - I was racing a rainstorm at the time, and carrying several 4x4 posts with four 2x6 stubs attached adds up in a hurry.  I'll need to craft a few more so the raspberries have a similar layout.

Looks nice though, after the heavy work!

mid-March yard updates

In keeping with our vaguely Middle-Earth patterns, I planted a small holly shoot on each side of the driveway near its end; if you've been to the East-gates of Eregion you understand.. yes of course.  Two more grape vines are in as well, the Himrod and Gewürtztraminer - so two each red and white are now in the ground for our future enjoyment.  Large posts can wait a few months before going up, at which point we shall see just how good or bad my estimated rhombus has turned out!  The plantings required that another rhododendron shift off the slope; this one came up to the crest and joins another at the foot of our most prominent maple-tree.

Another railroad tie from the too-tall wall has gone west to join the first one, so we have two fine low walls where once stood just one.  Cheap thrills from recycling!

We also picked up a 12-foot extendable pruning saw, with which I took out the remaining couple of low-hanging branches on the Super Cedar.  Whatever comes of our volcanic views, that tree will no longer be the reason for it.

It's nearly time to mow, but thankfully another storm is coming soon.  No point in cutting such a wet yard, so it can wait a bit longer.  Whew!

the Farmer arises

from hort.cornell.edu

I have no Book of Good Farming, but when the local pharmacy put out its early veggies I could not resist.  Yes, a few pretty flowers dropped into the car as well - but garlic, snap peas and spinach will get going today.  I've also picked up a third grape vine, a Himrod seedless white; that gives us a good collection of light and dark grapes for juice and snacking starting in about sixteen months.  I had been contemplating Interlaken grapes but none were available, and this is a cross-breed of the same lineage so who's to know?

The autumn of '16 will be a good one for several reasons, so the Canadice and Himrod (oops typed Nimrod, that won't be the last time I'm sure) will be a nice vintage for our table!  Assuming some Gewürtztraminer vines show up soon at the local shop, it could truly become a vintage and not just juice; we'll know more about that in ... maybe fourteen months :·)

The arrival of plants for the garden strongly suggests that the garden begin to take shape!  It's currently a pile of leaves atop some gravelly soil with a tiller in the garage.  The upcoming forecast is reasonably dry, so I'll need to start testing that tiller and get the soil amended.  For now though, several nice pots are doing nothing and the bag of potting soil is nearly full, so the true garden is under no huge rush.

In other news, I have finally put up a hummingbird feeder.  We own at least four, but at the old address they languished in the garage.  I stopped for some nectar mix at my local Ace and they had pre-made nectar (plus another feeder!) for under $5 - so it's now hanging up fairly high in the trees near our deck.  My sister usually sees hummers starting around St. Patrick's Day - but given the mild winter they might arrive early.  At long last, we are ready for them!

the Grapings commence

We have decided to grow some grapes.  Some to eat, some to drink, maybe a few to ferment as well!  I thought of this soon after our first visit here, as the property has a fine slope to it.  It actually slopes east which may not be ideal, but the morning sun hammers it in the summer and less directly later in the day as well - so hopefully this will do.

I consulted with a local nursery and got some good advice.  Concord grapes have not been happy around here but Canadice is similar, hardier & has a more reddish hue; two of those went in the ground today.  The white seedless is still not settled but a longtime favorite will do for wine - Gewürztraminer, as fun to say as it is to drink :-!

The white varieties have not reached the area yet, so those will wait until the weekend.  It will be fun to dine and sip our own fresh juice, and if a few gallons of the Homely White turn out that's icing on the cake.

Time to get busy!!