Sunday, April 29, 2012

More Spring in the Mountains!

   I took this photo a few days ago, when the clouds did that 'Cuddy Valley thing' of spilling down from the north into the valley.
   My compost must be rich in nutrients; even MORE pumpkin seedlings have sprouted! I'll transplant them in a few days. If just a few survive, we'll have "free pumpkins," as the monkey said.
   I definitely need to plant waaaay more tulip bulbs in the fall. The easiest flowers to grow in the mountains appear to be: daffodils (& no work at all), hollyhocks, and iris.
   This is Sunny, who came to the Bookshelf storytime/craft yesterday. If I didn't already have three dogs, I'd snatch her up. She is the sweeeetest, loving & mellow doggy.
   This is Sophia, who is an energetic, loving little character, with tons of personality.
   In spite of all the excitement, milk bones & children, both doggies were nothing but sweet and friendly to all they encountered...If you are interested in adopting one of these sweeties, go to: mountainspca.com

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Spring Has Sprung!

  Spring has come to my house! This would be a lovely photo, except for the hose snaked around in the backround...Glade trimmed a huge hunk from the apple tree that came with the house, and that seemed to make it happy. It has the most bud blossoms it has had since we moved here.
   Speaking of apple blossoms, the Sierra beauty is covered in them. Hoping we'll get our first apple crop. A "Where's Waldo" moment: can you spot the weimaraner in the photo? Hint: look on the steps...
   This is the yellow delicious, covered in buds. Can you spot the weimaraner head?
   I am super-excited; after attending to the irises, I have counted 23 iris buds in various stages of development in the patch next to our mini side yard.
   It is very fascinating how iris buds form. They seem to start as a bump at the bottom of a cluster of stems, which then travels upward as it develops. I learned the #1 reason iris don't bloom, is that they are too deeply embedded in the soil. So, I dug away at the base of each plant.
   This is my spindly lilac (their reason for not blooming is often not enough sun), with some flower buds. The rosemary below it has some pretty cornflower blue blossoms right now, which apparently are edible. the cherry can be seen in the backround between daffodils. It too has blossoms.
   I'll post more tomorrow; I am being called to play the game of Life (literally, the hub surprised the monkey with the game).

Monday, April 23, 2012

Earth Day Weekend Part Two

   Here is the monkey doing the famous 'Zumwalt' pout. I do it, my sis G does it...
   This was one of the STAR games. Poor guy, needs to work that upper body...

   One of several bean bag tosses...
   This was one of the free activities...

   The night before, we had dinner with our friends at the Art & Wine Gallery Cafe in PMC. This was our first visit. The chicken/avocado soup was excellent...
   The bruschetta appetizer was one of my faves...
   The atmosphere is great, seating was a little tight. The art and jewelry are beautiful; there is a painting I MUST have...c'mon lottery!! Of course I didn't take a photo, but maybe that's better, so no one else buys it first!

Monkey demolished his penne pasta...

   I had the cod; it was a little overcooked, but still good. The side dish was a kind of potato au gratin; a little heavy, but yummy. Zucchini was perfect.

   Hub & friend had the Greek chicken; he said it was a tad bland. The chicken marsala looked wonderful. That & steak might be best bet, or the lobster mac. They have a few minor kinks to iron out, but I would definitely eat there again. It was so great to have a nicer restaurant for dinner that is local!!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Earth Day Weekend 2012

   We had a fantastic Earth Day weekend! On Saturday, we went to the Earth Day celebration in Frazier Park put on by Arts for Earth.
  We ran into lots of friends, like Lola and Sunny (available for adoption), our neighbors & members of Mountain Communities SPCA...
   The US Forest Service was giving away great posters (too bad I left ours behind!).

   There were fun activities, like listening to a poem & drawing your favorite part, and the butterfly ladies (even one on stilts!).
   We went w/our great friends, T&K to J&B's BBQ & Grill (the new restaurant in Lake of the Woods).
   Here is the J&B's menu board. The food was really good; we suggested sangria pitchers be added to the summer menu...
   That night, we went with our friends Clem & Linda to the Art & Wine Gallery Cafe in PMC. I'll post photos of that tomorrow.
   Today, I took the monkey to the Star Eco Station Earth Day celebration. Here is an alligator.

   I believe this is a monitor lizard, but I could be wrong...

   This is a much easier way to make a newspaper pot, than when I did origami pots last year. I will steal this idea for the FP Earth Day next year! I love filching great ideas! I'll post more photos tomorrow.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Big Plans for Spring!

   In the spring, the landscape changes rapidly in the mountains. The first two photos were taken on the mornings of April 15 & 16. One morning, we are covered in snow, the next morning, just patches. And the third shot is from this morning. I'll soon have to begin watering again, if I want the back lawn to grow in.
I'm super excited to have quite a few daffodils this year...

Hyacinths are waning, but the tulips are coming up. I have realized, I really need to plant a ton more tulip bulbs this fall. The daffodils seem to be the easiest, though, and spread on their own.
I am super-excited that my Sierra Beauty apple tree has quite a few buds; hoping we'll get our first crop of apples this year...

Two strawberry plants from last summer survived the winter, and are trying to make a comeback (the little leaves in bottom left corner). This is one...
  The hub added more logs to border my newest planting bed. This growing season, I'm hoping to grow eggplant, strawberries, several types of squash, corn, pumpkins, red/yellow peppers, and of course, later in the season, tomatoes and basil. I'm chomping at the bit, but the earliest plants I can probably start will be asparagus (won't have a harvest until the second year), arugula and brussel sprouts. I also can't wait to use my first batch of homemade compost!
   I am crazy-busy, having committed to putting on Family Math with PMLC & FP schools, coordinating a community brainstorming meeting, planning cub scout Pinewood Derby, community cleanup, and being in charge of Lilac Festival booth. This is on top of trying to get some STAR Ed services here, serving on chamber of commerce board, hoa board, PMLC SAC, planning & running weekly cub scout meetings, attending school board meetings (thank God I'm not on that board), writing my monthly column & creating/hosting the monthly craft/storytime, and working as a realtor/being in the middle of an escrow. I'm sure I left something out. I guess it's good I haven't had any sub jobs lately...lol.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Spring Snow & More News!

   Who would have thought that we'd get snow in April? We had the biggest snowfall of the season on Friday the 13th. Sadly, the monkey can't enjoy it, since he fell very ill. This was the view from one of our living room windows this morning. By the time I get home today, a lot will have melted, I'm sure.
   I need to come up with some more angles, as all my snow shots are beginning to look the same!
Could it be my laziness in taking them from the warmth of the house?
   It continued to snow lightly much of yesterday.
   Here is Moose (aka 'Mooshka' & Moosie-Moose) coming up the steps. The dogs have had a blast playing in the snow. I am dreading the mud chunks to come this week. But, fortunately, in the spring, things tend to dry out faster.

  My awesome sister gave us a lovely blackberry bush on Easter. It has been snowed on twice, but doesn't seem to mind!
   This was the blackberry bush's first snow on April 11. It is the plant against the fence to the right of the tree trunk. The lilac still has buds for the first time since we moved here!!
   The monkey had a wonderful Easter!
   This is the pond in the town park. I'll believe it's spring when those rushes in the middle sprout new green growth. That is my barometer for spring in the mountains...
   I have been very busy with attending school board meetings, and trying to help our local schools. Knocked out my latest 'Bookshelf' article for the New Mountain Pioneer (will feature two books about horses next month), I'm getting my act together for the Lilac Festival (lucky me; I'm in charge of the PMLC booth & will also put in time at Chamber of Commerce booth). Hopefully, I will have some great news to report in the near future!!