Monday, December 30, 2002
04:00 p.m.
Treebeard (Fangorn, an Ent, Shepherd of the trees)
Wonderful creation from the new Lord of the Rings film - pictured at the link above.
Tuesday, December 24, 2002
10:34 p.m.
What's El Nino bringing for Christmas?
The thunderstorms started soon after 8am yesterday, then the watches and warnings came - tornadoes were reported all around. All day long the winds increased, reaching crescendo just before 10 pm and taking the power with them. The power was out all the long, cold night and dawn revealed 5 inches of rain had fallen. I'm happy to report no major wind/rain damages here not even to the Christmas decorations, though I must admit my spirits dimmed a bit with the lights.
Monday, December 23, 2002
04:40 p.m.
I just couldn't do it...
I'm not expecting much, if any company for Christmas this year, my son, Kris is spending the holiday with his in-laws in California. I thought maybe I could get away with a little less decoration so two weekends ago I went to look at artificial trees. I found one that didn't look too fake (not a bit like the silver, aluminum trees of my youth) and it was small enough to fit on my 'coffee' table. I must have walked passed it 3 or 4 times in the store trying to decide if it was really for me. With a sense of dread about making a trek to the 'choose & cut farm' and noteing that this tree was sale priced, I grabbed the ticket and proceeded to the checkout.
The tree has not yet made it out of the box. Last weekend I went by JR's farm stand and picked up a little, but live (at least recently) tree. I brought it inside this morning so it wouldn't be wet when I got home. It, too is short enough to fit on the table but is so wide it blocks TV viewing from half the couch so I'll have to put it on the floor anyway. I'm glad I bought it and sure I will enjoy it's presence in my house a lot more than I would have the fake tree!
We had a bit of rain last week but it was not enough to measure with my crude 'instruments'. This will not be the case this week - it's been raining buckets full today!
Monday, December 16, 2002
02:28 p.m.
El Nino?
2 & 1/2 inches this past week
Monday, December 9, 2002
04:43 p.m.
Batten down for winter
My potted plants have survived several frosts and freezes recently. I even got them through a 27 degree night by bundling them up tight in tarps, allowing the heat from the ground and my heated out-building to warm them. I finally got around to cleaning them up and moving them indoors over the past weekend. It was about three hours work but they should be ready to 'weather the season' now.
Measured 3 & 1/4 inchs of rain last week. and it's been raining throughout the day, today!
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
10:03 a.m.
Fall harvest feast
The traditional American harvest feast is now past. Folks are saying it was a late Thanksgiving but it timed out just about perfectly with the end of the growing season here. Most of my garden plants had completed their course, the weather had been fairly dry and temperatures were mild so the weekend before Thanksgiving I cleaned out the old dry stalks, removing them to the compost pile, pulled up tomato stakes and cages and turned the soil. Over the following week we had several frosts with the last one killing the remaning pepper & tomato plants. No hard freeze yet so I'm leaving the 'house' plants out for now but for most of the garden plants the "aught two" season is over! It was a good season - well worth celebrating!
We had a little rain last week but with all the feasting and festivities this weekend I forgot to measure it. My best guess would be between a quarter and a half an inch. The forcast is for heavy rain today and tonight!
Monday, November 18, 2002
03:47 p.m.
Fall color
Compared to other parts of the country the fall color in East Texas isn't usually too spectacular. The past couple of weeks we've had some vibrant reds from the sumacs and some sunny yellows from the sassafras and hickorys. These have peaked by now. The tallows are spectacularly red with a touch of yellow, the sweetgums are in the middle of their green to red to yellow transition and we are still waiting to see what the oaks will do. Some years they exhibit the spectacular reds of their northern neighbors but all too often they seem to just turn brown.
Other signs of the season...
I saw a hawk (don't know what kind) swooping over the campus and landing on a building last week. Also on my way out the front gate another evening, I was treated to the sight of a "V" of geese headed south.
We got just a trace of rain last week but I got enough green peppers from the garden for another batch of fajitas last night.
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
09:17 a.m.
'Drenching' rain...
5 inches of rain this past week. Not much else going on, I guess I'm awaiting the first freeze.
Sunday, November 3, 2002
11:11 a.m.
The monsoon continues
It's times like these when I wish I had planted a fall garden. We got an additional 3 & 1/2 inches of rain this week. Of course I would have had a devil of a time getting a fall garden started during hot, dry August - a rest for myself and the garden is probably for the best.
Monday,October 28, 2002
11:07 a.m.
Rainfall report
Not much to report this week except rainfall - we had two inches this past week. I did make a batch of fajitas last night with a bunch of fresh peppers from the garden. It's sure nice to be still getting something fresh and homegrown!
Sunday, October 20, 2002
11:13 p.m.
Cool fall weather persists.
It got even cooler this week, wore long sleeves several days and needed the bathroom heater in the mornings. A line of thunderstorms rolled in early Saturday morning and showers persisted throughout the day, rain totaled an inch and a half.
Sunday, October 13, 2002
11:08 p.m.
Holding pattern
Not much going on the garden these days. I'm still getting the occasional pepper but that is it! Fall has indeed arrived, I turned the A/C off early in the week and have not needed it since. We got an inch and three quarters of rain last week!
Sunday, September 22, 2002
10:48 p.m.
Portents
Friday evening, coming up from my walk along Jack Creek I was treated to an almost breath taking view of the nearly full 'harvest' moon. Saturday dawned cool with breezes from the north, the power 'blipped' and cost me a bunch of work I'd been doing in Photoshop so I decided to try some hard physical labor. A 70 foot pine had blown down in the spring of last year. About 12 feet of the base had broken off and I managed to move it about 10 yards at the time. I now decided to move it over to the edge of the woods and completely out of my way. I used a couple of poles & posts for levers and others for rollers to lift, roll and scoot the log around various trees and into its final resting place where it may rot in peace.
Fully stoked on my prowess and the energizing spirits of a changing season I set to work hacking off another section of the trunk. As the tree had been rotting in place and rotted even more in the 15 or so months since it fell, it chopped through pretty well even with my dull ax. Soon I was beginning the process of lifting, rolling and scooting. These words make it sound easy but I completely 'wore out' before getting this chunk of stump next to the other. I went inside to discover I'd already worked 3 hours so I decided a lunch break was in order. It took 3 more hours to recover to the point I felt I could go at it again and within another hour I had finished and put up the tools.
Later, while driving toward town, I glimpsed the full, Harvest moon on the cusp of the autumnal equinox. This time it was a breathtakingly bright orange; looking like the "Great Pumpkin" rising out of the pumpkin patch. The moon and my outdoor work energies are portents of things to come. I hope my ability to only work 3 hours is not, the feeling of exhaustion was way too reminiscent of last spring's!
Tuesday, September 10, 2002
09:22 a.m.
Fay rain
I can't actually say how much rain we got as a result of T.S. Fay because my cats have decided that my rain bucket is now the place to get a drink instead of the water bowl I provide them with. My rain guage is one of those 5 gallon plastic tubs with straight sides and a flat bottom which I leave out in a flat, open area of my yard. After a rain, I set it on a level surface and use a carpenters rule to measure the water level. Twice last week I came home to find it turned over with little paw prints in the algae which grows on the bottom when it has been wet a while. The first time was after an unexpected isolated shower on Labor Day. I had been surprised to return from a day trip out of town to notice about a half an inch of rain in the bucket! The next morning before I actually measured the level, the bucket had been knocked over and emptied. Later in the week, after Fay sent several rain bands over the area, the bucket was again turned over. This time I had looked at it (but not officially measured) and noticed about a quarter of an inch. We had additional bands of showers that day but when I came home to look in the bucket its contents had been spilled. My best guess is that with the shower on Labor Day and Fay's rains we may have gotten an inch, total. I've now added a large rock to the bottom of the bucket so maybe it will not tip over as the cats spring away from it.
Monday, September 2, 2002
09:26 a.m.
Homegrown Tomatoes
I FOUND AN ANTHEM!
Went to a music festival in town the other evening, it was headlined by the famous Texas songwriter Guy Clark...
Homegrown Tomatoes by Guy Clark
Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin' out in the garden
Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one
Plant `em in the spring eat `em in the summer
All winter with out `em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' & diggin'
Everytime I go out & pick me a big one
Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes
You can go out to eat & that's for sure
But it's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put `em in a salad, put `em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat `em with eggs, eat `em with gravy
Eat `em with beans, pinto or navy
Put `em on the side put `em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle
If I's to change this life I lead
I'd be Johnny Tomato Seed
`Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetary
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin' up homegrown tomatoes
I've got just one argument with ol' Guy, "All winter without `em's a culinary bummer" ain't the case with me - that's why I make salsa when I can!
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
09:42 a.m.
Dog days continue...
We had just a trace of rain all last week and it was HOT! I ran the drip hoses all week. I did manage to get a gallon of tomatoes*, though and put up another 6 pints of salsa yesterday. That brings the year's total to 72 pints! It's quite possible this will be all for the year. There are some tomatoes still on the vine but I can't imagine their amounting to a full gallon. There don't seem to be any new blossoms either but we'll see what happens. We had strong thunderstorms move through yesterday. Got almost an inch and a half of rain from them.
*The birds have found the tomatoes so I'm having to pick them early and let them ripen in the house.
Monday, August 19, 2002
03:34 p.m.
More rain; more salsa!
We got about a half an inch of rain in showers this week so I was able to turn off the watering hoses. I canned an additional 8 pints of salsa this weekend. By my count that makes a bit over 66 pints this year and there are still green tomatoes coming...
Sunday, August 11, 2002
04:05 p.m.
Into the Dog Days...
Just a trace of rain in a single shower this week - I've started the drip hoses again. There were not enough tomatoes for a batch of salsa this week, either. It's nice to have a weekend off from canning after 4 straight, though. I had to work outdoors at my day job yesterday so this particular day off is doubly welcomed.
Sunday, August 4, 2002
10:56 p.m.
More rain; more salsa
Storms and rain this week brought an inch and a half of rain. I canned a little over six pints of salsa this afternoon bringing this year's total to nearly 58 pints! How's the rest of the garden doing? The beans and peas are done so are the watermelons (I got just one of about a six inch diameter). Squash, cucumbers and cantelope may be done. Good rains these past two weeks have got some vines putting on new growth and blooms beyond where they had been loosing leaves earlier so maybe there will be more fruit, we'll see. The tomatoes and peppers continue to grow and ripen regularly. I'm getting enough tomatoes and almost enough jalepenos each week for a single batch of salsa. My onions are long gone and now the local farmers markets are about out of locally grown onions too. I'm having a good year for green bell peppers. I'm freezing some for spaghetti and fajitas this fall and winter. Meanwhile they add a nice fresh zip to my summer salads.
Monday, July 29, 2002
12:50 p.m.
Canning continues...
Despite what it looked like last weekend, I had another gallon of tomatoes by yesterday. So, I put up another 7 and a half pints of salsa. That's 51 pints in three consecutive weekends, an unprecedented amount!
We had a bit of rain on Thursday. A rather large thunderstorm formed in the NE portion of the county and moved SW across the city toward my place and my work. We got considerable rain at work and the airport (just 5 miles from my house) got 4 inches but there was less than a quarter of an inch at home. I'm continuing to run the drip hoses.
Monday, July 22, 2002
12:21 a.m.
Salsa, Salsa, Salsa and more Salsa!
1 - 2 - 3 - 4. Count 'em! The first ever quadruple batch of homemade Salsa from my garden. Four gallons of tomatoes, 4 & 1/2 hours of cutting and grinding, cooking the rest of the day & evening. Finally canning 25 & 1/2 pints of that fabulous red elixer.
In addition, we had almost 2 inches in rain this week so I expect more tomatoes & peppers are on the way. Looks like I will get a break for the next couple of weeks though. I don't have many fruits about to ripen at the moment.
Monday, July 15, 2002
08:35 p.m.
A Strange Pinging Sound
Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping! No, it's not a college baseball team taking batting practice. It's the tremendously satisfying sound of the seals on 18 pints of freshly canned salsa confirming their seals. I put up my first ever 'triple batch' from 3 gallons of fresh tomatoes yesterday. Each of the past two years I've 'put up' around 60 pints/yr. So, these 18 pints may be nearly a third of this years production, wrapped up in a single canning session! It was an over 13 hour job as I started cutting veegies around 11am and didn't hear the final 'ping' till after midnight.
Sunday, July 14, 2002
11:45 p.m.
Feeding the Masses
I have now talked to everybody I authorized to pick from my garden while I was away on vacation. Smart folks, every one took advantage of the opportunity, a total of 7 people benefited from it. Well, 8 if you count the benefit of assuring its continued production accruing to me!
We had a bit of rain this week, about a quarter of an inch in each of three showers, Friday and Saturday. It was needed as much of the garden was wilting and I had begun to water.
Monday, July 8, 2002
01:15 p.m.
Still gardening
Just got back from two weeks in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. I am pleased to find my garden still growing well thanks to the friends who helped keep it picked in my absence - we must have gotten some rain, too! I know there was a bit of rain in a brief shower last evening - may have been as much as a quarter of an inch.
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