Had Internet Connected Up At The Cabin

 

On Friday two of the workers from UIA came to the cabin hook up internet service for me.  They did a fantastic job.  They were on time, polite, enthusiastic, and efficient.  I love having people work at my home who are honest and dependable.  I was amazed at their climbing skills.

For the past year, I have been walking to the library and using their computer.  It is such a relief to have access from home now.  The cold weather is coming, and if the roads are filled with snow and ice, the librarians won't be able to  make it up the hill to get to work.  There were times last winter when I would trudge over there in my snow boots to find the door locked and closed.  Now I can just switch on my computer by the fireplace. 

Small details really do make our homes more comfortable.  Having  the wood stacked neatly by  the fireplace brings a feeling of security and warmth.  There is a vintage glass jar filled with matches, and several books and DVD's available for entertainment when we can't go outside...

This morning I will be raking leaves and adding them to my compost pile.  The roses are blooming again, and have been enjoying this mild weather. I will feed them some compost tea today.  The tangerines are starting to turn orange, now that the days are shorter and the temperatures at night have dropped.  

I harvested the persimmons last week; they are sweet and juicy.  For years that tree didn't produce.  I think last season's rain and the compost and mulch I applied gave it the energy and strength that it needed.   

How are things with you?  I hope you had a happy Halloween.

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Paying Bills and Doing Chores

Today I cleaned up the front garden.  I pruned the roses, pulled out the dead, brown leaves on the purple irises, removed the dried sunflowers, and cut off the dead wood from the Meyer Lemon tree.  

Those little activities make such a difference in the garden.  I plan to trim off the brittle aloe vera stems and compost it all this afternoon.  I've been needing more browns for my pile, and now is the time!  The leaves are starting to fall, and they make an excellent nutritious mulch for the fruit trees.  

I paid my home insurance, a few utility bills, and carefully checked my most recent brokerage account statement.  I'm very happy how my dividend paying stocks have been performing.  They have been consistent and reliable.  What's happening with you?

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Paying Home Insurance

Today I paid my my home insurance premiums.  I took the envelopes to the post office, mailed them at the counter, and bought some more Forever stamps.  It's such a relief when the big bills are paid.  Property taxes will be due before we know it!

The arborist who trims my trees called me and we arranged to have some more work done.  Maintaining large oaks and pines is expensive, but it's so worth it.  I am excited to see the transformation completed.  It makes the whole energy in the yard so magical. 

Tomorrow I plan to amend my soil with some homemade compost.  I've been saving my fruit and vegetable scraps and depositing them deep into the compost pile each evening.  It's attracted an abundance of red wiggler worms.  They do an excellent job of turning the soil and improving it.

How are things going with you?

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Finally, Photos! Artichokes, Roses, and the Potager Garden

vibrant pink roses

Thank you to all of you for understanding that I couldn't post photos for a short while.  I was getting really frustrated, since everything that I tried to do didn't work.  I chatted about it this morning with my neighbor and her sister.  She explained to me that podcasts take up a lot of space.  So do apps.  I tried deleting the Google Photos, and voila!  Now I have plenty of room for more photos.  What a relief.  For some reason, when I can't get something right, I tend to think that I will never be able to do it again.

Here we go...let's walk through the garden...

this artichoke plant came back from last year

Today the first artichoke is ripe.  It is so exciting to make vegetables for lunch or dinner from food that you've grown yourself.

The bees and hummingbirds are busy pollinating the citrus trees.  This is a navel orange tree.

you can grow fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs and trees together

I get a lot of compliments on the front potager garden from my neighbors. As they walk by, they usually stop to visit.  I hope that they feel the energy and healing vibration that the plants can bring.  As a child I sensed the uplifting spirit that some of the gardens had in our neighborhood.  It made my heart leap.

Back to planting!  I just put in oregano, peppermint, a tomato plant, and relocated some plump worms.  They do the work in the soil for us.  More photos will be coming soon.  Thank you for your kindness and patience.

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Paying Property Taxes

Santorini hillside

Yesterday I mailed my check in to Los Angeles County to pay my second half of property taxes for the year.  It's one of my biggest bills, so I plan for it all year.  It's important to mail them early, because the penalties are very steep.

This afternoon I climbed up on the ladder and  used the electric hedge trimmer to cut back the two live Christmas trees that I have planted in front of the cottage.  They have really grown.  The rain has made all of the plants very green, lush, and healthy.  The conifers even have some tiny pink flowers this year.

It's time to clean out Snow White's chicken coop.  I will shovel  the soiled bedding and straw into the compost pile, and replace it with a clean, fresh, yellow layer.  She has started laying eggs again!   That is always a sign that Spring is coming.  She is such a sweet little girl.  I love her white, downy feathers. 

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Feeding Compost To Chickens Helps Them Lay Eggs

I have been experimenting with adding homemade compost to my hens' diet. Each morning I give them a third cup of scratch, and a couple of large romaine lettuce leaves. I make sure that they have grit so that their eggshells stay strong. After greeting and feeding them, I remove their water dish and a small pail of compost from the previous day. I dump the leftover compost back into the pile, and dig  towards the center, where it's cooking. That's where I find the red wiggler worms, potato bugs, and other live insects. I refill the pail, change their water, and replace both of these in their coop.

It seems like they are laying more regularly since adding the compost. Maybe it's the protein from the bugs. Little Blackie picks out the worms immediately. She's so smart. They take turns pecking at the compost, eagerly gobbling up the grubs and worms. Since I don't let them free range, (due to all of the hawks and predators,) this is my way of supplementing their diet. They can actually survive on compost alone, but mine seem to love their scratch, afternoon helping of laying pellets, and fresh lettuce. Do you feed your chickens compost? It has a magical effect on the vegetables, as well.

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Growing Fruits and Vegetables in the Winter

When I first bought my cottage, I planted zucchini, pumpkins, and tomatoes during the warm season.  I haven't done that in several years. I think I stopped around the time  my hips  had deteriorated. Now that they have been replaced, and the muscles are strong and healthy, I am ready  to get back in the game. I love growing the cold weather veggies, because they take less water and care. We have such hot weather in June, July, and August, that I just don't enjoy working outside. It takes hours to  feed, water, and care for a vegetable garden. I have good intentions when I start, but once the dog days of summer arrive, I find that I lose my enthusiasm.

Yesterday I planted artichokes, heirloom lettuces, spinach, and strawberries. I was pleased to see that my soil is still looking healthy and vibrant. I added a lot of homemade compost to each planting hole, and filled the cavities with water. I mulched the entire garden with fresh straw. It really works its magic over time. I lifted  the blanket of mulch from an area along the side garden, and the soil underneath it was black and rich. The homemade compost that I use was filled with tiny red wiggler worms. They arrived on their own; I didn't have to buy them. I think they were attracted to the horse manure that I had collected and deposited in the pile after one of my hikes. There is no trace of it remaining in the mountain of yard and produce trimmings anymore, it has transformed into rich, black, alive, organic matter.

Last night I made a salad with the tender greens from the heirloom lettuces that I had just transplanted. It was simple and delicious. I had forgotten how much better salads taste with the young, fresh, homegrown baby greens. The ones that I buy at the store are larger, and more mature. They have a completely different flavor than these delicate leaves. It will be nice to make fresh garden salads for the next several months.

I plan to make a bucket full of compost tea today, and let it sit in the sunshine. It makes such a wonderful plant food. I fed it to my pink geraniums, and they are blooming nicely.  They are so hardy and dependable.

 

Planting a Front Garden

When I first moved into this cottage, it was as a renter. The house had been vacant for two years, and the yard was overgrown with brown weeds and Bermuda grass. "I don't have a gardener," the owner explained to me. It was going to be up to me to clean up and create something with this yard. I was teaching fifteen classes a week at the time, and driving all over creation to get to the different dance studios where I worked.

I read about lasagna gardening on the Soil, Compost, and Mulch Forum at Gardenweb. The soil in my front yard turned out to be clay. I knew that plants wouldn't grow here unless I amended it. I put layers of manure, straw, and Starbucks coffee grounds. I spread it all on top of the dead Bermuda grass. The technique worked, and when I dug into the mulch in the spring, I had nice, rich, dark soil. I was in business!

The first thing I did was to divide all of the irises. There were dozens of purple ones, and they looked gorgeous in bloom. There were also some daffodils planted in clumps, which I really liked. I added a couple hanging baskets of geraniums on the porch, and put some annuals in the window boxes. All of a sudden I had color, beauty, and variety. I planted a couple of conifers, and had them flank the front door. I thought they would make nice live Christmas trees at holiday time. It has worked out really well. They are so festive when decorated with colored lights. I love the look. It's simple and bright.

Hollyhocks have always been one my favorite old fashioned flowers. There were already lots of them growing wild all over the backyard when I moved here. I saved the seeds and planted some in the front, too. Sunflowers were another one that I was able to grow from seed, as well as four o'clocks.

I had some California poppies spring up in front of the mailbox. They looked so cheerful that I saved the seeds. Each year I sprinkle them in the same area. It's always fun to see them come back, year after year. Several people have commented on them. They are so easy to grow. Some neighbors gave me cuttings of dusty miller, red geraniums, and a starter aloe vera plant. Once people see that you are an avid gardener, they are often eager to share their plants with you.   

I now own this little cottage, and the front garden is one of my favorite aspects of it. It's like an outdoor room. I spend so much time on the old fashioned porch:

knitting, reading, writing, and communing with nature. The garden has made it a real special place. It just vibrates with health and beauty.