and if you look real closely you will see Snakey ( I call him Lucky since I almost ran him over with the lawn mower). He has been pretty shy, but let me get close to him today. He was sunning himself. He is a Smooth Green snake and will only get 12-18" long. He is so kool.
I was afraid this was going to happen! While we were away, most the of raspberries ripened, so I was out there for hours yesterday picking what I could. Today I turned them into a gallon of puree divided into four bags which I put in freezer. I will make jam another day. I have to still go out everyday and pick. There is a ton that are only about half way done. But this year, we took out so many plants (still have too many) and I used these really neat tall bamboo stakes to hold them "up". It worked so good. I just need a bit more room between rows for easier picking. But I will resolve this this fall when I cut out the dead canes and widen the rows. It looks scary at first but you know what is left will really fill out. Got more berries cause they had more air and also more room to grow. There are also two heads of brocolli...wish I would of picked those before I left, just starting to try and flower but still so good and tender, better than from the store. Next year our garden is going to be way big and I am planting lots of brocolli, this was my first attempt. In fact, we are having porkchops, pasta and fresh steamed brocolli for dinner tonight.
We went to Train Festival 2009 and got to go on an all day excursion on this beauty...the Nickel Plate #765. Since there were crossing less than a mile apart this baby was on it whistle almost all the time. There is nothing like the sound of a big locomotive in all its glory!
and if you look real closely you will see Snakey ( I call him Lucky since I almost ran him over with the lawn mower). He has been pretty shy, but let me get close to him today. He was sunning himself. He is a Smooth Green snake and will only get 12-18" long. He is so kool.
I was afraid this was going to happen! While we were away, most the of raspberries ripened, so I was out there for hours yesterday picking what I could. Today I turned them into a gallon of puree divided into four bags which I put in freezer. I will make jam another day. I have to still go out everyday and pick. There is a ton that are only about half way done. But this year, we took out so many plants (still have too many) and I used these really neat tall bamboo stakes to hold them "up". It worked so good. I just need a bit more room between rows for easier picking. But I will resolve this this fall when I cut out the dead canes and widen the rows. It looks scary at first but you know what is left will really fill out. Got more berries cause they had more air and also more room to grow. There are also two heads of brocolli...wish I would of picked those before I left, just starting to try and flower but still so good and tender, better than from the store. Next year our garden is going to be way big and I am planting lots of brocolli, this was my first attempt. In fact, we are having porkchops, pasta and fresh steamed brocolli for dinner tonight.
We went to Train Festival 2009 and got to go on an all day excursion on this beauty...the Nickel Plate #765. Since there were crossing less than a mile apart this baby was on it whistle almost all the time. There is nothing like the sound of a big locomotive in all its glory!
