Another Delicious Morning Harvest

 

Poodle Puppies Seven Weeks Old



"Buster" (I'm not sure what his new family will call him) is going to live with the sweetest retired couple in Lakeside next Friday. They came out to see him yesterday and can hardly stand it that they will need to wait another week (only five days now).



Dala will go to her new home next Friday also. Lucky for me, she'll be living with Toryn and I'll be able to watch her growing up.



Buster cruising around outside. I have to watch them so closely. Everything goes into their little mouths!

Mocha brings sticks to the little ones to teach them how to chew on them. It's so cute! She also roughs them up a little here and there to teach them doggie manners.

Buster loves to run up and down the ramp although he has not figured the dog door out yet.

Dala playing with her daddy, Fletch. They will be housemates and it looks as if they are going to get along just fine! 

The Darker Side of Gardening...Not for the Weak at Heart

Alas, even the lovely garden has enemies for whom constant vigilance is required and occasional battle must be fought. And there are casualties on both sides.



The Great "Potato Beetle Swarm of 2012" hit out of nowhere last Friday evening! I walked out to my garden at about 6:00 pm to check on a tomato plant that was looking poorly earlier in the day. My brain could not register what I was seeing at first! My tomato plants that hang over the reed/bamboo fence were literally half-covered with adult potato beetles. None had been there only hours before! I quickly got out a small bucket and started scooping them by the handfuls into soapy water with Neem in it. The potatoes and eggplants had even more bugs per plant. I collected about 3,000 adults before dark! No time for pictures that night. I had to take as many of these beetles into conquest as possible before I could not see them! The next day I went out starting at 5:00 am and  five other times and collected 1,202 adults (yes, I was counting)! Sunday I didn't check as often because of heavy rain, but got 280 beetles and about four egg batches. Monday was down to about 85 bugs (checked about four times). Tuesday was the same. It's been amazing!! All the local gardeners were hit by this unusual swarm, although most not nearly as heavy as mine. I'm wondering if the fires in Colorado sent them south for the summer.






This is a photogragh looking down into the bucket I've been using to hold captive and kill the enemy. The insects are about two inches deep!!

It's true I have to fight off a some Colorado potato beetles every year, but I've never experienced a swarm of them in the 37 years I've gardened here. The usual presentation is that a few adults emerge from the soil in late spring from the previous year.

They feed on the leaves of potatoes (their favorite), tomatoes, and eggplants (all nightshades). If I don't find the adults right away, they mate and lay a batch of bright orange-yellow eggs on the underside of leaves.

 



The eggs are actually kind of pretty, but I squish every one I find anyway. If I miss both the adults and the eggs, the eggs hatch into squishy pinkish-red larvae that have a voracious appetites and will devour a plant in a day! Luckily I don't have any photos of them at this time, because I've been so active in battle the past five days!



Another garden enemy encroaches with much greater stealth and delivers a sudden woeful death to squash plants of any kind. It often follows a rain, but the only defense I have is to avoid touching my squash plants when they are wet. At least several times a year that is not defense enough. Remember my lovely pumpkin patch photograph last week? Well, we got a wonderful rain on Sunday. Monday, I left the wet gardens be. But the dreaded Bacterial Wilt attacked and killed two of my Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin vines and one of my Cinderella Pumpkin vines. there's nothing that can be done except to remove and destroy the lost plants!



These two pumpkins had to be harvested early because of the wilt, but I will put them to good use anyway (and the pumpkin patch still looks pretty good!). I can't exactly hope it doesn't rain, so I just have to hope this enemy doesn't choose my gardens too often.

Peppers are in and first peach of the year

This morning's pick included some plump green peppers. I roasted the anaheim chilies on my stove burner and rubbed the skins off. I can't think of a smell I love more!


  



Add a couple of eggs and a fresh garden tomato and breakfast was absolutely delicious!



This peach was small, but so sweet and juicy! Even more special than being the first of the year, is the fact that this little tree grew from a pit from one of my older peach trees a few years ago. I wasn't sure whether it would produce fruit or if it came from the yellow or the white peach tree. It is a yellow peach and there are more on the way! Yum!!!

Pumpkin Patch in Progress...

 

Bamboo Function and Pleasure

I planted a few donated bamboo shoots near my "dog yard garden" about four or five years ago. It is an amazing plant to watch grow. 'So beautiful as it sways in the slightest breeze and reaches with endless hope toward a bright sky. This grandmother of the grass family spread her roots to capture whatever water is offered (I learned that I had to dig the bamboo away from my gardens or it would take advantage of irrigation and overtake my vegetable cultivars). I harvest the strong smooth stalks in late fall, allow them to dry, then create garden stakes, trellises for vines, fence supports, and many other useful and lovely items. Bamboo in the desert. What fun this has been!  

Tonight's pick...What's for dinner?

Actually, this would usually be a literal question. And looking at this array I can think of half a dozen easily prepared delicious meals. Alas, it is more rhetorical tonight as I have been coping with nasty dental pain since Sunday (five days and I'm almost ready to take a pair of pliers from my shop and pull the dang tooth myself!). I'm on antibiotics and have an appointment on Tuesday. That feels pretty far away right about now. On the brighter side, I have been able to enjoy well-cooked (aka mushy) veggies; the flavor is still superb.

Mocha's Puppies Six Week's Old!!

July 12, 2012
What a busy week for Mocha's babies! They had a wonderful outdoor adventure to celebrate being six weeks old today. After digging and exploring and sniffing around with the "big dogs" they were ready for some soaked puppy chow and a long nap!

This is the little boy. I'm calling him Buster for now, but am looking for a new home for this sweet guy. He is really smaller than his sister, a bit more timid, and very playful and cuddly! He had a talk with Bo this morning, practiced chewing grass, and played ball with a fallen peach. I know he's going to make someone very happy!

This is Dala Rose (as in "Mandala"). She'll be going home with Toryn in a couple of weeks. I absolutely love this little girl, so I am glad she'll be close by and will come over for visits. She can be rowdy, brave, and adventurous...then turn right around and lay those sweet eyes on you! She's also an escape artist and I've had to alter the pen more than once when she decided she wanted to come out to see me!

Apricots, Cherry Nectar, Snap Beans, and Summer Squash

 

Flowers of the Week

 

 

 

Mocha's Puppies Five Weeks Old

July 5, 2012
Mocha's babies are five weeks old today. It's a good thing they are so cute, because I am amazed at the amount of work involved in this small litter of tiny pups. They each weigh over two pounds now and are learning to lap some food from a dish. They've graduated to playing with Auntie Aiko and I've expanded their pen to give them more room to run around and chase their toys. They still like to nurse a lot! Toryn has decided to take the little brown girl. I am glad I will get to see her growing up and have started taking inquiries for a home for the boy. He is very sweet and will melt some one's heart!

The Pumkin Patch

July 2, 2012
I decided to plant a pumpkin patch for my little grandsons and myself this year. I had fun picking out eleven varieties of pumpkins and other winter squash. Initially, I planned to train the vines up and over the old trampoline, but we've had so much wind this year, I was afraid they would just get tattered to pieces. The trampoline frame did come in handy to lay blankets over when we had that late May freeze! I was able to save half my young plants, which turned out to be plenty. Careful to select a site far from my other gardens, I'm hopeful that the squash bugs won't find it too quickly! I'll post pictures of the squashes as they grow.

Family Camping 2012

June 28-July 1, 2012
Skye, Paho, and Moriah plan a sibling reunion every year, with other family members welcome to share in the fun. They chose Fenton Lake in the Jemez Springs NM area this year and the camp trip was wonderful!

We camped along a small creek with a sand and grass bank, which provided hours of splashing play for the little guys (and the older people cooled off there a few times as well). Fenton Lake was a short hike away where fishing and kayaking opportunities abounded.



Canyon, Jesse, Matt, Trek
(My boys)

Add one happy Gram

The opportunity to spend time with my three beautiful children and four precious grandsons all together is a treasure I never take lightly.

My Babies: Skye, Moriah, Paho

The camping gang on our last morning. Ready to head to our respective homes after a fabulous few days.