January 2012

Well, well, well, what a difference a year makes. Last year at this time my garden looked like this


Today, 1/1/12 it was terribly foggy this morning and lots of black ice on the road, but by noon it was 39F sunny and feeling like March, oh how I wish! This view from the other side of the garden.


Yeah... I didn't clean up as well as I would have liked. That if fine too.

The compost is doing the compost thing.


I still have not looked at the catalogs that have come in.


The last of the leeks, entombed.



A few days ago I had to open the hive and place winter feed patties above the cluster because the hive was feeling a little lightweight to me. With the warmer weather, the bees are a bit more active within the hive, thus using more of their pantry stores, the yummy honey. I can hear the girls in there!



I recently lost an old friend. It was her tradition to remind everyone
that yes indeed Winter was long but on the bright side it will end. So
in memory of Shirlee, I am reminding you all that there are eleven
Fridays until Spring.

camprn wrote:Yeah... I didn't clean up as well as I would have liked....

You were counting on snow to hide everything! Busted!

I don't think it's a bad thing. I have learned a few things and gotten a few pleasant surprises when I just walked away at the end of the season.

Love the pictures camp! The neighbors just to the north of my place have lots of bee hives. I let them set em up right along the edge of my pasture of alfalfa. I don't know much about bee's, but during the winter when the alfalfa is dormant, and the outside temps are warmer. Say around 50* I would guess. The bee's love coming up to my place and swarming all over the chicken feed. Hundreds and hundreds of them!
They also get in our swimming pool during the summer...

They give us honey every year and I love it!

I envy your compost bins, but mine are slowly getting there. Another leaf season or two, and I will be competition.

No snow for you guys is a shocker! Does it make you want to get out and force the issue with some planting? It does me.

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:
No snow for you guys is a shocker! Does it make you want to get out and force the issue with some planting? It does me.

No snow days means we actually get out of school before July, which is a very good thing. As to planting, yes I want to but the ground is absolutely frozen and well, Spring is still a ways off... I won't be planting anything for another 8 weeks.

10 more Fridays until Spring!

I am seriously starting to mentally go through what I want in my garden this year. One of the things I am keeping in mind is what I want to enter into the County Fair for judging. Last year there was a lady that entered something into practically every canning and baking catagory and she also had vegetables and flowers displayed. She took home a ton of ribbons and a check around $250 in prize money. Oh yeah, she was 83 years old last year.

I came away with about $30 in prize money, after I paid for the tickets to get into the Fair. This year I am planning on entering veggies, canning, some craft work (needlework, stained glass) maybe some baked goods and hopefully honey, chunk honey and comb honey (if the girls pull through the winter and we get a good spring nectar flow).

camprn wrote:I came away with about $30 in prize money, after I paid for the tickets to get into the Fair.

This reminds me of when I was a young mother on Cape Cod. I was looking at the paper for the Barnstable County Fair, and found that you got in for free if you entered things. So I promptly went in the kitchen and started baking, and went out to the garden and started picking.
No cash prizes as a result, but I did like my blue and red ribbons enough to do it for several years after that.
Island County makes you pay to get in, even if you're an exhibitor, so I don't bother any more.
Hmmm, I'll have to see if they give cash prizes!

"All right old woman! I'll show you!" LOL. Well I am looking forward to see your entries. You must share the pictures of course. And I have exactly no good ideas as to what would make a good entry for canning purposes. All I know how to do are pickles. Although a jar with home grown dill heads and garlic as well as the cukes warms my heart.

What are the favorites there?

Chopper wrote:"All right old woman! I'll show you!" LOL. Well I am looking forward to see your entries. You must share the pictures of course. And I have exactly no good ideas as to what would make a good entry for canning purposes. All I know how to do are pickles. Although a jar with home grown dill heads and garlic as well as the cukes warms my heart.

What are the favorites there?

If you click on the link there are lists of the various categories for entering items and outlining the rules. There are usually a lot of entries per category, except last year only 2 people entered honey... There were many more maple products entered.
Here's the link again County Fair.
When entering items for judging, there is a requirement of 3 to 5 of the item. Some obviously desirable traits are uniformity and size. Some of the old timers are judges and boy did some of my heirloom veggies get funny looks and a lot of, 'What are those... hmphm."

8 more Fridays until the first day of SPRING!

7 MORE FRIDAYS UNTIL THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING!