New Format is no Fun.........

It will take me a while to get use to this new blogger thing...so I am not inclined to put much out at the moment...maybe because nothing much is going on...and this is a good excuse....

So above is a photo of the research greenhouse from a few years back.....just testing the system here.....maybe inspiration will come tomorrow.....nothing is easy.....

Reverse 911.....

We were awakened by a reverse 911 call this morning a 5:00 am......and again at 5:15 am..... and again at 6:15 am..... It was for a missing 9 year old lake county girl.....who wandered home later after being at a friend's house....I guess the call did not go to their house..... I am still in a fog as it is not possible to return to sleep after 3 such calls.....the first was the worst of course....all kinds of thoughts (all bad) racing thru your mind..... Oh well, maybe I will have a better (at least later) start to the day tomorrow.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Ground grown adenium........

I planted some adenium seedlings in the garden to see what would happen this summer....easier than caring for potted plants?...maybe....I hope....Another photo is 4 months....

Blogger has changed....the new format sucks at the moment....nothing is easy.....sigh........

Brown Turkeys (Figs) at Work.....

Just donated 3 Brown Turkey figs to the landscape outside my office.....I love figs but they like more water than I care to provide at home where it is always dry due to our type of sand.....at work the sand has much more organic matter and holds water much better.........plus it rains way more here than at my house (at least for the past 30 years or so)....therefore I am sure they will be happy and provide us with a few fruit this summer.....if no one else gets them first....
Nothing is easy......anyway this should be fun..........

Blueberry Time..........

Finally got motivated and picked the first batch of blueberries........got 5+ pounds.......they are resting in the freezer now except for the 3+ pounds that we ate........looks like another 5 pounds coming this weekend....we grow them in containers since it is too hard to keep them wet in our desert sands.....
When they are about finished the blackberries will start.......what a NICE time of the year this is.......

It Had to Be..........

After all the care last year I wacked off my princess tree yesterday..........the top 4 feet that is........
WHY?..........other than being crazy I need the cuttings so I could make more........
they rooted easily last year so I am hoping to increase my numbers 10 fold.....
plus the stump should start braching lower so I can see the flowers easier....

New year ......new thought pattern.......never seems to change.......oh well.....

Once the cuttings root I am going to plant one next to the figs we planted by my work office last week.........
now that we have the dripper system working it is all a go.....

My Princess tree - (Paulownia tomentosa) - year 2.....

The princess tree flew thru the winter, had few nice flowers and now is growing.....I water and fertilize it regularly....this model is about 10 feet high....there are 6 lateral branches.....maybe I need to prune it back so it branches a little lower. to the ground....these protrusions are about 8 feet above the ground....
Now I just read where someone got 18 feet of growth in one year.....I think I need more fertilizer.....Maybe I need to quit thinking and just go away and let the poor tree be itself......oh hell no........

Hickory is growing.....no more cold....

I was taught by the experts down here, that once the hickory tree breaks into growth the danger of frost in gone.....
This has rang true for many years now....

Our 8 year old hickory tree at home grown from from seed.....

First Flowers on .....

This morning the first flowers opened on the zucchini and yellow squash.......
They were both female.....unusual as we usually start off with a bunch of males....
Anyway that is a good sign because soon good things will come.....
April gets to be a busy month around here.....
Yes, that is corn to the right (i.e. west)....

Pool Pump is out again..........

The pool pump has stopped again..........but this time we only need to fix it for one purpose........draining the pool.....then both the pump and pool will be out............
Too many leaves and crud to clean all year........kid is gone......so will be the pool.....soon.....we think.....maybe.....
But then again it sure is hot today..........

It's all about the DOUGH.........

Dough consistency that is.......amazing what a good dough can lead to....
Then the shaping comes into play....here is where the artist in you can come out.....we followed the directions given in class but the types of shapes are unlimited.....
Roundy moundy and sticks above.... these are starter shapes for letting the dough rest....later the shapes may be changed before baking depending on final goal.....

Flat rectangles........my final goal....eat as much as I can.....

Triangle shapes.....with decorative dusting.....and cuts.....

Garlic infused loaves......above........

and........Bread it was........

Definitely a once in a lifetime chance for me (and 15 other students) to learn from a world expert in bread making. Our FRENCH teacher was the coach for the USA national bread making team that recently won the world championship. He was amazing, charming, funny, would answer any questions in detail (over and over), and he let everyone take all the photos they wanted. I have lots of photos and videos of various techniques.

It was one busy three days and I was whooped every evening........
But we got to see bread dough being made and mixed.....and heard lots of lecture.....we could ask any questions.....

But, the best part was taking the class with Helen (aka Kid). We had a great time and worked as a team flawlessly (almost)...
Below and above we are feeling the texture of the fresh dough......(that is the art part and is very critical)....

Then (below) we worked to shape the dough into various forms depending on the type of bread....

and, after watching the bread bake we ended up with the products below...

It was a great weekend.....now all I have to do is buy a bigger freezer.......