Happy Winter Solstice
At our house we celebrate the longest night of the year for us - the Winter Solstice. We make a big pot of chili and cornbread and spiced apple cider. Then around 4pm we stop using electric light. We have many candles in glass containers that we put around the house. We do keep the tree lit since candles and dry fir needles are not a safe combination. This year we had 13 people come to our family gathering. After we eat, we like to sing songs and tell stories. The next morning those that spent the night all get up and watch the sun come up again. Then we open more presents and have a huge breakfast! I don't like to take many photos on the actual night. I try to keep it as low tech as possible. But here are some pictures of the tree I took.
Stephen's parents came up earlier in the week and brought a special treat. Fresh Dungeness Crab. His mother had bought them live and then cooked them the night before they left. We ate them the following night. They were very good. The kids were not so sure about them. They are kind of like eating huge insects. But yummy.
We got some wonderful gifts this Yule. My Dad and Nana and Grandma Dot all got us fruit trees. Which we so wanted!! So out on the south we have three apples, a persimmon, a pomegranate, two figs and a kumquat that all need to be planted!! Woohoo! Thanks guys! The kumquat is covered in little fruit. I remember from a video that Bill Mollison loves kumquats. Must be a good omen. Today before we head over to my mother's house for Christmas Eve we are going to try and do some shrub planting on the north swale. Today looks beautiful and clear but very cold and windy. The mountains that surround the valley we live in are all covered in snow. We actually have mountains to the west, to the north and to the east. We are like a peninsula upside down. Maybe that is why we get so hot in the summer.
I received some money for my birthday which also falls in December. I think I am going to use it for the lumber to make the outside "room" on the south side. It will consist of a short fence just to delineate the space and not really keep anything out. Once I get this in it will be easier for me to extend my herb garden beds. We are also thinking of converting one of our 55 gallon olive barrels to a rotating compost bin. I am tired of taking bowl after bowl of kitchen waste to the compost heap, especially now that it is cold. One by the kitchen door would be much appreciated.
We have quite the pocket gopher population. We know that they are not great for trees and shrubs. And they turn up soil we don't want turned but on the other hand they live here too. So for the really inconvenient holes I try and keep plugging them to get the gophers to move. The beds in the garden have wire mesh on the bottom which for now keeps them mostly out. But they are so small really they could get in if they wanted i think. I thought our soil was too bad for gophers. Apparently not. Hawks have come to my garden three times and sat on the post looking for gophers. They can see their tell-tale piles of dirt. It's great to see these big birds up close. Red-tailed Hawks and Fergusonian Hawks.
Happy Holidays!
Stephen's parents came up earlier in the week and brought a special treat. Fresh Dungeness Crab. His mother had bought them live and then cooked them the night before they left. We ate them the following night. They were very good. The kids were not so sure about them. They are kind of like eating huge insects. But yummy.
We got some wonderful gifts this Yule. My Dad and Nana and Grandma Dot all got us fruit trees. Which we so wanted!! So out on the south we have three apples, a persimmon, a pomegranate, two figs and a kumquat that all need to be planted!! Woohoo! Thanks guys! The kumquat is covered in little fruit. I remember from a video that Bill Mollison loves kumquats. Must be a good omen. Today before we head over to my mother's house for Christmas Eve we are going to try and do some shrub planting on the north swale. Today looks beautiful and clear but very cold and windy. The mountains that surround the valley we live in are all covered in snow. We actually have mountains to the west, to the north and to the east. We are like a peninsula upside down. Maybe that is why we get so hot in the summer.
I received some money for my birthday which also falls in December. I think I am going to use it for the lumber to make the outside "room" on the south side. It will consist of a short fence just to delineate the space and not really keep anything out. Once I get this in it will be easier for me to extend my herb garden beds. We are also thinking of converting one of our 55 gallon olive barrels to a rotating compost bin. I am tired of taking bowl after bowl of kitchen waste to the compost heap, especially now that it is cold. One by the kitchen door would be much appreciated.
We have quite the pocket gopher population. We know that they are not great for trees and shrubs. And they turn up soil we don't want turned but on the other hand they live here too. So for the really inconvenient holes I try and keep plugging them to get the gophers to move. The beds in the garden have wire mesh on the bottom which for now keeps them mostly out. But they are so small really they could get in if they wanted i think. I thought our soil was too bad for gophers. Apparently not. Hawks have come to my garden three times and sat on the post looking for gophers. They can see their tell-tale piles of dirt. It's great to see these big birds up close. Red-tailed Hawks and Fergusonian Hawks.
Happy Holidays!
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