clouds

I was outside taking a couple pics of a new geocoin, and saw these wonderful clouds. ;-) Click on it to get a bigger view.

jack

My family brought home a new outdoor kitty tonight. He's probably about 10 weeks old, and he's a black manx. It took a while to settle on a name that everyone didn't veto, but they finally thought of Jack because he's like a jackrabbit, with a little stubby tail.

edibles and lunch guests

Looking for blackberries

We had some friends over for lunch after church. We took them out to the garden to let them see it. It's amazing how quickly things can change! The last time I went to the garden, the grapes were still green, and this time they were wonderfully purple. There isn't anything much more satisfying than grapevines....they're so extravagant and rich. I love the purple against the green.

We have Interlaken, Suffolk Red (or possibly Glenora, I never can remember?), Concord, and an unnamed variety. The Concord was a start from All41's grandma's garden, and the unnamed one is a start from the neighbours above us. It's amazing, but we found the vine a couple years ago (before the new neighbours bought the place, when there was a cherry orchard there) way at the top of the property where it's never watered, basically in the desert near the sagebrush. But oh, what sweet and wonderful grapes. There's an apricot tree there as well. How cool is that? Plants growing on something like 10 inches of rain a year and yielding fruit. One of the first things our new neighbours did was put an arbor with a seat up there, train the grapes over it and water the heck out of them. They're so happy to see water, they're all over that arbor.

When we were planning on planting grapes in our yard, we called up the head of the WSU agriculture department (or something like that, I forget titles). I knew him from my Master Gardener classes, he taught a few of them. He lives in Wenatchee, on a double plot and his backyard is so amazing! He manages to squish so many fruits and vegetables in his backyard. He's constantly testing things for growing in our unique environment. I asked him if All41 and I could come and look over his garden and get advice about what to grow in ours. I wish that I had pictures. Anyway, he said that the 3 best grapes to grow in our area, because of winter and stuff, and for best sweetness and flavor, was Interlaken, Suffolk Red, and Glenora. Because we're at a higher elevation and going up the Squilchuck canyon, he wasn't sure if we'd get a harvest. He didn't know if the winters would create a problem for the fruit. We ordered the 2 vines from a nursery that he recommended, but they had discontinued the 3rd. We've had the grapes there for the 3rd summer now, and they're happy as can be, and so loaded with fruit that I can't believe it. I called him last year and let him know that our grapes were getting along great, so he could know for his research.

The picture above, shows that the grapes make a little arbor that you can sit in, it's wonderfully shady and intimate. This is where I took all of the pictures from here on from.











Here's some pictures of everyone enjoying the zipline and yard (I left out some lovely ones, I thought they showcased the children too much and I don't know if the parents would appreciate that).

This is from our mailbox, by the road. You can see towards East Wenatchee.

This shows the new lines that are going up behind our house, to our new neighbour's property. I've had a clean shot of this view for 7 years, until now.

Also, you can see the little orchard that's going in, this has always been an empty field (with old cow patties). It's heartnening to see new orchards after the whole sale slaughter that's been going on this year.

Rose

Rose, originally uploaded by Ambrosia_apples.

I'm trying out the blogger option within flickr, to see how it looks and works.

Water Lily got this rose for her birthday. I have a picture of it when it was fresh in flickr somewhere.

Anyways, it was left too long in the vase and dried up. But there was still water in it, and the rose has grown leaves. There aren't any roots though.

Water Lily is really excited to try and plant it in the spring. I went out and got some fresh spring willow branches, because I had read somewhere that they contain a natural growth hormone. I may have to google that and see. I think I squish them and add them to the water. We'll see.

Kboy is cute. He thinks that this should be a tradition, that Water Lily could plant this rose, and then give a cutting to her daughter, and that daughter could give a cutting to her daughter, and so on. What a sweet idea.

We'll see what happens, and if it will root. I know that in our time zone, cuttings shoud be fine. But if there is a big cold snap, the rose may succumb, because it hasn't been grafted onto hardier stock.

I'm just enjoying my children's interest in this rose.

Snow

The past couple weeks have been very interesting. It snowed several times, and if it hadn't melted each time, it would have amounted to maybe 9 inches. It would snow one day, melt the next, snow the next, etc. It was incredible to wake up to fresh snow in the morning. I very much enjoyed the last minute winter hurrah.

Working on it

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted last. I haven't been feeling very well lately, and since it's winter, there hasn't been as much to report. But I had planned to catch up on other stuff and mention certain weather stuff as it happens but just haven't felt up to it.

I've been working on my pictures in flickr. I have sets for my inside kitties, and my outside kitties. I still have a few more pictures to put in, but I have quite a bit in there. Kitties inside Kitties outside

We've started on some house renovations. Our first job is fixing a leak in the bathroom, which basically adds up to a total makeover of the bathroom and main entrance to the house. It's a very scary process. I'm taking pictures as it progresses, and am continually updating the flickr set. Remodel

I want to work on a picture set of our veggie garden, and our backyard. I'll post links to them later.

My pictures have family/kid shots that I've set as private. If you know me personally and want to see them, just send me an email and I'll give you an invite or set you as family if you already have a flickr account. Thanks.