Harvest Monday - January 30, 2012

Well it looks like my onion sprouts are doing well.  The celery plant is a little larger but since this is the first time I've grown celery I have no idea what it's supposed to be doing right now.  A nice garden blogger said she starts her celery from seed in January and gets a plentiful harvest the same year.  Next year I'll have to try that.

Remember all that rain? Well, the mountains got plenty of snow.  In just a few days the base at the ski resort doubled.  It's only 54" but that is way better than 21".  To be honest I haven't been skiing since before I had children.  I used to ski weekly during college.  And this time I skied on the same skis my parents gave me when I was 15.  I know you're jealous of my vintage skis, aren't you?  They're even florescent orange underneath.  They scream 1990! The helmet is new.  I need to get a good photo of it.

At least I remembered how to ski.  I was so nervous the first run. It brought back so many wonderful memories.  I am so grateful to have the strength to be back skiing.  

He wasn't nervous at all.  Just excited to be back in the snow.  Usually we go tubing with our children this time of the year but there just isn't enough snow in the valley ... yet. Tyler is a fantastic skier.  

Notice the snow on my black scarf. That wasn't from crashing. That was from a certain someone who sprayed me.  

And our daughter took snowboarding lessons.  She's never been on the mountain before. She had a great time and did wonderfully. I'm super pleased with her ability to snowboard in just a few short hours.

I'm going to try something else to keep my neck warm next time.

Lunch break

In line to get on the lift.

I've gotta have something to do when I'm not GARDENING. 

Can I mention one thing here?  

PLEASE Don't tell someone who has gone through 9 months of chemo and radiation that if they're going to have cancer, Hodgkins Lymphoma is the kind to have. 

Just say, "I'm glad you are doing better" or "you look wonderful for all you've been through" or "Is there anything I can do to help you?".  

HL kills people all the time.  Even stage 1 HL requires 4 months of chemo and 11 radiation treatments. a 3 inch wide tumor that reaches from below your lungs all the way into the middle of your neck isn't the kind to have. But it happened. And I am so grateful for each and every extra day. And there are a lot of cancers that only require surgery and follow up visits.  I know there are a lot more aggressive cancers out there.  I see it everyday with the Cache Valley for Hope cancer foundation.

Cancer is Cancer

Don't minimize the emotional and physical strain it puts on a person's life with a few careless words. Just help them feel loved and appreciated. What are some kind things you would say to a person who needs some encouragement?

OK, off my soap box now!

What a day...

Here's my hero out working in the mud.  The water was rushing off the back hill.  The ground is frozen so the water has no where to go.  Tyler dug some trenches out back to try and divert the water away from the house.  

And he was in mud most of the time.

Here is one trench.

  

And another through the west flower bed.

South East flower bed - Looks like the lilies I planted my get uncovered.  The bad thing about this spot it that it's closest to the basement so instead of the water going east and out into the empty lot, it's pooling here because of all the mud that eroded. You can't tell where the flower bed ends and the yard begins.

So they dig a trench at the top to force it east and stop the erosion.

Here is my garden.  I think the garlic got uncovered.  

The nice big wall of mud my husband created to block the water from the alfalfa field.

 It's already filled in with water but at least it is headed East and away from our yard and basement.

And suddenly it started to turn to snow.

And here it is 10 minutes later.  You should see it now.  It's even more beautiful and closer to 2 inches in just a few minutes. We'd rather have snow than rain right now.

Another round on the Lake

We borrowed a 4 wheeler and Grandma's saucer and walked down to the lake and went for a small spin.  It was so cold it did not last very long.

Not to complain about the weather...

 but I just hope that the snow on the side of the road melts fast enough to let all this water through so that we don't loose electricity to our house. If it fills up anymore, we are in trouble. We live in the middle of an alfalfa field. I don't know if you can see the new lake in this photo.  There was a drain from that side of the road to the farmer's field across the road and past the neighbor's house.  It filled in years ago.

You can see our house and our electric box in the background here and the neighbors' box in the foreground on the left and the water washing across the road.

Here's a better view of the amazing amounts of water pouring across the road. Anyway, I am going to go fill up the other two bathtubs with water because if our electricity goes, so does our well pump and I'd like to be able to flush the toilets.

Harvest Monday - January 16, 2012 - making preparations

It snowed last night. 

This is how one of my square foot gardens looks right now.

On the 6th of January I planted onion seeds.  Last year I planted them on February 1st indoors and they were not big enough for transplanting in the spring.  This time I sprinkled fewer seeds over the soil so they would have more room to grow. 

The other problem is that I do not have my grow light station set up.  They are in the window sill on the south side of the house.  Less light and I'm at the mercy of the weather.  I bought a full spectrum work light but haven't set it up.

And then I thinned them today. 

Not all of the seeds have sprouted so I'm sure I'll have to do it again. 

These are Big Daddy Onions.

I saw this post via pinterest and thought I'd give it a try. My stalk sat in the water for a while longer than hers did, as you can see in my photo.  And I bought celery hearts instead of the large stalk because the big stalks don't fit in my fridge drawer. 

I've never grown celery before because the lady at the garden center said it takes two years to start them from seed.

In the post I linked to it said you can grow it in 9" pots so today I transplanted that celery into a 9" pot full of potting soil.

The water seeped out of the soil into the tray below but with our dry air it will be gone quickly.

And if you are wondering' "Why Big Daddy Onions?"

It's because they store well over the winter.  Some onions go soft within weeks of picking them.

I have the Big Daddy onions in a box in my unheated garage and they are doing well.  I just run out there and grab one when I need it.  If I still have some close to the end of spring I will chop them up and saute them and freeze them.  But for now they are doing great.

Fun on the ice

We had so much fun on the ice yesterday.  It really is the only place with any snow.  The mountains, well, you can see them in the background of a lot of these photos. But the lake has about 3 inches of snow.  Which is fun and slippery. 

We bought a LuckyBums ski tow for teaching small children to ski.  We haven't gone skiing yet this year.  I did buy a helmet.  It's bright red like my coat.  I just hope it doesn't do the opposite and make me a skiing target.  You know me and head injuries and freak accidents.  Oh boy.

We took turns pulling the sleds.  Everyone had fun.

Tyler wrote our last name in the snow.  

We ran and laughed and soaked up the sun.

And slipped and fell on the ice a few times.  The ice is 6 inches thick below the 3 inches of snow.

Snow Angels - can't forget those!

I just love this little detail.  Had to share.

And Daddy is so fun! Donuts on the ice.

Heading back home

Just a cool action photo

Awesome boots from Cabelas.  I'd honestly walk barefoot in the cold if my feet didn't get wet from the melting snow.  My husband however needs the warmest most toasty boots available.  But he did take his jacket off.   

And these two were fascinated with all of the fishing holes. Most had frozen over with about 2 inches of ice.  There were ice fishermen everywhere.  I don't remember anyone really doing that when we moved in.  Maybe a few brave boyscout troops.  Now there are dozens - every day.