I know I keep talking about the adjustments in moving from California to Colorado, but wow it's been different learning to garden here! Sean and I used to have a fairly productive patio container garden that would last from early spring (March) to late fall (sometimes into November). Well, here it is totally different!
Our neighbors keep saying that the weather this year has been unusually wet and cold. We don't have anything to compare it to, but the average last frost date is around Memorial Day which seemed late to me! And this May was one of the wettest on record for our area, so between the cold, damp and potential for hail we didn't get a chance to get much planting done until the first weekend of June. And even so we lost some tomato starts, so I replaced them with sturdier starts from the local nursery. Here are some images of what we have growing in the garden:
The raspberry canes we put in this spring are leafing out. From what I've read we probably won't have a big raspberry harvest this year, but it should be better next year.
I think I've finally found a fence that deters the bunnies from chomping on my strawberries, but that I can still step over in order to get in there to weed and harvest! In this patch we have strawberry plants, spinach, and sugar snap peas up against the fence.
I have one hot serrano pepper in a pot.
This is the old raised bed from the previous owners. Next year I want to tear it out and replace it with an herb spiral that will look beautiful even in the winter. For now though, it is overgrown with mint!
I planted alternating tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplants along the fence line, with marigolds in between to attract pollinators and provide some beauty. The bunnies also seem to prefer the marigolds over the tomatoes, so I guess that's good?
Foxglove against the trellis hiding my compost bin -- more on that project tomorrow!
The perennial bushes are actually prettier than I was expecting!
The roses against the garage started growing again after a very violent pruning on my part.
The perennial beds in the front yard attract lots of bees!
We placed some terra cotta pots with rosemary on either side of the front porch. An attractive way to sneak edibles into the front yard!
That's the current state of our yard. I'm looking forward to all of the vegetables and herbs really starting to grow and fill out. All that plain mulch has gotten pretty boring, I'm ready for a lush, edible landscape!
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Street Market Finds
This last Saturday, Sean and I went to a street market held at one of the local shopping centers. It was a mix of antique fair, flea market and craft fair all rolled into one. We came away with some pretty cool pieces.
An antique mirror for the front entry. I love that the silver backing on the mirror is wearing away in a few places, so it has that great antique mirror feel while still giving a useful reflection.
A cool washboard. I've never seen one with both copper and aluminum before. The dealer also said it was a rare find. I've been wanting some interesting things for the laundry room, so this was a great score.
Hundred year old sheet music. What am I going to do with it? I don't know yet. But I couldn't resist $4 sheet music dated from the 1910s. (One of them has pencil markings from 1913!)
Old flight map of Panama. Very cool. This will probably get framed in the guest room, along with an antique map of France that I found on one of our trips to Golden.
It was a fun morning, and I'm looking forward to finding the perfect places in the house for each of these very cool finds!
An antique mirror for the front entry. I love that the silver backing on the mirror is wearing away in a few places, so it has that great antique mirror feel while still giving a useful reflection.
A cool washboard. I've never seen one with both copper and aluminum before. The dealer also said it was a rare find. I've been wanting some interesting things for the laundry room, so this was a great score.
Hundred year old sheet music. What am I going to do with it? I don't know yet. But I couldn't resist $4 sheet music dated from the 1910s. (One of them has pencil markings from 1913!)
Old flight map of Panama. Very cool. This will probably get framed in the guest room, along with an antique map of France that I found on one of our trips to Golden.
It was a fun morning, and I'm looking forward to finding the perfect places in the house for each of these very cool finds!
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Weekly Meal Plan 6.7.15
Sunday: leftovers
Monday: Stuffed Summer Squash
Tuesday: tilapia and spinach salad
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Brined Pork Chops
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: neighborhood dinner (our contribution will be an appetizer and some of Sean's homemade beer)
Monday: Stuffed Summer Squash
Tuesday: tilapia and spinach salad
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Brined Pork Chops
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: neighborhood dinner (our contribution will be an appetizer and some of Sean's homemade beer)
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Weekly Meal Plan 5.31.15
Opening night of my latest play was last night, so it's back to semi-normal life for us this week! Here's what I'm planning for dinner this week:
Sunday: pulled chicken sandwiches (I planned these for last week, but the chicken didn't get defrosted in time, so we will have them now!)
Monday: dinner at a baseball game
Tuesday: steak fajitas
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: sloppy joes (to use up the buns from the chicken sandwiches!)
Friday: stuffed summer squash
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: pulled chicken sandwiches (I planned these for last week, but the chicken didn't get defrosted in time, so we will have them now!)
Monday: dinner at a baseball game
Tuesday: steak fajitas
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: sloppy joes (to use up the buns from the chicken sandwiches!)
Friday: stuffed summer squash
Saturday: leftovers
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Weekly Meal Plan 5.24.15
This is tech week for the play I'm working on, which means I won't be eating dinner with Sean most nights. Instead, I'm planning some slow cooker meals that I can get started in the morning so he has a healthy dinner when he comes home and I will have leftovers for lunch. We will be baking some bread this weekend too, so that I can have sandwiches for dinner at rehearsal -- real dinners are not a thing for me during tech week!
Sunday: slow cook whole chicken, cauliflower
Monday: enchiladas using leftover chicken
Tuesday: slow cooker beef stroganoff
(it won't be my dad's amazing recipe, but it has the advantage of being slow cooked instead of needing a lot of actual work)
Wednesday: slow cooker pulled chicken sandwiches
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: pasta with pesto, salad
Saturday: dinner out for Opening Night!
Sunday: slow cook whole chicken, cauliflower
Monday: enchiladas using leftover chicken
Tuesday: slow cooker beef stroganoff
(it won't be my dad's amazing recipe, but it has the advantage of being slow cooked instead of needing a lot of actual work)
Wednesday: slow cooker pulled chicken sandwiches
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: pasta with pesto, salad
Saturday: dinner out for Opening Night!
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Weekly Meal Plan 5.17.15
This week starts off still visiting family for a Bat Mitzvah, then a tiring day of travel. A couple normal days, and then I start tech rehearsal for The Mikado! So it's a slightly unusual week for my meal planning, but here we go:
Sunday: dinner with family
Monday: something easy like macaroni
Tuesday: fish and veggies
Wednesday: roasted chicken breasts with ratatouille
Thursday: slow cooker lamb tagine
Friday: leftover chicken and ratatouille
Saturday: leftover tagine
Sunday: dinner with family
Monday: something easy like macaroni
Tuesday: fish and veggies
Wednesday: roasted chicken breasts with ratatouille
Thursday: slow cooker lamb tagine
Friday: leftover chicken and ratatouille
Saturday: leftover tagine
Monday, May 11, 2015
#WasteNot 30 Day Challenge: Day 20
This is a simple one, but an important one nonetheless: reusable water bottles.
This is the water bottle I took with me to pilates today. It always amazes me how many people at the gym have disposable plastic water bottles, whether they brought them or they buy them from the vending machine there. To me, there is no simpler way to reduce plastic consumption than by bringing a reusable bottle with me to the gym, on hikes, on trips (just make sure that there isn't any water in it when you bring it through airport security!).
Do you use reusable water bottles? How else do you reduce your waste?
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