Pies, Plants and a Cookout

The fresh strawberry pie that I made for an event this past weekend.

This week we had quite a bit of cold, rainy weather! Each day it struggled to get past 60 degrees! Despite the weather, the plants in the garden continue to do well. However, it will still be a while before we plant our tomato, pepper and basil starts! It sure needs to warm up! I remember that about 2 years ago we had a nice, normal, warmer spring! However, for the past 2 seasons we have had a very late, cold and wet spring!

Here is some information from my Mom about the weather here in the Northwest and about the progress in the country garden.

Weather Report and Country Garden:

We are several degrees below normal in temperature, and several inches above normal in precipitation. (See the NOAA weather comparison chart below) I was shocked to see that between October 1 and now that we are nearly 10" over normal! And, if you look at just January 1 to now, it is about 5 1/4 " above normal.

...THE PORTLAND OR CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MAY 25 2011...

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1940 TO 2011


WEATHER ITEM   OBSERVED TIME   RECORD YEAR NORMAL DEPARTURE LAST
VALUE   (LST)  VALUE       VALUE  FROM      YEAR
                            NORMAL
..................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
YESTERDAY
MAXIMUM         57    647 PM  90    1947  68    -11       64
MINIMUM         45   1159 PM  38    1975  49     -4       51
                1964
AVERAGE         51                        59     -8       58

PRECIPITATION (IN)
YESTERDAY        0.23          0.63 1989   0.07   0.16     0.38
MONTH TO DATE    2.34                      1.96   0.38     3.41
SINCE OCT 1     41.67                     31.76   9.91    29.52
SINCE JAN 1     22.82                     17.56   5.26    17.61

Dad and I have been talking about planting our tomatoes and peppers, and we are going to do a similar thing that you and I did last year with the tomatoes, and that is to put some chicken manure in each planting hole along with some soil. That will help to warm the roots as well as feed them. We didn't do that last year with the peppers, but we will do it this year.

So far, the kale, cabbages, broccoli, turnips, rutabagas, potatoes, and peas are all looking good. The radishes are really coming along fast, and I believe carrots and onions are emerging, but the first leaves look so much like grass I have a hard time knowing for sure.

I am not sure the lettuce and beets are emerging, so I will check again as it has been a few days since I last looked.

I am happy to report that all of the berries are doing well. We even have some gooseberries! The middle blueberry that was looking so bad has been putting out some new growth. One of our huckleberry bushes has flowers on it. Yahoo! We fertilized the raspberries and boysenberries. I had some Annie's organic fertilizer, so I thought I might as well use it up.

I did get the boysenberries weeded. Both the boysenberries and raspberries are sending up strong new growth, too.

Beaverton Farmer's Market Report:

I (Trista) have decided to add a new feature to our blog. Since I shop just about every Saturday at the Beaverton Farmer's Market I will buy and sample one or two new items every week and let you know how they are and give you information about the vendors. I enjoy shopping at this market to get fresh, local produce and foods-especially early in the gardening season when we don't have a lot of produce to eat from our own gardens.

Every week I like to buy 2 quarts of milk and a pint of heavy cream from Lady Lane Farm. I love their fresh milk! I really like that they use glass bottles. Every week I wash out the bottles and bring them back to trade for full ones. So wonderful! I also buy some vegetables, pears and strawberries this time of year. I have also bought some salami and sausage from Olympic Provisions.

This past week I decided to get some treats from the market. So, even though I love to bake myself I bought a mini blueberry pie from Market Fruit/Packer Orchards. It was such a delicious pie! It had really nice blueberry flavor and I really liked the struesel topping too!

I also bought some whole wheat cinnamon rolls from Baking with Grace. The next morning we had them for breakfast and they were delicious! I liked the fact that they were moist and had a great cinnamon flavor.

I look forward to getting a new small treat each week and I'll profile it here. There are all kinds of lovely foods to be had- from breads to cheeses to jams and candies!

Suburban Garden Report:

My favorite azalea finally blooming late in the spring!

All of the plants have been blooming so late this year! However, better late than never! I love this azalea plant in the picture above. Every year it gets better and better! I try to keep it free of weeds and give it plenty of space to grow and it has really paid off. It looks spectacular this year and I'm really enjoying it.

The sweet woodruff blooming in my yard. It was a volunteer plant that has spread nicely.

Also, the lovely volunteer plants in my yard- the sweet woodruff and the ginger plants have been blooming and are becoming such a nice ground cover.

The wild ginger plants forming a nice ground cover in one of my flower beds.

Other good news is that despite the late, wet and cold spring we are going to have a lot of apples on our little dwarf apple tree! It is such great news! It'll be fun to make something out of these cute little apples when it comes time to harvest them.

Little apples forming on our dwarf apple tree!

Other great news is that ALL of my rose bushes have several buds on them! I am so very excited! I have 2 large, more established traditional rose bushes and then three heirloom varieties that were transplanted into my garden last year. I am so happy with their new growth. It really paid off to prune them well last fall.

A large bud on one of my rose bushes. Hopefully soon I will have many rose blooms!

Lastly, this Friday my parents came to visit. It had been a while since they had been to our house so it was fun to show them around our yard and garden. We were able to see that our lettuce continues to come up very well in the two rows that I planted.

The main focus of the visit was for my Dad to disassemble and take home the chicken coop that has been in our yard for some time. They will be able to reassemble it on their property for the second brood of chickens that need a more permanent nesting/living space. It is nice to have more space in our yard and flower beds now that the chicken coop is no longer there. We were planning to have chickens at one point and our friend was kind enough to build us a wonderful coop but since my parents have so many chickens and thus so many eggs, we ultimately decided not to get any chickens. Adam sure had fun "helping" Grandpa with the screwdriver and nails as you can see in the picture below.

Adam with Grandma Serena helping put the screws in a jar to keep for reassembling the chicken coop.

Along with weeding and mulching the flower bed where the chicken coop was- I was able to put my trellis back up on the fence and start to train the clematis back up the trellis. I have been trying to grow that same vine of clematis without a lot of success for several years in a row. I think now it has the right space and sunlight so I hope it will thrive there!

One of the rhododendrons that we planted in our yard a few years ago. I love the lilac color!

Two Kinds of Pie:

The lemon meringue pie that I made last weekend for a dinner party we went to.


A close up of the fresh strawberry pie that I made.

This Memorial Day weekend we were fortunate enough to be invited to three lovely events! On Sunday afternoon we went to a barbecue for my friend Carol's graduation. I brought the fresh strawberry pie pictured above along with some fresh heavy cream to whip and put on top. Unfortunately we had to leave early because Adam was getting very tired- so we had to leave the pie there without trying it. However, I am positive it was enjoyed by all!

Me with my friend Carol in her front yard at her graduation barbecue.

Later on that evening, we went to a friend's house for dinner and for dessert I brought the lemon meringue pie pictured above. It got such rave reviews I'll have to make it again soon. I still need more practice with the meringue because it shrank a slight bit- but with practice I am sure it will look wonderful. I made the two pies on Sunday morning. I had made the crusts ahead of time, put them in the freezer and then baked them in the morning and prepared the fillings.

Because of these two events I have decided that since I like to bring pies to parties in the future I need to get a pie carrier. That would be very handy!

Lemon Meringue Pie:

This recipe is from a very old newspaper clipping that either my mom or grandma cut out years ago. I finally decided to try it and it is wonderful! This was Mildred Isaac's recipe according to the article.

Ingredients:

One nine and a half inch pie shell- baked and cooled

Filling:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons butter
6 egg yolks, lightly beaten
grated rind of 3 large lemons
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Meringue:

6 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
12 tablespoons superfine sugar

Directions:

In a large saucepan, mix the sugar and cornstarch. Add the boiling water and slowly boil until clear over low heat, stirring constantly. Add the butter and then gradually, the six egg yolks. Cook until thick still stirring constantly. Stir in the lemon rind and lemon juice. Cool.

Poor cooled filling into the baked pie shell.

For the meringue, beat the six egg whites with the cream of tartar until frothy. Beat in the superfine sugar, adding a little at a time, until mixture is stiff and glossy, and sugar is dissolved. Swirl meringue over filling with a spatula, touching crust all around and making sure there are no open spaces. Lift spatula to form peaks. Bake at 300F for 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown.


Fresh Strawberry Pie:

This is a pie recipe from Cook's Illustrated Magazine. I love that it turned out so picture perfect! It needs to be served quickly because over time the pie gets very juicy from the juiciness of the strawberries. It smells heavenly!

Ingredients:

One nine inch pie shell- baked and cooled.

4 pints (about 3 pounds) fresh strawberries, rinsed, dried and hulled.
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons Sure Jell for low sugar recipes
Generous pinch of table salt
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon

Filling Directions:

1. Pick out around 6 ounces or 1 1/2 cups of berries that are mishapen or unattractive. In a food processor, process berries to a smooth puree, 20 to 30 seconds. You should have about 3/4 cup puree.

2. Whisk sugar, cornstarch, Sure Jell, and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir in the strawberry puree, making sure to scrape the corners of the pan. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly and bring to a full boil. Boil for about 2 minutes scraping the bottom and sides of the pan to prevent scorching. Transfer to a large boil and stir in lemon juice. Let cool to room temperature.

3. While the glaze is cooling, pick out the best strawberries for the pie filling. Only halve the largest ones. Measure out about 2 pounds of berries. Add the berries to the bowl of cooled glaze and stir with a spatula to thoroughly coat the berries. Mound the berries into the pie shell and arrange them so that no cut sides show. Refrigerate the pie for 2 hours. Serve pie within 5 hours of chilling.

You may serve this pie with freshly whipped cream.

Our Memorial Day Hot Dog Cookout:

On Memorial Day this year we were invited to a hot dog cookout at my parent's house. The weather started out cloudy and even rained a bit during our lunch- but later on the sun came out and we enjoyed the afternoon eating and visiting together! We had a lovely spread including homemade hot dog buns that my mom made! It was such fun! Below are some photos of our event:

My husband Paul and son Adam roasting hot dogs on the lovely fire that my Dad made.

Me next to the hot dog roasting fire pit near my parent's orchard.


All of the delicious treats at our cookout: hot dogs, homemade buns, chips, salad, baked beans, deviled eggs a rhubarb custard pie, lemon meringue pie and cheesecake!

My mom (Serena) fixing up a hot dog.

A hot dog from Shy Ann Meat Company on a homemade bun by my mom.

My mom, Paul, Kim and Dad getting ready for lunch.

Adam feeding clover to the chickens.


Me with Adam on our walk in the woods.

I hope that all of you have a great week! It is supposed to shape up weather-wise starting next week- getting warmer and drying out. It may be about time to plant the tomatoes and peppers then! Here's to keeping the faith!

The Little By Little Principle

This year- 2011 has been a long series of "little steps" for me. I am learning day by day that little steps can lead to grand results. It is a long process and one that is never complete. However, I love the outcome from taking this approach! I tend to be a "worker bee" type of person. This can be very positive because when I put my mind to it I can get a lot done quickly. However, sometimes if I don't have a lot of time to get something done I feel overwhelmed and I don't get started! This tended to happen with yard work and continues to happen with sewing projects.

So, I have found that if I think about a project with the "little by little principle" and I work on it a little each day or when I have a few free minutes it goes much more smoothly and I am surprised and what I can accomplish! Not to mention- it has given me more time to relax and focus on spending time with my dearest son Adam who is almost 3 years old! It is a joy to have more time to spend with him!

Adam "climbing" a maple tree in our back yard.

It all started in January with my New Year's resolutions to clean the garage, do more exercise and come up with a better routine for cleaning the house and doing chores. To realize these goals I found a great system. I decided to try the Flylady's system and this has been helpful in so many ways. I will explain how I have used her system here. However, if you would like more details please check out her website:

http://www.flylady.net/

I got started by writing down my morning and evening routines as outlined in the Flylady system. I included in my morning routine time for exercise and getting ready for the day. This helped me get up early each day to do my exercise, some chores and get breakfast ready. Here is the routine I started with: ( I am continually adjusting this due to the fact that Adam seems to be waking up earlier each morning!)

Morning Routine

1. Rise and Shine

1. get up at 5:25am
2. do workout for 20+ minutes (watch TV, listen to ipod)
3. shower, get dressed, do makeup and hair
4. swish and swipe-clean up bathroom (a five minute bathroom clean up)
   
5. eat breakfast-fix Adam’s breakfast/read book

2. Kitchen

. If you did your Before Bed Routine, the kitchen is clean and all you need to do is empty the dishwasher.

3. Think About Your Day

. Check your calendar.

a. Make your list of what you are going to do today

b. Get Adam up

c. Have breakfast time with Adam

d. Make beds

e. Gather up clothes and do laundry

f. Hit the hot-spots. If you did your Before Bed Routine there will not be any.

g. Now reward yourself with some computer time. Check your e-mail.

After I got my routines in place I worked on my next goal of cleaning the garage. I cleaned a little bit each day whenever I had time and I was so happy to see that within around two months I had gotten rid of about 30 boxes of stuff and now knew where things were in the garage and had things more organized!

As you can see- I had now accomplished my goals of cleaning the garage and getting more exercise. And, along the way I kept my house clean and organized without going crazy! Another thing I like about the Flylady approach is that things don't have to be "perfect." I know that my house is clean but it doesn't have to be absolutely spotless for me to feel good about it. This way of thinking has lead to more free time and less worry.

For example, my weekly routine includes my "big cleaning day" which is Monday. On the other days I just do my morning and evening routines and keep up with laundry. This way I am not going crazy doing too much cleaning! On my "big cleaning day" I vacuum rugs and carpets on each floor of the house, clean the bathrooms, do a quick dusting of the living room/dining room, take out all of the trash, wash and change sheets and mop floors. I also do 3- 4 loads of laundry that day. It is nice to have this "big cleaning day" because the rest of the week it is smooth sailing!

I have had some trouble keeping my morning routine going lately because Adam has been waking up much earlier! Also, sometimes it is hard to wake up so early- I admit! So, I will have to adjust my routine a bit to accommodate that fact and make sure I have a bit of time in the morning to do a few things before he wakes up. I was able to do this routine without too many changes for about 2 months. However, like most plans it needs changing sometimes. I am usually able to at least do a bit of exercise, shower and dress most days before Adam wakes up. That does help a lot!

I have been able to apply the "little by little principle" to gardening and yard work as well. In order to get the yard in shape I simply tried to do a bit of weeding, edging, mulching, etc. every time Adam and I would go outside together. Some days I was able to do a lot and other days just a little but it helped me towards my goal. It has felt good to get so much done. There is still a lot to do- but I feel like this year I am learning so much and really enjoying my yard and gardening in general!

Now, on to gardening news:

Suburban Garden:

A view of our front yard on a sunny day in May, 2011.

Our yard is looking so nice these days! There are just small projects left to do- such as finishing putting in the edging stones around the lawn and pea gravel around the garden bed- but beyond that the yard is looking so pretty and it is nice to sit back and look at it! Our front yard looks so nice now that we have trimmed back the rhododendrons and our side yard is planted with flowers. It was spectacular on a sunny day a few days back!

Geraniums I planted in a large pot on the deck. I bought small geranium starts and they are growing very well now.

I forgot to mention how I decided to plant mostly geraniums along with a few other annuals in my many pots on our deck. I have finally learned that these types of flowers are best for the full sun!

A view of our deck and back yard. I love having lots of pots of flowers on the deck! Hopefully soon they will be in bloom!

A small bit of news in my vegetable garden is that my lettuce is starting to sprout as well as my basil plants that I planted in pots indoors! Hooray!

Now, on to country garden news....


Country Garden:


This last Friday. May 20th Adam and I headed out to my parent's place to work in the garden and visit. It was such a lovely day- again in the 70's. So pretty! The orchard is looking spectacular with many healthy fruit trees- some still in bloom! Lovely!!

The little by little approach certainly had to be in full force that day because Adam was interested in walking around everywhere and didn't stay long in the garden area. Even so, my Mom and I were able to do quite a bit of weeding. I worked on weeding around the gooseberry bushes that are near the raspberries and boysenberries. Now, they have more room to grow and look great! My Mom took care of lots of small weeds in between the potato rows. We also found that we had a few "volunteer" potatoes from last year that have sprouted! Hooray!



Adam had fun helping to water the seeds that my Mom planted last weekend. He got a bit of help from Grandma and Grandpa!

Later on we went for a couple of nature walks and we spotted a lot of native plants!

Here are some pictures of these:

A twin flower that we saw on our walk.

A flower we called "flag" when I was a little girl.

False Solomon's Seal- a very delicate and lovely plant.


A flowering Oregon Grape plant.

We had such fun going on these "trail walks" with Adam on Friday. I love how he likes to explore the countryside!

Adam walking up from the "gully" near the orchard.

Here's to spring and a summer to come full of gardening, sunny days and working on every thing little by little!

Hope Springs Eternal

This pastoral setting is right next to the country garden.

Last Friday my Mom and I had a wonderfully sunny and productive day in the country garden. It brought us hope for this year's gardening season and hope for the future in general. Here's the latest from both gardens:

Country Garden:

Last Friday since it was a nice, sunny day (it was in the mid-seventies by late afternoon) we did a lot of weeding, hoeing and planting of our cooler weather crops. We started out weeding and preparing the soil in the corner where there are 4-5 rhubarb plants that are really thriving this year! It'll be nice to make our first pie from our own rhubarb soon!

A lovely, healthy patch of rhubarb in the country garden.

There, we decided to create wide rows of cabbage and broccoli. Next to the fence we planted some more peas. Later on we planted some onions in this area as well. The varieties we planted include: Mammoth Red Rock Cabbage, Danish Ballhead Cabbage, Yellow of Parma Onions and Thompson Broccoli.

A view of the wonderfully prepared country garden this spring.

As my Mom planted seeds I worked on weeding and hoeing other areas including areas around the boysenberries. Sometimes I would give large clods of dirt to the chickens because they contained worms that they were more than happy to eat!

Adam in the garden near his tractor- wrapped up in towels.

While we were busy working in the garden Adam busied himself with a solar radio! He had the best time and sat in the sun very contented! Later in the afternoon he had fun wrapping himself in beach towels and then checking out the tiller, etc.

One of the very healthy raspberry plants.

Also, we checked out the progress on the raspberries, boysenberries and blueberries and it looks like they are going to have lots of berries this year!

A view of one of the blueberry bushes.

Delicious! I'm sure Adam will enjoy eating them straight off of the vines and bushes!

The boysenberries.

Later on in the weekend here's the report my Mom gave of their progress in the garden and yard:

"I put some kale and chard over by the peas and garden fence, where you did that weeding on Friday.

I did go ahead and plant carrots, parsnips, and radishes in the space between the boysenberries and the raspberries. That was the best place it seemed, as the soil is loose with no clumps at all. The parsnips in particular need that.

I made some short rows where Adam was sitting and playing with the radio on Friday. I planted a wide row of beets there, and then as I had some seeds of Brussels sprouts and cauliflower left from last year, I put those in a row alongside the beets. I also added some rows of turnips, rutabagas, and lettuce there.

I also chopped weeds among the raspberries and gooseberries, and got the blackberries out of the fence area on both sides of the fence on the end where the gooseberries are. There is still more to be done on weeding next to the fence, but the thistles and blackberries are at least chopped out of that area.

Dad worked down in the gully just north of the orchard. He burned a pile of branches, and also burned Scotch Broom and blackberries that he removed. He is continuing some of that today.

While I have been walking around between the garden and the gully, I noticed some wildflowers - bunch berry - that I have not seen here for years. They aren't in bloom and are rather sparse, but they are there. I am going to put little sticks by them to help Dad and Stuart see where to avoid mowing. I think they got overwhelmed with all of the blackberries, so maybe now some of the native plants can come back. It is my cherished hope. "

As you can see by my Mom's progress a lot has been done! It is a constant battle between the blackberries and the wildflowers and native plants- but by mowing and keeping after the blackberries many lovely native plants are coming back! It is wonderful! My Mom let me know that she has finished planting all of the cool weather crops so we will be ready in 3 weeks or so to plant the warmer weather crops such as tomatoes, basil, peppers and corn.

Suburban Garden:

My husband Paul and I did some yard work on Saturday before it started raining again. It seems like in the spring there is never more than one sunny day in a row, so if it isn't raining, it's time to hurry up and do yard work!

So, Paul trimmed back the rhododendrens close to the house, put more paving stones around the edge of the lawn, and hauled a lot of mulch to the back yard to put into the flower beds. He also mowed the front lawn. It looks really nice out front now! I also was able to edge and mulch the rhododendren/hydrangea bed in the front yard late last week.

Another view of the side yard garden with a few more flowers.

Also, on Saturday I planted a few more flowers in the side yard because it looked a bit sparse. I planted some more begonias and a few dwarf dahlias as well. I love the way it looks- so bright and cheery! I still hope someday soon the neighbors will chop up the wood next to the side yard and put it away- it would really make the yard look much nicer.

I bought 2 new herb plants at the Beaverton Farmer's Market to put in my garden. I bought a "perpetual basil" and a sage plant. They go nicely in the garden and will add to my kitchen garden. I also got my Walla Walla onions and lettuce seeds planted in my raised bed garden.

A view of our raised bed garden and back yard. We've made a lot of progress mulching the flower beds and edging the lawn with the paving stones.

Today I continued to spread mulch on the flower beds in the back yard. I had to run inside because it started to rain. However, there is only a small pile left and I am nearly finished with that job! Hooray!

In closing I'd like to leave you with a quote I thought was very important that I read in a speech by Pat Mooney- the co-founder of ETC Group in Ottowa Canada that he made to a group of Seed Savers Exchange members:

"Who's going to help us survive climate change? It's going to be the peasants, the heirloom breeders, the ones like you, who are taking care of the plant. The companies can't do it, they can't even imagine doing it, and they don't know how to do it.......So who is going to save us? Who is going to feed us? It's the peasant system. The people who love gardens, who love their land, who love their neighbors. "- Pat Mooney

I love this quote because it is so full of hope. When all is changing around us- we can do something positive by planting a garden, a flower bed, a pot on a balcony. I think that all of the people put together who work to preserve heirloom varieties and work to save plants that are important to them and that they love to grow, eat and share will help us in the coming years. I know that I love the land, my garden and my family, friends and neighbors. I want to do my part by having my suburban garden and also helping out in the country garden to make this land healthy and a better place for all.

A Yard Makeover

Some blooms on the lilac bush in my back yard.

Suburban Garden:

Spring is here! After a long winter break from our blog we are ready to come back and write about our garden happenings as well as other projects! We are excited about this gardening season and the new hope it brings!

A view of our new raised bed garden.

My (Trista's) yard project started out with a big attitude change and a different outlook on the work. I decided to think about how I could get the yard looking nice little by little instead of being overwhelmed by the project. In years past I have just put flowers in pots and tended just a little to the flower beds and rest of the yard. However, this year I wanted to work hard on all aspects of the yard to make it be the best it could be. I realized I already had so many nice plants, trees and shrubs and with those assets I could build such a nice garden over time. This "baby step" approach to doing a little bit every day has really helped!

After consulting with my Mom we came up with a much better raised garden design for our backyard. Then, my sweet husband Paul built it for me! Last year we had three separate cinder block raised beds. One contained rhubarb and strawberries, another blueberry bushes and another held a pumpkin plant and the sweet potatoes that never amounted to anything.

One of the raspberry bushes that I planted.

My Mom came up with a nice plan that went along the lines of our deck and integrated the rhubarb/strawberry bed with the blueberry bed farther away. Now we have one integrated fruit and vegetable garden. It looks great! And, best of all we were able to reuse all of our existing cinder blocks. We just added concrete blocks on top to stop weeds and grass from growing through. Also, we are in the process of putting in a pea gravel "moat" around the garden so it is easier to mow along the side and we avoid having to weed or use a string trimmer in those areas. It looks so wonderful and a part of our landscape! Also, for the extra space in the garden I decided to add herbs and raspberry plants. The herbs I planted include lavender, rosemary, boxwood basil, oregano, thyme, tarragon and parsley. I also want to plant some sage. Later on in the season I'll plant tomatoes, large leaf basil and various lettuces. I'm very excited about my suburban garden this year!

Adam in the garden near a boxwood basil plant.

Along with the raised bed garden makeover I decided to re-edge the lawn. This involved a week or two of heavy labor. I hand dug the edge again creating a nice border and much neater flower beds. Thanks to the wonderful edging tool that our neighbor Betty let me borrow along with a new square shovel that we bought I was able to dig out the edge and it turned out very nicely. It is amazing what a difference it makes! Adam had fun filling up his wagon with the extra sod, dirt and weeds and hauling them off! Every day I would do a bit of edging or weeding as Adam played in the yard. This sure paid off!

Another view of our raised bed garden.

We had a large pile of topsoil delivered as well as a large pile of mulch. We used the topsoil to fill in the garden. My husband Paul helped with this project too. He took many, many loads of dirt back in a wheelbarrow to the garden. Unfortunately one evening while he was shoveling up some dirt to put in the wheelbarrow he got a nail stuck in his shoe and foot! It must have been in the dirt pile somewhere! It was a very scary moment when he asked me to get some vice grips to try to get the nail out of his shoe! I was so scared that the nail went far into his foot! Luckily he was able to get the nail out and it had only gone in about 1/4 inch or so. Even so, he had a lot of pain and swelling for quite a while in that foot! Quite a gardening accident!! He is doing much better now and I am so thankful!!

The side yard that I finally landscaped with annuals and perennials.

Thanks to my Aunt Janet who has a lovely, large perennial flower garden at her house I was able to get a lot of new plants for my flower beds and also finally landscape our side yard which I had attempted to do halfheartedly in the past. My Aunt Janet gave me many lovely plants including a hydrangea bush, lilies of the valley, black eyed susan daisies, solomon's seal, water irises and many more! They look lovely in the side yard and in the main yard in my flowering borders mixed with trees and shrubs.

A view of our back yard.

So, with help from many others and lots of hard work our yard is really looking pretty this year and I hope it will produce a lot of fruit, veggies and herbs to enjoy in salads throughout the summer!

Country Garden:

The country garden ready to be tilled.

My Mom and Dad have been working really hard in their garden as well. We'll be heading out there later this week to take a look at all of their work and see how things are progressing. In the meantime I'll let you know what I've seen so far and what is coming next.

The chickens are enjoying their new area.

The chickens have been moved to a different fenced off area with lots of grass and a nice tree to stand under for shade. They sure seem to like to congregate there. Earlier this spring they also spent a long time in the garden cleaning out the weeds and "fertilizing" the soil! What a great job- thanks ladies!!

A patch of rhubarb.

My parents have completely and thoroughly weeded the garden including removing a lot of blackberry vines from around the rose bushes and blueberry bushes which will help a great deal! Then, my Dad was finally able to do a nice job of tilling the garden this year. It was ready to plant potatoes a few days ago and they were able to plant 3 large rows! Also, their peas have been planted. Their boysenberries and raspberries look very healthy as well.

They have planted many new fruit tress in their orchard including apples, plums and cherries. The trees are coming along quite nicely.

Adam near some blackberries that will be full of berries this summer.

I will have a more detailed report coming later on in the week when we visit "the farm" as my 2 1/2 year old son Adam likes to call it!

Weather:

A quick note on our weather:

Although it is sunny right now as I write this on May 10, 2011 it has been a pretty cold and wet spring and this was confirmed by the report sent to me by my Mom- Serena in the NOAA report. It says:

"The Northwest was much cooler than normal during April. Washington State (second coolest, five degrees F below their long-term average), Oregon (fifth coolest) and Idaho (10th coolest) were all much cooler than normal."

And later on in the report it states:

"Temperatures during the February-April period, when averaged across the nation, were near the 20th century average. However, the Northwest was cooler than normal, while the South and East coasts were above- to much-above normal."

So, our weather here in Oregon was quite cold this spring!

Hopefully it will warm up soon and we will be able to plant our warmer weather plants such as tomatoes and basil on time for them to grow to maturity by harvest time.

Here's to hope and hard work!