Monday, February 26, 2024

Winter Garden

It's a jungle in here. 

Kangaroo Paw

Every sunny window is happily hosting a variety of flowering bulbs and perennials. 

Do you plant outdoor flowering bulbs indoors? I found it's my saving grace during the long dark of a cold dreary winter.

Temptation Amaryllis

Managed to photograph these on a bluebird day. But that's been very rare this winter. Lots of wind and dark grey skies.

Which definitely messes with the mood.

If I'm not looking at my flowers.. I'm looking out my window at this. Which clearly indicates we won't be playing in the mud any time soon.

* In case you're wondering, that's the Olympic Ski Jump across the meadow. They must be having a competition, I rarely see it lit up like this.

Above - Primula Denticulata - shade lover - perfect for indoor winter gardens. 👆

The Freckle Face plant 👆 - also a shade lover. Displays no flowers, just foliage - she sits on my nightstand, seems perfectly happy (has doubled in size) with light from my bedside lamp.  * Keep moist. *

Tiny Iris, about the size of my thumb.

I went a little overboard this year.  A preemptive strike against the winter blues.

And it works! See? 

You barely notice we're in the midst of another blizzard when you have fragrant Hyacinth blocking the view!

Science Experiments

Why do you have so many flowers?? Asks my darling granddaughter.

Color, fragrance, in a stark white winter world. 

Re-blooming Orchid (I'm as surprised as you are :)

The thrill of success when they bloom. The sobering acknowledgement of defeat when they don't.


WINTER GARDENS:

I'm sure you've seen aisles of these bulb packets, on sale, typically 50% off at the end of November. 

  1. Grab some!
  2. Store Daffodil, Tulip, Hyacinth, etc. bulbs, in the bags, as you purchased them.
  3. Store in your refrigerator, the produce drawer is a good spot. 
  4. Bring them out after about 6 weeks of forced cold temperatures. 
  5. Grow in water, or plant in soil.
  6. Set on a sunny windowsill and wait for them to work their magic.

Once warm, bulbs are anxious to grow. You'll be surprised how quickly your windowsills are adorned with bright color.  

* Do not store apples in the refrigerator with your bulbs. Apples emit ethylene gas which messes with bulbs. It's particularly hard on Tulips. Which is why I only have one Tulip. Because I forgot. :))



Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Horse Life and Homemade Horse Cookies

This is a painting of Sable, and I, in Sunlight Basin. (We were featured in a magazine, inspiring a friend to paint this.) We rode down that mountain, shown in the background of this painting. And that's why people thought it was a pretty big deal. Sable's head is cocked at an angle because she's waiting for her cookie.

There's this meme going around on social media. Asking: What do you have, now, that you didn't have as a child? 

It's implying that adult life isn't all it's cracked up to be. You have everything now that you had as a child, back then your parents paid the bills. Therefore life was easier way back when.

This is a better photo of my partner in crime, Sweet Sable.
* Note that she is not tied up. She is free to run wherever she pleases.
She prefers to hang with me. (It's because of the cookies.)

What do you have, now, that you didn't have as a child? 

A PONY!!! I responded. Took me 20 years!!! Best midlife crisis. EVER!

Sable and I have traveled far and wide together. 
My turquoise camper provided a soft bed after a long backcountry ride.

I was "That Girl." The one who started begging for a pony when she was 4 years old. I was still begging for a pony in my 40's. And that's when I decided to grow up and buy my own.

That's me in the middle. Monument Valley.
When we hired a Native American guide to helps us navigate the backcountry.

Point Reyes National Seashore


Here we are in Iceland. Sable doesn't fit on a plane. Well, she could, but who can afford that plane ticket?? We did this adventure on rental horses.

We've ridden in lots of wonderful places, all in the middle of nowhere

And this is where the great debate begins. Because most horse owners throw a fit about giving their horses treats. I figure the horse is working much harder than I am, she deserves a wee bit of appreciation.

That's Sable, facing the camera.
* I don't know why people say that my riding buddy and I have look alike horses. Sable is clearly much prettier.

My riding buddy is one of those women who thinks it's a bad idea to give her horse a treat. So here's the story I like to tell, to defend my point of view. 

We were in the middle of nowhere, high in the mountains. Sitting on a rock, eating our lunch. When a freak storm hit. High winds. Lightening and thunder. Both horses bolted. And there we were. Stuck walking 12 miles back to our truck and horse trailer. In the rain. In bear and cougar country. As we were walking through the tall trees, we heard a terrible crash. Something running toward us. Oh my gods, I'll bet it's a bear. But it wasn't a bear. It was my cookie-loving horse Sable who came back to find me. She gave us both a ride the 12 miles back to the trailer. Where the horse who never gets a cookie, was casually grazing, waiting on our return.

* Horses aren't like dogs. She had no interest in saving me. She was basically just hoping she could eat another one of these: 

Oat & Molasses Horse Cookies

  • 2 cups grated carrot
  • 2 cups apple sauce
  • 4 tablespoons corn oil
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups flour

Easy Prep:

Stir together carrots, apples, oil, and molasses.
Mix in salt, oats, and flour.
Spread onto a cookie sheet and bake @ 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.


Mine contain extra carrots because that's what Sable prefers!

Be careful. The horses 'mobbed' me when I walked into the corral sporting these cookies. I know they meant well but oats & molasses is to horses what wine & chocolate is to us...

Also. Before you cast judgement that I must be rich to own a horse, let me assure that is not the case. 

I'm not rich. I'm irresponsible!



Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Christmas Cactus, Amaryllis, Kalanchoe Tips


Did you survive the holidays? We did. Barely

We roasted a goose for Christmas. Oh my gods that was awful. Would dearly love to finger someone else for this failed Christmas dinner but it was my idea. 

Scroll to the bottom of this post for tips on holiday cactus.

Thought pulling out all the stops might inspire a little Christmas cheer. 

The phrase, Bah Humbug, is defined as curmudgeonly displeasure and that’s sort of where I was at, all throughout December. I lost someone very close to me, a few days before Thanksgiving. Been struggling with that, it’s made me very sad. 

Tips to get this beauty to re-bloom are at the bottom of this post.

Came up with the dumb idea of roast goose while watching a favorite holiday movie, A Christmas Carol, (1951 is a great adaptation.) 

When the nasty ass Scrooge wakes up on a bright Christmas morning deciding to make amends for a lifetime of torturing his only employee, by gifting the poor man a goose. 


Scrooge could have demonstrated he was a changed man by doing his own Christmas shopping, because we all know that’s a drudgery, especially during the holidays. Instead, he tossed a tuppence to a street urchin, forcing him to do the heavy lifting.

Handling that task, himself, would have been a great way to prove he's a changed man. That he's just like the rest of us.


While watching the movie I thought to myself...

Yeah. I’m roasting a goose. Because it’s different and special and even penny pincher Scrooge thinks it’s worth the extra money. Not giving any thought to how supermarkets filled with turkeys weren’t an option back then. 


It’s really hard to find a goose. That should have been the first grand indicator this is a bad idea. 

But that didn’t stop me. And neither did the price tag. Because I'm on a mission! To make this a Merry Christmas!

Kalanchoe tips at the bottom of this post.

Found the goose at Whole Foods Paycheck, paying $15 per pound for that god-awful goose vs. $2 a pound for delicious, delectable turkey. No one at the dinner table ate it. No one. Not even the not at all picky eater, 5-year-old Hattie. And I've caught that kid eating dog treats!

But now I know! That Scrooge wasn't being the slightest bit kind by gifting his employee a goose.

AND. Why everybody says the holiday feast is all about the side dishes. Maybe they fell for the Merry Olde England goose idea, as well. 

The view from my window. The view from up here.

On a happier note, the Amaryllis bulbs were blooming. Here's a tip if you happen to be a lover of this fabulous, indoor, easy-to-grow, bulb. 

Slice your Amaryllis bulb and it will re-bloom.


Amaryllis Tip:
Don't discard the bulb after the flowers are done blooming.
Cut it back to just the bulb. 
Slice the bulb as you would 4 quarters of a pie. 
Set in a sunny window - they will re-grow and re-bloom, a second time.

Potato/Banana water encourages Christmas Cactus to re-bloom.


Christmas Cactus Tip:
Dice up a potato, add a banana peel, 1/2 cup white vinegar, small spoon yeast, 3 cups water. Let this steep for a few days. Water your cactus with this mixture - soon she will be covered with a second set of happy flowers. Bigger and better than the first round of blooms.

Beer. :) Yep. Watered down Beer.


Kalanchoe Tips:
Don't compost these beauties when they're done blooming! They're perennial houseplants. The dark days of winter inspires them to set new buds and re-bloom. And so does beer. Water every 7-10 days. Sporadically with watered-down beer. Once every couple of months. It greens up the plant, kills off the bugs, improves the soil, gifting you with tons of bright indoor flowers.

Monday, November 20, 2023

Cheesy Apple Bread

 

During a break in the rain, I harvested the last of the apples from the garden.

🎵 Oh the weather outside is frightful far too warm for my tastes. 🎵 Wish it would snow. 

But we need the moisture - so I shouldn't complain. (I think that's what everyone says when we're trying to justify the rain.) 

So I busied myself baking this delish quick bread.


Picture doesn't do it justice. But if you can beyond that, you might love it as much as I do!

Cheesy Apple Bread

  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) melted butter
  • 1.5 cups shredded apples
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 + 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Bake at 350 (F) for about 30-35 minutes.


I've also made this quick bread with crabby apples. (Add an extra 1/4 c sugar) It's more work, since you need to remove all the seeds. But. Hey. If it's raining. Nothing better to do! :)


Sunday, October 29, 2023

Val di Funes


The Dolomites were calling.

* The Dolomites is a stunning mountain range in the northern Italian Alps, near Austria. It became a UNESCO Heritage site - around the time I was living in Italy. But I didn't have a car, so this is the first time I've been able to see them, up close and personal.


The Haflingers were also calling. 

A beautiful horse breed, popular in Austria and Northern Italy. Fell in love with them, a long time ago, when I lived in Bressanone, Italy

Even though I've been here before... This birthday vacation was sort of a dream come true.


The church of San Giovanni [1744] was our original horseback riding destination - you can't ride horses to this field - but we didn't know that! 

The countryside looked so inviting! So, we Googled our way into a reservation at Herr Gruberhof's stables in the high hopes we could get close.

* You can get very close to this historic church on foot. If and only if, the automated turnstile, on private property, is working. On our visit it was working beautifully for the property owners. Not so much for us. Gobbling Euros yet refusing entry. So... Janet created a diversion and I climbed a fence. To take this photo. ↑ 

Ages ago. Literally. Ages. I lived in Italy for a little while. 

When I was there I was educated on how Northern Italy isn't really Italy, at all. Hence the confusion when trying to drive to the town of Bressanone while everyone is calling it Brixen. [This area of South Tyrol was basically Austria for 14 centuries - the villages often have two names - and then a bunch of dumb Germans decided to start the world wars.]

I have always had a love affair with Austria -- and not just the mountains! 

Austrian Gardeners do up window boxes like nobody's business! 

And I'm gonna try this next summer! 

* You need Trailing Geraniums. Or Ivy Geraniums. Or Alpine Ivy Geraniums. Nothing is ever easy when shopping in the USA. FYI, it's all the same flowering plant. The 'common' Geraniums we typically purchase in America don't work as well in flower boxes because they don't 'dangle.' 

** And since they're annuals, lasting only one season, might be best to purchase from the least expensive nursery provider.

From the stunning scenery of the Dolomiti we drove to more civilized surroundings. 

Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg.

If you look, really close, you can see two horse statues near the water.
This palace is where Julie Andrews and the Von Trapp family 'lived' in the famous movie.

It's a really big deal to do the Sound of Music tour while in Salzburg. 

But why not just stay there? 

I mean.. Do we really need to drive 2 hours and then hike for an hour and a half up to a field - for you to sing The Hills Are Alive? 

Vacations often include a wee bit of negotiation. Frankly I'm surprised I won this debate 😇 since my travel buddy has watched the Sound of Music dozens of times. I saw it once, decades ago, but mostly I was just hoping that we could alter our plans, avoid the hike. And. And! Stay in a Palace!

You need Hollywood-size budgets to stay in the rooms in the actual Palace. ↑ 

But you can stay on the grounds - right next door - in the Meierhoff. It's a beautiful hotel.

You can stroll the gardens and relax in this fabulous, famous, library. ↑ 

Created by Max Reinhardt. If you don't know the story of the Max, it's worth a read.

Breakfast is served in this marvelous ballroom. 

We both agreed that even though we were far from Downton Abbey, it kind of felt the same. The Leopoldskron was as nice, probably better - you're not on a tour. You're allowed to stroll the palace on your own.

* Downton was our 2020 Is Gonna Be Our Year! vacation. Cancelled due to covid.

We trekked to quite a few other wonderful places. Including Gardone Riviera on the western shore of Lake Garda. Visited Bressanone, aka Brixen, my 'home' a decade ago. My apartment is standing! When I arrived, in 2011, I was expected to hand the landlady a fistful of Euros, she only accepted cash. It's now an Airbnb. Time marches on. 😞

Thanks for coming along. I hope these pics have inspired you to travel someplace wonderful, some time, very soon.


Travel Tip For Europe: People say Europe - and Italy, in particular - is too crowded. 

But that's not really the case

It's crowded where the trains stop. And you won't be treated very nicely in those locations because the locals are so damn tired of Americans it's not even funny. 

Consider renting a car. Cheaper than trains - considerably more flexible - your car will take you to the most remarkable destinations. 

* It is not at all difficult to drive in Europe. Unless, of course, you insist on driving in Rome.

Saturday, September 30, 2023

Thrivers and Survivors

 

Zinnia - best planted by seed - lasts for one season.

↑Tonight she dies.↑ Annuals, such as this pretty little Zinnia, bloom prolifically all summer long. But they don't last forever. The weather lady is predicting a hard freeze tonight.

Bearded Iris live forever - without any help from you.

↑This gal↑ outlived my Grandmother, my Mother, and I'm pretty sure she'll still be dazzling passers by, with her beauty, long after I'm gone. 

* You can often find Bearded Iris brightly blooming on abandoned homesteads. 

This season's Greatest Hits. Many are golden oldies. The orange flowers have been blooming here for 20 years.
That Peony up top? I think she's been around for 50 years. Since my Mother was a young lass.

Just returned from my 70th High School Class Reunion. 

What's that you say? How could that be? How could I possibly be that old? Well. I'm like a Bearded Iris. I plan to live forever. 

Day Lilies also last forever. 
Plant them in a sunny spot where they can help you out. They weed themselves!

Okay… fine… it hasn’t been seven decades. Not nearly that many years. But it felt like 70

I didn’t recognize a single person – which was a huge failure on my part. Because there were about 150 faces to choose from. 

The other half of my graduating class did not attend. Perhaps they were trying to avoid the pressure. 

It’s uncomfortable when people are screaming your name, hugging you, while you’re desperately trying to get a glimpse at their name tags. All claiming they missed you and me responding by saying: I missed you, too!!!

Because saying: Don’t touch me or who the hell are you? Well. That’s kinda rude. 

Rocky Mountain Penstemon lives forever through plentiful re-seeding.
Prefers the hottest, driest place you can find.

Struggling with recognizing faces we haven't seen since we were 17 is not the real reason why the other 50% of my classmates couldn’t make it to the reunion. 

You can’t get there from here. The town has an airport, but planes don’t fly into it anymore. 

My trip was a comedy of errors. You can fly but I could reach Paris quicker than Huron, South Dakota. Lotsa layovers. The last plane gets you sorta close. Then you rent a car. And drive another 200 miles.

FORGET THAT!!! I'm gonna drive the whole way! But I can't. Because I have an old car. Okay... fine! I've needed a new car forever, I'll buy a car!

DONE & DONE! Bought the car, hit the road, took me two days.

So I guess you could say... I shelled out $50,000 to avoid paying $600 bucks for a plane ticket. That could get me there twice as fast.

Mountain Cornflower (centaurea montana)
Comes back every year. Generally in all the spots you don't want her to be.

I’m from one of those little prairie towns that just couldn’t get their act together. And by that, I mean, they were scared. Progress and income, jobs and careers - good things - relevant to the survival of such towns. But they didn't feel safe enough to say yes to new businesses that could give their high school graduates a reason to stay. 

And we all know how that ends. The town keeps spiraling downward until it is damn near impossible to find a decent cup of coffee. Much less a tasty croissant. 😉


I had a wonderful time. I really did! I mean once I started figuring out who those people were? It was awesome.

And I also had a wonderful summer. The months went by in a blink. As did the years.