a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

Author: theMan

  • Where is Kaku 隠?


    We only saw four of the ducks this morning on our way out this morning. I searched through the garden but there was no sign of Kaku 隠.


    But this afternoon she showed up with the others, so I followed where she went and discovered where she’d made her nest, and why I couldn’t find any duck eggs recently. She’s been hiding them in the middle of some tall grass.


    You can barely see her through the tall grass. The next mystery to solve is finding out how many eggs she is sitting on. The next time I see her off the nest, and I can probably lure her away with some treats, I can check.

    A duck on a nest is not a duck you want to mess with. A chicken on a nest, well, she may peck at you and draw blood, but a duck on a nest, if you treasure your life, you’ll keep your social distance from her.


    Weeding yesterday showed me how sorrel grows. You can see how it sends its roots out and every so often sends up a new plant. Sorrel is one of those vegetables you can plant one season and have it for life.


  • How Does a Bee Pick a Flower?


    The fruiting cherry trees are in full bloom, attracting bees by the hundreds. From late March into early May some cherry tree or another is in bloom. It takes thousands of flowers to feed all the bees. Watching them fly from one flower to another, it makes you wonder why they pick that cherry blossom and not the one next to it. What does a bee see or smell that makes it pick the flowers it visits?



    Potato shoots are pushing up through the ground. These remarkable plants breathe in air and create delicious morsels to eat out of air, water, and minerals. If the potatoes are growing, not everything is kaput.


  • Dog or Bear?

    dog or bear?

    Takuma 拓真 is enjoying spring from the window. Is he a dog or is he a bear?

    Spring comes slowly in the Pacific Northwest. The alders began to show hints of green weeks ago. Their leaves are just starting to unfurl. With spring inching along, the changes from one day to the next barely perceptible, spring is a relaxed meditation.

    ducks in the garden
    first magnolia
    fresh garlic

    Fresh garlic is a wonder of early spring. If you don’t pull all your garlic out in the fall, you’ll get clumps of garlic which are great eaten fresh before they form bulbs.

    fruiting cherry blossoms
    hen on nest
    lovage

    The lovage is back up, something I celebrate each year. For a short time, it’s a treat to cook with.

    yellow tulips
    tulip and takuma the dog

    This morning, after a string of sunny days, we had a gentle morning shower. Just a light sprinkle to freshen things up and leave the air sweet.

    tulip in the morning

  • What Sunshine and Warm Air Brings


    The pear blossoms are opening. These are modest flowers compared to the showy cherry blossoms. Camellias are flowering too.



    The forest floor is a carpet of green. The sunshine and warmth have stirred the bleeding hearts and trilliums awake. I saw the first trillium of the season today.


    And this splash of yellow on a log. Wow! Mushroom yellow? For some reason this fungus wants to be seen by all.

  • Where Everyone Gathers

    plum blossoms

    Spring is a riot of blossoms now. Plum trees and western skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) compete to see who can fill the air with the most aroma. You can imagine which has the more powerful fragrance. According to Dave’s Botanary “Lysichiton is from the Greek lysis (loosening) and chiton (cloak); as the fruit ripens the spathe is removed from the spadix.”

    skunk cabbage
    ducks in the garden

    I got the last of the seed potatoes into the ground, the last that I have hanging around that is. I will need to get more. I’ve got a vague notion of growing at least a thousand pounds of potatoes this year. The ducks aren’t sure I can do it, but they will give me a lot of help with my digging. I think ducks enjoy mud more than pigs.

    Where Everyone Gathers

    The one place where the action is this time of year is the blooming cherry tree. It is where everyone gathers. Wasps, bees, flies, bumblebees, butterflies, and a zillion other little things with wings make it the busiest place in the garden. It would be easy to while away hours up in the blooming cherry tree, watching the constant flow of traffic.

    Where Everyone Gathers

    One thing I noticed is that bees prefer cherry blossoms that are in the sunshine. Does the nectar flow more when the blossoms are warmed by the sun? That’s my hypothesis as to why the bees seem to like the sunny blossoms more, and why the cherry tree is where everyone gathers when the sun comes out.

    Where Everyone Gathers
    Where Everyone Gathers