a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

  • Sunshine in the Pacific Northwest

    NWSunShine

    A sunny day in the Pacific Northwest. If there is a circular glow in the sky, it’s a sunny day. If you don’t get wet when you step outside, it’s a sunny day in the Pacific Northwest. Light gray is considered a shade of blue here. The hens are out in the pasture early in the morning. Blue skies and brilliant sunshine, a Pacific Northwest glow, or steady drizzle, it doesn’t matter to them. It shouldn’t matter to me either, though if they knew there were places where the skies are blue most of the time, they’d probably ask me to take them there.

    HensOnPastureInTheMorning
    RhubarbShoot

    The rhubarb is sprouting. You haven’t lived if you haven’t tasted rhubarb’s first spring stalks. The Tokyo Bekana I didn’t pick in the hoop house is in full bloom. Many vegetables are so beautiful in bloom, that you’re better off not eating them all. Let a few bloom and dazzle. One plant will provide more seed than I can possibly plant. How great is that?

    NanoHana
    GinHimeOnNest

    Ginhime is relieved. She waited and waited this morning to get on this nest. At times, there were several hens in the nest, laying eggs. Never mind that there were plenty of empty nests nearby. She wanted this nest too. Now she has it all to herself. What a relief.

  • There Is Hope

    LadyBugA

    A day’s break from the rain gave an opportunity to do some gardening, and the delight of finding a ladybug looking for something good to eat. Ladybugs eat a large variety of pests, not just aphids. There are some 6,000 varieties of ladybugs (Coccinellidae).

    Awake after winter’s long sleep, a ladybug in the garden is hope. After seeing the ladybug, I decided to take a chance and plant several rows of radish. In the photo below, you’ll see another bug on the left, looking at the ladybug. It’s probably hoping not to be the ladybug’s lunch.

    LadyBugC

  • Before It’s Too Late

    SunRise20160216

    Wow! The sun still exists! I know because I saw it this morning, glowing brightly behind the morning clouds. I took a picture in case I never see it before I die. This time of year, when clouds rule for weeks on end, it does seem like I’ll die before the clouds part and I get to see even a sliver of the sun.

    The mushrooms growing in the garden everywhere are as happy as can be. Sun? Who needs the sun? May rain and clouds rule forever, is their morning screed.

    MushroomsInGarden

  • The First Salmonberry Flower

    FirstThimbleBerryFlower

    I found a Salmonberry in bloom today. A sure sign that spring is well on its way. It’s a wet, wet, spring. The kale and ruby streaks are so washed with rain, that they can go straight from garden to plate. The cool winter has softened and sweetened the kale that it doesn’t need anything, no dressing, no oil, no salt. It’s delicious just as it is. It’s a perfect compliment to slow roasted rooster.

    HomeLunch

  • No Longer a Dream

    SalmonBerrySproutA

    The salmonberry leaves are sprouting. Spring is no longer a dream. The great unfurling has begun. When leaves first unfurl and take their first breath, they don’t scream like newborn babies, or do they? Is the forest filled with the cries of baby leaves, crying at pitches we can’t hear? Maybe it is the crying of new leaves that wakes up the insects.

    SalmonBerrySproutB
    CherryBlossoms160211

    This is the time the cherry tree which blooms year round has its heavy blooms. Every month of the year, this tree has a few blossoms. At times, there are just one or two blossoms on the entire tree. For this tree, this is what full bloom looks like.