We got almost an inch of sleet today.Briar’s toes provide excellent grip.Squirrel tree in our neighborhood.This evening we repotted baby tomatoes and peppers. Mid last week I forgot some other repotted tomatoes outside and they froze. So those three varieties are being germinated again. But meanwhile these babies needed new pots.One dwarf tomato is thriving and fruiting; the other is drying up and has spider mites. Paula bought a basil and is keeping it alive. The indoor peppers have a good head start for spring but I doubt will fully fruit by then.
Negative covid rapid tests meant we were safe to travel south to Texas!Annual bluetsControlled burns on the LBJ national grasslands were visible by smoke.Briar!Gracie!A hackberry tree having a long term discussion with the big mesquite tree.The big old mesquite tree.Draba cuneifoliaMom documents our dispersal of native plants.Heading back north to Oklahoma, an interesting juxtaposition of old and new energy.
Gram pretends to be a plant while all the plants are outside.We stopped to visit Shackleton on the way to compost facility. He likes to smell car bumpers while on his leashed walkies. Cars have been places!We were told we could self-load from this pile.Paula and I self-loaded.Thanks again to Dad for an excellent set of giant cardboards. We used all but two for this load of compost. Briar supervising.
Tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, and chard and roman chamomile in all the rest. We need a lot of chamomile starts as I want to use it as a ground cover around the vegetable raised beds.Sitting on the saffron leaves.Gram’s not sure about outside leash time but he’s getting more confident.He always perks up and feels safer when big sister comes by to check on him.“Hello big sister”Maybe he could do without getting groomed. She nibbles him.
Big empty hole in the prairie patch where we dug up the Maximilian sunflowers.We brought a single stalk here from our old house and now it’s a massive 2×3′ ish patch.Broader view. Put more cardboard down to kill Bermuda.Briar just sat here while plant stalks went everywhere.Such dignity.Found a lost loofah in the front yard afterwards.
Leaves to insulate the baby bok choyLeaves to insulate the baby lettuceThe screen (made to keep rabbits out) holds the leaves in, in case there is wind.Apparently one should blanch small round fruit before attempting to make raisins. Regular ground cherries.A chironomid fly adult chilling near garage door.Some sort of cutworm, on collard greens, the previous night. I threw it out in yard where hopefully the mockingbird will find it.I touched another dog!The Chef successfully made honey mead! We tried it. Was good. He says it needs to age now.Crabapple jelly central.Hanging out in his haunted mansion.
Common persimmon tree. A native with edible fruit! Yum! I will try to sprout some.Yum. Gracie likes to eat fallen ripe persimmons.Mom served blackberry cobbler with homemade no churn ice cream too.A different day: leftover juice and berries from the cobbler with shortbread and whipping cream.Judy gave me this Mexican sage which Paula helped me plant as soon as I got home last Saturday.Good vacation but time to hit the road!Reunited!!!! I am informed the cat was profoundly lonesome, clingy, and annoying in the absence of his big sister.
