Hellebore

We plant a new hellebore every few years.   They like lots of leaf mulch under the trees and when they're really happy, they spread and spread.   Ours aren't really so happy.  We cover them with yard leaves in the winter and the chickens scratch them up and the dog sleeps in the leaves on top of the hellebores.   

Some of them are tough enough to survive though.  This is Helleborus niger.   We got this one a couple of years ago and it bloomed as soon as the weather warmed up.  

I think that if we can ever keep the chickens off this part of the garden, we could probably get a nice stand of these going.   

Creek Rock

We have a lot of rocky outcroppings on our place.   All over the place.

It makes mowing kind of...exciting.  

The prettiest ones are around the creek where the water has worn things away.  The rocks break apart and fall in the water and moss grows on them and it's beautiful.   I love that bright green.  

Greene County Spring

This is Greene County, Indiana in the spring.

I love how the woods take on an extra dimension as the trees green up. 




And the color of the grass....I love that green.

I wish the pics did it justice.

Bluets

These are bluets. Also called quaker ladies and innocence.  Classification of these is all over the place.  Some sites classify them as Hedyotis, others as Houstonia.

They are tiny.  Tiny!

They grow in the waste places on the  hills where it's not very fertile. Usually they have yellow centers.

I've looked at loads of pics of these online and seen no others that have the pink centers like ours.

Which means that we have a different variety from the standard yellow-eyed variety, but I cannot find any information on it.

I thought it might be a blue-eyed grass [Sisyrinchium campestre], but no.   It's taller and has a different flower.

If you know anything about this variety, shout it out.

Dogwood Blossom Bud

Trout Lilies

We have loads and loads and loads of trout lily leaves in the woods. Huge colonies.

Huge.

But hardly any flowers.  This year we've seen more flowers than ever before.    More means that for every 20 square feet of leaves, we see a whole flower.  










They're about 6 inches high and super cheery in the woods.  One flower on a wiry stem per plant.  Notice those splotchy leaves. 

We're excited to see so many of these this year.

Elaeagnus Buds

This is early Elaeagnus umbellata.  I've talked about these trees before.  I love them.  The bees love them.   

They're starting to leaf and set flower buds.  Good news for the bees and for jam making later.

White wildflowers

There are a lot of white flowers blooming in the woods right now.   From a distance they all look alike, so here's a little guide to telling them apart.  Click the pics for bigger versions.

These are rue anemones. Thalictrum thalictroides.

Notice the leaves.  Notice that there are more than five petals. Notice that there are a bunch of flowers on one plant.

This is often confused with wood anemone, which only has a single flower on a plant, and canada anemone, which has sharply pointed leaves. 

Rue anemones are also often confused with this wildflower.  This is false rue anemone. Enemion biternatum.

It always has five petals. 

This is bloodroot. Sanguinaria canadensis.  You guessed it, when the roots are cut, they exude a red sap.  The leaves are lobed like a fig leaf and sort of a gray-ish green. The leaf comes up wrapping around the flower stem.

I love these.   Often you'll see just the flowers and the leaves will come up after the flower has died back.   In springs where the weather warms of very fast, like this year, the leaves pop up as soon as the flower opens.

This is hepatica.  Anemone acutiloba.  Also called liverleaf because the leaves are liver-shaped.

These bloom white, pink and purple.  The flowers come up before the leaves.  It loves the rocks around here - shallow dirt pockets in tree roots and crevices.   These often bloom before the others, in March as soon as the days warm up and the snow stops.   This year everything is blooming together. 

Willow

I like the texture of early weeping willows against the sky. 

This willow is nearing 30 feet tall now.  I got the start as a single short switch in a gallon bucket years ago from my friend, Robin, who has since died of breast cancer.  

This tree is extra special and it makes me unspeakably happy when it greens every year.  It's the first tree on our place to get leaves.

Hoop House Goodies

These pics were taken a couple of weeks ago, but they're proof that stuff is coming up in the hoop house.   I'll post current pics soon.

I planted a bunch of bib lettuce and it's happy.  I have baby carrots coming up and a few seedlings of fennel.   Also, radishes and a bunch of other greens.

We happened to put the hoop house over the bed that had a lot of cilantro last year.

I love cilantro and it's a good thing because it self sows like crazy.   We'll probably never have to plant it again.

I think the seedlings are cute.

Old Paths

I love this time of year when the old fashioned daffodils bloom.  

You can always tell where the old houses used to be because the daffs are planted on either side of the path up to the front door.

The front steps are still here, but the house is long gone.  



Later in the year, you can see the daylilies pop up where they'd been planted along the front of the house.

These old flowers are like ghosts - a nice kind of visitor across time that reminds me of the folks who lived here generations ago. 

Garter Snake

I like snakes.   Ours are friendly and we see them regularly.  

This is a garter snake about 18 inches long.

Blue [the cat] found it and brought it up to the yard.   This is something he does a few times a year - out of boredom, I think.

He plays with it and then brings it to show me.  I take pictures and then take it away from him.

We had noticed him playing with this one while we were at breakfast and then I forgot about it until he came flying across the yard with his tail in a bunch, twitching and jumping like he had lost his mind.

I'm thinking the snake bit him in the butt.  And I can't say that I blame it.

So I dropped everything and ran down to where we had seen him with it to make sure it wasn't poisonous and there we found this cutie. In perfect condition, though not thrilled with the rake.  I liked the orange on this guy.  Mostly they're just brown and beige.  

Notice the color of the underside.  Notice the light stripe down the center of his back.  Notice the dark pattern on his sides.   All very typical of garter snakes.

Grape Hyacinths

More of that blue I like so much.  They are grape hyacinths - muscari.  

They spread like crazy and we have them all over the gardens now.   We've disturbed a bunch of them while digging for the foundation, but it seems that they like it.   We had more than ever this year.

Of course the bees like them, too and it could be that they pollinated better last year and we had more seeds, so we have more flowers. 

However it happened, I'm happy about it.

Bare Roots

This tree sits on the creek.  It's a sycamore and the wood bleaches white in the summer.  The roots are washed bare and they curl around all sorts of stones.

Dead Nettle

This is one of the first things to bloom in the spring.  It stays low to the ground and the cooler it is the darker the tops. 

It perseveres through the inconsistencies of early spring. I love the color.

The Latin is Lamium purpureum. Here's the wiki.

It's called dead nettle because it isn't a stinging nettle.   They're not even in the same family. Apparently it looks sort of nettle-ish and that's why it's called dead nettle.  

Turns out that it produces some nectar and good pollen so it's a good source of early pollen for the bees.   The pollen is red.  [I'll be on the lookout to get a pic or two of it!]

Seedpod

One of the things I love best about spring garden cleanup is all the cool stuff I find on the plants. 

This is just beautiful.  

It's a seedpod from a daylily, 'Stella D'Oro'

You couldn't plan something that gorgeous.    [At least I couldn't.]

I think the black seeds still inside make it even better.

Fiber Event at Greencastle

If you have the time, stop in at the Fiber Event this weekend.   It's loads of fun for the whole family.   You'll see lots of yarn, fleeces, animals, tools, demonstrations, classes, competitions and terrific food.

My booth is in the Community Building next to the stage. Please stop in and say hello!

Here are the details: 

The Fiber Event at Greencastle, Indiana
April 19-20, 2013
Friday 10:30 - 7
Saturday 9-5

Putnam County Fairgrounds, Greencastle, Indiana
Free admission. Free parking.

All our prayers..

All our prayers of help and comfort go out to the people of Boston and West, Texas. God bless you all. 

Windflowers

The Latin is Anemone blanda. A long time ago I got a little bag of bulbs for blue ones and I planted them carefully in the front yard.   Some white ones came up, too.

Turns out you don't actually have to be careful.   They're called windflowers because they self sow readily and the wind blows them all over the place.


The front yard is loaded with them now in light and dark shades of that blue I love so much.

They're exquisite.

The bees like them, too. 

Jell Tests

Jam and jelly should be jelled.  That's why it's called 'jelly' instead of 'runny'.   

Right?

The big question when you're making jam is this:  How do you know when it's jelled?  It's a good question because hot jam is pretty runny.  It doesn't fully jell until it's cool.  So is there a way to tell if it's going to jell all right when it's still hot?

If you're using pectin and followed the directions you can be reasonably confident that your jam will jell.   However, if you've decided not to use pectin, then it's really important to be able to read the jam.

That can be intimidating.

Not to worry!  Here are three tests you can do on your jam to see if it's done.

Double Drips.  Dip a spoon or spatula into the hot jam and watch as it pours off. Early in the process, it will pour off in a very thin cascade ending in a single drip. As the jam reaches the jell point, it will come off in multiple drips. If those drips hang on the spoon for a bit, then you’ve reached a soft jell stage. When you are sure you are seeing double drips or if the jam begins to come off the spoon very thickly, then the jam is done and ready to bottle. 

Sheeting.  When jam has reached a very firm jell stage, it will come off the spoon or spatula in a sheet. If your jam sheets off the spoon, it’s done and ready to bottle.

Wrinkle Test. When you start your jam, put a small plate or bowl into the freezer.  By the time the jam is done cooking, the plate will be very cold. Drop a small spoonful of the finished jam onto the cold plate and tilt it so the jam runs. The jam will cool fast.  Push the jam a bit with the spoon.  If the jam has reached the jelling stage, it will wrinkle as you push it. If it wrinkles, the jam is done and you’re ready to bottle it.

Willow Galls

So last week I went outside and found this large bush full of these things.

They're cool and fuzzy and look like some sort of bud.










This is the type of branch they were on. 

Willow.  And I remembered it being a regular old willow.  Nothing special. The problem is that willow bushes don't have buds like that.

So either someone had uprooted my wild willow and planted some exotic cutie with fuzzy cone-ish buds or ..... well, I didn't know what. 

So I took the pics and  looked it up.

I heart Google.  I searched for 'willow cone image' and found other pics just like the top one.   And when I followed the links, I ended up at this post:  http://www.blogsmonroe.com/nature/2010/02/gnat%E2%80%99s-not-a-pine-cone/

You have to go there and read the whole post.   The guy is hilarious.

Long story short, this isn't a bud, it's a gall formed by gnats - or any of a number of other things like the gnats or that like to eat the gnats.

Now I'm wondering if I should leave 'em alone, or cut 'em off and burn 'em before we have an infestation of some kind.   

What do you guys think?

Old Shed

The textures of late winter are interesting against the old buildings around here.   This is a shed down the way that is slowly falling apart.    It's pretty.

Swarm Trap

I had a lot of frames with a bit of honey from the hive that died, so I saved three of them to put in a swarm trap.    I'm using a nuc from Kelly as a trap.   Three frames with a bit of honey, two empties and some lemon grass oil on a piece of paper in the bottom.

It's a luxury condo for bees.   They'd be crazy not to move in.  The first warm days we had and my bees were all over this thing robbing it out.   I hope a swarm finds it.

The truth is, swarm traps are kind of a crap shoot.    I have the nuc, I have the lure, I have the extra frames.   So we figured we'd try it.   We're not holding our breath that we'll get a swarm this year.

That said, our chances of getting a swarm are much greater if we actually set out a trap, so we're better off with this than nothing at all.

Eric put the trap about 8 feet up in a honey locust near the house, on an old deer stand.   We'll be able to see it easily from the house.   The warm days that we've had have seen bees all over it.  It must smell really good.

Fingers crossed we get some good feral bees in there. 

Finally

Our daffs are blooming in great profusion.   These are the early ones - they pop up regardless of the snow and even though some of the leaf tips were frozen brown in our crazy March weather, they bloomed gloriously at the beginning of this month.  Finally.

Fiber Event at Greencastle

We're getting ready to go to the Fiber Event at Greencastle!  This is one of my favorite events of the year.   Great fiber, great animals, great food, great fun.  Come see us!

Fiber Event at Greencastle, Indiana

Putnam County Fairgrounds

April 19-20, 2013

Friday 10:30am - 7pm

Saturday 9-5

Our booth is in the Community Building

Stop in and say hello!

Onion sets

Dude.  

Onion sets are cheap.

Cheap!

$1.50 for a bag of sets.    You can't beat that.  

Way better entertainment than a movie - and it'll keep the whole family busy.    

Way cheaper than a gym membership and gardening is better exercise anyway [at least at my house.   If you don't believe me, you're welcome to come help for a day and I'll prove it.]

We like the red and the yellow onions best.

I planted half of each of these bags plus the onions from the pantry that had sprouted.   I plant them all the way around the edges of the garden beds where they're easy to get at. 

The last half of each bag will go into the ground in the hoop house in September so we can have onions all winter long.

If you're going to plant just one vegetable this year, this is a good one to start with.   Really easy.

Elderberry Cuttings

I've been wanting elderberry bushes forever. 

For. Ever.

We bought some nice expensive ones years ago, but they died.   Since they grow wild around here, I couldn't justify buying more, so I read up and learned that they start reasonably reliably from cuttings.

Some say you should root them in water with willow twigs [which release a rooting hormone into the water].  Others say you should just stick them in the ground as soon as possible.   

I got my cuttings and stuck them in water with willow for a day -  I don't know if that was long enough to get enough hormone from the willow, but I figured it wouldn't hurt while we decided just where to put them.  

I got 6 cuttings from a neighbor whose wild bush sprouted at the mouth of a culvert, down in the ditch.   

We stuck 4 cuttings next to a wet area that grows a lot of orange grass [Acorus calamus] and we stuck 2 cuttings on the hill between the chicken coop and the veg garden where the garden drainage runs down the hill.   They'll get plenty of water there. 

We protected them with fence to keep the rabbits off them and mulched around them with cardboard so they can get a head start from the grass.  

Fingers crossed that most of them take.    I love elderberries.  

Peas Planted

I soaked these seeds [from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds] for a few hours in warm-ish water while we prepped the beds.   I planted loads of these this year.  And then it rained.  Mother Nature's seal of approval, no doubt. 

This variety is our favorite.   They were very heat tolerant last year - we had them even until the middle of June in all that heat.   When these are done, I'll rip them out and plant basil.   Mmmmm.

Pollen

The trees are blooming and a lot of pollen is going into the hive. 

I'm pretty sure the greenish stuff is maple pollen of some kind.  We have maples close by and they're blooming now.

The orange pollen could be daffodil.

These guys are loaded.  Sometimes there's quite a traffic jam at the entrance.

More of that orange pollen.

Three bees with the maple pollen. 

All of this pollen is very good news.  It means there's brood in the boxes.  Brood means a good queen and a build up of new bees, which means more bees later and more honey.

No drones yet.  The first brood of the year is females - to build up the hive for the season.  Later they'll raise drones.  Our plan is to split this hive as soon as we see drones. 

Re-growing Leeks

After I posted about starting my own sweet potato starts last week, my fabulous neighber Alexia posted a great link to my fb timeline.

http://wakeup-world.com/2012/10/15/16-foods-thatll-re-grow-from-kitchen-scraps/

Thank you, Alexia!



The timing was fortuitous because earlier in the week I had remember reading somewhere that you can grow new leeks by planting the roots that you cut off the ones you get at the store.   I thought I'd try it since I haven't been able to grow leeks from seed here yet. So we bought some leeks, made some potato leek soup and stuck the root ends in some water to see what would happen. 

Green happened.   Within just a couple of days, the centers started swelling and turning green. 

When they got a bit bigger, I stuck them in soil in a milk jug and put that in the hoop house so they can have as much sun as possible.

Hopefully we'll have some good leeks this year.

Take a look at that list of veggies in the top link for more food that you can easily grow from kitchen scraps.

Mystery Tree

I can't figure out what this tree is.   The branches look like an old TV antenna.   The bark is rough at the bottom. 

Alternate branching, alternate flowers.  

Maples have opposite branching, so it's not a maple, even though those flowers look like it might be.

It's blooming now.  There's nothing else blooming except the early maples right now.

I've seen two of these trees along the road, both small - maybe 6-8 inches diameter.

The structure of the branches and the flowers are very striking.  If you know what this is, shout it out.  I really want to know.

Tree Love

This tree loves you.

This heart was about 20 feet up the tree, so assuming that it was carved when it 

was around 6 ft, then it's loved you for a long, long time. 

Honey Almond Butter Cookies

Here's another great recipe using honey instead of sugar.  It's a classic peanut butter cookie recipe only made with almond butter instead.  Mmmmm.

If you haven't tried making your own almond butter, now's the time to try it.  It's easy.  

Really.   Mmmmm.

These cookies are quick and delicious and the dough can be made ahead and refrigerated for later.




Honey Almond Butter Cookies
www.rurification.com

• 1/2 cup butter, soft
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 2 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees.   Grease a baking pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.   Mix other ingredients in a mixer.  Beat well.   Stir in dry ingredients.    Form dough into balls.  Flatten with a fork or the bottom of a glass.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until blonde, but not brown. 

If you don't have almond butter, these would be good with peanut butter instead.