Tucking in for the Winter

splitting wood

 

...and cleaning up after dinner

 

 

were only two of the things are latest Wwoofers excelled at.

 

 

Seriously, two harder working, more self-motivated people would be impossible to find.  We never expected to see someone split as much wood by hand as we did with the wood-splitting machine which we had purposely rented to make the job easier--especially as we were hoping to get the wood that I'd chain-sawed cut up and stored for our next couple of winters.  But it happened seamlessly.  And with the weather changing so suddenly, it's a very good thing.  Somehow, I forgot to record Mackensey's effort on film...I mean phone.

We just had our first storm of the season, and when we say storm, we are talking 50-60 mile-an-hour winds and probably some even higher-speed gusts.  One thing folks don't realize about the Oregon coast is just how BIG the winds can be.

 

As a way of saying 'thank you' to the Wwoofers who have made their way thru in 2013, we also share this amazing area in a day trip that takes them to various spots along our coast, especially a location known as "Secret Beach"  as well as a walk in the redwoods just over the state border in California. 

 

 Usually we see seals here that are checking us out as we walk along the beach, but this time we were fortunate enough to see a sea otter swimming from rock to rock, sunning at each stop.  The rock formations and natural land bridges make this place even more of a mini-national park.

 

 

 

 



 

the 2 Wwoofers you should have seen in an August posting

the post that never was...this would have happened in August


Hi folks:

It's been a LONG time.  What happened recently is indicative of my ongoing challenge with technology.  I keep hoping that there really is an easy, INTUITIVE way to do this.

MY PHONE CRASHED.
Guess where my photos of the August Wwoofers went?  For some reason, the % download was going nowhere! and the photos still may be out there somewhere in the blogosphere, but we'll never know.  I'm hoping that Danny and Robyn from Seattle will send me some photo update of both of them.  I believe that our September sisters from Otego, New York will be featured as I've seen two emails that I sent to myself in the office come thru.

However it won't show the amazing work Danny did in configuring the two gates that now open and close the garden and make it much more accessible, or the rope-flags Robyn sowed together on what must have seen endless rope to deter the deer further from entry and to creat a much more festive space.  Of course, they also did a fair amount of gardening in helping to create a more productive space than last year.

Thank you two and hope that you're escaping this crap weather we've been having of late.  These two are presently on their Denver leg of the trip and I can only assume that they are crossing the desert sooner than originally planned on their bicycles.

a quick catch-up...

Just to let you all know that we are alive and well and the garden is thriving--well, maybe except for the beets and the caulis--again!  I've indicated that it's the pH and I'm planning on testing to see if the lime we've been adding has made the difference.  Supposedly, the cauliflower likes acidic conditions, so maybe it's something else we've not figured out.  Hopefully, we'll also have better luck with our garlic as well this year.

We did get a late start this year given the weather and my luck with cold frames so I'm hoping that is just a one-time struggle.  Our tomatoes definitely look more promising than last year, so hopefully we'll get a bumper on those.  However, I've noticed that most peoples' are pretty slow this year.

One of the things that we've been contemplating is how to go forward in replanting areas that we just logged.  One of the ways in which I hope to get a jump on the reforestation process is by digging up trees already growing on our land that have an established root system, and of course replanting in early autumn to get the best possible root growth.  We also are trying to cut as much firewood from what was forested as scrap and will probably invite some neighbors to partake as well so as to minimize our waste in all of the piles of slash to burn this winter.

Don't discount the pHriggin' pH and the soil temp!

While I wait for everything to get growing, I'd like to share something that recently occurred to me.  Talk about the light coming on!

Last year, as I discussed last posting, was a rush job.  I returned from New Zealand at the end of May, visited family in Arizona and Colorado, and finally planted up seeds, most of which were cheap, end-of-the-season giveaways with what I considered a modicum of success.  Most my seedlings grew quickly and happily, much to my pleasure and bit of surprise.  But the soil temps are much warmer given that extra month.  That being said, the tomatoes never quite got there as the season was too short.  And even though we live inland, the temps weren't all that warm.

Enter soil acidity and alkalinity...after more research, a bit of thought, but especially lots more observation, I believe that  I did indeed have a lot of wimpy plants more on account of too low a pH (scientific abbreviation for parts of Hydrogen).  Instead of TRYING to go into the science of it all, I'll just direct you to Wikipedia...what happens is that the chemistry of the soil is changed in such a way as to make it difficult for plants to take up or find available nutrients.

Anyhow, having soils with a pH of 5--which IS quite acidic--definitely affected the growth of the plants (although berries love it, and my strawberries do look quite happy!).  A lot of the brassicas I planted at the end of the summer, which should have done quite well, looked very wimpy.  The kale and especially the broccoli were quite a disappointment, and other plants like snap peas, carrots and beets grew quite slowly--or not at all. 

SO, I limed like hell!  Well, at least many who observed the whitish soil thought so.  And, what is crazy is that I did it twice--in the autumn and in the spring.  The goal is to bring the pH up to a point where I'll be able to successfully grow these veggies. 

So, even though I have this great sandy loam, if the chemistry of the soil isn't right, I will end up still having problems.  I do have one advantage having a soil high in organics, however.  The decaying matter serves as a 'buffer', which helps in retaining the calcium in the lime and keeping it from washing away, which will hopefully mean that the pH will change more quickly and the less acidic conditions should persist longer.  

One last thing, but VERY important, is when I began looking at what the pH ranges were for various veggies, I did find that most of what didn't do so great was, in fact, looking for more alkaline conditions.  That is probably why some of my plants, especially the potatoes and pumpkins did so well.  They were much more appreciative of lower pH than their fellow veggies.

A seedy ending

It had to happen.
The garden space is now compete.

And the way it went down was that most of the planting that took place was direct seeding.  So this should be an interesting season.

As a result of the cold frames being a bomb, with my first Wwoofers of the year, Alysia (from Belgium) and Heather (from McMinville, OR--my closest Wwoofer yet), we were able to weed, degrass (The hardest part was getting out all of those deeply-embedded, sharp-ended perennial grass roots.), and plant up this year's garden.  Outside of a few cabbage starts, nearly everything was seed.  We also planted out some potato starts and dahlia tubers which loved it and took immediately.

The May Wwoofers: Alysia & Heather

Last year, the first year back at Cloudplay, you may remember that NO SEEDS were planted out until the end of June--and that was in trays!  But again, as last year, we've had lots of moisture after the seeds were put in.  So I am hoping for the best.  There were a lot of brassicas peeking through early and some peas that were planted earlier are looking fairly vigorous.

As can be seen in the picture, we finished degrassing the side of the path on which Heather is standing, and because the grass was even more established on the side on which Alysia is standing, I decided to 'half-plant' out some pumpkin and squash seeds in mounds on the grassy side and to do the grass-extraction with my June Wwoofers (Hopefully they're not reading this ahead of time!).  As the soil is sandy loam and we have had a moderately dry winter, it's not nearly as messy a job as it sounds.

Lessons learned on cold frames

I was sssssssssso proud to have nearly completed a set of cold frames this winter so as to get an early start on my garden.  A picture would tell 1000 words, but that is why it is especially wise that I have not included one with this entry, because the cold frames are empty!

What actually has transpired will explain my predicament...

On the plus side, I was able to make a set of five cold frames, three of which had entire old window sashes I recycled and attached to some really nice 10" wide, 2" thick (Sorry to all of you who are metric out there--which is the majority of the world, but am back to good ole US measurements.) rough cedar planks that I bought at a great price at our local hardware store.  So I thought that I was set; I was NOT.

I thought that I'd also be following Steve Solomon's advice and be way ahead of the game for planting out this spring.  The cold frames are meant to provide extra heat and protection from the elements that will allow you to extend the growing (and eating!) season.

The cold frames were built fairly quickly and easily.  I did make one mistake in measuring which was a bit frustrating, but no big deal. So, here was the fiasco which unfolded shortly after completing construction and trying to use these things:

Mistake #1
Thinking that tilting my frames a bit toward the sun would be a benefit, I built them into the side of our road bank (permaculture technique in action!), soon realizing that water did not have time to soak in the soil before running down the trays.

Mistake #2 (closely tied to #1)
I bought cheap ACE hardware soil that almost repelled water.  It was definitely not seed raising mix.  So much for getting by cheaply...

Mistake #3
I did not open the lids after planting out my seeds.  I had hoped to have early lettuce; that has not happened as they shriveled and/or disappeared. I only had weeds growing in the shadows in the box.  I even thought I'd be clever and try lettuce covered and uncovered--well, at least the box with the window sash covering and heating up a bit got the seeds started.

Mistake #4 (closely tied to #3)
I did not water enough either.

Mistake #5
Well they just keep on coming...in one box (where fortunately nothing was growing anyway) a gopher or ground squirrel had a hayday!  And here I thought that I was so clever by stapling ground cloth--instead of hardware cloth, which is what I should have used--on the bottom, which was meant to keep the slugs and snails out.  Well there at least have been NO slugs or snails!

Whereto from here?
Adjustment #1
Has been to raise the bottom edge of the beds to make them flatter.  Unfortunately, the water keeps running off the trays, so I really need to plant up with proper seed-raising mix.

Adjustment #2
LOTS OF BLOCKS.  I use them to hold open the frames a few inches, and that has made a huge difference in the plants growing in trays surviving the heat. I have found it best to just keep the sashes open a bit at all times, because it is too easy to forget to open AND water if they are closed.

Adjustment #3
AND FINALLY, I have decided to use some old composted horse manure (which I was warned to not use this year in my garden until it has another year to breakdown) to mix in with the top couple inches of soil to attempt to create an environment where lettuce and herbs will thrive--well, we'll see!  After all, it is unused space.

So another experiment is at hand.  I did mix in lime and the 'doctor's' organic fertilizer to create a hopefully even more ideal environment in which roots will take hold.  

I'll let you know what has transpired soon.

One last thanks to last years Wwoofers...

Noel & Angelita

Matt & Luke

Steve and Cooper

Sandy & Danny--b4 and after

All 8 of these young folks helped hugely in creating our present space and place where we are today, and I just want to thank each and every one of them for their contributions in 2012.



I look forward to a great year again.  We're almost full at this point, except for October.  Who knows, perhaps we actually might have chickens and goats by then!

Finally back--Do What You Can Do!

Master Gardeners with a view

Almost 3 weeks after the final Master Gardener class, I am finally blogging again!  

Just in case there is anyone unfamiliar with Master Gardeners, it's a program supported by OSU Extension throughout the state of Oregon in which the university works to reach people who don't have easy access to resources and education available on campus.  It is a way for the university to provide research-based information to the general public at very little expense as it counts on folks who take the Master Gardener Program at our Curry County Extension Agency to volunteer in various ways.

 At least the daffodils look good!

So, yes, there is a lot of time that has been focused on the MG program this winter, and I am 

(: hopefully :) going to be getting back to some norm of reporting things on the 'stead a bit more regularly in the future...

This winter was largely spent on putting things back in order after being away for over 6 years and making the place more livable--which will be great for all of the Wwoofers who make their way through over the next few months.

One of the biggest tasks re the garden was/is finishing the deer fence.  This was especially important--and troublesome, in that it had not been completed as one of the tasks that I WAS on top of was the installation of the orchard, which was planted up in late January when I was able to pick up the trees and put them in while they were dormant.  All it would have taken was one over-zealous deer (NOT to mention the lone elk we saw creeping down the slope next to our home one day that was tentatively checking out all of my brassicas !).

SO, the fence is almost in and hopefully I'll be sincerely back to gardening next week again.  What that will entail is adding lots of lime, and the WEEDING!  Let's keep that to dreams (or is it nightmares???) until it actually occurs.

But just like the 3rd grade teacher from Tennessee told me before my first year of teaching years ago: "Do what you can do"...because what else can you do?

Plants don't kid themselves...

 we here go again...this time with the cover!

Plants don’t kid themselves…

…about the state of the world, substituting fantasy for reality the way we humans do.   And thus begins Steve Solomon’s guide to “Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades”.  Steve is not a man to mince words, and so he gets my immediate admiration.

Throughout his book, he talks about going about doing things in a way that really works—not in the way we would hope it to.  Thus he separates out those he calls the “capital O” organic from himself and those who may follow a more practical way of growing; from the beginning with Steve, gardening is not for the wishful thinkers or those too religious about their points of view to take on methodologies that actually make sense when the hoe meets the soil.

I was fortunately turned on to this book when I wasn’t as determined to grow my own as I am right now.  There were definitely numerous seeds planted in my mind along with a slough of experience that aided me in picking up the book for real upon my return from New Zealand.  Sometimes, we just aren’t ready yet.

And Steve definitely did the hard miles, learning from those who grew plants for serious profit—you’ve got it (those which he calls “capital G” growers)—and we’re not talking vegetables.  Because of the value of their crops, they will push the individual plants to the limit.  He learned from them that most plant growth will be reduced to the level of the component in shortest supply; this can be anything that affects plant growth: soil and its many components, the climate—including how much and how often it rains and the sun shines, the amount of competition from their fellow plants, and how clever we are in the manipulation and control of these elements.

He immediately dives into plant basics and botany, how to create optimum results for what is actually a totally unnatural phenomenon in nature, to weed-- or not to, about thinning for success, the facts of light, rate of increase in growth given light and soil temps, and a ‘word on tools’.  Not only does he hugely challenge conventional ways of thinking but is sacrilegious as to whom he targets.

No one is safe, well, except possibly for his plants…

 

FINALLY!

i've been trying forever to copy this photo so that you all could see what I'm writing about.  but, because it's close to dinner (AND I DON'T WANT TO GO THRU THE POSSIBILITY OF LOSING THIS IMAGE AGAIN!), i'm stopping here for tonight--but I WILL RETURN!

It really has taken me forever to load this book cover...I promise that I wasn't intending to plageurize anybody...or thing.

So, next blog will be about the things I'd like to share with you from this author.

Time for a Break--whether we want it or not!

Kia ora and greetings to one and all as we approach the crazy season!

After four straight storms and then the one two nights later to beat all of them--I guess some might call it wind-ing (read very stiff breezes!) down.  And the rain that followed!  So our local river,the Rogue, swelled to more than fill its banks again...

During the last storm, we had even more sizeable flooding on our local rivers; besides some cracks forming in our highway which weren't too encouraging.  One of the things that people don't get is just how big the winds get here--for sure, gusts measuring 100kmph (60+mph). No, the weather is not boring on the south Oregon coast!

But enough about all the weather.  It is the time of the year that our garden is almost at rest.  Our brassicas are still growing, a few tomatoes are hanging on (dead stalks, of course!), the potatoes which have slowly been dying back and waiting to be discovered underground (loads of them, we hope), and the fava cover crop just poked its (many) heads above the soil--hopefully not in sight of the herd of a dozen elk that wandered thru last week (Sorry, pictures are on Brent's camara.).  They must have been quite curious as to the plants all growing on the other side of the wire.  HOPEFULLY, as it is 'deer' fencing, they won't get curiousER!

This may be my last missive of the OLD year, and I so look forward to 21 or 22 December, when the days will once again lengthen.  And of course, by mid-February, that means that when we get sun, the solar panels will once again be getting jazzed-up and the first seedlings will be bursting above the soil--in my new cold frames--yet to be created.

I wish the best to you over the holiday seasons, in whatever hemishpere you find yourself at present, with especially warm thoughts to this season's Wwoofers and to my Kiwi friends; all of you at CCS Disability Action, I think of you often.

Love from Oregon
Scott

You WILL Survive!

And perhaps you'll THRIVE!!!

No really, I mean it...in our 6 months back in the US, we have lived--actually done quite well--without a TV.  Now that being said, we did again watch five out of six years of the series "Northern Exposure" during that period.  We'll watch it again if you'd like when you visit.

It's amazing what you can learn to live without.  And probably your lifestyle will improve vastly.  Say, you just don't 'have time' to fish.  Well, take the time that you spent watching the tube and I bet you'll now be able to do A LOT of fishing  (I still have to get hooked.).

Of course, the area that we most put time into was our garden. And thanks to 9 Wonderfful Wwoofers, we came a long way in that creation.  And with more vegetables--and I dare say, more vegetarians around--well...you will definitely be eating more healthfully.  

As we also ended up living out of our cooler as the 'new' refrigerator, we also have ended up spending less money on propane.  Our old propane/electrical fridge biting the dust didn't necessarily turn out too bad.  It also made us even more mindful in planning our menu.

One block of ice every second or third day worked great!  

Making changes has proved beneficial for us, and they may do the same for you, and if you really don't like your new lives, just change back!  Promise, you won't melt!

in hono(u)r of Christmas

Lime, Favas, and Season's Bounty

Final Butternut squash take for the season

It's already November, and even though the growing is almost done for the season, there's still much to do including the final harvest of the season--just in time for our Thanksgiving butternut squash pie Brent is planning on making for our big family meal together at the end of the month...

There's bags of lime to put down (Most has been completed.); even though everything grew very nicely this season, a pH of only 5 seems a bit low for optimum production...

There's a sizable bag of fava beans that have been carefully planted in all the areas we "degrassed" at the end of the season that will serve as this year's cover crop to add nitrogen to our soil.  I've planted them in various ways to see what technique will prove most .

And there's a lot of landscaping in our efforts to beautify the entire planting area and to add some interest to our homestead (See the round river stones in the picture that follows.); many plants that the deer found tasty in the arboretum have been moved near to the cabin to help make them less desirable...

the 'limed' garden down from the partially landscaped swath
of ornamental plants and river rock


Watch for future developments!!!

The Cherry (or Strawberry) on Top

Actually, it's more like a very small pebble or a large piece of sand...my suggestion: don't pass a kidney stone unless you can do so extremely quickly--or--it's SO small you don't know you had it!  Almost $4000 and TWO visits to the emergency room later--and in our hospital--we definitely look to returning Down Under.

But folks here have been incredibly generous as I just transported all sorts of herbs and flowers from the place that I worked this summer and transplanted a few dozen strawberry starts from the plants that the person that I worked with there provided me.  They're all supposed to bear fruit in June, so I planted them in a patch by the house to hopefully keep whatever critters may like them away.

My permaculture plan has definitely evolved into a vibrant vision--and reality--of a garden this past summer and autumn, and has even included a bit of landscaping by using the plants that the deer kept munching that were further from the house.  So, along with all of the plants started from seed, dug up or donated, this has been a pretty economical start to creating a sustainable homestead.  I'll try to take a current picture of that planting as well as the view from the house into the garden in my next posting.

The Garden is Defined!

Can you believe it?  Four months from our first planting and we’ve got next year’s garden all but ready to go!

Son & Son Kettle


Thanks to Steve(n) and Cooper,  essentially all the ‘desodding’ has been completed.  What this means is most of the perennial grass roots have been removed.   We’re hoping this will result in much less weeding in the future.  Again, it’s that idea of trying to get things right from the beginning.  But whatever you do, don’t let Margaret (my organic guru from New Zealand) know…as she met her better half by agreeing with him that he didn’t have to do any digging in her gardens.

Almost there!

So, now it comes down to trying to raise my pH a couple of octaves!   What this means is now I’ve got to get serious about laying down the lime.  Rob was always encouraging me to do this in Royal Oak, and I think he was on to something.  Unfortunately for us (according to our soil test results), that might mean that what I actually should be applying would require a dumptruck rather than the ten 50-pound bags (Yes, no more metrics as we’re out of NZ!) I just purchased yesterday.  Just for the record, the recommendations suggest that I need 9999+ lbs per acre.  As we have about ¼ acre in vegetables, that’s only 2499 ¼ lbs…isn’t that comforting?

And, again for the records, EVERYTHING in the garden has grown well this summer; perhaps, I’m being overscientific about all of this!  BUT again, I AM trying to get this right from the beginning.

IN CLOSING, for this segment of organification, I would like to thank Sandy, Dan, Angelita, Noel, David, Matt, Reed, Steve and Cooper for their wonderful Wwoofing efforts and getting us on track for the future!  And, just to let the Wwoofers know, we’re now in full harvest, and that one big pumpkin is now very big!!!

Getting in the artichokes and rhubarb

As we’re getting to the end of our planting season, it’s time to put in the perennial veggies that were started from seed.  Overall, I’ve been happy with the results…the few rhubarb plants that did come up came from seed from our own plants!

Matt and his four-legged friend, Reed

You’ll notice that my Wwoofers, Matt and Reed, hailing from Washington DC, are planting them outside the deer fence.  I think this will be a safe move as I know that no animals have been feasting on the parent rhubarb plant (which will also be divided and moved to this planting area once the rains kick in) in a very vulnerable open area in which it’s been growing.  I also understand that deer don’t like artichokes (although I’ve covered with netting to give them protection from deer and other varmints through the winter); they have grown greatly from the seedlings transplanted just three weeks ago.

Being drawn toward experimentation, we’ll be planting the other half of artichokes next spring.  I think it will be interesting to see how the two groups of plants grow and produce.  It also will give me more options should a killing freeze do in the artichokes that are in the ground right now.  I think that our climate should be fine.

The seed packet states that these plants may produce a crop next year.  As I got them planted up by the end of June and they’ve had a short summer in which to reach their current size, this may be hoping for too much.

Natural Beauty

One of the joys of living in this neck of the world is the tremendous scenery and natural wonders that it has to offer.  We open our door daily to it which is pretty (and) amazing!  There is something about Cloudplay that brings all of those wonders together…

That being said, there are so many other special spots to see and experience that make it natural to share these with the Wwoofers who make our place their temporary home.  I have made it a point for anyone staying two weeks or more to take them to visit at least a couple of those awesome wonders as well as to various spots that make Curry County and the Siskiyou region such a unique bioregion.

As well as these pictures of the coast, which are quite indicative of what you’ll experience in travelling here, there’s (at least) a couple places that I don’t want folks who come all of this way to miss.

a shot along the way

 



shrouded in clouds or sunny, it's magic!

streams and waterfalls, too...

‘Secret Beach’ is one of those.  Whether you catch it on a foggy or sunny day, the magic of that spot cannot begin to be gathered until seen by descending the hill from a very basic pull-off behind a safety railing from the main highway.  There are pelicans and seals checking you out from just offshore, waterfalls, small creeks with pools, tree-topped rock islands and forested cliffs that filter the sun, hidden caves and routes through the humungous rock formations and even natural arches and rock bridges to explore during low tide.

 

Dan in awe in our living cathedral

‘Stout Grove’ is another.  A path winding along a pristinely turquoise river takes you to a cathedral of trees—the mighty redwoods—that speak of another time and which man has fortunately left to be.  There are nooks and crannies, fallen logs, gigantic trees that a family of ten can’t reach around, and a fairy forest in which you can just sit and absorb forever.  Viewing upward takes awhile to discover how and where the sun could possibly enter to hit on scattered patches on the fern-laden ground.  There is no doubt that this place is sacred, and this is only enhanced by the ghostlike voices of fellow souls as they echo within and throughout.  Leaving this place is possible, but not something you are in a hurry to do.

 

All of this being said, you can discover much more at your leisure and find those places that resonate for you.  And no, I am not a tour guide!

Labo(u)r Day

It’s already September!  For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s kind of like Good Friday (although that’s a bit changeable) in that it marks the end of summer and good weather and getting out and about for holidays and vacations.

On the other hand, Kiwis and Ozzies have Christmas to mark the entrance to down time and better weather, where we here in the US have Memorial Day, which is more like your Anzac—although, we always move it toward a weekend to make for a longer break.  So, we’re now all back to work and/or to school and the days are rapidly getting shorter.

So we have just celebrated our last ‘day off’ until Thanksgiving just like you wait for the Queen to celebrate her birthday in early June.  It also marks the official end of our tourist season, although here in Curry county in SW Oregon, that can go until the rain really sets in in November when most of the retirees and childless couples take advantage of the kids being off the road to visit and to enjoy the natural beauty in our neck of the woods.

Just a few fun facts for those of you interested in planning future breaks depending on your hemispherical perspective.

Labor Day has always been a time that I stop, observe, and reflect on where I and we are and where we’re going.  For us here at Cloudplay that’s easy: we established, planted, and fenced the main garden with the help of Wwoofers Sandy and Danny and just finished fencing the addition that Wwoofers Angelita and Noel helped create.  This creation has been quite satisfying and organic in nature and has really helped this homestead to become a home.

A note on the addition of the ‘winter garden’, after finding several cabbage seedlings disappear, it became imperative to get the fencing up that our friend Sue donated to the cause.  Other than a few plants being munched, however, all the other kale, broccoli, greens and peas appear very happy indeed.

GOT PHOTO UPLOADED, see below...

...and if you don't see it on here the first time, try, try again.

This small success IN NO WAY changes my feeling about computers, however.

The brassicas are in/The computer is my enemy...

OK, so here we go with changing colo(u)rs again...just trying to brighten things up a bit (as we are getting into autumn)--esp given the second half of my title this time around.

The end of this month has seen the exit of our two semi-resident Angelinos, right after they helped create--actually, they did over 3/4 of the work, so why not give them credit?--the autumn/winter veggie bed.  We are going to have some wonderful broccoli and kale this winter, thanks to Noel and AngeliTa, yes that's 't' not an 'n', no matter what Mr. Brad Pitt would have you think.

These two are the second couple of Wwoofers that have made their way to our newly 'founded' homestead, where we now have quite the gardening space.  They also helped finish off the perfect gate that all the work and deer fencing that Sandy and Danny led us to...

So here it is, with the field being readied for its new crop:

AngeliTa and Noel--hard at it, and still smiling!

and, so much for the colour (as photos go), can't upload AGAIN! ($&(@^(&$()@!!!)

and, so for the second part of this posting.  I am downright troubled by technology.  I honestly don't know how to make this funny.  The computer and I really don't communicate, in any effective way anyhow.  BUT, it isn't just me.  The guy at Radio Shack could not figure out why I couldn't open up my Yahoo email account on my new "Android"anymore.  The guy at the other copy/biz centre had to take several steps including two calls to Brent to finish uploading my new Windows software  that he had not been able to finish the other day (WARNING: Do not start something that you cannot finish, ESPECIALLY if it's on the computer!).  We had to wait 30 more minutes for it to load, AND THEN go thru 28 additions (so-called 'updates') which took even longer.

and, so, if you'd join me in a moment of furor in raging against the machine.

and, yes, I will try to upload a picture of the new garden addition, but there may be a few days of growing involved before I can put that up.

and yes, the computer is my enemy...Help me Julia!!!