Nest Renewal

I’ve got a few different pepper plants in my yard this year, which is fun, From left to right: ancho, padron and pasilla. The padrons are much larger than I expected--I guess I usually grow shishitos, which are much smaller. These are about 3-4″. I also expected the pasilla to be more round, and not so long. 

I have two other types--a regular bell pepper (which produced three, and now I’m waiting to see if more flowers develop) and a purple one which a friend gave me (I have to ask him the name, because I don’t recall). Oh, and I still have my lovable jalapeño, now going on its 5th (6th?) year. 

I can’t take credit for the title! A friend used that phrase when I posted pictures of my peonies on FB.

They were spectacular this year (relative to previous years!). I waited many years for these beautiful blooms. I think I got the corms more than 10 years ago. They’ve been in their current spot since ~2016 and they’ve finally settled in. Six lovely blooms this year.

I had no idea that Iresine Bloodleaf bloomed! In all the years that it’s been in my garden, I don’t think I’ve ever seen flowers on it.

First sign of the begonia tuber I planted. It went into the ground on March 7, so I was afraid the tuber (corm?) had gone bad/rotted. So happy to see it yesterday! 

First time growing fava beans seriously. I find them curious in the way the beans grow upward. So different from string beans!

They were a good filler as I was waiting to get my summer garden in place. I think they’ll all be harvested by the time the tomato plants are just coming into production. Hopefully they aren’t throwing too much shade.

Looking forward to more of these!

This happened March 7. The lime tree was not looking so good, and it’s been several years since I cut the roots back. 

Getting the tree out of the pot was so difficult, and the top of the pot is not even tapered.

You can see how it’s mostly roots!

It took a lot of cajoling to get the tree out. I felt like I was helping a cow push out a calf!

Finally got it out. Can’t see from this poor picture, but the dirt at the bottom was super compacted and also full of roots. Took a while to trim it small enough to get it back into the pot.

So glad I bought this hori-hori knife a while back. It was very useful.

The second blooming season for my nectarine tree. It’s amazing! This year I will leave at least some of the fruit on. I hope it’s tasty !

So much for my worry about killing the fig tree. It came back stronger than ever, even with some mid-spring and summer pruning.

The figs are big and delicious.

The tree itself is reaching for the wires. I’m guessing it is about 11 feet tall. 

I panicked about two weeks ago when I saw rodent droppings at the base of the tree, just as the fruit was beginning to ripen. I can also see evidence of birds, insects and other critters partaking (partially or fully eaten fruit). But luckily, they are leaving plenty for me! 

More than I can eat, actually. Passing them on to neighbors and friends! And they are getting incorporated into cocktails, syrups and shrubs (aka future cocktails), and other cooking adventures. So lucky to have these beauties!

I’m proud of my project completed yesterday! I’d purchased an antique drafting table to put into my workshop. The base has iron legs and small feet which does not lend to moving it easily. So I decided to put it on a wheeled frame.

Because the feet are so tiny (1.25″ x 1.5″) I decided to rout a small pit for them to sink into on the 2x4s. Otherwise I think they’d be prone to sliding off the frame. But since the iron feet footprint was not actually square, I had to make sure that the positioning was correct when I connected the two long pieces with the two crossbars.

I ended up inverting the table so the feet were in the air (not completely 180 degrees, which might have provided a more secure working surface but did not feel manageable by myself. After careful clamping and drilling, I was able to take the created frame off and attach the wheels while working flat on a workbench.

But once the wheeled frame was completed, it was still quite a task to get the table onto the frame by myself! But I managed. The frame has a small scuff to commemorate the challenge.