Memorial Weekend '07

Purple Columbine...

Bearded and Japanese Iris...

The last of the RED Tulips...Amazing...
Rose Reflections...
The Inner Secrets of the Bearded Iris...
Snowy Blossoms....Name This Shrub?!
Leek / Onion harvest...the onions didn't want to bulb (many were threatening to bloom) The leeks were beautiful and we took them all at about 2-3" each. At this stage they are sweet and tender, yet have lots of spring green 'leek' flavour. We made zesty cole-slaw, potato/ leek soup and leek omelets for a week - the rest (about 3 gallons) were diced, wrapped in a small Ziploc and frozen - perfect for single use.

POTATO LEEK SOUP 2-4 cups fresh leeks/green onion with greens included. Saute with 3-6 cloves of diced garlic, in a generous amount of olive oil or butter for 15-20 minutes on medium heat until browned and 'caramelized'. MEANWHILE: boil 9-15 potatoes that have been cut into 1"-2" chunks until soft, drain - save the liquid you pour off. Toss your potatoes onto your yummy caramelized leek/onion mixture, mash with a potato masher gently until they are just barely mushy, adding in potato cooking water, more butter? cream? soy milk? until your soup is thick but has some fluidity, add salt and pepper (red and black) to taste. This soup, when made with leeks, is green, and WOW! So good! This recipe is a family favorite, it can be revised to substitute 3 large yellow onions for the leeks and green onion.
Yellow Plum...I am so amazed at this tree! This is only its second summer in the ground and already it looks like a real stately tree and is absolutely loaded with plums! The yellow plum's fruit is smaller and perhaps the variety is a closer relation to the wild plums which might explain its vigor.

Bartlett Pear...and Danjou...
Pinot Noir...We strung about half of the wire in the vineyard yesterday...ZigZag Winery!


These are the last of the new moon images that made the cut ...Stay tuned: More sweet images on ice; the backlog of memories awaiting a tangible expression. It is difficult to make time for blogging in the long warm inviting days and evenings of early summer. Work now, for the season is a wasting. I am spending a lot of time irrigating, weeding, feeding and ultimately mulching (at least 6") all of the perennials. I planted 4 roses that had been living in pots. They were happy to get out of their soggy soil.