Independence Day 2007

Like a Burst of Fireworks...Nature.
The Persimmon ....Its lovely cream colored blooms are understated but very interesting. This is an abundant tree and is loaded with fruit this year.
Late California Poppies...Scattered as seeds among the iris that are now bloomed and done to make way for the delicate, yet hardy and drought tolerant poppy. Below, a rare RED California Poppy.

Snoopy...He is a lot of dog for us, but we continue to hold him to a short leash. I have learned that dogs need exercise, discipline and affection, in that order. If you must leave any one of those out, it should be the affection! (It is hard to believe, but look to the pack, there is little affection between the members. It is more about avoiding correction from the alpha.) They look to us for limits and direction. Remember, no bad dogs, just bad dog owners! Snoopy still is not to be trusted with other dogs, so we are simply maintaining our regular obedience training for him in the meantime. We are riding him very hard, when it comes to undesirable actions. We verbally correct him, put him in his kennel (with a reward), or restrain him in some way when he is out of control. Luckily, he is quite cooperative when running along with the bicycle. That has gone a long way to helping him tune into me, and also expend some of his ample energy. The regiment when walking on the leash is very strict. One step, until he pulls, then stop. Saying nothing, simply waiting for him to focus his attention on me. Once he looks at me, he receives a reward of hot dog or cheese. We continue...one step, (can he go two?) as soon as he pulls, I stop, and wait. When we do this routine w/Pepper, he is very quick to catch on, as she immediately will turn to me as soon as we stop. He, on the other hand, first goes through a frustrated dance of sniffing, pulling, grass chewing, and grunting, (all stress relievers) until he finally backs up, sits down and looks at me. He is less treat driven than Pepper and I must really be patient with him. He is a big boy, and I am looking forward to having him in full compliance with the canine good citizenship rules. He is not there yet!!
First Sunflower of the year....a volunteer. I will have many sunflowers this year, as I planted about 15 different varieties.
Very Furry Caterpillar.....This little guy was on a friend's hat at a festival over the weekend. Quite a fuzzy Caterpillar and he would not sit still for anything! I am sorry, these pictures fail to do his furry self, with long feathery tail justice. I have never seen one like this. Cutie.
Brown Turkey Fig...Figs up here, for me, are a joke. We get just a baby-sized summer crop, that amounts to not much at all, and a huge fall crop, that I may get 50% of, in October some time... The rest, usually mold on the branch, unripe, and wondering where the sun went...
Garlic...Though I neglected to plant until February the garlic is looking fine. Most likely, I will take it in the next couple of days. You can see the baby seed pods that have formed on the top, are now fallen over with the stalk - a sign of maturity. Planting late, had the advantage of a lot less time for the weeds to take over!
Lilies...
Mulberries in their little Mulberry Jail...Keeps the birds out. There are so many mulberries and other berries (golden raspberries, black caps, and strawberries) ...yum!

FROZEN FRUIT PIE: When I have an abundance of berries I love to make frozen pie.

Line a pie pan with ground up cookies, the crisper the better. I like to use Barbara's wheat free oatmeal animal cookies. Mash together 2 Cups of fresh berries with sweetener (1/4 cup of honey or sugar). Fold gently into 2 cups of yogurt, or a pint of stiffly whipped cream. Cover with foil or Saran. Freeze overnight. (a thin layer of banana at the bottom is also a nice addition...) Remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving.
Apples...The birds are starting to go after my meager apple crop. Little buggers. I must stop them somehow!!
Bear Butte on a Sweet Day...Heading out of town...
The Start of the Butterfly Show....

Happy Fourth. I love this time of year. It is finally starting to warm up. The lack of spring rains is very obvious by the early, and especially huge cracks in the ground. Mulch, mulch, mulch. Oh yea, and the staking of fruit trees?? If you haven't done it yet, you may have broken branches on your plum trees, like me! I like to think of it as self pruning. No photos of the damage, yet, but I will confess, I lost one pretty major branch off of the Santa Rosa, and a less important scaffold off of the Green Gage. The plums are literally touching the ground. Glad to be home, and glad for the water that flows off of my mountain. Hope yours is flowing too. JJ

Sunny Sunday

This Plant was adopted about 15 years ago when they tore out the planters at the Arcata Co-op. My oldest daughter insisted that we try to save one as they were tearing them out and throwing them in a dumpster!
Some oddball shots today. No time for a digital life...Close up of a PEACE ROSE.....
This is a Funny Phallic Flower.....it volunteered many years ago in a pot w/a nursery rose. The blossoms are creamy white and this is the seedpod...
Oh My! Pears!............

The Lavender.......It is amazing right now. The seeds are microscopic, yet I insist on attempting to start them from seed. It is such a miracle every time. That something so completely tiny, could sprout and grow into something so unique and beautiful, so enduring, and really! ....so much BIGGER!!! These were started from seed several years ago.
Lettuce, and a close up of our amazing Climbing Rose.....
Wow, the longest day has come and gone.....Alas! The slide towards winter has already begun. Still, the birds start singing in my haven on the hill before 5 am. (!) With first light creeping over the horizon shortly afterwards....I am very busy with completion of our school year. Tomorrow is our final day. It will be a wonderful time complete with a homespun pioneer puppet play - based on a book called Smiling Hill Farm - (damn! can't figure out the underline html...bold will have to do...) by my youngest who is 8, and a six dish feast of Thai food with an oral presentation on the same, by my 11 year old. We have home schooled since 2002 and it has been one of the best decisions we have made as a family. I encourage you to check out Calvert School and home schooling in general, if you are at all interested. Calvert offers great support for independent schools as well. The sweet bonding between my girls, our relaxed schedule, and Calvert's complete and user friendly curriculum, have made it a very good choice for us. Calvert School has been in existence since 1905, and their curriculum is very thorough, with a cohesive sequence throughout the grades. We have now taught all their elementary grades k-6, and have been very impressed with the scope of study and the connections between each year. Obviously, this year, our schedule has been really relaxed, as we are yet to complete the year, and the first day of summer has come and gone! But I am happy with our progress and would not trade this experience for anything
!

Longest Days

A foggy Morning in Early June...A Young buck in peaceful repose...I love their fuzzy "new growth" antlers!
Bear Butte From Lower on the Ridge...Drifting clouds make for a magical view...
Flowers, Flowers and More Flowers...Echinacea...
Roses...
Kiwi Blossom...Very Sweet...alas, no male = no fruit. I lost the male I had to a late spring chill last year (the stems are very sensitive to cold when they are young) Newly planted male is thriving but no blooms this year.
Last of the Bearded Iris...
First of the Tiger Lilies...These are a very hardy and dependable perennial which are easy to grow, and they multiply readily.
Snoopy in a moment of quiet attention...He is rather a handful and I have yet to submit the full report of his aggression assessment. I will say he got a score of 10. (10 being the worst!) Amazingly, there is hope! We intend to keep him busy, while we wait out these puppy crazies. More when I have time...
I LOVE these purple crab apples, notice the naturally occurring yeasts that grow on the surface of the fruit...
My Early Morning 'Natural Moment' with amazing digital effects...sort of like pastel or watercolor artwork...
Pet Frog....
Happy Summer. More later. xxoo Jj

My Heart Belongs to Summer

The bearded Iris...A close view proves quite furry indeed!

The Wildflowers.....They are still in great abundance, to the delight of myself, and the many pollinators.
Self Seeded Ruby Gems...These wildflowers were planted in a rather exposed position many years ago. They bloomed reluctantly there for the first year and have now, so many years later, moved themselves profusely to the shade beneath a giant oak much further up the slope!
Baby Persimmon Fruit/Blossoms....I love the brilliant green of the persimmon tree. The blossoms are understated cream colored stars at the base of the fruit. This tree is growing rapidly again this season. I will be pruning it back at the path level as it has encroached into our access. There is plenty of growth up high and ideally, one should prune for a comfortable walk (first branch shoulder or head high) within the orchard.
The Greengage Plum...All the plum trees must be staked, and thinned again very soon for they are all very heavy with fruit, notice the way the branches are drooping down. Plum trees can tolerate and will benefit from removal of up to 70% of the fruit, especially in an abundant year like this. For truly prize-sized fruit, the ratio is one fruit every 2"-4". Ruthless. I give each branch a good shake between now and July sometime, and will manually remove the thickest of the fruit set. Some orchardists use a pole to knock the excess fruit off. Apples as well, benefit quite a bit from the removal of excess fruit. This is the Stanley Prune Plum....After a good shake and a bit of manually thinning.... The prune plums generally, can be left a bit thicker. A few plums may still drop on their own and I will do a final once over in July.
The BlackCap Raspberry...We have an abundant stand of them in the yard and several other wayward clumps here and there. They have bloomed and set fruit in an instant it seems! By the time I trained my lens on them, it seems their bloom was long gone. On to the eating! These are a wild variety of raspberry that normally ripens mid/late June. Very good eating!!
Mulberry...This is the Illinois Mulberry. I highly recommend it. This fruit tree is care free, early to set fruit, needs nothing more than minimal (broken/crossing & for shape) pruning, and has delicious fruit nearly all summer!! This tree must be protected with bird netting or reemay, to discourage the blue jays.
Loving Those Chive Blooms...
Rose. June's flower is the rose, so true, so true. Below, New Moon Rose...
Bearded Iris...In close view: Purple...Below: Random Varieties...Some shots taken at dusk w/flash - weird.
Japanese Iris...These are so sweet and easy to grow! They can be planted out here and there, for a naturalized effect as well. In our area they will bloom without additional irrigation. They are daintier, and more simple than the bearded iris, but they make great cut flowers with their tall stems and multiple blooms.
Columbine and Daisy..No homestead is complete without these two carefree beauties!

Summer Days are here, or so it seemed over the weekend. Last week up until Saturday it was very hot. Sunday started out warm as well, but by afternoon we had a sweet cloud cover and some light breezes. The rain started Monday morning and it has showered on and off until this morning. Even today was blissfully cool, but thankfully, not too windy, my favorite working weather. It has been a blessed relief to have some break from irrigating. The showers will keep the hills 'greenish' for a bit longer, as well. Already, the 'gold' on those hills here in California, is starting to show itself. Long dry summer a-coming. i am grateful for the rain, a great summerartsfair, my family and my pets. (BTW: Snoopy is doing OK. At his "training camp" he has shown his true naughtiness, so at least the trainer knows what she is up against!. They are making some small progress with him. We are so looking forward to his rambunctious return, although Tigger and Buster have really enjoyed the reprieve, showing a much more relaxed mood, and willingness to mingle in the main room. Buster has even gone as far as sleeping in Snoopy's bed!!) xxooJj