Gone Feral In Idaho

I harvested rhubarb for the first time and am in the process of baking my first pie ever. Since I used vegetable shortening, I think it would even qualify as vegan. Hopefully it comes out of the oven OK and tastes good. The first black krim is looking great. Kyle helped me put in the tree branches that the christmas lima beans will climb. I also planted dragon's tongue bush beans. I'll plant more herbs in this bed as well.  One of the brandywine tomatoes has produced flowers. The stock tank area got some new plants and fish. Here's a fuzzy photo of the dwarf lily pad sending up three flowers, we only had one last year. Garden Huckleberry doing it's thing. At least the peas like the cool extended spring.  I decided to add an egg wash, but should have added some water to the egg yolk. As you can see, it tasted pretty darn good. I used this recipe for the filling, and this one for the pie crust. I'd never made either before and it turned out great. The ...

this is a fully photo documented tute on how to make your own self-watering container for large plants. hopefully this one will support two pumpkin plants.  we also make smaller 5 gal bucket versions with only one "well". step one, find a suitable container: drill multiple holes with a large bit in 4 inch PVC tubing, we used two 7-inch pieces. the length and width will depend on the overall size of the container. here's what the "wells" will look like in place. the holes are to allow water from outside the wells to permeate inside the two columns of potting soil. next, drill a bunch of holes in an old lid from a container cut to fit on top of the wells in side the container.  this is for the platform base that the wells sit under.  the wells will go in the two circles with x's in them. drill holes very near to those circles so that you can zip-tie the wells on to them. also drill holes near to the top edges of the wells for this purpose.   here is the bin...

One of the other reasons for not posting a lot is that there is a trial going on that is hard for me to not follow or not to have any feelings about.  It isn't my case, I was out of town when the body was found, but I work with a lot of the people that handled the case. A little boy died. I don't particularly care for many kids, but none deserve to die like he did. There are even children still living under the same or even much worse conditions than he did. I can't talk about the particulars, but I can link to one of the newer news stories. Just look up Robert Manwell on the internet. It happened in 2009.  http://www.ktvb.com/home/Forensic-pathologist-Robert-Manwill-died-from-trauma-to-head-abdomen-122173309.html

A loosing battle with severe environmental allergies has sapped my get up and go, including my blogging. Luckily I have been taking photos, so I'll try to drag my but to do a garden update post. beware: rabid dog the quinalt strawberries are doing really well in their third year brandywine transplanted with homemade wall of waters tomatillo, looking great the pondtainer got some new plants, I will add some native plants as soon as I figure out what to plant gratuitous pic of the dog and corkscrew rush ground cherry random tomato bloom last, but not least, the first tomato of the year is a black krim.

Emma is just trying to be a good lawyer but she has the distinct feeling she's being watched. Soon after this feeling hits her, someone actually kidnaps her. Stuck in a basement she is tortured but eventually escapes. But her nightmare has only begun because when she leads the police back to the madman's house, they know who it is. It's the local coroner. Now with him getting expert treatment from the cops, she must fight back on her own and hopefully submit him to the same pain he did to her. But just as you don't bullshit a bullshitter, don't play games with a serial killer. This one loves games and he'll checkmate you if you aren't careful.   Written by  Pon Juice   -IMDb When on the job during real death investigations, I am usually treated with respect by all involved- law enforcement, EMS, fire, the families, etc... I am mostly taken seriously and almost everyone appreciate what I do.I even get hugs. Something strange happens at other occasions. I...

I see the effect of war too often.   Link to artist . My life is all about balance.

Today was the nicest day of the year so far. Emily and I met up for a wildflower walk put on by the Idaho Botanical Garden. Considering I had an extra long day at work dealing with nasty things, it was great to get out and follow around people so passionate about botany and willing to share their knowledge. I did feel a little silly with my point and shoot compared to Emily's nifty-cam, but you have to start somewhere, right? I had a ton of fun and wished we had footage of our mistaken discovery of the elusive "Idaho" something native plant that I got overly excited about.  You had to be there. Here are a few of the shots I took, including photos of some morbidly names specimens.  Death Camas- looks really menacing doesn't it?  Human and animal symptoms of Death Camas may appear from 1-8 hours after eating the plant. Recovery usually occurs within 24 hours. Symptoms include: excessive watering (foaming) of the mouth, burning following by numbness of the lips and mo...

In the midst of all the turmoil in the news I'd like to show my latest new bloom. The first Yellow Wonder Alpine Strawberry bloom has arrived. That tiny unaware flower was such a nice break from a violent week. 

About two weeks ago I planted the two Black Krim tomatoes I started on January the 31st. They are doing fine and have new blooms on them. A week ago I put as many plants in the greenhouse as I could fit and they are doing greater than could be expected. I plan to build a hoop house next year and put all the plants out early as there is nothing better than real sunlight even if it is intermittent.   Although it isn't in the best focus. I had to share a photo of the ground cherry in bloom. The plants that I kept inside were only half the size with no blooms.  Eggplant taking in some rays. This is the tomatillo that I accidentally snapped in half putting it out for sun last week. I stuck the upper stalk in the soil and tied it to the chopstick stake figuring it would die. The damn thing is sprouting new leaves. It is really leggy and not pretty to look at, but I'll keep it going and make it thrive.   The spring peas are up and sending out tendrils. We'll h...