We've had a bit more wet weather since our last post. Our rain gauge now reads 6.99" since July 1st, and our cover crop is finally taking off. Unfortunately, we've gone high and dry again for at least the next week. The rain we did have motivated me to dust off the camera however. All of our landscaping and the critters who share our land greatly appreciated the drink. After what was the longest summer, it is nice to see banana slugs out and about each morning! The European Honeybees and Anna's Hummingbirds are enjoying spring's nectar-filled blossoms. Our ponds are alive again with the chorus of tree frogs, and the California Coast Range Newts have joined them in the water. We also recently captured some spectacular footage of the furry four-legged friends that share our woods. After finding multiple deer carcases this winter, I finally invested in an entry level game cam. Our video gallery to date can be accessed from the right-hand sidebar of this blog, or by clicking here. All videos are in HD, so be sure to right click on them and crank up your Flash Player buffer to "unlimited." Enjoy, and keep dancing for rain!
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Tango in the Rain
We've had a bit more wet weather since our last post. Our rain gauge now reads 6.99" since July 1st, and our cover crop is finally taking off. Unfortunately, we've gone high and dry again for at least the next week. The rain we did have motivated me to dust off the camera however. All of our landscaping and the critters who share our land greatly appreciated the drink. After what was the longest summer, it is nice to see banana slugs out and about each morning! The European Honeybees and Anna's Hummingbirds are enjoying spring's nectar-filled blossoms. Our ponds are alive again with the chorus of tree frogs, and the California Coast Range Newts have joined them in the water. We also recently captured some spectacular footage of the furry four-legged friends that share our woods. After finding multiple deer carcases this winter, I finally invested in an entry level game cam. Our video gallery to date can be accessed from the right-hand sidebar of this blog, or by clicking here. All videos are in HD, so be sure to right click on them and crank up your Flash Player buffer to "unlimited." Enjoy, and keep dancing for rain!
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Sunday Morning Coming Down
The welcome pattering of rain accompanies this post. We've had 0.40" so far this morning, making this as one of the most significant rain events year to date; only 3.05" have fallen since July. Despite the dry weather, we had a seamless transition from fall to winter crops: the last persimmons and pumpkins went out at the same time as the first lemons and limes. Two cases of Buddha Hand Citrons made the trek to Colorado to the Breckenridge Brewery to ring in 2014. Many cases of Owari Satsuma Mandarins, Meyer Lemons and Hayward Kiwis were turned into frozen treats this January by The Penny Ice Creamery. An additional 52 cases of Meyer Lemons (2370#) went to Frog Hollow Farm for their Meyer Lemon Marmalade. Ristoranti Avanti is using our Algerian Clementines, Tango Mandarins, Genoa Italian Heirloom Lemons, and Citrus Hystrix limes and leaves. The Picnic Basket is using Genoa Italian Heirloom Lemons as well. On the home front, we've been grafting up a storm: Pakistani mulberries, Santa Rosa & Satsuma plums, Blenheim & Black Arkansas apricots, Flavor King pluots, D'Anjou, Warren, Seckel, Magness & Superfin pears, and Hosui & Kosui Asian pears. Gratitude for the scion wood goes to the Monterey Bay Chapter of the CRFG and everyone who helped to make their Scion Exchange such a success. Thankfully, we did our winter pruning early, as roses, grapes, pomegranates and mulberries are all pushing buds already.And with that, the sun is out... time to put on my rubber boots and empty the rain buckets... hope that rain comes back around!
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