BEST LITTLE TOOL IN THE KITCHEN

29 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by backyardnotes in Ephemera, Little Light Bulbs, Musings

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address label, kitchen tool, labeling food

This has become a can’t live without it tool for me, 1/2″ x 1-3/4″ address labels. I use them nearly everyday. These were mistakenly purchased instead of the next larger size (which are really better for addressing). Don’t you feel especially smart when you discover a new use for something that you thought was useless—the ‘why-didn’t-I-think-of-that-before’ moment? A year or so ago I had that Aha! moment, and I gave those tiny labels a new purpose.

Pomegranate Vodka ingredients on the lid of the infusing jar

WHEN DID I MAKE THAT? When did I open that jar? Caramel sauce? Clarified butter? Preserved lemons? They are incredibly handy; an easy way to list the ingredients for infusions; reminders for day-to-day leftovers, or small batches of just about anything that go straight into the fridge that have not been processed for long term storage; items headed for the freezer…

Tomato water destined for the freezer (for a taste-of-summer cocktail in the depths of winter)

I keep a supply of them in a kitchen drawer with a pen so they are always at hand, ready to use.

RAIN, RAIN, HOW DO WE LOVE THEE?

22 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by backyardnotes in Flowers, Inspriation, Musings, Rain, Weather, Winter flowers

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blogging, clematis, Early tulips, hamamelis, pear & apple trees, rain, winter, winter flowers, winter gloom

TODAY A BIG RAIN STORM IS MOVING IN after some pretty fair days. But no complaints considering the weather everywhere east of here. We even managed to get some general maintenance and weeding done over the past week or so.

Witchhazel, Hamamelis x intermedia

SOMETIMES WE NEED A BREAK from our routines. I needed a break from this blog. Keeping up on a regular basis was becoming a drag and I no longer felt that inner voice to be engaging. So I gave it and myself a rest. The busyness of the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed like a good excuse to ignore the beast. I spent time painting and creating; baking with my granddaughter, hanging out with family; having dinner with neighbors and generally enjoying the hustle and warmth of the holidays. After the holidays were over it was time to take a break from the monotony of long, gray, days here in the Pacific Northwest by spending 14 days in Death Valley National Park. And now with winter flowers popping and some early spring ones too, I’m back to feeling like I still have some thoughts and pictures worth sharing.

A lovely winter blooming clematis on a clear day

This clematis cirrhosa blooms continuously from November to March when little else relieves winter gloom.

Nothing lightens the spirit like the first crocus on a sunny winter day.

A red blooming hamamelis in the warm glow of a setting sun.

The earliest tulip has just pushed up over the past week

Silhouette of pear and apple trees at sunset. Hooray! The sun is now setting closer to 6:00 p.m.

APRIL SHOWERS BRING SOME MAY FLOWERS!

12 Thursday May 2011

Posted by backyardnotes in May flowers, Musings

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hostas, peonies, tulips

THIS LOVELY PINK TINGED PEONY has, to me, a very feminine, girly aspect. Ruffled edges like a crinoline petticoat. It will change from pink to pure white.

In order to avoid repeating myself I took a look at a post from May 11, of last year. Most of what is pictured in that post is not even close to blooming and I have not spotted one fava bean! The continuing cool weather has really set bloom times back by a week or more.

That said, tulips are still coming on and the apple tree began blooming around the first of May. It is so beautiful and we’ve had some warm, dry days so the hope is that it has been enough to bring out the pollinators.

I really like this tulip mix, ‘Valentine Candy’, lots of pink and red shades. They look great poking through the mixed foliage of japanese anemone, stachys, lilies, and sedum of the Autumn Joy type.

I like unexpected little vignettes, like this one with the hosta ‘June’, wood hyacinths, and a few of the ‘Valentine Candy’ tulips.

This morning we have sunshine and the promise of a good day for gardening chores and transplanting of tomato seedlings which seem to be in sync with everything else—behind schedule! But complaints about the weather here are silly and shallow when compared to the devastation taking place all along the Mississippi. My heart goes out to all of those effected. Consider helping here.

IS THERE LIFE WITHOUT CAMERAS & BLOGGING?

30 Wednesday Mar 2011

Posted by backyardnotes in Cameras, Musings, The Blog

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WELL, OF COURSE THERE IS. It has been nearly a month since the last post and I must admit that I have felt lost without a camera; I used one nearly everyday for the past ten years. And, what is a blog without photos to share?

OTHER pursuits took precedence over blogging after the camera malfunctioned and life continued on. I made some wonderful orange jam (not marmalade) and orange pepper jelly with sweet, juicy oranges that I bought on our way home from our desert trip;

I finished some art projects; I tried to catch up on my travel journal; my sisters, a nephew and I helped my mother hang quilts for her guild’s show, and my husband and I went to Vancouver, B.C. to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary (hooray)…

where I surprised him with a new point-and-shoot camera (Nikon Coolpix S9100) that he tried out in Vancouver’s Chinatown.

He had wanted something more simple than the camera that died and point-and-shoots have come a long way in the six years since the last camera purchase. So, now there is one functioning camera in the house while I continue to research the camera that’s right for me.

The detail captured with the 18x zoom is pretty impressive (and this is slightly out of focus).

We retraced a few honeymoon steps and spent the first day of spring with a walk through Lighthouse Park at Horseshoe Bay and tried to recapture a photo of the lighthouse that I took thirty years ago.

This day it was sunny and not as moody as the first time.

We finished the afternoon at Queen Elizabeth park and a trip through the Blodel Conservatory.

And a walk through the large quarry garden. Similar in nature to the one at Butchart Garden, but quite a bit smaller. The weather was quite delightful and returned to northwest normal the next day—rain.