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Backyardnotes

~ All things botanical in photos and words—in my West Seattle garden and elsewhere; seeing and creating art and assorted musings.

Backyardnotes

Category Archives: Spring

WHAT HAPPENED TO APRIL & MAY?

21 Saturday Jun 2014

Posted by backyardnotes in Birding, Camping, Nature, Spring, Wildflowers

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basalt, central Washington, Crab Creek, Goose Lake, Potholes, Sandhill Cranes, wildflowers

APRIL ARRIVED AND THEN IT DEPARTED. AND THEN MAY CAME ALONG. And now it’s June! We managed to get to central Washington and the Potholes/Columbia NWR/Seep Lakes area the first part of April to see the last of the Sandhill Cranes before they flew to parts north. And boy did we see them!

Sandhills on a dike at the edge of Crab Creek

Sandhills on a dike at the edge of Crab Creek

I don’ have a telephoto lens that is large enough to get in really close, but you can see the numbers. Just multiply by ten and you get the idea. They were spread out over a very large area. We figured there were 2,000-3,000 birds.

 

300 maybe? Multiply by 10.

300 maybe? Multiply by 10.

Sandhillcranes_1The central part of Washington is so different from the west side of the Cascade mountains. It is considered Shrub Steppe. Towering basalt cliffs and potholes scoured out by the Great Missoula flood of the last ice age.It is an arid, desert like environment with cactus and cattails alike.

Crab Creek basalt cliffs

Crab Creek basalt cliffs

There is a lot of agriculture in this area too; a benefit of the federal government’s reclamation project in the wake of building the Grand Coulee Dam. There are acres upon acres of potatoes, wheat, corn, alfalfa, apples, cherries and vineyards for winemaking. All of this intermingled with bird habitat. It is a real jewel.

Lower Goose Lake

Lower Goose Lake

This is a great migratory stopover for the Sandhill Cranes as well as many varieties of waterfowl and songbirds.

Fritallaria pudica

Wildflowers like this Fritallaria pudica ,were just beginning to bloom

Beaver lodge at Lower Crab Creek

Beaver lodge at Lower Crab Creek

It is a great area to hike, camp and watch wildlife. And this trip was a nice four day break from a renovation project that began last month.

Zigadenus; also known as Death Camas. It's quite .lovely

Zigadenus; also known as Death Camas. It’s quite .lovely

 

 

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EATING SPRING

12 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by backyardnotes in Cooking & Eating, EAT!, Food, Herbs, Spring

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basil pesto, fennel fronds, foccacia, food, greens, herb pesto, herbs, pesto, purple mustard, Spring, Spring in a jar

Spring greens & herbs

I LOOK FORWARD TO EARLY SPRING WHEN HERBS RETURN TO LIFE. Forget about boring old basil pesto. Cut a big variety of herbs and your favorite greens; fennel fronds, sage leave, rosemary, thyme, parsley, cilantro, purple mustard leaves, kale, arugula, or whatever strikes your fancy! Don’t forget the chives!

processingherbs

Strip the smaller leave from woody herb stems, otherwise just tear the leave coarsely and pile as much as you can into a food processor, add two or ten cloves of garlic, salt to taste (a little at first) and some olive oil (a quarter to half cup) to get things going and puree, adding more oil as needed until mixture is smooth or the texture you like. Taste and adjust seasoning and amount of oil.

The finished pesto

Spring in a jar!

At this point I jarred half of the mixture and added lightly toasted walnuts and pine nuts to the remaining puree in the processor and processed until smooth. I covered the pesto with a film of olive oil, sealed up the jars and put some into the freezer for later use.

Add a spoonful to a vinaigrette dressing, smear some on a plate and top with roasted, skinned and cooled roma tomatoes and fresh mozzarella; treat as you would basil pesto and toss with pasta or…

Foccacia dough

Add a big spoonful into some foccacia dough or savory quick bread batter.

foccacia_1a bakedfoccacia

HERE’S to SPRING!

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BLOOMING BRASSICAS

19 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by backyardnotes in Spring, Vegetable garden

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brassicas, broccoli, chinese cabbage, compost bins, food, oakleaf lettuce, pears, plants


Flowers of broccoli sessatina

WHEN BRASSICAS GROW UP THEY BLOOM! This year the winter garden is slowly being deconstructed and made ready for some fallow time.

Budding Chinese cabbage

I usually leave a plant or two go to flower to attract pollinators into the garden as few other plants are blooming in February and March.

Blooming kale 'Fizz'

This year will be a little different in the vegetable garden. We are planning a two month camping trip. Translation: no spring/summer garden this year. The thought of it makes me kind of anxious. For the first time in 17 years I have not started tomatoes, peppers or eggplants. I have not seeded anything directly into the vegetable garden since late last fall. Sad.

All bloomed out!

A spring palette of green and yellow in this afternoon’s rain. Clearing out the veg garden is taking a back seat to the rest of the garden here at BackyardFarm. Weeding, pruning and general maintenance chores abound and the goal is to have all tidied up by mid-May so Gardening Gal can have an easy time of it every other week. Besides, cleaning out the above is all about pulling, chopping and into the compost bins. I’m researching the best way to keep the weeds at bay in the veg beds while we’re away.

Blooming favas and bolting arugula!

There are still happy notes and with luck, we’ll have a harvest of fava beans to leave with.

Pear blossoms

The pears began blooming while we had dry and sunny weather so there is hope for a nice pear crop.

Oodles of volunteer red oakleaf lettuces and purple potatoes, so all is not lost!

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APRIL PHOTO A DAY: MORE TULIPS!

25 Monday Apr 2011

Posted by backyardnotes in April flowers, Spring, Spring bulbs, tulips, Weather

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Spring flowers, tulips

SWEETHEART TULIPS are a burst of sunshine. And, this is the perfect photo for today’s return to the same cool, rainy pattern we’ve been in for months. These fosteriana type tulips were planted in 1998 and are among the few that continue to bloom after more than ten years. They look good underplanted with those pesky grape hyacinths – if you have the nerve (or in my case, they were already in place). A source for these tulips and other bulbs is here.

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APRIL PHOTO A DAY: THE PERFECT DAISY

02 Saturday Apr 2011

Posted by backyardnotes in April flowers, Parks, Spring, Spring flowers, Walking

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I picked up my daughter and grand-daughter and we went for a leisurely walk through Westcrest Park this afternoon. I snapped this photo of Sophia picking a couple of everyone’s favorite harbinger of spring, little bellis perennis. For me it was the best photo of the day and I had to share the sunny optimism it evokes.

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