I'm back!

 Our long weekend became even longer because of the snow.  I got my wish I guess, even though we weren't really snowed in.  The roads were just too nasty for us to go anywhere.  I kind of took a break from the internet while I was gone, and that was nice, although I felt like I was forgetting something and I wondered how everyone's Thanksgiving went.  I've been trying to get caught up this morning, but my house is also in dire need of help.  Our landlady had the kitchen redone while we were away, so we had moved everything out of the kitchen and into any available space, then my children sprinkled toys and books on top of all that.  They are somewhat motivated to help, since I informed them that Christmas decorations will not go up until the house is clean. 

I think my baking day will have to be postponed, although I have some recipes that I'm very excited to try.  Cookies may happen later today, but I'm really planning on making up some "fat-burning" soup, as my mom calls it.  After eating with total abandon this past week, I'm feeling the need to do something that resembles healthy eating. 

Oh what feasts we had.  There was the typical turkey, dressing, potatoes, stuffing, yams and a great big salad that I ate two helpings of simply because there were raspberries in there.  Then leftovers for a few days, with those almonds that I have fallen in love with and some stuffed mushrooms to make things fun.  Sunday, there was another gathering with family members that missed the Thanksgiving gathering and we ate an entire pan of brisket, more stuffed mushrooms, more potatoes and gravy, and then we finished off the remnants of the pies.  As if that wasn't enough, I made a pan of brownies to snack on while we played games, and that also disappeared.  I now have a miss piggy nose, I think.

I did go for walks, so that counts for something, right?  Here's some wintery pictures for your viewing pleasure...

This is how much snow we found at the ranch.

 Obviously, sledding had to happen.

 I kept sneaking out of the house to take pictures.  This is a stack-yard full of hay, with some horses begging next to it.

 Then it snowed, and snowed some more and we decided to wait for the storm to pass before driving home again.

 

I took more pictures, trying to catch just how red the willows turn during winter.

This is how much snow was on the swing when we left.

And then the sun came out and I tried to catch how red the rose-hips look with the white snow and aspen trees behind.   I need to learn how to take better pictures.  I'll just jot that one down for a new year's resolution.

Garden tour

My dear husband is so supportive of my gardening addiction. I think he's a little addicted too because he's always coming up with ideas to make things better and bigger. Really, the garden would not have happened without him hauling dirt, spreading dirt, digging in dirt and pumping water. He still lets me call it my garden though, even though I get the fun part of picking through seed catalogs, watching the seeds sprout, and sticking them in the ground. I think he knows how good it is for me to see things coming to life when it's still cold and gray outside.
Here's a picture of his hard work.


I thought I'd share how I garden in this climate. I'm still experimenting with different things. I suppose my garden will always be a work in progress. This year my husband decided to build me a hoop house. We found some plans that called for 1" pvc. It looked great. It was nice and warm inside, even with the snow outside.

But then we had some very heavy snow, followed by some very strong winds, followed by more snow and more wind. The hoop house collapsed. Several times. I'm sad about that.. I really wanted it to work. We learned that 2" pipe is better in this climate and that the weak points are where the connectors are located. A complete 20' long 2" diameter pipe would have probably stayed standing. Live and learn I guess. We have lots of ideas for a new, improved hoop house someday.
A few weeks ago, I abandoned the hoop house idea and reconfigured the pieces into smaller tunnels.

Please ignore the mess. I'm still working on other projects with the remaining pieces. On the left, you have the "tomato house" with some squash and the eggplant that my three year old planted. I can't believe it survived this long. In the middle, under the cloth cover, sweet corn just started coming up. It's late, I hope it makes it. On the left is the "cucumber house", also with a few squash. We'll see how this works out.

And here is the garden in all it's glory. I love reading about and seeing pictures of beautiful kitchen gardens and pottagers. Mine will probably never look like that. I'm just trying to get these plants to survive. I use plastic covers, agribon row covers, wall-o-waters, even tires to keep my plants warm.

The black metal frame thing in the back is the melon house, but my daughter's cantaloupe just isn't going to make it. The funny looking blanket in the middle is more corn. You can't really see the potatoes or salad beds, but they are there behind the corn. The long low tunnel has just about everything in it. Summer squash, tomatoes, cucumber, and beans. They are doing quite well under there. To the left, inside the tire chunks, is a pumpkin and a butternut squash. I got that idea from the deliberate agrarian blog. We'll see how it works. I built a pea tower out of willow sticks, but only three peas came up. However, the willow branches have come to life. They all have leaves.

Many of my neighbors thing I'm crazy for trying so hard to garden at this altitude. Really, we can drive an hour or so and buy all the produce we could want. Why am I so determined? I don't know. I just feel the need to learn how to grow my own food. And seeing the first blossom on the "mystery squash" (it came up next to a tomato seedling-no clue what it is, but it's doing great) somehow makes it all worth it.