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Recent Posts
- Life is Full of Mystery February 27, 2021
- Walking Through a Poem February 14, 2021
- The Trip Home February 9, 2021
- Pandemic Skies February 3, 2021
- Never a Dry Moment January 30, 2021
- Red Sky at Dawn and Dusk January 20, 2021
- More Marvelous Than Fairy Tales January 18, 2021
- Red Dawn January 14, 2021
- Is It Still Winter? January 12, 2021
- Winter Skies January 4, 2021
- Happy New Year! January 1, 2021
- Stories Untold December 28, 2020
- Blink and You’ve Missed It December 22, 2020
- Chatty Mud Birds December 20, 2020
- Getting the Mail December 10, 2020
- Soothing is Good December 5, 2020
- When Life Returns to Normal, I’ll Miss Blue Skies December 1, 2020
- Blue Skies in November November 21, 2020
- Sunshine Is Just Beyond the Clouds November 17, 2020
- Winter Returns to the Hills November 14, 2020
- A Squirrel’s Fate November 8, 2020
- November at Last November 3, 2020
- November 1 and No Swans November 1, 2020
- First Frost October 23, 2020
- Too Wet to Burn October 18, 2020
- Eyes Wide Shut October 13, 2020
- The End of Flowers October 11, 2020
- 20201010 October 10, 2020
- Am I Growing the Wrong Grapes? October 6, 2020
- Fog and Less Fog October 5, 2020
- First Blush of Fall September 29, 2020
- A Perfect Fall Day September 27, 2020
- Blue Sky to Rain to Shaggy Parasol September 26, 2020
- Six Short Weeks September 24, 2020
- 317 Days for a Miracle September 23, 2020
- We Can Breathe Again September 22, 2020
- You Can’t Help But Be Sad September 13, 2020
- Duck Serenity September 6, 2020
- August is Coming to an End August 28, 2020
- It’s Easier with Another August 21, 2020
- Hottest Day of the Year August 16, 2020
- Morning Surprise August 12, 2020
- After the Rains August 8, 2020
- An August Morning August 2, 2020
- August Evening August 1, 2020
- When You Are Insane July 21, 2020
- Summer Is Here July 18, 2020
- It Blooms, It Dies July 15, 2020
- A Cool Start to Summer July 7, 2020
- Each Flower Has Its Own Strategy June 29, 2020
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Category Archives: How Things Grow
A Perfect Fall Day
Skies don’t get bluer than this. Today was a perfect day to pick grapes. Six years ago I planted 15 grape vines, varieties of grapes that ripen this far north. Lynden Blue, Venus, and Canadice from the lovely folks at … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow, Reflections
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Newer, Bigger, Better
Pond upgrade. It was time to upgrade the tank I had for the garden ducks. The 4.5 foot water tank I had for them was too small. I realized this after moving some of the ducks to our pond. Ducks … Continue reading
Apple Blossoms and Magical Shoots
Apple blossoms are so beautiful. It’s a good thing all the fruit trees don’t bloom at the same time. There would be too much beauty to take in all at once. The chickens are having a riotous time with the … Continue reading
Where is Kaku 隠?
We only saw four of the ducks this morning on our way out this morning. I searched through the garden but there was no sign of Kaku 隠. But this afternoon she showed up with the others, so I followed … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, How Things Grow
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Dog or Bear?
Takuma 拓真 is enjoying spring from the window. Is he a dog or is he a bear? Spring comes slowly in the Pacific Northwest. The alders began to show hints of green weeks ago. Their leaves are just starting to … Continue reading
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What Sunshine and Warm Air Brings
The pear blossoms are opening. These are modest flowers compared to the showy cherry blossoms. Camellias are flowering too. The forest floor is a carpet of green. The sunshine and warmth have stirred the bleeding hearts and trilliums awake. I … Continue reading
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Where Everyone Gathers
Spring is a riot of blossoms now. Plum trees and western skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) compete to see who can fill the air with the most aroma. You can imagine which has the more powerful fragrance. According to Dave’s Botanary … Continue reading
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Enjoy Them Today
Five days ago, the cherry blossoms were on the verge of opening. A few buds teased with slightly unfurled petals. Today, they are no longer teasing. Their petals are open wide, dancing in the spring breeze. I need to enjoy … Continue reading
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The Snow Geese Migration Is On
The snow geese migration has started. The snow geese that winter here are on the move. I passed a flock of thousands of them on the way home from delivering tofu. They are on their way to their summer home … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow
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Hello Again
I flipped the calendar page from February to March and saw I had crocus last March. That stirred me to investigate if the crocus under the horse chestnut were up. Up they are, loads of them. Daffodils too. Every year … Continue reading
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Apple Aged
There is one apple left on the apple tree. After going through fall, a week of snow, freezing temperatures, rain and more rain, it’s still hanging on. Aged apple. When will it finally drop? It looks like an asteroid that … Continue reading
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Worries Away
Light snows during the night and on the surrounding hills were of concern when the forecast was calling for bitter cold starting Sunday night. Since mid week some forecasts called for morning lows down to 5ºF/-15ºC this coming Tuesday and … Continue reading
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December Blue and Green
Quite a spectacular morning for late December. It’s like a brilliant spring day. The hard frosts in October and November didn’t kill off the arugula and having a bed of fresh arugula in winter is a treat. Other hardy greens … Continue reading
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Frosty
Thursday morning was frosty for a change. The Flickers, Jays, and other birds have yet to finish eating all the apples. This morning Spotted Towhees are making a breakfast of this apple. For December, mornings have been mild. In some … Continue reading
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OK, Boomer
The weak December sun filters through the woods, casting long shadows. Less than a week and the shadows will shorten, the sun rays strengthen, and the chickens will get up earlier. Even though Swans have an affinity for muddy fields, … Continue reading
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Know Your Body – Know Your Feathers
It’s a mild, foggy, winter morning. So far it has been a dry fall and winter. Usually at the end of November, wild and woolly weather has trees toppling over, rain falling like sheets, and rivers overflowing. Some years we … Continue reading
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Chaos Must Work
Winter has arrived in the surrounding hills. The frosty mornings make going out in the morning to let the chickens out an invigorating experience. There is something purifying about the frost. It clears the mind, it clears the air, it … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow
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All the Leaves are Gone
All the leaves are gone, almost, and the clouds are not grey today. At first it was clear when I stepped outside before dawn to make tofu in the cabin. The fog rolled in when we rolled out of here … Continue reading
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Autumn is Just as Colorful as Spring
Autumn is just as colorful as spring. The sun was out a few days ago, shining on the last comfrey in bloom. In the spring comfrey blooms against a backdrop of new green. In the fall its purple flowers shine … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow, Reflections
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How Did I Get So Lucky?
How many are able to step out of their kitchen, take a short walk into the woods, and come home with a plate full of fresh shaggy parasol mushrooms for dinner? Not many. How did I get so lucky? The … Continue reading
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