Fields of Blooms

Camas lilies and lupines are in full bloom all over Camas County.

Camas lily (Camassia quamash)
















Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, wrote of the camas lily in his journal in the spring of 1806: "The quawmash is now in blume and from the colour of its bloom at a short distance it resembles lakes of fine clear water, so complete in this deseption that on first sight I could have sworn it was water."


























Yellow headed blackbird found in the Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh







































Wild lupine (Lupinus perennis)

That Smell...

Try as I might I don't think I can possibly convey the amazing scent that is being given off by the fruit tree which is just steps from my front door.

The first thing that comes to mind when the scent hits my olfactory glands is "Can't you smell that smell?" (I think it's an age thing) but using lyrics from a Lynyrd Skynyrd song who's origins lie in alcohol and drug abuse and the referenced "smell" is the smell of death is probably not the proper way to try to convey the amazing scent that is heralding Spring even more so than the color that is popping all over the place.

So instead an e e cummings poem.

spring omnipotent goddess Thou

Spring omnipotent goddess Thou
dost stuff parks
with overgrown pimply
chevaliers and gumchewing giggly

damosels Thou dost
persuade to serenade
his lady the musical tom-cat
Thou dost inveigle

into crossing sidewalks the
unwary june-bug and the frivolous
angleworm
thou dost hang canary birds in parlour windows

Spring slattern of seasons
you have soggy legs
and a muddy petticoat
drowsy

is your hair your
eyes are sticky with
dream and you have a sloppy body from

being brought to bed of crocuses
when you sing in your whisky voice
the grass rises on the head of the earth
and all the trees are put on edge

spring
of the excellent jostle of
thy hips
and the superior

slobber of your breasts i
am so very fond that my
soul inside of me hollers
for thou comest

and your hands are the snow and thy
fingers are the rain
and your
feet O your feet

freakish
feet feet incorrigible

ragging the world

e e cummings



















So I think the fruit tree is a pear tree but I'm not certain. Maybe apple?
Any suggestions?











More tulips.

Finally some color!

The tulips have finally bloomed.



And there are grape hyacinths randomly popping up all over the yard.

The beginner gardener grows some grass.

Yes, it's true.

I am growing grass.

The sprouts that sprung from my blocks are not butter crunch lettuce.
They are not eggplant.
And...they are not lovage.

The little sprouts that I was so excited about are grass. The sprouts were getting pretty leggy and I was ready to transfer them into pots until the garden is ready, however, now...well, I won't be putting blades of grass into pots.

But...

if you look closely...

hiding in the grass is what I believe to be a legitimate sprout of some sort. I believe it is lovage. I will have to wait and see. I will also wait to see if the other blocks produce something other than the grass. And, I know I must help the blocks along and clear the grass but I am not so interested in removing them. These blades of grass. The first thing I ever grew

On another note, the weather is not quite ready to give it all up to Spring. Forecasted temperatures for the weekend are lows in the 20s. I don't mind so much. Plan for the weekend is to play with rocks. Rock work I am sure is better when it is cooler out.

Fun on the farm and some micro alpine flora, maybe it is Spring after all?

Today I spent the better part of my day at the "Kelok Illahee" farm owned by Dick and Melinda Springs located in Gannett, Idaho just south of Bellevue. The farm, which means home of the sandhill crane in Chinook, is an amazing place and I am grateful that Dick and Melinda share what they have created with others.

I was there attending the third session of my Vegetable Gardening 102 class, offerend through CSI and led by Dick and Melinda. We were there to learn how to build a hoop house which is often used to extend the growing season. Little did I know how fun and interesting the whole day would turn out to be. Not only did we learn all about hoop houses but we also learned about raising chickens and pigs and we toured the whole farm. Animals to be found at "Kelok Illahee" include: emus, chickens, pigs, pygmy goats, geese, ducks, dogs and cats.

I need to sort through all of my photos and create a few different slide shows but for now here are a few photos from a very fun day on the farm!

And...

Since there is nothing that is going to bloom anytime soon in my own yard I am posting a few photos of micro alpine flora from my first spring hike up Heidelberg Hill in Ketchum.

The forecast calls for snow!

Yup it's true. One to two inches of the stuff by morning.

But...

The forecast also calls for temperatures in the 60s by the weekend. Welcome to the high desert mountain region of central Idaho.

And...

As of today I have almost completed the new composting structure. So far I have only invested a half an hour of time and a couple of new self tapping screws into the structure itself. I did however spend about an hour regrading the area where I am to install it.

Here is an overall update photo of the backyard. The compost is to the right of the shed. The dog in the foreground of the photo is a new found friend who comes to visit daily, Jackson the Dog, and in the background is my ever faithful companion and friend, Tucker the Dog. They have both been contributing daily to the toils in the yard. And... all of my gardening planning will be affected to some degree by the Tuckster. i.e. additional fencing around the composting, fencing around the veggie beds, etc, etc... Wouldn't have it any other way though.

Oh and note the last little pile of debris near Jackson to be taken out with the trash on Wednesday. Then, all that will be left will be organic material in the yard. Well, except for the dang cigarette butts...

And here is a photo of the compost structure.

It doesn't look like much, in fact it kind of looks like it is being created to keep in some sort of animal, but hopefully it will someday contain some really nice decaying organic matter. With earthworms to boot.

First though, I need to learn a little about layering the green and the brown and adding moisture and turning properly and keeping the dog out and keeping other critters out and well...first I have to finish creating it. It's not that stable yet. If you look closely the branches to the right are hopefully to be used to create some sort of fencing. Perhaps...

As I am looking at the photos I really cannot wait until some color is to be found in the yard.

24, 48 and 72 hours later

I must admit I'm extremely excited about my soil blocks. Posting photos from 24, 48 and 72 hours after they sprouted.