10 Random Tidbits

1. The ducks have been locked out of the greater part of the garden all summer to keep them from eating and pooping on the vegetables.....

But now the season is over, so a couple of days ago I took the fence down. The funny thing about ducks is that in their minds the fence is still up. I herd them across "the line" and they are all scared and confused, and the minute I turn and walk away they scurry back into the "safe" zone. I really want them to work over my beds, so I kept "encouraging" them to go over the line, but for the most part they just stood huddled together looking stupid.

Today they were a little braver and ventured across the line a bit more on their own...

 Goodbye, Lettuce!

2. Kitty has mad, bird-killing skills....

I felt bad for the bird, but couldn't help being proud of Kitty.

3. I started thinking that Kitty was a genius, but then I saw him drinking out of the muddy, poopy, duck pond

 How smart can that be?

4. When I was driving the boat into Sitka between trips this Fall I saw some interesting con-trails in the sky...

Not only was there a lot of air traffic that morning.....this was the second U-turn we witnessed!

What's up with that?

5. A guy stopped by yesterday and asked me if I would be interested in growing Marijuana for him. He said he'd received his medical Marijuana card and was looking for a grower. I told him "No".

6. On a recent stop in Seattle, Mr. Adams and I visited the Pike Street Market....

And while we were there we saw this display for duck eggs.....

WOW! $8.00 a dozen....I charge $5.00 here in Sitka......hmmmmm

7. While we were in the big city we needed to buy some toothbrushes.....

Oh my goodness.....who knew there were so many different types of toothbrushes in the world?

We were quite overwhelmed...

Keep in mind that this one store alone had more merchandise in it than all of our stores in Sitka combined...

I sure hope we bought the right ones.

8. I harvested these tomatoes yesterday.....

And they were all grown here in Sitka, OUTSIDE......see, it can be done.....

9. A friend of mine made Red Huckleberry Juice and gave me a quart to try....

 Photo courtesy of Sarah Eischen

It was so delicious that I soon dispensed with the formality of using a cup and drank it straight from the jar. 

I wonder if it's good for you to drink that much Red Huckleberry juice in a 24 hour period?

And finally...

10. Quite a few of my potato plants grew potato berries this year....

Isn't that weird?

This Time I Mean It!!!!

Every Fall I when I see the amount of Purple Cabbages in my garden that failed to mature, I swear that I'm never going to grow them again....

But then, in the Spring, those tempting seed catalogs arrive in my mailbox........and I fall for it all over again....

All those beautiful cabbages, in all those beautiful shapes and colors, with all those beautiful promises of an early harvest....

And I remember how wonderful it is that slugs seem to leave the Purple Cabbages alone....

But this time, as I look at my long row of unharvested, miniature Purple Cabbages, I mean it.....I REALLY MEAN IT!!!! I'm never growing Purple Cabbage again!!!

School Field Trip

Today the kids from the 7th Day Adventist School came to the U-pick Garden for a field trip. It was a little drizzly outside, but not too bad....

"Who can eat Lemon Sorrel without making a face?"

The kids got the tour and then were each given $1.00 to spend....

Carrots were the most popular item...

Now it's time to wash up...

"Who had fun at the U-pick Garden today?"

Me too!  Thanks for bringing everyone, Miss Callie!

Trying To Catch Up On Things

We're back! It's been pretty hectic around here trying to get back in the swing of things. Things went well and I kept busy quilting, cooking, and taking naps.

Here's some photos of the quilt I'm working on...

On a beautiful sunny day, the back deck makes a surprisingly nice place to baste together a quilt!

This quilt is for a young Sitka couple that moved away and got married this summer.

Here's some photos of the food we ate....

Pico de Gallo with Mango on Halibut Tacos....

 Dungeness Crab on the back deck...

Spot Prawns...

And Coconut Curry Simmering Sauce....

I know the photos make it look like all we eat is seafood, but actually we don't! There were lots of boring soups, roasts and steaks thrown in there too.

There are no photos of the wonderful naps I took.... not a pretty sight.

Turn-Around Day

Hi Everyone! One trip down and one to go.

My day started out early...very, very early....with wheel watch....

But I wasn't alone...soon the porpoises came to join me!

 The love to swim with the boat...riding the underwater "wave" from the bow of the boat.

At about noon we reached Sitka......Ahhhhh, beautiful, wonderful Sitka....a place where little girls in dresses carry guns....

Where mysterious "gifts" like liferings show up in your car.....and any one of about 100 people you know could have left it there for you.

Where the sun was totally shining! Not the norm this time of year. I made a quick stop at the grocery store to stock up on a few supplies...

And then spent some time in the garden, watering the plants, petting the ducks,  and picking produce...

After dinner we went through the mail and paid some bills. Now it's time for bed and we will get up at 0'dark:30 to head out for the next 10 day trip....out of sight, out of touch, out of cell phone range....see you!

We're Going On A Bear Hunt

Well, it's that time of year again....Fall means Bear hunting time. I will be out of cell phone range most of the time, and when we are in cell phone range it's sketchy as best. On top of that....Levi is gone so noone will be blogging while I am gone.

I will pick up again when we get home late September. See you then!

Sunflower Seeds

The Sunflowers are doing so well this year....

I think all of the beautiful, sunny Summer we had this year had something to do with it. But, you know, they usually do pretty good for me on the rainy years too.

Many people think that it's not possible to grow Sunflowers for seeds in Sitka, but it is definitely possible....The first thing you have to do is select varieties to grow that are bred to produce edible seeds. Not all of them are....some are bred just to look pretty. I have some varieties that produce large heads...

And some varieties that produce small heads....

The outside round of seeds mature first and the inside round of seeds mature last. It's very hard to wait until all of the seeds have matured. I just HAD to pick a few early....they are SO good!

 Incidentally, we found out this Summer that the immature seeds have tender hulls and taste delicious if you eat them hull and all!  Who knew?

So, plant some Sunflowers next year!  Look how tall this one got....I figure it's about 12 feet tall...

It's a Sunflower tree!