Homeport Eatery

There's a great new restaurant in town! And they are buying some of my produce!

It's actually a cool food court. Here are the girls at the North Sister Juicery. Eva is holding this morning's delivery of spinach.

 And this is Teal West....The owner of the place. She is standing by her deli counter.

Everything looks so delicious and fun....

Desserts...

Beautiful salads....

And deli sandwiches...

They also have root beer floats..

 And a Beer and Wine counter where they feature cheese and smoked salmon platters.

Make sure you go down town and check it out!

Perfect Weather For A Duck

It's the Monsoon season.....weather that is fit for only a duck! Business was slow today, and I was actually glad.

The Coleman family braved the weather and here's Cedar and Rosie, checking out the ducklings...

Oh my gosh, I don't know which are cuter, the ducklings or the children!

Yesterday I let the mother duck and the babies join the rest of the herd....

As soon as I opened the gate, she just marched those 11 ducklings right down the hill...

She takes really good care of them and the other ducks leave them alone...

Here's hoping the eagles, bears, mink, dogs, ravens and cats leave them alone.

Eleven Ducklings In A "Heated Garage"

Well, the rain has set in, but business has not slowed down at all out here at the U-pick. More and more people are hearing about it and coming out to check it out for themselves...and once they taste the fresh produce, they keep coming back.  Too bad I don't have a couple of acres!

The ducklings are growing so fast.....11 ducklings is a lot for one small Mallard hen to take care of.

Baby ducklings get tired frequently during the course of they day, and when they need a nap they just burrow underneath the mother where it is warm and cozy and safe.

Unfortunately, there's not enough room under there for 11 ducklings that are growing like weeds! Notice how the mother spreads her wings out and braces them on the ground....I don't think she ever gets to relax and lay down herself.

She's such a good little mother!

Guest Blogger

Hi Everyone! This is Lisa Ropp, filling in for Lori today. I thought it would be fun to blog for Lori and take some pictures of her doing what she does so well, gardening!

Here's a photo of me with my husband, Ron. We have been working for Dale & Lori this summer, doing sightseeing and fishing trips on their boat. Lori and I have known each other since we were little kids, so it's been fun being in Sitka and hanging out with her!

 Here's Lori & I tying bundles of Garlic Greens for the farmer's market and having fun in the process.

Here's Lori in her beautiful garden, picking items for the gift basket she will take to the farmer's market. The market is open down at the ANB Hall every other Saturday from 10:00 to 1:00.

Here's Mr. & Mrs. Adams!

Cutting herbs for the basket.

 Working on the basket.

Here's the finished product!

Time to set up.

Looks great!

Lori had a busy day!

This shopper is checking out Lori's book, "How To Grow Vegetables In Sitka Alaska".

And, as always, there's the clean-up afterward. When Lori gets home, the garden is open till 6, so the work isn't really done yet.

The winner of the basket stopped by the garden to pick it up! He was so pleased!

And one of the neighbors stopped by to cut fresh cilantro. There's nothing like something fresh from the garden!

In between customers, it's time to make homemade mayonnaise. Yum!!! She also made garlic scape pesto. Delicious!

I have been enjoying veggies from Lori's garden, and it's fantastic! I hope you enjoyed this blog about Lori's day!

"Hello, Radishes!"

Today, Brandon and Mekenna stopped in with their grandparents to see the baby ducks and pick some produce. The kids were totally "into" picking vegetables and agreed to help me photograph a new tutorial.

HOW TO PICK RADISHES

I usually only plant "long" radishes here at the U-Pick garden. I find they provide more volumne per square inch than round ones. I have both red and white varieties.

1. Select a radish that looks large enough to suit you. Most of the time they are poking up out of the ground a bit, so it is easy to tell how large they are. 

2. Be sure it's the one you want....radishes are 20 cents a piece regardless of size.

3. Grasp the plant at the base of the stem and give it a little pull.

4. Radishes pull up easy!

Watch again carefully.....

It's so easy, a child can do it!

This year's radishes are so juicy and delicious! It must be all of that rain and sun we've been having!
Thanks, guys....you did a great job!

It's Gift Basket Season!

It's that time of the year again.....Gift Basket Season!

These baskets make great gifts at $40 plus tax. Just call me to order one and I'll have it ready for you to pick up when you want it, or I can deliver it for you after business hours. They are stuffed full of vegetables and come with a boquet of flowers and a boquet of herbs. A gift basket is the PERFECT gift for that person who has everything. The contents are consumable - not something that is just going to sit on the shelf and take up space....A fabulous "Taste of Sitka!"

And.....here are some fabulous photos of the ducks that Ben took today....

 photo courtesy of Ben Adams Photography

 photo courtesy of Ben Adams Photography

 photo courtesy of Ben Adams Photography

photo courtesy of Ben Adams Photography

Happy 4th everyone!

There Was An Old Lady

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.

She had so many children, she didn't know what to do;

She gave them some broth without any bread;

Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

Nine hatched, Five to go!