A Tour of the Garden in Flowers, July 2009 (FBF)

Tomatoes above, pole bean and cucumber below.











Tobacco beginning to bloom and blooming apple mint against pink zinnias.
















Mullein and motherwort.
















California poppies and summer squash.



















Blue potato blossom and garlic chives.
















Purple coneflowers (echinacea).









Milk thistle and amaranth.








































Amaranth blossom and amaranth plants.
Lovely moon flowers with heavenly scent.


































White nicotiana, purple cleome and white cosmos, parti-colored cosmos, and sunflower with pollen-laden bees.

FARM TOUR: JULY (FBF)

A stormy Sunday afternoon and the perfect day for a trip to the farm. Rounding the butte and entering Vale. I get pretty excited about skies like this. In summer here you can go for days without seeing a single cloud, so the change of pace is nice. And it smells great.

On the bench above the farm, the smell of alfalfa and some unusual clouds.

Coming down the lane. Periwinkle skies. Soft, green fields.

The aisle between the tomatoes and the beans. Mom says this is her favorite view.

Quinoa and amaranth.

Summer squash and potatoes. Behind them, the poppies still blooming in the asparagus patch.

The beautiful, silvery Russian olive tree at the back of the garden. I just learned that these trees are nitrogen fixers, which is how they can thrive in some of the West's most inhospitable places. I like their toughness, their determination to thrive in the dryest, dustiest canyons. And I love their shiny red bark and silvery leaves.

Looking toward the bean trellisses at about 1/3 of the garden.

The water feature. The sink comes from the Malheur County jail in Vale, to enjoy a more peaceful retirement here. Today I add a golfish and a few guppies formerly from my tank. I think they're going to like this much better.

The storm is whipping the tops of the trees around and starting to spit rain.

In the "cool garden" the lettuces are less bolty than I would have expected.

A view from the lawn toward the greenhouse. The larkspur just seem to be blooming forever this year.

The poppies are spent, but I love their little crowned heads.

By now the rain is really coming down, so we fortify with umbrellas and pilsner glasses. On tap today: a trio of beers from Beer Valley Brewing Company in Ontario. The Leafer Madness is a big mouthful of hops.

Hello lunch.

Mom sows onions with the brassicas to keep a pest away, the name of which I immediately forget. Mmm. The beer's good.

Happy broccoli.

Chicory.

The pea trellis.

Time for lunch! Fresh peas and squashes from the garden.

Squash porn!

Mom has always set a beautiful table, and today is no exception.

A long walk after lunch down to the end of the property and back, complete with the horned owl double-sighting and a rare glimpse of a tanager, it's time to head home. On the way I stop to say hi to the neighbors' goats.

It's vistas like this that fill my cup for the week ahead.

Where the Wild Things Are: Owls (FBF)

Here's a creek view from the orchard. The tree hanging over the creek is a box elder. Many times we've floated down the creek and under the tree to spy a horned owl hanging out in there. For awhile there was a pair, but recently just one. Lately Mom says she's been seeing a second horned owl again.

And on our walk through the woods, there they were.

This one was being dive-bombed by an angry tanager. If you click on the photo you can see the tanager to the right of the owl.

The second owl left a memento.