BBRRRRRRR......

21 degrees this morning but I don't care cause I haz a warmy blanket....

So I'm not an expert in gardening....

Previous post below......when they start turning orange you realize those are not watermelons.  So pumpkin pie it is!!!!  The funny part is I don't remember putting any pumpkin in the compost pile but I guess I did!

We planted 4 watermelon plants in the first raised bed that haven't done SQUAT since planting, 6 weeks and they are still 2" high.  The rinds and seeds that we tossed in the compost pile however are doing very well.  Maybe next year we'll plant the whole garden in the compost pile.

Raccoons - adorable little woodland creatures or #$%^# pieces of %*&^?

What a difference a day makes.  I had just checked the corn to see how it was coming along, it was not even close to ready for harvest yet, but apparently that means nothing to hungry bandits.  They destroyed a couple of the neighbors gardens too.  I don't mind sharing but they left absolutely nothing behind.  Off to the farmers market we go....

Before:

and the depressing after:

Children of the corn

I wanted photographic evidence that we had corn cobs on the stalks, before the racoons come and eat it all.  They already nabbed one stalk the other night, and have also discovered the hummingbird feeders (dessert I guess).

new neighbors?

Bob went to get the mail and found two contractors preparing the lot next door for survey, apparently we are getting new neighbors.  A young family with a little girl from what we hear.  Looking forward to sitting on the porch and watching the construction.  And now that the girls have safety harnesses they can sit outside and watch too.

One mans weed is another mans wildflower

When your front yard looks like this you can call it a wildlife friendly meadow and you don't have to mow it!

Even the blackest thumb can grow zucchini

Two weeks of brutally hot weather and the garden took off like a rocket.   Just over night two cave man club sized zucchini grew as well as the pickle cucumber crop (phase 1 anyway, still lots of blossoms on those vines!!)  Made 2 loaves of zucchini bread, 2 more are on tap for this evening. 

Lessons in canning pickles:

1. canning food you grew yourself is fun!!!
2. mandoline slicers are VERY sharp
3. the little handle thingy that you are supposed to use to hold the vegetables is there for a reason
4. my finger that is missing a big chunk hurts a lot (no, there are no finger parts in the pickles)

We planted 4 watermelon plants in the first raised bed that haven't done SQUAT since planting, 6 weeks and they are still 2" high.  The rinds and seeds that we tossed in the compost pile however are doing very well.  Maybe next year we'll plant the whole garden in the compost pile.

Spring is the time for GARDENING!

We put the seedlings out a month ago and nothing was happening until the weather got hot last week, suddenly overnight everything shot up.  Hopefully we can keep the bugs and critters out!

We also started the long and slow project of tiling the basement floor, the tiny bit we have done so far looks good, it should be complete in a year or so.

Spring is in the air

The raised beds are full of soil and the "corn patch" got its first tilling.  The peas are already about 3" high and the tomato and pepper transplants will go outside this weekend.  Next week is vacation time so everything should be planted by end of week as well as all that spring yard work we have been ignoring.  It is very exciting after years of not having a garden to see food growing again!

Well I have been a complete loser at updating this lately but the gorgeous snow we got last night was worth a few pictures (before it all melts this afternoon).  Hard to believe but we'll be planting the garden seeds soon too!

Wakin' to a winter wonderland

We went to rock out with the Avett Brothers on Halloween night then raced home to beat the anticipated snow storm.  Woke up Sat morning to this postcard beauty.

Bebe isn't sure what to make of this, Api just yawned and went back to bed.

The beauty of fall...

A few pics from our house, the next couple of days are peak here.  Squint at the 3rd one and you can see our cabin peeking through the trees.

We went to vote yesterday just around the corner from the house and were greeted by this stunning view of the Smokey Mountains to our west.  If our house were up another 25' higher we could see this out the back windows.

We always wondered what was over the other side of the ridge behind us, this is it.

And this is looking at our neighborhood from the ridge at the firestation behind us (where the picture of Pisgah was taken, facing the other direction)

Fall is creeping in

It amazes me how much change there is in one day, we get up every morning and venture out to get the paper and it's a wonderland of color "hey that tree was NOT red yesterday!"  Another week to 10 days and we should be at full peak.  Here's a little taste from this weekend.

The first taste of fall

Temps were in the 40's last week, that was enough to kick the trees into gear.  The dogwood and sourwood are beautiful red, just yesterday the tops of the birch and oak started to yellow.  The sourwood right off the deck is the same burst of red you see at the top of the driveway.

I have been searching for a place to get a long range shot of the cabin in it's woodsy surrounding, found this spot squatting in a neighbors driveway, I think it will be a great place to take pics of Christmas lights.

At the exit ramp closest to our house they planted a field of sunflowers, people were pulled over all down both sides of the ramp to take pictures they are so pretty.  I hope to go back tomorrow with a better camera, the old phone cam doesn't do them justice.