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Backyard Farm – December Notes on Christmas Morning

December 25, 2013

Bishop berrries, Composting, Gardening, mulching, Potato Growing, Strawberry , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

My postings for the past couple of months have slowed a little but I have tended to some of the chores!
• Spreading compost from the bin on the right and turning the bin on the left.
• Son Ben did a fantastic job adding gravel around the edges. Looks great! An early and well appreciated Christmas gift.
• Turned ad prepped the bed for potato planting.
• Cut back the Asparagus ferns and added a layer of compost and leaf mulch. Gotta love Houston, two days ago I noticed several young shoots about 6 inches above the mulch…my reward for taking care of the bed. NOW GO TO SLEEP DANG NABBIT!
• Carrots and sugar snap peas have emerged from the late fall plantings.
• Planted 6 Blueberry plants and 8 replacement bare root blackberry plants – Ben was a little overzealous when he added a pvc irrigation line in the blackberry bed. We had a good laugh!
• Planted more Chard and Beet seeds yesterday as well as some red onion seeds in the front portion of the potato bed.

December 4th I ate my first ripe strawberry – way too early, it was kinda small and misshapen but it was sweet! Inspection yesterday showed numerous blossoms and a few dozen green berries trying to fill out. It may be another stellar strawberry year and maybe, just maybe a few more jars of jam to share.

One of several confused strawberries. This was the little one I ate! Yum

One of several confused strawberries. This was the little one I ate! Yum

TTFN & Merry Christmas – share something wonderful with those you love!

Bishop

Paso Robles and Morro Rock

December 2, 2013

Bishop California, Photography, Travel , , , , 2 Comments

I enjoy taking Highway 46 from Highway 1 near Harmony….south of San Simeon and Hearst Castle to highway 101 in Paso Robles. The views can be spectacular. There is a vista point along the highway heading east that affords a spectacular look back toward Morro Rock and the Morro Bay area, weather cooperating.

About a year ago I was driving my mother from her home in Los Osos, CA to Bakersfield, CA. I normally catch Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo and head back to Paso Robles and then on to Bakersfield. Mom prefers “her’ route! Mom has the route timed and the stops carefully designated to accommodate her “needs”. That means we drive her route and on her timetable! That is unfortunate for me! I almost always travel with a camera or two or three! On this trip I had just two. As we began the climb up and over the Coastal Range toward Paso Robles I caught an amazingly clear view of the Morro Rock and the Bay. It was early morning within the golden hour after sunrise. It was  absolutely amazing. I pulled of into the turnout and was prepared to snap a few shots. Again, unfortunately, I was not in charge and this was a disruption to her timetable. I “snapped” as many visual mental images as I could with out stopping. The images were and are still held in my memory . The problem is – I haven’t figured out how to hook a USB cable to my brain and download the images. You will just have to trust me that they would have been awesome through the camera lens.

I have driven this route four or five times since that trip but the fog, the sun or the clouds precluded a photo shoot. In early November this year I got a chance. The Morro Rock view was nice but still not close to the image I have stored in my itty bitty brain. I was pleased with the morning light on the fall colored vineyards just outside of Paso Robles. Click on an image to scroll through the gallery.

I am going to keep trying to get the shot!

TTFN

Bishop