Home

Thanks Dad

June 17, 2012

Bishop Gardening, Hand watering, Memories, Philosophical, Relationships 2 Comments

Kathryn(Kiwiparks) – I read your post this morning and became a little misty eyed. Thoughts of my Dad, who  passed away in 2001, came floooding back. He gave me my love for both the outdoors and of vegetable gardening. I have mentioned in previous posts my love of hand watering, apparently a genetic trait, standing in the garden, surveying the plants, enveloped in a calm and usualy quiet world, the sounds of water gently spashing across the plants and soil, the smell of damp earth and a visual of my Dad with the hose in one hand and a coffee mug of Carlo Rossi Heary Burgandy in the other….Yes, what a memory and what a long rambling complex sentence…that is how my brain works sometimes when the memories flood in….

Image

One of my favorite photos of my Dad, circa 1967, he was about 41 at the time. We were quail hunting up in the Kern River area.

Image

I always carried a camera, this was with my Olympus Pen FT, half frame 35mm SLR. I saw dad sitting on this rock and shot this photo and then walked over for the one shown above. Thanks Dad!

The genetic link goes back even further, Charleston, Illinois – From my mother’s side, the Rennels family was a prominent and respected broom corn farmers. The Decker clan hailed out of Missouri, farmers tracing the farming lineage back into the very early 1700’s in the US, New York, Kentucky and lastly Missouri. Both Grandfathers, Rennels and Decker, left the tough life of farming behind in the 1920’s and moved to California. The oilfields were booming and both made good lives for their families from the oil industry. Roots do grow deep – I remmeber watching grandpa Rennels kill, scald and butcher some hogs around 1958 or 1959. I watched as he and grandma made sausage which we had with breakfast a few days later. Yum! Grandpa Decker kept chickens for both meat and eggs, grew tomatoes and had the best apricot tree and well as a few citrus trees. Grandma Decker attemted to teach me how to wring a chickens neck – I failed miserable in technique but was successful in the results.

Image

Great Grandma and Grandpa Decker in Licking Missouri. Date is a guess – 1940’s????

 

Image

Grandpa Decker -From farmer to the oilfields – early 1960’s

Image

Grandpa and Grandma Rennels – with my mom and the Aunts and Uncles. 1951 or 1952 time frame.

On the Other Side of The Hill From San Francisco

June 11, 2012

Bishop Gardening 4 Comments

I am over the hill this week from one of my fellow bloggers from Texas, http://kiwsparks.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/san-francisco-fabulous-as-always/#comment-6552

Kathryn is enjoying the sights and sounds of the San Francisco city…..the link above will show you what she is up to. I am over on the eastside of the Bay, over the hill from Oakland in Livermore. My niece, Karen was married last night at a beautiful winery, Rios Lovell Winery; rios-lovellwinery.com. It was warm for Livermore folks but for this Texas lad it was so nice. It made feel at home when a hen turkey strutted out from vineyards and played hide and seek with my niece’s son Will.

Will’s turkey on a trot.

The ceremony was brief and to the point! Eleven minutes and forty-two seconds! Plus or minus a little. It was Two young people exchanging vows they had written for each other and that made it very real and very special. A light breeze during the ceremony and then off to the picture-taking marathon!

Beautiful setting to exchange vows.

Across the street were vistas of vineyards and sun-kissed hills to the south and east. Livermore is gaining a great reputation for wines that has superceded its recognition as home to the national lab located here. The old downtown has been revitalized and made very pedestrian friendly. See wrongly posted beer blog by a techno dummy!

A look toward the south-east from the Rios Lovell winery.

TTFN

Bishop

Farmer Kathy

June 9, 2012

Bishop Family, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, Relationships , , 5 Comments

In my line of work – the work that pays the bills – I am sometimes forced into that “make hay while the sun shines” mode….I am in the midst of one of those modes.  About 7 straight weeks of United Airlines seats and connections – I am still longing for Continental Airlines service because it disappeared at the merger – hotel beds, cardboard tomatoes,  Avis rental cars and an occasional bit tongue when dealing with my clients.

I am fortunate to have” Farmer Kathy” at home while I am away. Now, she does not necessarily have my level of passion for the garden but she seems to love me enough to take on most of the farmer duties. She waters, she pulls weeds – in this task she may exceed my attention to detail, thanks Hun – she gladly harvests the goodies….this morning( June 6th)  she told me about all of the blackberries she picked, many eaten on the spot – I was hoping some would make it to the freezer for my jam making efforts. She noted that the strawberry harvest is slowing down but the Sequoia plants in a bed near the back door are setting fruit! The tomatoes…. the slicing ones are overwhelming our needs and will need to be shared! Many of the cherry tomatoes succumb to the same fate many of the blackberries encounter…..immediate onsite consumption…..I can’t say as I blame her……..Farmer Bishop behaves in pretty much the same way.

A view of my garden taken about three weeks ago – just a reminder of what I am missing!

Coming up soon is a period of 8 0r 10 days when the Decker farmers will be on Holiday….Hopefully we can draft Lizzie and her young son Caleb who live just down thw street to swing by to harvest a little and apply a bit of water as needed. Daughter Lisa lives nearby and loves sliced cucumbers tossed with seasoned rice wine vinegar and sea salt…..I will see if I can trade some of her time for cucumbers!

I wanted to install a webcam so I could watch my lovelies out in the garden on my trips away but have run out of time…I may not have been able to convince the CFO, also known as Farmer Kathy, also known as my wife – that the camera is a necessary expenditure. Hmmmmm, I have been known to buy some things without consultation in the past and slept on the couch as my wounds healed….. Could it be worth it is the question I need to ask????????

TTFN

Bishop

 

California Craft Beers- Snowshoe Brewery

June 9, 2012

Bishop Gardening , , , 1 Comment

Sitting in First Street Alehouse in Livermore California sampling a couple of beers and getting my tri-tip fix!!!
First up was the Snowshoe Pale Ale. Snowshoe Brewing Company is in the town of Arnold in the Calaveras county area made famous by Mark Twain and the 1849 California gold rush. The beer had a nice hop aroma and just enough bitterness to let you know that the hops are there. It was a nice compliment to the tri-tip sandwich! The tri-tip was not as rare as I prefer but I still enjoyed every bite.
Next up was Snowshoe’s Grizzly Brown. A beautiful creamy tan colored head covered the brown ale. The flavor is creeping up toward the toasty roasty taste of a porter but just a ways short. Their website compared it to a Newcastle Brown – Newcastle is a bit on the puny side of the Grizzly but in the same broad category. I like this Grizzly better than the Newcastle.
As I sit here sipping this brown ale, and sip and savor is a must with this brew, I contemplate whether I should sample a Berkley California brew. The Pyramid Apricot Ale sounds interesting as does their Hefeweizen!
Nope, went with the Lost Coast Great White. I am concerned about the unnamed secret blend of Humboldt herbs!!!!! I hope I am not subject to random drug testing! Nice beer – my wife Kathy would love it- citrusy like a Blue Moon or Shocktop but a little more subtle flavor .

Through My Garden Gate

June 3, 2012

Bishop Gardening 1 Comment

One of my favorite additions to the garden in the past year was the “Garden Gate”! It was driven partially out of necessity….my son’s dog, Sierra prefers to dig up my vegetable rather than my wife’s flower beds, so keeping her out was a big concern! Secondly, and probably more pleasing to me, it is the sound of the hinges creaking & squeaking, the return spring stretching and that sound of the latch catching securing the gate. It has been reminded me of the gate sounds from pleasant times visiting my grandparents in Taft, California. The squeaky hinges on the gate going into the back of the yard where the chickens were kept are still vivid in my memories. The sounds of hinges and the sounds of a rusty pulley on the counterweight  used by grandpa to “automatically” close the wire and pipe door to the henhouse. The distinct clang of metal against metal as it rattled shut are still clear. The sounds transport me back into a simpler and quieter time, so distant from the clutter of our current times.

As I step through my gate those sounds of the gate singing closed behind me transport me into my into my own little world…..it’s alright, they like me here! Kidding aside, it is a bit like a refuge, a haven, a time capsule to the past and a decompression chamber. The sweet smell of damp earth, the gentle swaying of the plants on the wind and the subtle daily changes of the veggies drawing life from the garden soil and waiting to be harvested and passing  on the goodness to me and friends.

My cousin Sandi and her husband Jack are in the Houston area for some medical tests and treatments. Our schedules finally coincided so I picked them up and brought them up to our house north of downtown Houston and more importantly to share my garden with them. Sandi and Jack live in the Albuquerque area and have their own garden haven in their back yard. I was had so much fun sharing my garden with them….hearing their gardening stories along with mine. We all reveled in how much produce can come from such small but well-tended gardens.  So join me in my video clip below as I step into my sanctuary….it really isn’t a one way trip but there are times I wish the caress of the garden would never end. Trust me….I will and must come back…… and await my next trip back through my “Garden Gate”!

TTFN

Bishop

Volunteerism and Tomatoes

May 28, 2012

Bishop Buzz Polination, Gardening, Tomato Growing, Vegetables, Volunteerism 7 Comments

Not sure about where to go with this concept but I will dive in. My compost piles gets pretty hot but not hot enough, apparently, to damage or disrupt the viability of tomatoes seeds. How do I know this? Well, almost every time I spread compost from my pile I see tomato sprouts in a week or so. They get weeded out and life goes on. This season one of these “volunteer” tomato sprouts managed to escape my evil weed pulling eye and was discovered at about 12 inches tall and very robust. Since I tend to be curious I let it go. It is now 6 + feet tall and loaded with small cherry style tomatoes with GREAT flavor. It is absolutely prolific, even as the day time temperatures are up near 90 F! I have never saved tomato seeds but I will be tempted this year.

I have heard that tomato plants respond well to a bit of rough play…slap them around a little and they produce better. I was sure there had to be some science to it so off to the web I went. Even though tomatoes are self pollinating they seem to benefit from some Buzz pollination….honey bees don’t generate enough energy….you need some volunteer big bombers…the Bumble Bees!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_pollination

Now, after understanding the need to “buzz” pollinate I tried to find some Bumble bees and ask them over every morning and or evening for a while…..I haven’t seem any RSVP’s nor “crashers” of the bumble bee kind so I took matters into my own hands so to speak this morning. I became a surrogate for my tomato blossoms and did my buzzing best to mimic the action. I grabbed my “Sonicare” toothbrush, and no dear – I did not use your brush….. it was mine, put on my yellow and black horizontal striped shirt…..not really, and went out to buzz around. I took my new toy out…Nikon J1 on video mode to capture my impersonating actions….Check out the video. After a little experimenting I was able to determine which blossoms would dispense pollen….a very visible emission! Watch closely….

TTFN

Bishop

Handful of the volunteer tomatoes….still green

Vicarious Gardening

May 24, 2012

Bishop Gardening Leave a comment

I am on the road again and my lovely and wonderful wife is diligently managing the garden duties. This past two days most of the garden communication has been via text messaging while I am able to during the sessions I am facilitating in Covington, Louisiana.

Tuesday May 22. 2012 9:41 AM

“Nice strawberry harvest this morning! Ate every one of them while watering!!!! – then some words checking on me…

I wasn’t able to respond immediately but I did grin at her comment….I was also a bit disappointed that there weren’t and berries to add to the bag in the freezer  for the next batch of jam. Some more traffic with sweet nothings and gobbledygook ….private stuff. Then!

May 23, 2012 1:25 PM

“How do I shut off a sprinkler that is stuck on.!? I already tirned(sp) sprinkler box off so could it be a valve?” (Reference to our automatic watering system)

I replied, “It is the valve. On the side of the house by the AC unit is a valve”

She replied, “By the front of the house where the hose is?”

I texted back, “By the front. Yes by the hose.”

She then asked, “ Are they levers? Or a round one like for the hose.”

I paused for a moment and then typed back, “I am closing my eyes and trying to picture it. I believe there is like a T handle positioned in the line with the pipe and it should be turned sideways.”

Her response clarifies my image. “One is sideways and one is up and down? “ (not really a question but I know it is posed as one)

“Turn the up and down one sideways”, is my response.

“process of elimination?, was the response. I simply stated, Yes”

“Got it.. Thanks”, she noted. Then we discussed in a bit of detail the need to call the repair folks. I did want to know which station hung open and she responded, “ Two…..The tall riser in the strawberries………… Both in the back yard.”

A bit more business stuff and at 2:33 PM her text message was, “ Oh!. FYI….I picked a big tomato this morning!” My immediate response was, “Have you sampled it yet?”

She replied immediately, “ Not yet… But if anything like the cherry ones I had the other day, it will be yummy.” I quizzed her a little on which plant it came off of – it was the Celebrity plant! I asked her to send me a picture and a few hours later it arrived. Looks good enough to eat, eh?

Phone photo capture….lovely red, ripe and ready……TOMATO

Kathy….again thanks for keeping the garden going and  sending bits and pieces of the enjoyment you know I am missing from the garden…and yes – I do miss you too!

TTFN

Bishop

A New Gardening Convert

May 22, 2012

Bishop Gardening, Pest Control, Tomato Growing 2 Comments

I am smiling this evening sitting in my hotel room in Covington, Louisiana tonight. My good friend John, the one I have mentioned many times in the past, has become a convert. Now he hasn’t said it out loud but as they say…..actions speak louder than words. A couple of weeks ago he Pismo proofed his garden…Pismo is his tomato eating golden retriever. We both thought the problem was solved… Then there was evidence of a bird attack on the tomatoes… OK let them have a bite or two near where they can perch and the others can ripen… Then came the rodent attack and it was ugly. On my first view they had eaten the inside out of a nice sized Celebrity tomato. They must have put out a dinner call because in two days every single tomato at every stage of development was gone, disappeared, consumed and gnawed off to the stem. They left their telltale calling cards…mouse droppings.

The conversion bug hit John! We talked this past week about traps and such but I didn’t follow through. John did and did so in a big way. First night with the traps he dispatched two of the gnawing, nibbling nemesis of his efforts. Then he went over the top and bird proofed his two 4X4 raised beds. With his recent actions….I am convinced that the conversion is complete. John – welcome to the brotherhood of backyard gardeners and to be politically correct – an honorary sisterhood is bestowed on your wife Beverly for putting up with my tinkering in your back yard – The evidence is posted below in the form of photos sent just hours ago. Wear the mantle proudly!

Look closely lower right. John also warned me – I stop by and pull weeds once in awhile…it might be painful if not careful.

The support structure for the bird netting. Nice job John!

TTFN

Bishop

 

Growing Tomatoes, Beans and Other Things

May 18, 2012

Bishop Gardening, Philosophical, Relationships, Tomato Groeing, Vegetables , , , , 5 Comments

I am learning all the time……my recent lessons include “patience” and “trust”. The little back yard farm is a classroom of life’s little lessons. So – off to school!

Patience is a virtue – we have all heard that old and well-worn cliché but……..it is so true. I love to see my garden grow and most importantly watch it  produce, produce( isn’t the English langauge funny this way – same spelling but oh so different meaning) with the quality and taste absent from the supermarket produce….there’s that word again. So. my lesson on patience – I planted an heirloom variety of tomato this year that gets great reviews from many home growers, Mortgage Lifter. My friends, Jane and John here in Kingwood mention it frequently. The plant grew beautifully, tall, strong and lots of blossoms. The blossoms would bloom, then wither, die and fall off. Oh I searched the web for an answer – not much luck as  the symptoms did not show up on my adjacent tomato plants, in fact with the exception of the Beefmaster variety, everything is loaded with young and growing tomatoes. 10 days ago I was ready to rip that plant out of the ground and start over….. slow down Bishop, show some patience, let things develop at their own pace and by golly the plant stepped forward and showed me one developing tomato last Sunday – Mother’s Day! I was leaving for a consulting job off in Midland Texas….gotta pay for my hobbies – and I decided to give it another week. Well on my return, guess what – the one was looking good and several more are developing nicely – see photo below. I just did a little web search and may add morning and late evening “shaking” to my tomato cages to aid in fruit set. The Beefmaster….it too has a few tomatoes on it when I checked it this morning so it also earned a reprieve…

Mortgage Lifter – Looking good! And companions too!

Beans – they are doing well. I like the looks of the purple pole beans as they mature. They emerge from  the beautiful purple blossoms green! then as they gain size and length the slowly morph into that deep purple color. Unfortunately they lose that wonderful color while being cooked….oh well! at least for a bit…I can enjoy the color.

Well on its way to purple….they are fun to watch as they mature.

I have been gathering green beans from both my accidental plantings of bush beans and from my conscious efforts to grow bush beans…I have added more of the pole beans but they are a few weeks away from producing. I took a hanging bucket that hosted an upside down tomato plant last year and planted bush beans on the top side. They are doing very very well. Makes me wonder if “container growing” for bush beans might be a good option. My biggest complaint  – and it is not a big one – is that they grow low to the ground and I am up there at about 6’3″ off the ground….a long ways from those tasty pods. I am still limber and healthy enough at 61 to pick those ground hugging varieties but this hanging basket will make it easier to harvest the produce and actually looks pretty good to boot. There are some purple bush varieties many actually pass as an ornamental as well as a source for a side dish. Gotta give it a try.

Nice green basket – the flowers will be white – kind of boring so maybe I will try some of the purple ones too….a bit more aesthetically pleasing???

Cucumbers…asparagus…..strawberries…..blackberries…..peppers….. all are kicking in now. I checked a very dark purple/black blackberry for ripeness this morning and it fell off into my hand…….I was listening closely and I heard a plaintive cry……please, please don’t let me go to waste……so I didn’t – oh it was so good….can’t wait…wait a second, wasn’t I talking about patience….I better wait!

So close to being ready…..back off and wait!

I have getting some very nice Anaheim and Ancho peppers over the last few weeks. I roasted some on the grill last week and used them in a salad. So tasty. My Serrano peppers are a month or more away from producing. I had been looking at the nurseries for the last month and finally found some at the big box store – Lowes. I like buying at the local nursery but a man has got to do what a man has got to do.

A nice 6 or 7 inch long Anaheim pepper….I will be patient and give it a few more days!

Oh….I mentioned trust at the beginning of the post – well – I have been gone for  5 days and 11 hours, approximately….. in the past I have worried about my little plot while gone but I have become more comfortable in the last couple of years with trusting my wife to give the attention I want/need/like –  for my back yard farm…. I sent a text message early in the week as a reminder but I learned that she was tending to my babies in the back with nearly the same care I would give….Some of her efforts, I am sure, are driven by the benefits of the harvestasty goodies and maybe, just maybe driven by the love we share….. Should I run a poll on what y’all think the driving factor is?   I don’t think so…the Valentines day poll was a bit painful –  ;0  –

TTFN

Bishop

Did you all see the announcement – The 16th century home of Winnie the Pooh is on the market. Near the   ” 500-acre wood” –  is up for sale…just $ 3 plus million – USD – I wonder if I could put a big ktchen garden in on the property?

Garden Harvesst – Bragging Via my iPhone

May 11, 2012

Bishop Gardening 1 Comment

I was out in the garden yesterday morning and was enjoying the “cooler” temperatures…..hah, not cool by most folks standards but it’s all relative…75 degrees F at 6:30 AM. My daughter out in California, a great gardening spot called Camarillo, loves to garden and I love to brag a little – well maybe sometimes more than a little! I decided to quick send a few braggadocio photos via my iPhone…  Not my usual quality of photo resolution but fun nonetheless! She seemed to take my comments and sharing in a positive way! Isn’t that right Melissa?

I love the sharing but most of all I love to enjoy the freshness and flavor!

PS… I think I have a new gardening buddy, three-year old Caleb who lives two houses down the street. He and his mother came by to check out the garden. I kept a swatch of carrots waiting for the two of them to stop by – wanting Caleb to pull them up. He seemed to be really excited about pulling them up – I rinsed them off in my Valentine’s day sink (long story there) and let him and his mother take them home. I also picked a red, ripe strawberry for him to taste – his eyes lit up and he loved the flavor.  Ah…..the makings of another convert!

TTFN

Bishop

Older Entries Newer Entries