2.23.10

So I'm working from home this day, scrambling to get dressed and prepped and ready for a job interview. And it starts SNOWING. OMG, seriously?! I ran out and nabbed pics before I had to head out.

My igloo farm!

More igloo farm! I think it looks pretty cool. I liked this white frost cloth a lot better than the green ones I got first. Those got relegated to the backyard.

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Mr. Burpee!!!

Before blankets.

Threw some covers over my newly planted roses. Gah!

Even the yard cuttings look pretty with a dusting of snow!

The driveway bed, tucked in for the afternoon.

I put the strawberry cage over my fledgling artichokes, then threw blankets over top of that and crossed my fingers.

And now I scramble to get the backyard covered up...

I LOVE this fern. I don't want to lose it.

Covering the freshly planted pansies and any other hardy souls trying to brave the cold.

Wanted to stop and have a hot chocolate at this table, but had to get to the interview.

Thank goodness they're ceramic, or they would be c-o-o-o-o-l-d!

Ewwwweee! Dandruff.

Cold hippo is not happy.

Cold goat doesn't mind so much.

Dear Snow, please kill all of those nasty weeds so I don't have to pull them up myself. Kthxbai!

That piggy chiminea is begging to be used! It would have been so perfect to throw some logs in and sit and watch a fire. Alas - the interview.

All the while, this cucumber is growing - and FLOWERING - in my kitchen window. Gotta love that.

2.21.10

The early months of spring are always hard to wait out. Things look so bare! Last winter (2008, not 2009), I was able to get into the yard to cover everything when we were expecting a freeze. So, at this time last spring (2009), there was a lot of life and color in the yard. This winter (2009), I missed my mark for the very first cold snap, and it was a hard one. After that I sort of figured everything was a loss and focused on the front yard. Now I'm kicking myself. Fingers crossed that more things wake up, SOON! Here's sort of an "around the world" of the backyard, starting with the beds near the house and going counter-clockwise...

Oh, before I start, Angie and Chris are making their way back home to Alaska via Austin, so their shining faces made it into this entry as well! Hiya, Chris and Angie!

Not a lot going on here. All of the trumpet trees died, as did the geraniums, which I had been able to keep alive last winter and had woken up with a vengeance by this time last February. And the bulbines. And ice plant. Gah! But there ARE some lovely pansies that Chris and Angie helped me plant. Thanks, Chris and Angie!!

There's Angie, working hard to get her passport back. I mean, to help me pretty up the dormant beds...

Better view of the pansies, and you can see the weed-ridden "trash can bed" behind...

A pic Angie shared with me. I love seeing things through other people's perspectives. This is a hobby horse Trent surprised me with, having found it curbside in the 'hood, set out for bulk trash. Don't tell anyone!

I had had roses and rosemary and mandevilla and some other gorgeous things growing in all of these containers. Last year I pulled the roses and parked them up front, where they're doing great. The others all seem to have perished. I'll be putting more roses in, and hopefully get this area back in shape soon.

That fun, fuzzy green plant? That's a weed. Yeah. Those gangly, hard-to-see twigs? Dead plants. Yup.

Another fun pic from Angie. I need to set this pot full of puppies and kitties back into one of the beds. At least it'll add some color!

This is along the long back bed. This was a very cool hibiscus. I think it was three different varieties, braided together to form a little tree. Oh, I SO hope it comes back.

Hungry Hungry Hippo wants to know where all of my beautiful plants have got to!

More hibiscus and other things in the long back bed, looking quite dead.

Hiding our guests' passports until they have done enough back-breaking pansy planting.

Dead, dead, dead, and DEAD. I need to make time to get in there and cull the ick so the new growth can be seen.

It's so sad.

Chris, planting pansies. Yay, Chris!

Trent's Cowboys helmet. Love it! And some airplanes, and trucks, and ATVs. Very manly.

There's a skeletal fern, and a bunch of dead leaves. OMG. The carnage. Please, can't we fast forward to mid-Spring?

More pansies - the only things providing any color in the garden at all!

I think there's a little bit of green at the bottom of that feverfew. Right? Some green?

Ahhhh! Color!

Ryan's old Tonka truck. Love that thing! And a purple grass that isn't looking very purple. And an awesome mirrored bowling ball that my mom made. And some fairies looking a little worse for the wear...

Ahhhhh, more color!

A couple from Angie of the front yard. This is that omnipresent planter. Yup. Full of yumminess.

One of the brassica beds. For some reason, some of my brassicas did better than others. My kale and mustards and greens took off, as did my kohlrabe and beets. But my broccolis and cauliflowers and brussels sprouts never seemed to get anywhere. Better luck next year, eh?

Bye kids! It was an AWESOME coupla visits! You guys are welcome back anytime.

2.12.10

Sometimes it's good to take a break, else you risk burnin' out. Trent and I had been long anticipating a visit from some of his old friends, Chris and Angie. Hailing from Alaska, the were going on a tropical vacation and arranged to fly out of Austin so we could hang. That was AWESOME planning on their part! Yay Angie and Chris! So there's not a lot of gardening in here, but there's definitely some worthwhile stuff!

In preparation for their visit, I decided to make up some pumpkin muffins to have around the house for snacking. My fall pumpkins lasted a good long time, so I finally decided to roast them up and prep them for baking.

Beautifully roasted, creamy and smooth and scrapes out with a spoon. Yummy.

Mashed, in a bowl, waiting to become muffins. Which they did. And they were wonderful. But didn't last long enough for me to take pics.

This is Flip Happy Crepes. If you're in Austin and you have never been here, you MUST go. Go early, 'cause they make these crepes individually and by hand, so if you get there at "opening time", there's already a line. We got there super early with a thermos of coffee and hung out. Drooling.

My handsome man and Chris, Angie's handsome man. Doing some manly ordering of foodstuffs for their womenses.

I think Chris had "the Cuban", which was my all-star favorite before I gave up meat. Yes, it still makes me drool, but I had some lovely, vegetarian concotion and was perfectly happy!

After some shopping on SoCo, we decided to take a tour of UT. UT is actually a gorgeous campus, even if it is notorious for cannibalizing its buildings since expansion is difficult. Chris is an engineer, so he got to look at some building activities, and I had fun reminiscing about my alma mater.

The old turtle pond is still there, and still chock-a-block full of turtles. Yay, turtles!!

Our tour took us by a slew of AMAZING murals done by graffitti artist Federico A. I know his last name, but I can't spell it, and I have @#$% VISTA so it's not so easy to have two browsers open at the same time. I'll update later with his full name. Check his stuff out - it's STUNNING. I love his Lady of Guadalupe. It would be dreamy to have it done on a section of our backyard fencing...

We stopped for adult bevvies and snackies at Spider House, one of my all-time favorite places. The outdoor eating area is just dreamy. It's full of things that inspire me with ideas for my own gardens. A claw-foot bathtub fountain, lots of crazy seating, old signage, etc, etc. Love it.

After snackies at Spider House, we moseyed on to the Lang Homestead. I harvested some greems to use in the night's white bean chili.

Mmmmmmm - white bean chili. Though I guess it's more of a veggie stew, as I didn't use any spicy flavors. LOTS of flavors, but none with heat. Served it up with cornbread and lots of wine. Angie helped cook! Yah, Angie!

Our menfolk, all tuckered out. Aren't they cute?! And there are the doglettes!

There's Angie, enjoying a pumpkin muffin. Yay, pumpkin muffins!! She and Chris are headed out to their tropical adventure. We'll see them again next weekend!

The END!