Gardening... to take away the COVID-19 blues

Getting ones hands dirty actually does feel good. Physically satisfying, mentally upbeat kinda good.

I'm running out of photo archiving work just in time for planting season.  I'm guessing we've seen the end of snow and when I embarked on the following projects this week, I ardently hoped not to be met with loss and heartache due to sudden temperature swings again!

Project#1

Planting an orchard and about 27 evergreen trees at my Dyer Rd property.

NOTE: There a many places to buy trees but when you need 40 or so, delivery is a must. On top of that, I am a novice and was looking for a tree farm/nursery that was heavy on the education part of the shopping experience too. I stumbled upon FastGrowingTrees.com in February and have been super impressed with the education, quality of service, ease or ordering and now, delivery too.

Check it out... a FEDEX tree delivery from North Carolina! While the boxes weren't entirely square on arrival, I quickly discovered that the roots/pots were in each end and the middle part of the box was skinny branches and leaves and not really impacted like you'd think after seeing the dents.

Right now my acre of property is just begging for more trees. A sturdy wind-noise-view block starts with planting fast growing trees along the back property line. I chose Green Giant Thuja for their privacy, speed of growth, deer resistance and disease resistance.

The fastest way to dig holes apparently by skid-loader with mini bucket-thing. Thanks, Josh Mitchell!!!

Planting was a 2 day affair. And I had help! It is nothing short of hard work and lets not sugarcoat how it really went:  For weeks I looked forward to the outdoor task, the physical workout, the joy of watching it come together. Then I tortured my muscles, skinned my hands and tweaked my joints to get things planted quickly. I ate Ibuprofen for dinner and still woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a bus.

Long story short... I'm built to sell real estate rather than haul trees and soil, dig clay and rocks. I am so looking forward to getting back to my real (estate) job!

More exciting though, is the beginnings of an orchard.  A dozen or so trees will bear peach, plum, apricot, pear, apple and cherry fruits in just a couple of years, fingers crossed.

I dug these holes myself... 

  

Project #2

A wee raised bed garden at home.  Something to direct love and attention toward as a pandemic rages. And perhaps organic veggies and herbs to add to meals well into 2020 too.

Since Airbnb is canceled until further notice, I turned a guest room into a temporary greenhouse. For the past 1-2 weeks seeds and baby plants have been thriving near sunny windows, behind a locked door. Growing silently in baking dishes and recycled containers as Wrigley tries his darnedest to find a way in.

A baking dish covered in plastic wrap means you almost never have to water it.

Radishes sprouted in just 2 days!

Mark got this strawberry before the cat or the squirrels got wind of it.

Basil... ready to become Caprese salad?

Success! This was as close as Wrigley got to investigating the wee plants.

 

About the raised bed; soon to be renamed The Isolation Farm @ 285 Martin Drive.

I bought this little number on Amazon. It came flat-packed and I followed IKEA-like cartoon directions for assembly. One hour and one screwdriver was all it took. Then 10 bags of high quality garden soil later, it was ready for planting.

It could not have been easier and smells deliciously like cedar!

I'd like to say that I have the patience of a Buddhist monk and diligently "hardened off" the plants by bringing them in and out of the house for several days to acclimatize them. The truth is that one balmy evening, I opened the door, pulled them outside and planted them. The next morning, I checked to see if any had up and died from shock or overnight temps and delightfully (luckily) discovered, they had not. :-) 

The next day, I also planted seeds. Right now the bed contains tomato, zucchini, strawberries and herbs such as dill, oregano, cilantro basil, sage and chives. There are Mesclun lettuce and bush bean seeds planted here and in the "greenhouse" guest room, Swiss chard, radish, parsley, hot peppers and yellow squash are still germinating.

 

I connected a couple of fine sprayers to my my irrigation system already present in the yard so that each morning around 6am the garden is dampened and the plants are ready to face the warm spring sunshine that is Colorado (this week). 

Wrigley the cat, update:

So far, so good. Wriggles has left footprints in the raised garden for sure. But the plants are intact and his penchant for litterbox use over outdoor pooping, is finally paying dividends! 

(Yes, week 7 into the Self Isolation Experiment of 2020 and I can still find things to be grateful for!)

Bread Experimentation @ The Isolation Bakery

5+ weeks into self isolation and I'm  getting a little bored with following the recipe! We all knew it was coming.

Yesterday I went rogue with bread making.  What started out as two plain white boule loaves, ended up a rosemary and olive oil focaccia and a loaf that hid swirls of olive bruschetta!

Sadly for my hips, there was little self control and even less bread left over by nightfall.

Dang it was amazing though. Cheers to a quiet afternoon sipping wine, dipping  warm bread in olive oil, watching "The Hangover"....

Does a Winter Storm make it Easier to Shelter in Place?

Nope.

Sorry. That's just my opinion. But after 2 storms this week and a record breaking 36" of heavy, wet snow I conclude that cabin fever became a bigger, not smaller concern. I was chomping at the bit to get outside and every little thing was starting to get to me... broken tree limbs, lack of bird song, the cat crying it was dinner time at 3 pm because it was darker outside already.

The pictures are interesting though!

Fortunately, this is Colorado. Storm clouds come, they dump, they leave. Just 24 hours after a huge snowfall, our famous mile high sunshine has melted most of a foot of snow, the sky is bright blue and birds are singing again.

Projects. Projects. More Projects...or go insane!

As you know, I've been cooking, baking, gardening, sewing and organizing old photos for the last 4.5 weeks of self isolation.

Without my projects, I fear my active mind would veer toward the dark side! Like the cat, I have plenty of energy and for the good of all those around us, it needs to be directed, positively and not left to its own devices, even temporarily.

You may think Im exaggerating, but this is the type of email that Google sends me each day... EACH DAY!

The question is, have I reached "rock bottom" when I fancy myself as a fertility specialist and begin experimenting with fruit trees in bloom, to fill time slots that used to belong to real estate clients?

It was 5 days before a big snow storm was to hit. My peach tree (too big to cover) was sporting excessive and impressive blossoms and so was my neighbors younger tree.

I decided the best way to help the bees this year, and to get the job done quicker, was to start moving pollen between flowers and trees, manually.

And by manually, I mean, I taped a Q-tip to a broom handle and set about dabbing inside each flower I could reach, going back and forth between trees.

2 days before snow, I repeated my efforts.

The neighbors appeared to have a mix of appreciative, humored and impressed faces.  (Well... I'd like to think, impressed.)

Last year, despite copious blossoms, our tree only produced 12 peaches. All of which were "taken" by the squirrels before they ripened. The goal this year is to produce more fruit. Enough for the squirrels and I to both be happy.

Besides that, I'm embarking on a long term orchard project at my new rental on Dyer Rd and all this experimenting is going to pay long term dividends in the fruit department, as I learn and grow with the trees.

Update: We got about double the snow expected. After the foot of wet snow cleared (36 hours. Thank goodness for Colorado sunshine!) I checked on the state of the blossoms: Oh boy.

And then after snow storm #2 and ANOTHER 18" of wet snow... 

Only time will tell.

COVID-19 Mask Making

We are nothing if not persistent and creative, when it comes to masks these days.

Every outing - grocery, medical or even a walk - now requires a face mask. Whereas a month ago, they were not all that recommended; two weeks ago they were recommended but optional; and a week ago they were optional but pressure was mounting to only appear publicly if wearing one.... Today, we are spending a ridiculous amount of effort trying to improve the effectiveness and comfort of our mask selections. (And complementing others on theirs, everywhere we go!)

Mark and I started out with Buff's. Neck gaiter type things in merino wool or cotton that became too warm and a tad claustrophobic as spring days heated up and our outings became more physical. We tried handkerchief or bandana solution too but realized we needed better coverage. Mark's mom made us beautiful masks that serve us well on short trips, but without tucks or pleats became less comfortable on longer hikes and if pulled in tighter, tended to squash the tip of the nose.

The time had come to put some more effort into a custom fit mask with little room around the edges for air escape and with an elasticated head strap for comfort while moving quickly.

Our friend Kathy was indispensible in providing all the things that mere mortal seamstresses have struggled to lay hands on. The day before our 48 hour snow storm hit, I picked up a baggie of pattern, elastic, liner, pipe-cleaners and polypropylene filter material from her front doorstep.

And then... game on! I stilled my antsy self in front of the TV and followed along with a great little YouTube video - all. day. long.  LOL  Yeah, it too a while. My skills are, at best, rusty.