the little things

tell me about the small things,
the little things,
in the day,
or night,
that make you smile,
or cry,
or forget yourself,
tell me about those things,
the little things,
that mean so much

current conditions (8:30am)

outdoor temp

looking east---sun still stuck in the oaks

coffee still kicking in

back from his walk for coffee and the morning laugh---laurel and hardy

nice and toasty in the compost pile

play with me!

plaaaay  wiiiiitth meeeee!

spiffy kitchen

back when staal and i were still living at the ranch and looking for a place of our own we would pick up fallen eucalyptus leaves on our walks to the garden up at the barn.  we both thought the colors of the leaves were beautiful and we wanted to somehow incorporate them into our home when we finally found it. 

inspiration...

we kept those colors in mind when we painted the house---we've got some nice blue-greens and a warm yellow on the walls.
although we've been living here for almost a year-and-a-half we've just gotten around to painting the drawer fronts in the kitchen which have been white primer since i cleaned them and gave them a coat when we were getting the place ready for moving in.  we've been having fun with lots of other things and fancifying the kitchen hasn't been high up on the list.  we've also had trouble finding spray paints in the eucalyptus leaf colors we've been wanting.  i think what we (mostly staal) came up with is pretty eucalyptus-y and it definitely brightens up the kitchen. 
a couple weeks ago or so i sprayed the silverware drawer front---i figured it was a good place to start since it gets used the most and was looking pretty grubby.  i also sprayed the refrigerator door handle and bottom vent (white handles don't last long in this house---staal and i both have pretty grubby hands most of the time).  i guess i inspired staal---every day or so after i'd come back in from the garden i'd notice a drawer or two missing which would then return a short time later with a bright new face.  he also built a nice shelf/spice rack for above the stove.  nice having things so handy when we're putting a meal together.

i think it's a pretty spiffy kitchen.

beans and greens

the beans are winding down after a nicely productive summer.  i stopped picking the pole beans a couple weeks ago to let them ripen some seeds for planting next year.  we've still got some bush beans coming in for green beans but they've slowed quite a bit with the cooler nights and shorter days.  we're pretty much eating them as fast as they come in.  happy to have several pounds tucked away in the freezer---they'll be a nice treat this winter.  as the beans and summer squash go out of production the greens and lettuces have started filling in the gaps.  leaves of various sorts are our main winter vegetable source.  this year we'll have plenty of winter squash to go with the greens---they're a nice combination---just add butter.

most of the scarlet runners, rattlesnakes, and purple poddeds are still drying down but i have been bringing in dry pods of limas, goldrush, mountain pima burro, and three varieties of teparies.
they're all beautiful.  most of the seeds from this year's harvest will be saved to build up a good seed stock for replanting and adapting.  not enough for any serious eating this time around but i'll probably sacrifice a few of each variety to a mixed bean soup at some point this winter.  as the seed stock increases i'll be working on getting more into the ground each year for larger harvests.

here are the beans...

rattlesnake pod swelling with seeds

runner beans

tohono o'odham brown tepary beans

santa rita wild tepary

mountain pima burro

dry lima pods

pima orange lima

petaluma goldrush pods beginning to dry on vine

petaluma goldrush

and some greens...

komatsuna and pac choi in hand---kales,broccoli,brussels sprouts, cabbages, mizunas in background

broccoli

chinese cabbage and pac choi

flea market day

this morning staal and i attended the annual hornitos flea market.  didn't buy anything this year but had fun looking at all the stuff...

by the time we had walked the market and smelled all the food being vended we were both ready to get something to eat.  guess where we had lunch (breakfast)...

the sappy love poem

i love you, dear,
bluer than the sky,
i love you, dear,
greener than the grass,
i love you, dear,
redder than the setting sun,
i love you, dear,
i do

peek-a-boo!

i see you!