Dung hoe

Spring 2017 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Tue, 09 May 2017 18:26:00 +0000

It maybe the latest in the year I have ever ordered but I did get some greens, zucchini and radish seeds for the garden. Usually I am putting that order in in February or earlier.
I put up another section of fencing and moved some things around in the garden. It has been a very cold and wet spring. There were some tasty tiny little spinach and kale sprouts to be had for a breakfast snack this morning.

These little birds were flying around a few weeks ago and looking in my windows and scratching at the screens. They have moved on and I wonder where they ended up. They were blue and orange. Still no idea what these are.

Perhaps this is why those little blue birds left. A Northern Goshawk hunkering down under a Ponderosa pine on a rainy morning. They are known to eat other birds. It stayed for about an hour.

The best blue there ever was. Found near the Forsythe Canyon trail.

Good luck gardening this year... dummy. We had three moose come to the yard this year. They ate ALL the buds off the bushes. They stayed and just ate and ate and ate. It was a mother with two young so we kept our distance. At first I was thrilled then I was devastated by the damage. I think moose eat more than any deer ever will. They haven't been back for a weeks so let's hope they found some willows or some other neighbor's stuff to eat.

Cold Springs Fire near Nederland

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 01:30:00 +0000

This is a forest fire started by two out-of-state campers. We were put under mandatory evacuation near Magnolia road. It is at 25% containment and it seems like we dodged the bullet this time. This is just more evidence that our forests are not very healthy from years of fire suppression. It is also more evidence that some people shouldn't be allowed to make a fire unless they understand proper fire safety. A permit or something should be necessary.
It was interesting how many friends came out of the woodwork when this happened and called us to see if we needed help or just to get a tasty morsel of gossip about the fire. Thanks to all the firefighters. You are amazing.

A Treat for Fourth of July!

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 21:47:00 +0000

I found a peony bud just about ready to open in the front garden last night. I can only remember a peony blooming once in the fifteen or sixteen years I've gardened up here. It is a pleasure to know the animals didn't get to everything. I sort of gave up on the garden this year and found joy in the hiking and traveling.

Nederland Fourth of July Parade

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 22:06:00 +0000

I love our small town parade. I always come away smiling and in awe of people's creativity and talents. We went to the Greeley, Colorado parade a few years ago and it took several hours to get through it. It was LOOONG. This Nederland parade is so short, they go by a few times. The major event of the parade is the numerous fire trucks that are seen as essential and revered as heroes to my fellow mountain homeowners. Someday when we move....I will miss this place!

Wild Life

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 00:28:00 +0000

The other night, my son heard some rustling in the trees in the backyard. It turned out to be these two amazing male elk passing through our property one evening. They did not stop to eat any vegetables, this time. They were huge!

This beautiful moth was hanging out in the greenhouse, I had to pick it up, ( with gloves on ) ever so gently and move it outside. I did not want it to cook in there. I don't know what kind it is.

The best and saddest story does not have a photo. The one I snapped was just not good enough to post since I took it with my Ipod. I was on a walk yesterday morning and came across a bear rummaging through our neighbors trash. I truly did predict this. These neighbors are new to the neighborhood and are going to find out the hard way about wildlife. I left them a bear brochure on the entrance fencepost to their driveway. That poor bear will now become a nuisance bear and probably be moved to another area. I also predict that the Division of Wildlife will put it down if it keeps returning to the "habit" of eating trash. I heard the saying today: A fed bear is a dead bear.

This year is just a good year for seeing wildlife I guess because I spied a mama moose and her young just a few weeks ago. I was shocked at how close a photographer was getting to them. I wouldn't dare! They are appearing more often around our forests. I belong to a local facebook group that regularly posts sightings of moose.

We are just trying to keep things green on the periphery of our property and house so we aren't so dry. Two fires popped up yesterday and today ( nearby to us) and luckily they were put out quickly. I have taken three loads of slash to the community sort yard. It will be closing soon and I will have to finish up more mitigation in the fall. It's never ending. I am just glad it is still green in our valley.

P.S. For the first time in fourteen years, I saw a moose while on a hike in my neighborhood. I hope to see more!

Summer Blooms

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:21:00 +0000

The lilacs have bloomed profusely this year. Must be all the snow we were blessed with in April.

I uploaded these photos from my phone. I have not been involved with photography as much as I want and I hope to get more pictures loaded on here from my actual camera. The yellow rose is from the Vitamin cottage parking lot in Lafayette. The Lupines and Globe mallow and other wildflowers are on the Marshal Mesa trail in Boulder. The only photo that I took from my garden was the Daffofils and tulips from May.

Marsh Daisy from a hike near Breckenridge.

Boulder, Colorado The green time of the year. In just a few weeks, it will be brown . The sheriff recently issued a fire/burn ban this week. I feel so sorry for those poor people who have lost their home in the Black Forest Fire. It has refreshed my eagerness to clean up our property.
Today I took a load of slash to the community sort yard facility. My son helped me load and unload.
I also did a weed pull on on the property. Thistles and Cheat grass galore!

Happy Spring!

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:10:00 +0000

Other bloggers are showing off their first signs of spring, crocus, tree buds bursting and robins bouncing around their already greening lawns. I get snow, and rain, which we need and I LOVE! Already there has been a forest fire burning in Galena, Colorado. So we need this moisture, and more of it.
My yard is full of pocket gopher holes and I am not even going to plant things this year in my yard. I will, however be planting the vegetable garden. Those are raised bed planters and did very well last year. I have been so spoiled lately, buying giant bags of organic kale and spinach at Co**co. My favorite smoothie recipe has been the banana/spinach or kale/cacao nibs/ chia seeds/ almond milk and occasionally some orange thrown in there. Gotta get the Vitamin C in there so I can absorb the calcium.
Just thought I would share my favorite podcast link....in case you want something fabulous to listen to on your commute or walk etc. radiolab podcast nerdliness. I have listened to about half of them, and am always entertained. I loved listening to the famous tumor podcast recently. So gross, and yet so intriguing!
I am cooking sourdough bread today...going to eat that with my leftover meatless chili and spinach salad. Then off to the school to pick up kids for some wild orthodontist adventures.

Thanks for reading.

Some Thoughts on Seeds and Eating

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:08:00 +0000

I just placed my seed order for this year! It is always like Christmas when the seeds finally arrive. I ordered from Territorial exclusively this year. I like their choice of organic seeds. Soon I will be planting spinach in the greenhouse.
What are your favorite seed companies? ( I did not get paid to mention Territorial, by the way.)
I have returned back to the plant based way of eating after an unhealthy stint of paleo based flesh eating.
I feel way better and my pants are fitting again. Somehow I knew that bacon was just too good to be true.
Ta ta!

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 14:20:00 +0000

Most of my kids are past the dressing up stage/ trick or treating for Halloween but they aren't immune to the desire for tasty treats on this strange occasion. I never could understand why we consider Halloween a "holiday." I don't know many people who get that day off from work. I just know it's an excuse to get some tasty chocolate down my gullet. Have a safe Halloween and remember to throw away all those nasty apples.

Bobcats!

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 20:56:00 +0000

Two bobcats gave me a surprise Friday afternoon when I opened up the front door to go pick up my kids from the bus stop. They scurried away quickly and I watched them run behind our garage. One ran up into the trees after a few minutes and then the other one, I think it was the mother, sat and stared at me while I tried to get a photo. I was on the deck when I took this shot. This is a lesson to myself, always keep the camera battery charged! It made me late but this time I had a good reason to be late to the bus stop. I am just glad it was only a bobcat and not a mountain lion.

Signs of Autumn

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:49:00 +0000

Fall arrived officially on Saturday. The quaking aspens and many other small bushes like raspberries,currants, rose, and some viburnums are putting on some nice color around here. We ate out lunch on Saturday and happened to come upon hordes of people in town, leaf peepers making their way in the mountains. I can't believe I am saying this, but I even harvested zucchini last night.

I picked these hot peppers last week and they are slowly changing to red.

Native Aster

The haziness is from forest fires. It has been really bad lately. My husband's eyes have been dry and itchy from this air pollution.

More pesto, please!

My ten organic carrots. These taste as good as they look.

Rachel helped me with this. A fall arrangement for the table tonight.

These California poppies are just about through blooming. I am collecting seed pods now before it freezes hard.

Asian veggies make for some hearty soups. I think this might be pak choi....still so bad at remembering plants.

Now for the personal nitty gritty......Shannon went to the homecoming dance and she was a willing volunteer for a photo. Rachel helped her with her hair... not my thing at all. My fanciest hair style is a sock bun nowadays.

Hiking with Rachel...she really did not want to be in this photo.

I am missing Kirsten. She is doing midterms this week. Good luck!!!!!!!!

I am hoping that everyone is enjoying the cooler season. We have a contest at our house and everyone picked a date for the first "official" snow at our house.

Tyler September 15

Shannon September 15

Kirsten October 27

Rachel October 10

Me September 30

Norm October 12

The prize is a huge tub of teeth rotting cotton candy, sort of looks like snow.

I am going to go eat my lunch of black bean burger, guacamole, and roasted cauliflower.

Did you notice my twitter? I am only two years behind the times. Jim Gaffigan is pretty fun to follow.

The days of homework are upon us. My son tunes us out effectively while he does math.

Angry Wasps

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:32:00 +0000

Remember the last post where I said I need to go kill a wasp upstairs? I found out why we have been having so many lately. They have been working on a "lovely" little nest underneath the deck. On Sunday evening, I got brave or maybe stupid would be a better word, and I knocked it off with a stick. The next morning they were still hanging around and even worse, starting up a new hive. So I grabbed the one on the ground with my grilling tongs, ( nice long handles) and put it into a container. I suppose I will have to kill the rest of them. Even though it got about 33 degrees last night, they didn't die. I was hoping the cold would do the job.

With all the scary things happening in the world with people protesting and having riots, I feel like this is just such a minuscule thing. But my daughter Rachel is probably allergic to bees so I have to get this taken care of. ( Long story made short: R. was stung by a bee at the zoo in July and it took a long time for the swelling and pain to go down in her finger where she was stung. )

Jack Frost Thwarted

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 21:08:00 +0000

My secret to longer harvests is not really a secret. I use floating row covers to stretch out my very short season. Today I found two zucchini lurking under the covers and some green beans, red hot pepper and kohlrabi, even though we had a 33 degree night three nights ago. And my kids thought they had seen the end of the squash. I made some enchilada sauce this past week with the red hot peppers. The recipe said to cook the hot peppers in water and then puree them when soft and strain the liquid and use it for the sauce. When I blended the hot peppers, it released pepper spray, basically into the whole kitchen. Lesson learned there. The pork enchiladas were good, despite all the red eyes.

An end of season bouquet of Cosmos.

I am posting this photo so I don't forget how scary this was. My daughter, Rachel and I went on a very LONG hike yesterday. An eleven miler. We went up to the Indian Peaks Wilderness to Woodland Lake. ( This photo is from the government web site.) We crossed this bridge crawling because it was icy in the morning. The guardrail is now completely broken from early heavy spring wash-outs. We heard elk bugling and saw a very hairy guy hiking without a shirt on. We didn't pack nearly enough food. The guidebook said the hike was 5.6 miles round trip...but it lied. It was 5.6 one way. My legs are feeling it today.

A friend of mine gave me these cherry tomatoes from her garden. They were as sweet as candy. I think I might try growing cherry tomatoes next summer.

I have to go kill a wasp that got inside. It is scaring my kids to death.

Friday Chuckles

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 02:54:00 +0000

My oldest daughter showed me this video from YouTube and if you like cheesiness then you will definitely appreciate this guy. He's reminds me of Chris Farley.

No sharing with the picky eaters!

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 02:31:00 +0000

I think I might be the only person in this house to enjoy such a strange snack. If you love baked kale chips, then you will like this one too! I was harvesting my beets today and I usually steam the greens from the beets or toss then in the compost if I am feeling lazy. But today I tried the baked kale idea with the beet greens, and it was pretty tasty. The powdery stuff on top is nutritional yeast and it adds a nice cheesy and salty touch. My daughter said it made the house smell odd. And she wouldn't try any. I ate them all myself, no sharing. I can't believe I used to throw those greens away! What a waste of good snacking material.

My mom gave me some delicious jam made from her raspberries and blackberries and I made some muffins with some baked inside. We are calling these " Grandma's jam muffins." Nobody turned their nose up at these beauties.

Unidentified Yellow Caterpillar...

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:26:00 +0000

My daughter and I found this yellow and green caterpillar on the road while we were out walking this morning. It is beautiful, don't you think? I kept my distance while taking the photo...just in case.
My daughter, who is 21 and hates moths, thinks that's what this is going to turn into. We have never seen one like this before.
Over and out.

Update: Possibly a dagger moth. My dad did some checking for me. Thank you.

Soup's on!

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 23:38:00 +0000

The steaming ratatouille I made with our surplus of zucchini. Some recipes I have seen use eggplant, but I didn't have any of that. It was fine without. I like the smoked paprika for this version. My family put this on top of pasta, but I just ate it plain since I am watching the carbs.

The beginnings of beet soup. The end product was pink. It was pretty good. I roasted the beets with shallots and garlic and olive oil. Then I peeled the beets and pureed with chicken stock. I put Greek yogurt on the top afterwards.

Fall is my favorite season because then I get to make soup with my harvest.

Veggie love

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 14:38:00 +0000

My own green pepper. Such a thing of beauty.

Roasting the veggies.

The mice and chipmunks left me some green beans.

Just one week of zucchini. I think I have harvested 5o pounds this year.

I have been trying to comment on some blogs and for some reason, blogger is having issues , yet again.
Sorry to Randy, I tried to comment on your butterfly and goat post but it wouldn't let me.

Hot Hot Hot!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:06:00 +0000

Here is the proof that we have had really hot weather this summer! I was able to grow Serrano peppers this year in my new grow boxes. Still harvesting zucchini, peas, lettuce, onions, chard, beets, and lots of basil. I made basil pesto for the freezer. We had hail last week and it did a number on some of the zucchini but it wasn't too bad. Another strange occurrence are crickets. Usually at this altitude they can't survive.

Still here....

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:21:00 +0000

The reason for not posting on this blog? I have been devouring Elizabeth Berg novels at a rate of 1 per week. Who cares if this bumper sticker is sexist? We need to make a gardening is sexy bumper sticker. Put on some beguiling over-alls , add some beat-up sneakers and there you have a gardening diva that rivals Beyonce'.

For Valentine's day, my husband gave me a Calla Lily. Now that is a sexy plant. He likes to give me unique plants and I hope I can keep it alive for awhile.

So much of the snow that we got early in February, is still sticking around. There is a bunny who lives behind the garage and it visited my bird feeder for a nibble. I guess "times is hard." (Sweeney Todd.)
I haven't seen this bunny for a few days and I wonder if the bobcat ate it or it found a new place to live.

Snow Business

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:20:00 +0000

We have gotten about 2 and half feet of snow these past few days. I think that the snow is finally stopping now.

It is a nice treat for my kids to have a snow day. It is also so nice for my husband who gets to clear our driveway with the snowblower. I think he secretly likes huge amounts of snow.

There are two cars here. One is completely covered. That one is my daughter's who is at college so we probably won't dig it out. Just let the sun melt the snow.

Before it snowed, I found a strange thing in my neighborhood. I usually don't walk on this road...and I think I had good reason not to.

It looks like a cowboy was buried here. Can you see the tiny cowboy boots? Someone has an interesting sense of humor. There was also a little plastic tomahawk nearby but you can't see it in the photo.

Here is my daughter chilling out, enjoying the snow.

My mailbox is probably buried so I need to go dig it out and pry it open so I can get more Netflix. We watched Lorna Doone last night. That was a good one, enough romance and violence to please everyone.

One Step Forward...Two Steps back

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Picture this. Ugly army- green painted stairs covered with frayed carpet.

This is the year to rip it out.

I spent several hours on Friday, busting my butt, pulling out nails and inhaling nasty carpet dust, filled with who-knows-what. I was feeling like I got something really accomplished and that this time my lower back hurt for a good reason.

Then I went outside to plant a few seeds in some pots in the greenhouse. I found bits of plastic in the garden and had a sinking feeling that my greenhouse had a war with the wind and lost, big time.

We (do you like how I used that term here?) will have to cover it with some kind of herculean plastic now.

I have grown very little in this greenhouse. It is mostly a storage shed for garden junk. But I am not ready to kiss is goodbye yet.

Rabbits, butterflies, sparrows and assorted wildlife sometimes get trapped in here in during the summer. I feel bad when I find crunchy dead bumblebees dried out in the corners.

I usually have some sort of trellis or lattice work wired up so I can grow sweet peas or something up the side.

One spring day when I was cleaning out the greenhouse, I found a black widow spider lurking in the corner. ( I miss Chris Farley!) I killed it but I had goosebumps for the rest of the day and night thinking about that nasty spider laying eggs. Maybe that is why I neglect to clean it, for fear of finding more of those spiders.

We don't heat this greenhouse, it would be devastatingly expensive so I just grow spinach and a few other things out here. I have had some neighbors ask me what I grow in there. They probably think it's for pot. Fat chance of anything so exotic growing in this greenhouse!

I do have grow lights in the basement that I start most of the seedlings for my garden. And that brings me back to the happy topic that my lupines germinated! Scarifying really does work. I did a test of two flats, one scarified, the other flat I just planted a few to see what would happen. Nothing. The scarified seeds germinated so quickly. Now I just have to keep them alive.

I must go fill all those nail holes in the stairs, so then I can paint them and finally put some stair treads on them. I will try not to think about what else is breaking outside while I try to get things done inside.

I just had to add this video. It scares me. A lot.

Put A Bird On It AGAIN

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:19:00 +0000

This is my favorite video this week from YouTube. I think I have gone through this "Put a Bird on it" phase. I still love birds, even if they are poking fun at the crafty aspect that putting a bird on anything makes it suddenly fabulous.

Take a look at some bird art I made a few months ago:

I actually used 100 year old music to make this piece.

I keep seeing creative art all over Pinterest with birds on stuff . It really can get out of hand but since I love birds in an obsessive way, that's okay with me.

I need to get a suit like Tippi's. She looks so classy trying to escape those birds.

And maybe I can also put a bird on the suit for extra stylishness.

I was looking back at all the headers I have made in the past for my blogs and I find that birds are predominantly featured. And most of the clip art I save has the same.

There is no getting around it....I will always love birds on things. We used to have two parakeets and I miss them sometimes. They both died a few years ago. I loved getting Freddy out of his cage and letting him sit on my finger. His toes were always warm. Sugar, though, she was kind of snippy. She looks a little evil in this photo. Besides the feathers, birdseed and poop, I didn't mind cleaning up after them.

I don't believe in having birds in cages inside the house anymore. I would rather see them in nature, and feed them when I can. I like to grow plants that they like...sunflowers in particular.

And I loved visiting the Bird sanctuary in Walden, Colorado.

In only four months, the humming birds will be back in the mountains.

But who is counting?

Enjoy your week!

I love how Blogger has made some changes to the commenting feature. I can now reply to your comments. What took them so long?

Beans, Beans...The Magical Fruit

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:51:00 +0000

Maybe I am the last person to do this, but I really wanted to make my own vanilla extract at home. So I bought vanilla beans online a while back and finally got some vodka the other day to finish this off. ( and that is an entire other story.) It took me about five minutes to chop the beans and scrape the seeds out into the jar. Then I just poured the vodka in. And in just a few months, it will be bona fide vanilla extract, at way less than buying at the store. I just have to remember to shake it every so often. It looks disgusting right now but I will take a photo when it is coming along.

We went to a local Asian market and look how they spell Brussell sprouts. So cute.
I ended up roasting them in the oven with olive oil and little salt and pepper, which is my favorite way to eat them.

This is long gone but my daughter helped me make this coconut cream pie.
You can sure make some heavenly things with coconut milk.

I know for certain that I am not the only person pouring over the garden and seed catalogs. Have you sent in your order yet? And how did I get on so many mailing lists!?!

Ten on the Tenth of January

noreply@blogger.com (Camille Thomson Paul) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:44:00 +0000

For my January ten on the tenth post, I wanted to look back at some of the highlights of the summer of 2011. If you have seen these photos before, I apologize for the repetition. But it sure made me feel good to look at all the things that grew this past season. It is snowing again and I needed to look at something besides white and brown.

So many problems trying to put 1 through 10 on these photos. I gave up. Just trust me. There are ten.

Scarlet Flax

Blue Morning Glory

The most lilacs that I have ever seen on this small tree since I planted it.

Pink Hollyhocks

Lollipop Lillies

Cosmos.

Yarrow

Diascia, Strawberry Sundae ( thanks to Sissy for her help with the ID.)

Daffodils

Echinops... also the most blooms I ever seen on this plant.

What are some of your favorite plants that grew in your garden last summer?

Today is also my husband's birthday! We celebrated it early when my two older daughter's were still home from college. We will celebrate it again today, and this time he gets Cherry pie and Mahi Mahi.

Clock Opera - Once And For All (2012 Album Version) from Clock Opera on Vimeo.
This music video gets me every time. I just had to share it.