Alfalfa hay bale postscript

Apparently hay is not just for horses.



I caught our dog in the act and later found her three big chomping holes in the last pile of alfalfa hay. Sheesh. So we moved the rest of the alfalfa pile inside the veggie bed dog fence.

Weekend vegetable garden additions

The only actual vegetables involved were subtractions, not additions, as I thinned the arugula and sorrel seedlings. We ate them and were surprised how spicy and tart they were.



I planted a fall aster in one veggie bed, potted some pansies by the other bed, and sowed more cilantro seeds in a pot.


Fall aster


Pansies



Husband Kurt rummaged through some attic stuff and discovered the dog fence-windows he’d made and misplaced awhile ago and installed them. Our Husky-dog can now peek out in many directions. Happy dog.




Dog fence-window, exterior view

The in-betweens

The quality of the sunlight now is definitely more Fall-like. The morning breeze now is drier and cool enough that I can get away with walking our always-hot Husky-dog as late as 9:30. But it was still 101 degrees yesterday, the 50th day of 2008’s triple-digit heat.

I spent two hours spot-watering the front yard this morning and must finish up this evening. We’re still waiting on one more bid before we can seriously negotiate the whole carpenter/painter hiring.

The joy of digging peanut butter from a Kong toy transcends seasonal expectations.

Dog Windows

Husband Kurt said he would eventually build two more of these, but for now here's our one excellent Husky fence window!

First Homegrown Broccoli Dinner!

Here it is! The broccoli was finally ready to harvest today. It was delicious, slightly sweeter and more delicate than I've had before. We ate some of it raw but roasted most of it with a little olive oil, garlic, lemon, and parmesan.


The two cauliflower plants, which so far have consisted solely of huge leaves, are finally producing little cauliflower heads! I doubt they'll be ready to eat for at least another week, maybe two...


This compost container we have made and placed right outside the back kitchen door is clearly not beyond infiltration from a determined husky head (note the fresh broccoli pieces.)

However, she quickly gets bored with her broccoli prize. It's not apple, peanut butter, or bison, after all...

A Real Holiday Treat for Your Dogs and Cats

Thunderheart Bison, out of San Antonio, treats their bison well: not only are these bison grass-fed, free-roaming, and antibiotic/hormone-free, they're killed suddenly and instantly out in the field before they even have a minute to panic or be fearful. I eat very few critters, but sometimes I eat these humanely raised bison.

Your dogs and cats (especially cats because they're solely carnivores) will really LOVE you if you cook them some ground bison with diced organic apple. It's that easy: combine a pound of ground bison with one egg and about a half a diced apple and form into a loaf. Bake it at 350 F for around 20 minutes or until it's medium rare. Bison is leaner than beef, so be careful not to overcook it.

If handling meat disgusts you, wear latex gloves and mix it together and cook it on some foil--all disposable and your skin and utensils never touch it.

After it's cooled off, mash it up a little and serve. Instant pet bliss.

After: Voila! First Vegetable Garden in Place

It's done! There's just enough room to walk around inside the little husky-proof (we hope) fence. Husband Kurt fashioned a cool hinged fence door, too. Now we wait and watch. And water and weed.

They're Not "Gleaming" Hardwoods

But I actually prefer the non-gleaming ones, which have a little more character. Our Husky and kitty like them, too. Ha! I was really trying to resist posting a photo of them, but I couldn't resist after all. It's unusual for Huskies to get along with kitties because they usually consider kitties prey--yum! So, I'm lucky.