February 2013 - Bumblebee Blog

Bzzzz February 22nd, 2013

I have been doing a little bit of blog housekeeping this week. There is so much more I need to do, but I’m here to tell you that I finally finished up (I think) the 2012 garden album. From the composite page you can click on a photo to see a bigger picture. If you click on it again, you can see an even biggerer picture and can check my focus and look for weeds and stuff.

I also added a small album of photos I took at the Blaudel Reserve near Seattle Washington. The photos don’t even come close to doing the place justice, so really you just need to go and visit.

But wait! There’s more!!!

Over at my little Eggs & Chickens blog I have posted my review of the cookbook Flour by Joanne Chang. Go over there to read it and then click on the links to buy it from my little Amazon store. If 1,423,000 of you buy the book through my store, I can take some time off from my real job and still pay the cable television bill. Joanne Chang would probably appreciate it too. Thank you—from both of us.

Posted In: Blogging, Gardening

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February 14th, 2013

I’m sitting here with seed and plant catalogs scattered around—Plant Delights, Botanical Interests, Baker Creek, Cook’s Garden, John Scheepers…My Lee Valley 10-Year Garden Journal is open to February. My Excel spread sheet plant inventory is open on my computer screen. The collection I affectionately refer to as my Seed Vault is on the floor under my desk, threatening to overflow into Seed Vault Two.

I’m bundled in a bulky sweater, fingerless gloves and my warmest Ugg shoes. I hardly remember what summer looked like last year.

Potager in June

I know it was green. I’m pretty sure it was green. I remember picking tomatoes, cucumbers, tiny mar des bois strawberries, Bright Lights Swiss chard. My husband and I spent many evenings under the stars finishing dinner and drinking wine, listening to the crickets and watching the bats dart across the night sky. I can remember the smell of freshly mown grass and basil pinched between my fingernails.

Gosh, my feet are cold. I should to make some hot tea.

Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly

Oh yes, we had lots of butterflies last year. Monarchs, zebra swallowtails, eastern tiger swallowtails, red admirals. I didn’t know the name of some of the butterflies and moths but loved them just the same. I remember wondering why the monarchs seemed so skittish and the eastern tiger swallowtails would almost let me touch them.

Celeste figs

Oh, that’s right. All those celeste figs! So many I hardly knew what to do with them all. I stood next to the tree and popped them right into my mouth.

Maybe another pair of socks would help warm my feet.