Thursday, January 28, 2010

Starting the garden

Yes, it's early. Especially when I consider that the usual day to plant around here is Mother's Daybut you have to get started.
The first garden catalog arrived yesterday from Territorial Seeds. This is a great reference guide, packed with information and color photos yet small and light and easy to read or carry in your bag for those boring moments of waiting in line.
News! The $$ Tree stores have marigold seeds (last year) for sale 4 for $1.00. An excellent price for companion plantings - keeping bad bugs off of your tomatoes and peppers - colorful and edible too.
I received to large planter boxes from my neighbors when they moved-free. They need a few screws and some paint. Got a quart of dark blue paint from the free section of Craig's List that will be trim (about a gallon of gas to go get it). Now just need a lighter color for the main part of the boxes and the tomatoes and peppers will have an attractive home this summer. I've been gathering rocks to edge a bed approximately 7'x 3" and just need a few more. This will be the kitchen herb garden. We live in an area that has lots of river rock so I pick them up as I clean the other beds.
An arched trellis will support the green beans (got it last year at a yard sale for $1.00)
We purchased 4 very nice, small clay pots at Goodwill yesterday for $3.00.  The white sage plants (sprouting and some with 2 leaves already!) will have a temporary home in them very soon.


Saturday, January 23, 2010

Tools for the garden.

Not every useful tool cn be kept in the tool shed.
I'm having fun with  http://myfolia.com/. This is a free and very user friendly site that will help you plan and track your gardening progress.
Going to start an egg carton of lavender-angustifolia-Munstead strain today. I've saved an 18 holer just for this purpose.
Fred Meyer has a coupon in store for 40% off on Lilly Miller and Ed Hume Packet Seeds good through today!!! I especially like Ed Hume as he is based in Puyallup, WA.
Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden OrganicallyAll New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space!Go now while there is a good variety of seeds available at this great price.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Feels Like Spring

It's a lovely 55 degrees this afternoon. Made Maxie (dog) come outside and help pull weeds. I pulled and he helped. :)
Two days ago I sprinkled an entire package of white sage seeds into a recycled milk carton filled with potting mix. Why so early? Because the pkg said takes 2-6 weeks to germinate and the slow growing plants aren't ready for the great outdoors for up to 6 months! Well, surprise! Some of the seeds have little, teeny sprouts!
Lots of geese honking over and crows arguing in the trees today.

Monday, January 18, 2010

The Great Hall & TwoRivers Music Presents Musicians Showcase and Open Mic

Every Saturday we spend the evening at The Great Hall in downtown Portland, Oregon. In November 2009 we created a Musician/Songwriter Showcase with an Open Mic attached and it has developed a life of it's own. We are proud to present some of the best musical talent our area has to offer from classical pianists to rap artists. It's nice to know that we have featured artists booked through March 2010 with more ready to get on board.
The Great Hall is a clean and classy place at 1406 SW Broadway very close to Portland State University and the entertainment hub/fine arts district of the area.  Following are a few photos of the venue.
We, TwoRivers Music, open the show at 6:30PM  and are followed by open mic participants. The featured player is usually on around 8 PM and with more open mic after their set. The show usually draws 12 or more players so it's a good idea to get there early if you want to play.
Some upcoming featured performers are: Gary Savage, Mad Man Sam, Rick Rule, Beltaine, Dan Dover, Celtic Muse, Dale Miller, The Crash and Betty Show and Bitterroot – Foster Haney & Colt Haney.
This is a free show in a family friendly venue with great atmosphere, really good food, and the best musical entertainment  in town.


Friday, January 8, 2010

Another Photo

Our neighbor has a clump of bamboo, some of which is black (very pretty). I photoed this with available light and then photoshopped the results.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Harpsichord that came to live at our house.



At the end of the old year a new member joined our little group. Through no fault of our own we acquired a Sabathil and Son harpsichord. This little beauty is 6' long and takes up a bit of room in our tiny house (love it!).
I've always enjoyed the music of Bach and encourage my students to play and enjoy his many works. It amazes me that the man got so much done with 20 children growing up under his feet!
The music of one of his sons,Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, is available for your enjoyment.

Happy New Year


New year. Time for new ideas and experiments.
I'm going to try to take at least one photo a day and
play with it in photoshop.
The following is the first attempt.
This is a tree that lives on my street, photoed and
photoshopped in charcoal.
I enjoy trees. The texture, changing light, the sound, etc.
This one is inhabited by crows. A bonus!