Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree

plums

Last spring, shortly after buying our Syracuse house, we planted 4 fruit trees. I love the new trees that have several varieties grafted onto on tree. We bought a plum tree with 4 varieties. We also planted an apricot, white peach, an espalier apple tree with 6 different grafts (my favorite tree ever!).

espaleir apple tree

fuji apple branch

I'm delighted with the amount of fruit on the trees this spring. All 4 trees were bare root so I didn't expect much for a couple of years. The plum tree grew quite a bit this past year. The white peach is still tiny, but has the most fruit. I keep telling myself to pick half of them off so the remaining fruit can get bigger, but I have never been good at thinning fruit trees. For some reason I feel guilty.

white peach tree

white peaches

There is just nothing better than walking into your own yard and picking something to eat. In the next couple of days apricots will be ready to pick. Apricots don't ship well, so I'm excited to walk out back and eat perfectly ripe, sweet, aromatic apricots right off the tree!

nearly ripe apricots

A Tiny Bite of Deliciousness

Four years ago I started Yellow Wonder alpine strawberry seeds. They weren't difficult to germinate, but I had a hard time keeping the conditions ideal for continued growth, so in the end I had two healthy plants. When we moved a year and a half ago I dug up those two plants and brought them to our new garden. I separated them into about 10 plants and this year I am finally reaping the rewards of all the effort I have put into these plants.

alpine strawberries

tiny jewels

These strawberries are a lovely creamy color with yellow seeds. They are extremely delicate and don't hold up long after picking. 

The plants do not send out runners and can be separated every couple of years. The berries are small and delicate with an aroma reminiscent of pineapple. The texture is almost butter-like and the flavor is sweet and mild.

This particular bunch went into a delicious smoothie for lunch. I have also served them with angel food cake and whipped cream. Both were delicious. These berries produce all season so I'm looking forward to enjoying them in many ways. I'm hoping for enough at one time to make a batch of jam. Here's to hoping!

The Power of Shade

Peas at the end of June?

Sugar Snap Peas

 This year I planted two beds in the shade and I am amazed at the gorgeous spring crops that are still going strong. I have never had lettuce make it into July without bolting. Right now, my lettuce still looks and tastes amazing. I also have lovely broccoli, kale, radishes, and strawberries. 

hummus and peas for dinner  

With temperatures hitting 100 with a blazing hot, dry wind, I plan to add shade cloth to the bed tomorrow to see if that will drop the temperature more and extend the life of my spring greens even longer. The best part is having ripe tomatoes at the same time as my spring greens.

To celebrate the tender, sweet peas I whipped up a quick batch of hummus in my fabulous Blendtec blender. 

Recipe

2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Clove Garlic, Peeled
2 tbsp Tahini
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 Can Garbanzo Beans, drained (15 oz can)
1/4 Cup of liquid drained from Garbanzo Beans

Throw it all in the blender and blend until smooth. YUM!

The Pitter-Patter of 8 Little Feet

Buffy

About a month ago, our hen Buffy became broody. At first I was sure she was dying. She would walk around all puffed up and making a cooing, chirping noise. Then she would throw herself on the ground, stick her legs out, and put her wing in the air. It was very scary. After a couple of days, she started staying in the nest box and we figured out she was broody. Having no rooster, we thought this would be a fun opportunity to hatch some chicks. We went to a local farm and bought 6 fertile hatching eggs (barnyard mix chickens, nothing fancy) then brought them home and stuck them under Buffy. After 4 days we candled the eggs and decided 4 were developing, one was not fertile, and one had a shell to dark to see through.

It takes 21 days for chickens to hatch. Buffy sat faithfully on her eggs for 19 days. 19 days?! At 19 days she decided she was done. In a panic I called a friend with an incubator, rushed over, rushed back, and 2 days later our first chick hatched. It took almost 2 days for the last of the four to hatch. That was a nerve wracking experience! I was so worried about that last egg. Now, two days later, she is the fattest little chick of the bunch. (I keep calling them all she in hopes that they will not start crowing later!)

4 new babies

I'm happy to say all four chicks are very vibrant and lively. Here's to hoping none of them start to crow!

Committed

Well, it seems I'm not very committed to this whole blogging thing. I often settle in and get ready for bed at the end of a long day and think, "I accomplished a lot of great things today, I should start working on the blog again." Then I climb into bed and crash! No blog update yet again.
My amazingly supportive husband and I have been making a lot of commitments in our life lately. Some days are more successful than others, but overall I would say that most days are more successful than not. So, here I am, back at the blog. It is time to make this one of my successful commitments. I believe that if I can become committed to the blog it will help be even more committed to other goals.
This week I will sort through some pictures, summarize all the changes that have occurred over the past year, and talk about all the commitments we have made. I think life is only going to get better from here and I hope to share the journey.