Jealousy

Borage flowers

What to do with a spouse who doesn't understand my need to grow a garden?
I love her, but she views my garden as her rival. Which in my opinion isn't fair.

1. I spend a lot more time with her than I do in the garden (as anyone who sees the weed-choked paradise that is my garden can attest). 
2. I talk to her more than I do to my garden. 
3. I don't cut parts of her off, cook them and eat her like I do to plants in my garden. 
4. I don't cover her with straw to smother her like I do to my garden.
5. I don't shovel manure over her like I do to my garden.
6. I don't pound pointy bamboo stakes into her with a wooden club like I do to my garden.
7. I would be much angrier if a wild boar damaged her than I am when they damage my garden.

I have tried getting her interested in gardening with me, but she is too clever to fall for that. My father told me to marry a woman cleverer than myself. Apparently it backfired in this respect.

Insect ID Help

So today I saw some insects in the garden. I am pretty sure they are not all harmful. Click to view them larger.
Here are the four contestants on "NAME THAT BUG!"

1. On a black raspberry leaf

2. Also on a black raspberry leaf

3. You guessed it, on a black raspberry leaf

4. On my fava beans

If you have any information about these insects, please comment below!

Taking Care of Business

Well, about five months ago the wife told me: If you spent half as much time working on the yard as blogging it would look a lot better. Now she was angry about some other things at the time, but there is a kernel of truth. I took a good hard look at the yard. It wasn't pretty. So I took a blogging vacation to clean it up, and let's face it, to passive-agressively react to her comment by cutting back on my third favorite thing, after family and beer.
But then I figure- hey- she never reads this anyway....

A reciprocal roof built in the sandbox with some bamboo (the  plastic livestock and funky  boots are the youngest's)

"Daddy, make a bridge and tunnel for my dump truck!" so I did.... I don't know what to call this type of birdge- any help?

Nectarines in bloom in early April

The expanded paddy. 100 square meters this year!

Will it keep boars out? Only time will tell. (but it worked last year)

Indian Blood Peach blossoms in Mid April.

Strawberries are blooming. I would feel safer if I could see bees....

Coconut Banana Corn Flakes

Happy New Year!

I poured a bowl of corn flakes and cut up a banana before realizing we had only a quarter cup of milk in the carton in the fridge. Who does that? Anyway, there was also half a can of coconut milk left over from a coconut banana pudding we made yesterday.... Well, it says milk on the label...

You really should try this. It was amazing. The crunchy cornflakes, the sweet bananas and that coconut.... This is the way corn flakes should be eaten.

Number One Reason NOT To Drop Firewood

First Day- after cleaning it up

The oldest boy and I were hauling in some firewood for the stove Saturday. I wear safety shoes when I split wood- it is only common sense! But we take off our shoes when we enter the house here. I never thought I might need steel toed slippers! My son was doing his best to imitate Daddy and carried a very large load of wood.... and one- of course it was the incredibly dense black locust bolt so large I wasn't sure it would fit in the stove door- fell. From the looks of things, the corner of the behemoth caught me right at the edge of the toenail, and the shock ripped my skin (and maybe a bit of muscle too, a bit too painful to lift up the flap and see). Anyhow, he felt so bad that I had to pretend it didn't hurt in front of him and laughed a bit- until he left to get more wood. The photos don't really do justice to the white hot bolt of pain that made me seriously think I might vomit. A large part of that was that my feet were freezing cold when it happened. It wasn't until about 30 minutes later that I noticed my sock was bloody.
At any rate- it hurt, but after an hour or two, I could walk after a fashion and flex it, so I am fairly sure it is just a bad bruise and a rip. Now the second day, I can walk with just a slight limp, although it apparently breaks the wound open if I overdo it- the bandages are still a bit red...

Second Day after the bath- still bleeding!

Accidents can happen anytime, anywhere, and usually when you are not wearing safety equipment.

Appropriate For Me Tech

(inspired by watching a Japanese office worker buy a 70,000 yen rototiller for a 10'x10' garden plot)

(and by my new bicycle)

I used to buy expensive fancy cheeses with hard to pronounce French names... but I craved colby.
I used to buy imported Belgian beers... but I craved a pilsner.
I used to use an air conditioner in the summer... now I sit in breezy shade.
I used to heat my house with kerosene/electric fan heater... now I burn wood.
I used to crave a rototiller.. now I have a nice digging fork.
I used to drive a RAV4 SUV with all the latest gadgets... now I have a micro-truck with an AM radio.

I used to buy expensive alloy bicycles with thin 28 inch tires, 18 speeds, and suspensions... but I realized I only use three gears. Ultra low for hills, medium for town, and high for flat countryside.
I couldn't find a three speed bike, but last week we got a nice, 6 speed, steel frame, and sturdy brakes. My times have not changed.

Buy tools appropriate to your needs.
If you are a carpenter, buy a very nice hammer. If you need to pound a nail to hang a picture, you can get by with something less.
If you are a lumberjack, buy a top shelf professional model chainsaw. If you want to trim a branch off a tree, use a pruning saw.
If you are a bicycle racer or serious recreational cyclist, buy the top of the line. If you want to ride to work and back again wearing dockers and a polo shirt, buy this bike.

Ok, done ranting for now.

A Peck of Peppers

 One peck is 8 dry quarts, or 1/4 of a bushel.
Yeah, I don't know what to make of that either....

Well, I am not Peter Piper, and the peppers are not pickled, but I probably picked a peck of them this evening with the help of the oldest boy and his flashlight. The cold wind and clear skies spell killing frost to me, so I thought I should get them done ASAP.

Then, I get them into the house, and the wife says- "Where did these come from? It's mid-November!"
So, anyway, since we cannot possibly use them all fresh, I diced up a kilo of them, wrapped them in 100g packets, and put them in the ziplock. The only problem is that if I did all of them except for the 10-15 we might get through fresh, we would have a freezer of nothing but peppers...

Hellooooo neighbors and students!!!! Or if you live in Japan and want to share the bounty, drop me an e-mail.

But at any rate, if you find yourself with a peck of peppers and some freezer space, just dice them up and put them in sandwich bags or plastic wrap, then into a big ziplock and freeze them. You don't need to blanch them, making peppers the easiest garden veggie to freeze for the winter.

This winter's spaghetti sauce will be twice as good due to these beauties.


Now what to do with 2 Kg of green paste tomatoes.... Suggestions?