Sunday, June 26, 2016

Summer Start


Summer started earlier this week, no big plans in place, most of the staff is on holiday, don't expect much to get done. Only plans so far are to watch Le Tour de France, from July 2 till July 24. First leg starts near Mont-Saint-Michel and the race ends in Paris. It is more interesting than you may expect, the commentators are very knowledgeable, the scenery is beautiful, the spectators are a spectacle and the racing itself is fascinating. Watch it on NBC Sports.


Harvested 93 bulbs of garlic Saturday from the 95 cloves planted last October. Very odd since there are about 12 small heads that I replanted cause they were on the small side. Also did some weeding and pruning and did some re-potting as well.

Tomatoes, squash and herbs growing nicely.

Current Blooms:
For some reason, the Gentians have not bloomed. Very sad.

 Dwarf Hosta
 Red Twigged Dogwood
 Calluna Vulgaris "Alex Warwick" a heather.
Day Lillys are at their height


Beers in the Fridge:

As I said here, I have added Brooklyn 1/2 Ale to the rotation when I can find it.
Brooklyn 1/2 Ale:  3.4 % ABV, 33 IBUs?
    cloudy in the glass (yes a glass, I'm not a savage)
Sweet Action: 5.2 % ABV, 34 IBUs
    another returning favorite
Samuel Adams Porch Rocker: 4.5% ABV, 8 IBUs
    Their take on a Radler, a mix of beer and lemon aid flavors. Not horrible, but I won't need to buy this again. I would rather buy a Stiegl Radler. The shop near work sells this brand or maybe it is another from brand. I had bought a few bottles after our trip to Austria, but did not photograph the bottle.  Next week my mission will be to buy a bunch of Foreign Radlers.

A Nostradamus Moment:
After Britain's exit,  others will follow for the same poor reasons [Does the sentiment "Make Britain Great Again" ring a bell?],  Russia will grab additional small countries in an attempt to return to the good old days of the Soviet Union and then at some point war with a Reassembled Grabby Evil Soviet Empire will be inevitable. Or possibly war between EU states instigated by Russia's leaders.


  

Sunday, June 5, 2016

June Gardening

This week planted;
3 Squash
1 Thai Basil in herb garden
5 sweet basil in herb garden
1 sweet basil in a large pot
1 rosemary in a large pot
2 more tomatoes, 1 in blue tub

Harvested Garlic scapes and more lettuce this week.
It was too hot for the spinach and it got pulled and composted.

Current Blooms:
Some Lewisia
Cotyledon "sunset strain"
 This one is on its second batch of flowers
 A new Lewisia purchase, I think Cotyledon and am guessing "alba"? It came with the wrong tag so I was not able to update my Flower excel document.
 Hardy Geranium Cinerum 'alice'
 Iris
 Peony 'bowl of cream'
 Sedum, Japonica senanense. Sedum, not my favorite genus, but I like this one. It takes a beating and keeps on coming back.