No grousing about grouse hunting!

I am not a hunter.  No way will I kill another creature unless it is a mosquito or a spider.  None the less I love to go grouse hunting with Bob in the fall. I love the way the leaves and dry grasses crunch under my feet.  The colors shimmer in bright reds, oranges, and yellows.  I love the smell of fall, crisp and earthy.  Fall is definitely my second favorite season, spring being my first because the song birds come back and I'm back in the garden after a long winter.

  
I go grouse hunting with Bob because I get to walk in the autumn woods with my best friend and my dog, Lucky.

The first area we hunted was on the game range off of Woodworth Road.  It was a wet area with ponds outlined with cattails.    In the back ground you can see the smoke from fires in Montana and Idaho. 

The cattails are losing their fluff. 

The grasses are in seed ready to spread their seeds along with the cattail. 

We also hunted up Little Shanley Creek.  As we walked the old roads and paths I always had to stay a little behind.  Bob didn't want me to get between him and his target.

The leaves of the red-osier dogwood become a brilliant red in the fall.

Lucky did not flush one grouse that day but two days later he and Bob came home with two ruffed grouse.  I made a delicious grouse pot pie with vegies all from the garden.  Yum!

Alien Carrots

I was digging up carrots for dinner when I ran across an interesting group of alien carrots.  They are quite a bunch!  Steppin' Out is the leader of the bunch.  I dug him up first.

Steppin' Out

The next of the bunch I met was Biker Babe.  She was quite insistent that I get her from several angles being a little uppity. 

Biker Babe

                                               Carrot of a Different Color was pretty laid back.

                                                                Meet Cooly Worm.

Cooly Worm didn't want to leave the dirt but made an appearance to show off his beautiful plumage. 

What a fun bunch of carrot aliens.  I wonder how many more of them are diggin' it in my carrot patch?

Here are a couple of pics to share from my fall garden.  I love the veronica.  I did not even know it existed until I did an embroidery of a country garden for my sister.

Fall colors on the peony.  This is the only color it has shown so far.  It has yet to bloom for me in the two years I have had it.   

  

A Trip to Oregon

                                                            Whaleshead Beach

I've been gone for a couple of weeks, busy having summer fun.  I went back to Oregon with my daughter, Adrianne staying with her for a few days.

Then on over to pick up Lindsay and Aleta in Talent and headed to the coast. 

We stayed at Whaleshead , a little north of Brookings.  If you ever go to Whaleshead make sure you go to the beach through the "tunnel?"  Now that was an experience!  I laughed so hard I could not walk in fear of peeing my pants.There were actually three tunnels.  The tunnels were culverts about 10' tall.  Two had  standing water all the way through them and one had a creek running through it.  We chose the middle "tunnel?"  When we got to the other end, 300 feet away, there was a pond of water.  As Adrianne stated, "We have chosen poorly."  We waded the pond and made it to the beach.

                 The cottages were tiered up the mountain side over looking the Whaleshead Bay. 

                                    The hot tub was enjoyed along with the beautiful scenery.

Lindsay, Adrianne, and Aleta playing in the sand.

Lindsay and Aleta in Lindsay and Eric's greenhouse containing watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, and peppers. 

So this has been my escape for a week and I loved spending time with my daughters, being by the ocean, and experiencing  new adventures.  

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"That's the Berries"

"That's the berries."  I've heard this expression often but what does it mean?  I think it means "Well that's something."  Some say "something" means "great" and others "bad."  Right now I say it means plentiful.  My fridge is filled with berries of all kinds. 

I am just finishing up strawberry season.  It was another awesome year for strawberries which by the way are not true berries but an aggregate accessary which has something to do with pollination, two ovaries, I don't know.  Raspberries and blackberries fall in this category also.

Also in my fridge are elderberries.  Some may ask, "What are you going to do with them?  They taste absolutely awful, bitter, seedy...."  I say elderberry pie, elderberry jelly, yum.  I like the nuttiness from the seeds and the rich flavor when sugar is added.  Elderberries are high in phosphorus, potassium and  vitamin C.  As a kid I used to love to walk the railroad tracks, before they started spraying, picking elderberries and bringing them home for mom to make pies and jelly. We were looking for huckleberries when I spotted the elderberries along the Clearwater Lake road.  I yelled, "Stop!" making both my husband and daughter jump out of their seats.  "Elderberries," I yell, "and they are black and oh so ripe."  Bob stopped and we found several bushes picking the dark blue to black clusters of berries. 

Yes, we also found huckleberries.  They are a terribly fickle fruit.  We have many patches that we check  because you never know if they will be producing that particular year.  They are affected by late frosts, too much snow, not enough snow, too dry, too wet, too hot, who knows?  There are about 40 species of huckleberries found all over the United States.  Some bushes are tall and bushy while others are short and squatty.  They can be blue, black, red, purple, and yes, even white.  There are big berries, little berries, and all sizes inbetween. They are found on mountain sides, in meadows, old growth, new growth, burns. Where ever you find them you do not reveal their location to anyone.  Their taste is unique unlike any other fruit.  It is a strong flavor in comparison to the milder blueberry.  They are great in pancakes, muffins, pies, crisps, and jams or jellies. 

All my berries are going into the freezer to be pulled out on some cold snowy day to remind us that summer will come again with all its berries.  Now "that's the berries!"

Bob and Adrianne picking huckleberries.

The Lush Greenhouse

I tried something new in the greenhouse this year.  I now have raised beds following the Square Foot gardening method.   I filled the boxes with 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 vermiculite.

What a difference it has made! My greenhouse is looking fabulous with ripening tomatoes,

Greenbeans, cukes, peppers, lettuce, zuchs, and onions, crowded into a little eight by ten space.

 

 I added flowers this year also to attract the bees to help polinate my vegies.  My mom loved zinnias and usually had a few growing in the garden. They are killed here easily due to our frequent frosts so I have them in the greenhouse.

                                   

                                                My kittie cat, Cheech is checking out the place. 

Strawberries, WOW!

    

     Well I know most of you have already picked your strawberries and they are in jars of jam in your pantry or frozen in your freezer waiting to be placed on shortcakes in January or strawberry daiquiris soon, but not here in Seeley Lake, Montana.  I have  just started to pick and man do I have strawberries.  They are huge and so delicious.  I have picked three days and have over 2  gallons already.  Bob wants a strawberry rhubarb pie.   I want strawberry crepes and some yummy oatmeal strawberry cookies.  The problem is I am trying not to eat sugar so ...

     I think strawberries are my favorite fruit along with huckleberries.  I also love blackcap raspberries but I can't find them in Montana.  I  remember picking black raspberries in Ringses Woods or along the railroad as a kid and mom baking me a black raspberry pie.  I would love to have a piece of that pie right now.

      Alright back to the strawberries.  I have a slug problem.  Every year I put out slug saloons.  They love to sit around drinking beer and being a little sluggish in my slug saloons but luckily for me they drown themselves while in there alcohol stupor. After about a week of partying and drinking themselves dead I no longer have a slug problem.  YeeHaa!!  I love strawberries!!

Foxglove, Good or Bad

I am in a quandary, what should I do about my foxglove? 

I love the cottage garden affect I get from placing foxglove in my garden.  I like the vertical and the flowers are absolutely gorgeous.  I also like the pastel colors they provide against the often bright reds and yellows. 

Here is the problem.  While doing a little research on foxglove for this blog I discovered a few negative characteristics that is making me think I need to dig them up and get rid of them.  It seems that not only can it be dangerous if ingested but it has been known to cause severe skin rashes that won't go away.  Seed pods explode and are ingested causing breathing problems.  The plant also reseeds its self quite easily and spreads rapidly.  We often have horses on our property so we don't want it to spread to our pastures.  Foxglove is poisonous to all mammals if ingested. 

What to do?

 It has been around forever in old Victorian gardens and cottage gardens.  I would like to keep it in my garden but now I am a little concerned.  Let me know what you think.  Do you have foxglove in your garden?  I would love to hear from you on this topic.   

Here are a few more pics from my July garden:

The sugar Ann peas are more than five feet tall.  Wow!