Snow in September Yes, it's September. When I posted about a late snow in June, I had no idea that my very next post would be about an early snow in September, but here we are. This year, from our last snow to the first snow was 92 days. From the last day less than 32° to the first, it was 69 days. This was an unusually short summer, even here. In the previous 5 years (since I have been recording the weather) the days between last/first snow have ranged from 12 ...
If that's a question, the answer is YES. It can snow in June here in the Rockies. On Tuesday morning, June 9, we woke up to 2-4" of soggy snow. It was pretty windy overnight so the snow drifted to make it hard to measure exactly how much. On the average I'd say there was a good 2". The overnight low temperature was 29.5°, and was below 32° for about 5 hours.What about the garden? We are well prepared for almost anything, including snow and below-freezing temperatures. We'd seen the forecast, so ...
MAY 25, 2020 - BEGINNING TO "GREEN UP" I know most folks wouldn't call this "early" spring, but here in the mountains it's still early. Because our average last frost date is sometime around June 10-15, I need to be careful about what is planted outdoors prior to that time. In the past I have started a few beds of veggies around May 15, I've kept them covered through at least the end of May, with the ability to throw on some frost cloth up to the end of June. (In 2018 and 2019, the last day of ...
The CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC is out there, and here in Colorado we've been "locked down" with a stay-at-home order since March 26th. Even before that, we hadn't been out much, just being careful without being asked...er...ordered. Our life here hasn't really changed all that much. Instead of trips to town once or twice a week, we now go out once every two weeks or so and we wear masks in the stores we visit. At this time our county has 6 confirmed cases of coronavirus with no deaths. I think that th ...
CREDENZA DRESSER TV STAND END TABLE SMALL END TABLE CORNER TABLE Tim has just completed our 6th piece of beautiful aspen furniture. Click on a photo to see a larger gallery photo of each one! They're gorgeous, and with all the extra drawer & cupboard space, we have room to spare! Pix are worth how many words???
BRRRRR! IT'S COLD OUTSIDE! What do we do all winter long? Winter 2019-2020 has been colder, with fewer sunny days than the previous winters we have been here. It seems longer! Today is one of those gloomy, snowy days. The past few days have been warm enough to melt quite a bit of snow & create quite a bit of mud in the process. The driveway & paths around the house are quite muddy! ...
FIRST EGGS FROM CURRENT DUCKS Our newest ducks have begun to lay! We received our first oval gift, 1/21/20, and the second came 4 days later. The ducks are now about 23-24 weeks old. These ducks are a week apart in age, and we have no way of knowing which ducks have layed the eggs, but we're delighted that our lighting program has worked, and we are now getting those delicious eggs. LIGHTS FOR EGGSAs Tim says, we're running a duck sweat shop here by using artificial lighting to increase egg ...
I recently got the INSTANT POT ULTRA (6-Quart) to use at my high elevation of 9,000 feet. Over the past 6 weeks or so I’ve experimented quite a bit with this and have found it to be a good choice for high elevation, but in different ways than advertised. "HIGH ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT" The INSTANT POT ULTRA boasts a “High Altitude” feature. I’m glad I paid a little more to get this model, but not because of this feature. The high-altitude feature allows you to set your elevation in a system setti ...
When looking for an electric multicooker, I first purchased the Mueller Ultra Pot. I already had the Mueller Single Serve Coffee Maker, and I liked it, so their Ultra Pot seemed like it would be a good choice. It had great reviews on Amazon, it was less expensive than Costco’s Instant Pot model at the time, AND it included some accessories that the Instant Pot did not include; a steamer basket, a glass lid to use with the non-pressure functions, and an extra sealing ring. It also included a 2-ye ...
I've been playing around with a new look for this website. I've also been writing new articles and updating some old ones. Be sure to check out the changes! In addition to the specific pages listed below, please see the menu items on all the "GROWING FOOD" pages pertaining to the garden, and on the "DUCKS" pages pertaining to ducks.