Showing posts with label idaho. Show all posts
Showing posts with label idaho. Show all posts
An Idaho Moment
An Idaho Moment
This is something you dont see every day. Thank goodness! Goats being herded down the highway in rural America. These goats are used to eat noxious weeds in our state. There are many herds similar to this one and apparently they earn their keep.
There are fat ones, skinny ones, and even some very young ones thrown into the mix. I thought this was worth sharing as I have only seen it one other time. They actually stopped highway traffic to move these goats to a new place and cars did not seem to faze them at all.
An Idaho Moment
Edging Idaho Style
Edging Idaho Style
Many posts back I asked How on Earth you make a bed look like this one. Not so much the peonies but the edge itself. Clean and neat. I have done everything but this until just recently. Several people commented on how to get this done. Anna from from Flower Garden Girl blog suggested cutting in strait down from the lawn side and angling the cut towards that cut from the bed side. I drew you a picture to illustrate what I think she meant by that. And no, when I say I drew you a picture, I am not being a smart alleck. I really did draw you a picture with the paint program on my computer. Someone really ought to come up with a better program for all my garden drawings, that program is junk. But for todays lesson it will suffice.
The dark black lines indicate the angles of the shovel or edger you use to cut into this area. I did this on several of my beds so far and it works like a dream. It looks nice and clean and I cant wait to see how it holds up and how often I will have to redo it. I also plan to back fill the area a little with my super fine bark mulch just to give it a completed look. I did some research today on edgers themselves. Flowrgirl1 from Live To Garden suggested a tool she found at Kmart several years back. It is a half-moon shaped edger with a T-bar handle that she says works very well. The one she uses is made my Martha Stewart. I also found a huge assortment of them on Amazon and the one I think I will order has a foot shaped top that you step on with your whole foot and not just your toes.Kind of like taking a big step with a built in spine on the sole. It seems less likely I will hurt myself with that kind than the traditional. You can also cut your main edge with a power edger and go back for your second, angled cut with a shovel. I used a shovel for the whole thing. It worked fine. I still have the island bed to do but the rain wont seem to let up long enough to get that done. Maybe tomorrow morning.
This is similar to what I mean by a step-on edger. This one was sold by Gardeners Supply but is no longer available. Dont know why but I like the idea. I will have to go in search of just the right one and let you all know what I find.
This one is an example of a Half-Moon shaped edger. I thing it looks wide enough to do the job without breaking the arch of your foot if your lawn is like mine. Very dense and hard to dig in. This one has a round handle as opposed to a T-bar handle but it ought to work the same way. Funny how garden tools are finally starting to be designed with ergonomics in mind. Took them long enough.
Edging Idaho Style
Idaho Huckleberries
Idaho Huckleberries
This weekend we finally left the house. Whoohoo! We went camping and it was very nice to get out for a minute. We didnt go far, only about an hour away but it was 20 degrees cooler and no one was around. We have created the little farm and big garden we always wanted but that has meant that leaving for a couple of days is somewhat of a fiasco. We watered and mowed and watered and thanked my mom profusely for keeping an eye on things. I dont think she knew what she was getting herself into.
These pictures are of huckleberries. This berry is the Idaho state fruit and darn fun to pick. They are generally smaller than a blueberry but similar in shape and appearance. They turn dark purple when they are ready and grow wild in the mountains of several western states. Mine is one of them. They are quite tart and tangy when you eat them fresh off the bush but are the most delectable thing ever when added to homemade sourdough pancakes. We make muffins with them too but the pancakes are my favorite!
Even one of my dogs, Marley, appreciates just relaxing in the woods.
Our camping trip ended up just being Doyle and I and it was nice to just read and pick berries and sit in the shade without the guilt associated with knowing I should be doing something else. I got three novels read and a stack of magazines looked through and didnt think once about not having internet until Doyle asked how I was doing without it. Then I missed it. I know that I love camping (in a nice camper) but I could never be shipwrecked on a deserted island without modern conveniences. No world wide web access would kill me. For sure.
Idaho Huckleberries