November 5, 2013 by Born To Organize

Seeing Red

Roma tomatoes and Chinese Pistache leaves

I’m seeing red.

I like it! The cherry and heirloom tomatoes died back a month ago, but our Roma tomatoes continue to grow unabated.

In November.

This is Silicon Valley after all, originally known for its rich, agricultural roots. But I’m still amazed at the prolific production of this plant. I did a bit of reading and learned that the plant will continue to produce, as long as daytime temps remain about 60F (15C). That explains it. We’ve had a mild autumn so far.

While the Roma happily churns out fruit in the back garden, the Chinese Pistache flashes red outside my kitchen window.

Pistacia chinensis (Chinese pistache)

The Pistache’s slow, beautiful descent into dormancy is under way. The colors are magnificent. I’m grateful to live in this beautiful valley with such optimal growing conditions.

Seeing red

How to Braid A Carrot

Note: I’ll have to put some thought into tagging this post. I’m not sure anyone ever did a Google search using the term “braid carrot.” Here goes:

Step one:

Purchase nursery six-packs of small, leafy carrot starters. Make the following assumption: each cell contains one carrot plant.

Step two:

Plant accordingly. Be sure to gather the neighbor’s day-care kids. Turn tiny people into future gardeners.

Step three:

Wait 50 – 70 days. Publicize your countdown in your blog sidebar. This is an important step for those of us with “menopause brain.”

Step four:

Take the sage advice of a couple of bloggers who inquire “did you thin the plants?” (Note: In my gardening defense, I know about thinning seeds. I just ASSumed they were pre-thinned before I bought them.)

Step five:

Dig up a few ‘spare carrots’, in this case, the carrots planted on the other side of the curb garden as back ups in case the tiny gardener’s crop fails. (One or two did and I was able to fill in accordingly) Realize, oh-oh…I didn’t thin the plants. Thin one or two and watch them droop. They didn’t like waking up early.

Step six:

Reset the countdown in the side-bar from 50 to 70 days and wait some more.

Step seven:

The most important step of all: Watch the tiny gardeners cute, wondrous faces as they dig up a carrot and realize what they’ve grown. Picture me smiling from ear to ear.

Tiny gardener harvesting carrots

Carrot unearthed

And if you’ve read this far, here is the tutorial I promised.

How to braid a carrot:

Refer to steps one through seven.

Braided Carrots

November 1, 2013 by Born To Organize

A Feast Fit For a Squirrel

When you carve a lot of pumpkins, you end up with lots of pulp. It smells divine!

We grow carving pumpkins, not known for their tasty flesh, so we usually scoop out the pulp, set aside some seeds, and compost the rest. That’s how we got this season’s crop: via the composting bin.

On my way to the compost pile earlier this week with the pumpkin innards, I made a detour. We have a nice clearing under the fruit tree, the perfect spot for snacking (if you’re a squirrel). I dumped a big pile of pulp and seeds under the tree, figuring I could always move it elsewhere if there were no takers. Ha!

It’s been a busy week, so I temporarily forgot about it. From the kitchen window on Thursday, a squirrel posed for me on the deck, but didn’t bother to wait for me to fetch my camera. Not above a small bribe, I gathered a handful of raw almonds and headed out, camera in tow. He performed some acrobatics in the tree, seen below diving to the lower branches before heading over the fence and away from view.

“Flying” squirrel antics

I came back inside feeling a bit dejected, looked directly out the back door and did a mental head slap. While I was busy chasing a squirrel around the front yard, one of his friends was out back enjoying a feast.

Wow…this is good.

I know, I know…my diet starts tomorrow

I tiptoed outside, sat down in a chair, and snapped away. The visiting squirrel and I enjoyed the feast together and bonded over our mutual love of gardening. When he had his fill, he planted a couple of seeds on my behalf.

.I’ll plant this one over here…

…and I’ll plant another one over here.

Was that my phone or yours???

Sorry…I need to take this call.

Gotta run. Thanks for the feast.

Cue the music: the circle of life.

October 31, 2013 by Born To Organize

The Weeping Pumpkin Mystery

Trying to stem the tide…or tie the stem

My pumpkin is weeping. It’s been weeping for a week.

What appears to be a ‘crown pumpkin’ self-seeded in the small strip of lawn between the curb and the curb garden. The vine traveled the length of the box, flowered, and eventually produced a small, green pumpkin. Generally speaking, pumpkins start out as small, shiny-green fruits. As they grow the fruit turns a duller green, than yellow and finally orange.

This one remained green. I chalked it up to its late-season arrival and assumed it would remain green ever after. Unceremoniously, I snapped it from the vine, dug out the remaining plant, and added it to the compost pile.

Then the strangest thing happened. Clear fluid dribbled out of the top of the stem. I assumed it would stop in an hour or so, but by the next day the pumpkin sat in a puddle of slime. I turned the pumpkin upside down over a bowl and left it. The next time I checked, the bowl was full!

The pumpkin remains firm and healthy, but the stem continues to weep. I found a strand of raffia and tied it around the peduncle. Still it weeps.

It’s a mystery. Any guesses?

The Weeping Pumpkin Mystery

Happy Halloween!

October 30, 2013 by Born To Organize

Carving Pumpkins: The Master at Work

Resident Carver

My husband makes it look easy. Year after year we’re blown away by his carved creations. We grow ’em, he carves ’em.

This past spring I simply stepped out-of-the-way while my compost bin produced close to a dozen viable pumpkins. If you’ve been following along, you’ll remember that we had two early casualties: Frank and Shelly.

Of the remaining pumpkins, The Master Carver crafted six.

As the boys get older, pumpkin carving requests change too. Gone are the days of sweet Max, the bunny from Max and Ruby. In Max’s place, I present Slender Man. According to Wikipedia, Slender Man is

a fictional character that originated as an Internet meme created by Something Awful forums user Victor Surge in 2009. It is depicted as resembling a thin, unnaturally tall man with a blank and usually featureless face, and wearing a black suit. The Slender Man is commonly said to stalk, abduct, or traumatize people, particularly children.^[1] The Slender Man is not tied to any particular story, but appears in many disparate works of fiction, mostly composed online.

Slender Man

Next up, my 13-year-old requested the saying ‘Twerk or Treat’ as a send up to Miley Cyrus’ endlessly debated VMA performance. It’s both topical and comical but remains PG.

Twerk or Treat

Sawing flames (sounds like the name of a band)

Halloween Countdown:

Campfire, inspired my Martha Stewart

Please peruse pumpkins past on my page Passionate about Pumpkins.

Happy Halloween!

October 29, 2013 by Born To Organize

The Magic of Snail-Mail: Gjeometry Crafts

Who doesn’t like finding personal mail in their mailbox? Nobody I know, that’s for sure! It’s become a rare commodity, so much so that many postal services are going broke. I’m happy to report that we bloggers are doing our part, one wonderful note, card or parcel at a time.

Through my blogging community and Craft-it-Forward projects, I’ve received numerous goodies in the mail. Last week was no exception. Catja, over at Gjeometry let me squeak into her pay if forward list, even though I was number six and the cut off was five. You can read a bit more about it on her blog. (Thanks once again, Catja).

Look what arrived in the mail.

gjeometry apron collage-188

Catja sent me this beautifully sewn, dual-toned apron sporting three large pockets and several tabs for holding tools. The body of the apron is an incredibly soft rayon tweed with a subtle pattern, a cross between herringbone and check. The face of the apron is a sturdy, floral canvas, trimmed in brown. I *love* it!

Catja included a thoughtful note written on a card embedded with annual and perennial seeds. I’ll be able to keep the card, and slip out the seed insert for planting next spring. What a treasure.

Bloomin’ Flower Card

The spoiling didn’t stop there. She also sent a volume of essays called The Roots of My Obsession: Thirty Great Gardeners Reveal Why They Garden. I can’t wait to dive in. Here’s a quote:

There’s a mystery at the heart of gardening: Why would any sane person spend hours on hands and knees, courting aching joints and a ruined back, just to raise a bunch of plants? He simple answer, of course, is that gardening is an obsession that cannot be conquered or abandoned, only indulged. The richer, more complex and more human answer can be found in the pages of The Roots of My Obsession.

I see joyful reading ahead.

Personal essays on why we garden

On the subject of spoiling, our resident felines received a treat as well. It seems, Catja’s mom is also crafty. She knit this wooly purple octopus for the kitties. It arrived with a small opening for cat nip, with a length of yarn attached to sew it closed. Our catnip plant is just now dying back for the winter. I pinched off a few of the leaves for their new toy. Here’s a shot of Mighty Mouse checking it out.

Tiny octopus

Mighty Mouse loves the new toy

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Catja, for your thoughtfulness. I admire your style, your grace and your creativity.

You can check out Catja’s blog at Gjeometry. Her kitty features prominently in most of her posts. Here are a few of my favorites:

October 28, 2013 by Born To Organize

Coming Full Circle and a Blogger Surprise

Party girl, 1920’s style

Boy am I tuckered out! We attended two Halloween parties this past weekend, our own kid-friendly party and another one hosted for adults. Great fun.

I finished my Halloween costume Friday night, but for a few hand-stitches the next morning. Talk about cutting it close. Party guests arrived here at 1:00 pm Saturday. Nothing like a little pressure to keep your energy up and your adrenaline pumping.

We host a Halloween party every year for our boys. We invite adults, too, but the focus is on the younger ones.

Later that night we attended an adults-only party, just a couple of houses away. It was fun wearing my ‘party dress’ all day. It’s not often you get to wear pink shoes, false eyelashes and a petticoat.

Many moons ago I attended San Jose State’s Theater Arts program. Everyone studied a little of everything including acting, literature, backstage work and technical theater, but costumes are my first love.

Coming Full Circle

The inspiration for this year’s costume came from my dear friend Boomdee. When she visited here in May, she brought me a beautiful hand-made easel decorated with lace paper, ribbons and bows along with tiny hearts and roses. Featured on the easel: a lovely dancer from the 1920’s, dressed in soft pinks. She chose the paper with my theater background as inspiration. Now it’s both art and costume.

My costume muse

I found these flowers at Cottage Craft

Lindy is rethinking her costume…or simply keeping my petticoat warm.

Blogger Surprise

As if back-to-back parties weren’t enough excitement, an amazing treat arrived in the mail from Catja at Gjeometry. Her tag line says it all: It’s in the Lines……hem, seam, stitching, grain, style. I made it on to her Craft-it-Forward list earlier in the year. She blew me away!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the full reveal. Meanwhile, Catja, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Halloween Countdown:

My son set up our ‘pumpkin patch’. Individual pumpkin creativity ensued

October 24, 2013 by Born To Organize

Hummingbird Migration: Garden Traffic in Decline

I’m going to make an extra effort this year to track the hummingbirds at our feeders. Just one day after musing about their migration habits last week, I read Joan Morris’ column in the San Jose Mercury News. One of her readers sent in the following:

Dear Joan: I’ve been feeding the hummingbirds from my patio in the same Palo Alto location for more than 10 years now.

Ms. McClellan of Saratoga, who wrote regarding how often her feeders need refilling presently, is probably experiencing what it is like to feed the migratory hummers that pass through our area each fall and spring.

Her Saratoga neighbors probably need to refill their feeders as often during these several weeks while the birds fatten up before moving south.

It will quiet down any day or week now as winter shows more and the migrating birds finish their trips south. Just a few hummingbirds stay over winter locally, and nectar needs will drop.

Then in the spring there will be another, shorter surge of feeding needed on the hummingbirds’ migration north.

Gavin Tanner

I have noticed the increased consumption of nectar at the feeders (we have three). It’s really cooled down in the last few days, finally feeling like fall. My California Girl uniform of a thin t-shirt and cotton sweater are no longer enough to keep me warm.

I found an informative website called World of Hummingbirds. They have a form on their site for reporting migration habits in your area. They ask you to wait two full weeks till the last sighting, before submitting details. I’m looking forward to taking part in this one small way. They use the collected data to: “help researchers around the world better understand and protect hummingbirds.” I’m all for that.

Magnolia feeder: All business

Beautiful red throat

Back garden feeder

A rare event at our feeders. They’re usually too territorial to share all at once.

Kitchen window feeder

Halloween Countdown:

Lindy Lu loves pumpkins

October 23, 2013 by Born To Organize

The Sweetest of Peas

While shopping for ‘bedding plants’ (take two) I bought this small trellis.

Garden trellis

It was an afterthought. I spotted it as I was checking out, fell in love and grabbed it. Now it’s the focal point of the curb garden. Funny how things work out.

The long, narrow bed definitely needed some height and character. Originally I thought I would accomplish that with one large plant, but I’m really liking this alternative.

I planted garden peas from seed in late August, and they’re already three feet tall. The first of the blooms arrived this week, which means delicious, garden-fresh peas will soon follow. As fall descends and the tomatoes go fallow, it’s delightful having this little garden oasis.

Peas on the trellis

Flowering peas

A pea is sure to follow

Work on my Halloween costume continues. Here is a sneak peek at my costume inspiration: this beautiful piece of art by our good friend over at Boomdeeadda. Isn’t it stunning?

Halloween Countdown:

Just a couple of bloggers, wearing wigs and smiles before tea.

Costume inspiration close-up

October 22, 2013 by Born To Organize

Luddites and Pumpkins

I’m probably eligible for Luddite status, as my forays into technology continue to fail me. With help, we got the wireless connection working for a few hours, then the internet went down. By morning, both the wireless and the net were down. To seal my fate, I set up my fancy sewing machine, a gift from my husband a few years back. All went well till I had to switch to the zipper foot. The electronic symbol for moving the needle to the left or right made no sense at all. I read the manual, read it again, and then (while the internet was working) did a Google search. Still no luck.

In the end, I simply made do with the regular presser foot and moved on. What a frustrating day.

The pieces scattered on my kitchen counter Sunday night are now loosely sewn together. My sister stops by tomorrow to help me with the final fitting. Then I’ll sew in the lining, hem the skirt and I can call it a dress.

I’ve always dreamed of owning a cutting table. The kitchen counter is the next best thing when you’re tall.

The bling that will take it from dress to costume includes a length of sequins from the fabric store, several hand-made roses made by a local crafter and a few strands of leafy ribbon from Scrapbook Island. I’m really looking forward to a bit of hand-sewing, a task I’ve always found relaxing.

On the garden front, I decided to harvest our late-season, curbside pumpkin. It hasn’t grown in size for a few weeks, and shows no signs of turning orange. That said, I’m wondering if this pumpkin is actually one of the blue-green varieties. It has a bluish tinge and once inside, I realized that it turned light green but not the rich green the other pumpkins pass through on their way to orangeness. Could it be a crown pumpkin? What do you think?

Crown Prince

My son’s teddy-bear sweater is just the right size for dressing up our new pumpkin. No drafty nights for this ‘crown prince.’ Who said “it’s not easy being green?”

By the way, it’s not easy being a Luddite either.