Last year when the wild turkey was brooding eggs by the lavender labyrinth, Ramon told us not to even think of the turkey when the dogs were around. He said they would see our thoughts and go after her. She lived to hatch and raise a rafter of turkeys and she is at it again this… Read more »
Kale planted last fall is still producing but has bolted. One of the best leafy green vegetables that we can eat is kale, and it is amazingly easy to grow in our gardens. Not only do we love it, but when it bolts (goes to flower), the bees also love it, and when I… Read more »
Gaviota and the silhouetted blue wildrye. Some years ago we contracted with Judith Larner Lowry to identify native plants on our ranch so we might better understand how to support the unique mix of plants that are at home here. One of my favorite perennial bunch grasses is blue wildrye, seen here silhouetted against the… Read more »
Open House June 23, 2012
Harms Vineyards and Lavender Fields Biodynamic Organic estate grown distilled lavender products Open House June 23, 2012 Please join us for a day of tours, talks, sensory delights! Sip our lavender limeade, taste lavender culinary goodies, meet our goats. Harms Vineyards and Lavender Fields 10: am to 4:pm 11:am Charlie Toledo, Ex.Director, Suscol Intertribal Council First People’s Sustainable… Read more »
Sticky monkeyflower tends to hang outwith poison oak and coyote bush. One of the plants in full bloom now is sticky monkeyflower. A member of the figwort family, the flower blooms on our hillsides most of the summer. The hummingbirds love it, and so do goats! I wonder what energies are collected and moved about… Read more »
Although the dry winter has also meant fewer wildflowers this year, we can always count on the prolific California buttercup. Its sunny blossoms skip through much of the landscape and last a surprising amount of time throughout the spring. California Buttercup blooms The bad news? They are listed as poisonous to our goats! Fortunately the… Read more »
Anna’s scruffy undercoat on a walk this morning. One of the signs that winter is losing its hold is the shedding of the goats’ undercoats! It is so tempting to brush goats as they look pretty scruffy, yet last night the thermometer dropped to 37 degrees and the wind machines in the valley wined all… Read more »
January 6 is celebrated as the date the Magi arrived with their gifts. On our ranch we do the Three Kings Preparation spray, a gift spray to the land and all who reside there, human and non-human alike. The following is a gift story —that might have happened! Once there was a herd of goats… Read more »
Before: Downed dead wood and brush in dangerous buildup Forest Care After years of fire suppression (80 years in our area), there is heavy buildup of downed wood and underbrush. Part of bringing balance to our ranch involves clearing some of this. After: Forest floor that has had… Read more »
Pruning lavender mounds as goats weed. August: Lavender Pruning and Weeding This month we prune the lavender down into the even mounds it spends most of the year in. We then give the mounds a good watering, thank the lavender for a good year, and give it a couple of months to green up and… Read more »
© 2024 Patricia Damery.
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