How to Prune Lavender
We use a power trimmer to prune lavender into mounds. People ask us how to prune lavender, and our advice is, get really tough with it this month! Prune it back almost to the wood, but not quite, water it, and let it put on a little growth and then harden off… Read more »
Who Else Lives Here...
The spider is deep in the funnel tunnel, upper left and lower middle. Who Else Lives Here… One of the values of walking the land each day is learning who else lives here. Those sheets of web so close to the ground, those are funnel spiders, and… Read more »
A Win/Win with Juniper Poles
Notice Dasher’s crowbar-like horns. A Win/Win with Juniper Poles This last week we visited In the Sticks, a north central Oregon sawmill, kiln, and source for juniper poles. Our (dear) goats test the pole structures and fence posts, breaking them off as they weaken. Perhaps they are in… Read more »
Wesley washes plums, removing leaves. Forest Wild Plum Jam Our grandsons Wes and Sabien helped us pick wild plums from a tree planted perhaps by deer many years ago. The plums were fat and ripe. We washed them and cooked them with a stick of cinnamon in the… Read more »
Sign up for Share with First Light Farm and Receive a Gift from Harms Vineyards and Lavender Fields!
Crew at First Light Farm Stand. You can also purchase their veggies at selected farmers markets in Santa Rosa and Petaluma. Sign up for Share with First Light Farm and Receive a Gift from Harms Vineyards and Lavender Fields! This weekend only: Sign up for a weekly box of certified organic veggies for the rest… Read more »
Grapes Ripening Already!
Grapes are softening. Still tart, though! Grapes Ripening Already! I woke this week to the familiar hum of the sulfur dusters in our neighbors’ vineyards, a sound that soon will be stopping for the season. We dusted for the last time this last week. Once the grapes go into… Read more »
Vine Mealybug
Pheromone strip. We use organic pheromone strips (allowed by our certifier) in the vineyard to disrupt the mating cycle of the Vine Mealybug. It has been very effective! Use of these strips has reduced vine mealybug populations enormously in the last three years. The insects were introduced into southern California from Mexico… Read more »
Hawk Perch in Lavender
Formidable, particularly to a mouse! Hawk Perch in Lavender Here he is, using the perch as it was intended! Hawks are important in rodent control in our lavender and vineyard. This is probably a Red-Tailed Hawk, or Swainson’s Hawk, and he eats a lot of gophers.
Signs of the Turning of the Seasons Already?
Signs of the Turning of the Seasons Already? The poison oak on our property is one of the first plants to exhibit fall colors, and it is beautiful! Here it is, and it is only the beginning of summer!
Distillation is about Essence
Collecting unfilteredd lavender essential oil after distillation Donald is distilling lavender, and it is not a process for the young! In chemist/philosopher Primo Levi’s words, “…it is a slow, philosophic, and silent occupation, which keeps you busy but gives you time to think about other things…” a process whereby “you acquire the consciousness of… Read more »
© 2024 Patricia Damery.
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