Tulips as Cut Flowers

A new year. A new project.

Since I have this flower obsession it only makes sense to share it with others who love fresh flowers. It is a laborious project that my back can surely tell you about. Many tulips were lovingly put in the ground (sounds so simple) with compost added then covered again. They went on a hillside so drainage wouldn't be a problem when our Spring rains come. The temperatures are in the teens here so the roots should be growing 8 inches below the soil as the soil temperature is warmer there. Hidden but very busy.

The months of March, April and May they will be dug out with bulbs attached, hosed off and stored in a 38-40 F cooler til market days or florists call. The reason the bulbs are left attached is they have a long storage life until you actually cut them from the bulb and add to a floral arrangement. You will also get longer stem length. Many start showing color at the same time so this helps the grower, me, have a little more time to sell them. 

The tulips that will be available are all billowy doubles that you don't see for sale in your grocery store. These are luxurious and look like peonies. Real showstoppers. Can't wait to share photos with you.

A note here about adding bonemeal. If you are planting with a cat or dog helping they will go bananas over the bonemeal. I used in some beds and didn't in the others for that reason. I think it just as wise to sprinkle fertilizer on the soil when the tulips first start poking up through the ground in the Spring. 

Watch how the Smithsonian gardeners plant tulips here. That soil in the video looks completely different than mine. 

596https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/videos/400-tulips-in-20-minutes/15596

Blueberry Homesteading Book

The Blueberry Years by Jim Minick

I got this book in the mail from my sister. Since we've been sick I've had time to devour it. A "delicious" read it said in one review. Jim has a knack for describing people, human nature and blueberries! Everyone has a dream and Jim and Sarah's is to support themselves on a homestead of blueberries. How hard can that be they question that question? (Since his father grew some bushes it should be in his genes. No?) Blueberries that are not yet planted, nor the bull pines cleared, but they have the land and the dream. Easy enough they think. Jim takes you with him and his wife on this journey of labor and love and mother earth. Not any journey but an certified organic farmer's journey who invites strangers to his farm to "u pick" blueberries right along with them.

You soon realize he has a love affair with blueberries. I wonder how many blueberry bushes have been sold by nurseries because of Jim's apt description of their gorgeous existence.

When you toil over the land and plant the bushes you become protective of it. Jim also becomes an analyst of people, relationships, religion, money, dreams, neighbors, and the ever productive blueberry...all of the clever evaluations come from keeping the hands busy and the mind turns things over and over until every visible side is exposed. You laugh. You worry. And like a good friend he shares his feelings with you whether they are right or wrong at the time. Unlike myself he has learned when to pause and not answer. If you are not an organic food believer you will be.

After I read the last page I wanted to ring them up and invite them over for dinner. To think he used to teach high school English in Maryland. Jim is a gifted writer and poet. This book is not just for "do it yourself-ers" or homesteaders, it's a book about life and relationships that come from working toward a dream.

As a bonus he has added blueberry recipes at the end! I highly recommend it.

Siamese Kittens Secret

I have a secret that has been so hard to keep! We have Siamese kittens! They are unbelievably cute! And what is this little kitten saying you might ask? She's saying, "Love, Love, Love" and "All you need is love". I think she is a Beatles fan.

Blue Ginger and Black Footed Penguins in Hawaii

Here are the cute penguins at the Hilton resort in Hawaii. If you go down at 8am in the morning you can watch them get fed and learn a little about them. Yes, they are tropical penguins from South Africa! I didn't know there were tropical penguins. I was feeling rather sorry for them, but we were told they are comfortable and they are used to warm tropical weather. Everyone present immediately felt relieved to hear this.

I love how they line up like school children and there isn't any fighting over the fish nor is there any chewing. Swallow. Swallow. Swallow.

We all got to touch this one. It felt like a newborn calf. It was raised in San Francisco by humans and now thinks it is a human. They call it imprinting. Also we learned that they are many different species of penguins and this group here picks a mate for life. If one dies usually the mate dies soon after.

We were told that these black footed penguins look exactly alike and they have to test their blood to find out if they are male or female.

The resort is 22 acres. You walk around a bend and then come upon a private pond like these flamigos above. I think this is a black swan, too. I should have paid more attention, but then I was spellbound by the tall towering gingers. Red torch ginger, pink ginger, shell ginger and blue ginger. I didn't see any white fragrant ginger there blooming. That is the fragrant one!

Some of the gingers were over my head...so healthy. To hear a little slack key music you can go to their website: http://www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com/ and take a virtual tour of sorts.