Garlic Scape Pesto, by Kira

It is that time of year.
Pesto. So tasty so versatile.
I like to keep my pesto simple. I use lemon juice, walnuts, garlic scapes, olive oil, sea salt and parmesan.
I had a lot more ingredients than my little food proceser could handle (time to upgrade).
So I procesed the walnuts first, put them into a bowl and did two batches of scapes, cheese, salt and olive oil.
Combined them all in a bowl and put them into jars.
I never measure when making pesto. Just go by taste.
Pesto is great with chicken, added to pasta, on crackers, mixed into dips for veggies or as a base for pizza.



 

Clearing Windfall

It was time to take the show on the road today as I headed out to help a friend.
Sweat equity is a traded commodity, and withdrawals are made from time to time.
Not that help should be traded, but help works out well when everyone benefits.

In this case, a storm had caused some serious tree damage.
The bulk of the mess had already been dealt with, but the remaining tangle of tree limbs and trunks needed to be taken down; for safety, and for aesthetics.
Windfall is challenging and dangerous.
Potential energy is sprung and just waiting to turn kinetic.
The pros can read the trees and take them down safely.
The rest of us?
We just cross our fingers and make sure someone is near a phone.

Clearing and brushing is something I have grown familiar with.
It's straightforward work; cutting and sorting, dragging and piling.
It's too dry right now to burn the leftover brush so the piles will have to wait.
But the result of the labour is tangible, and worthy of reflection at the end of the day.

Problems always crop up, like a pinched bar, or an especially badly hung-up tree.
Creative solutions and some rugged gear are called for.
Deliberation and a short break help clear the issue.

It's preferable to have 'before' and 'after' pictures...
...that don't make you famous.

By the end of the day, the yard is bigger, and the firewood pile is too.
It really was just the beginning of the overall clean up, but some of the more dangerous work is now done with no injuries and very few humiliating stories.
I must admit that the work has left me eager for a hot shower and a soft bed.
Though hard work is more rewarding when you can feel it.

Martin would prefer less exposure on the internet,

so I have cleverly cropped this photo

so that you don't know who he is.

 
 

Ducks eat Mesclun Mix.....and Cilantro?, by Kira

I have read that if you put ducks in your garden they will eat the bugs,
and even slugs and snails.
Ducks will also eat the weeds. How great does that sound?
Pretty darn good to me.
This was a great opportunity for me to try, seeing as how the chickens have had their way in my garden twice.
There is already damage done.

So my findings:

Ducks eat weeds.
Ducks eat bugs.
Ducks eat mesclun mix.
Ducks eat cilantro
Ducks nibble at leaves on taller plants such as pepper plants
Ducks also crush a lot of plants under those big clumsy duck feet.

A few things to take note of however:
Most of my plants are not mature size yet, so the plants they were eating were young and tender.
They may not nibble on mature plants.
Our ducks are very skittish so they would dart from place to place if startled,
tromping on what ever was in their path.
Also they are Rouen ducks. Maybe some breeds are better than others for tending the garden.
There may be some sort of ratio for how many ducks suit a certain size area.
I put all ten of my little ducks in.
They are about five weeks old, so they are not that big,
and my garden size is about four hundred square feet.
This was the ducks first time outside.
Everyday that the coop door has been left open, they have chosen to stay inside and play in their container of water and chase each other around.
So maybe they were not picky about what they were eating.

We want to seek out a heritage breed dual purpose duck to keep.
I will be sure to keep the garden in mind when choosing a breed.
I would like to let the ducks roam the gardens to eat the weeds and pests;
but not my salsa ingredients and salad.


And yes, I still find ducks ridiculously cute!