Category: Garden/Plants
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Greenhouse from Costco
We have been home just over a month and spent a chunk of that time building a Yardistry 8′ x 10′ greenhouse from Costco. We have lots of rocks on our property so used them before adding the landscape stone that we purchased. We chose to install the greenhouse on a flat area near an…
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Happy Birds
I woke up to dozens of birds feeding in the trees this morning. There is a rotating menagerie of robins and cedar waxwing in our Hawthorn tree. The fruit must be in prime condition today. Earlier this morning, one aggressive robin tried to claim the entire tree as his (or her?) own. Now birds fly…
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Whittier and Cordova, a few highlights
This ten day trip deserves several posts. We loved both Alaskan towns and definitely want to go back. However, packing isn’t leaving me much time to write. With snow arriving in Healy, we want to head south soon! On day three, we left Whittier on the M/V Aurora (Alaska Ferry), for a 12 hour boat…
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Midnight Moose, Pika, and 17 Caribou
C and I took a late drive to Teklanika, enjoying wildlife and the surreal Alaska twilight. We set a new personal record by seeing 17 caribou in this one trip. We saw 2 groups of 8 each, all at a distance, then the above bull caribou crossed the road in front of us. No young…
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Day 9, Delta Junction, Alaska
We have arrived in Alaska and only have 205 miles left to finish the drive to Healy. We saw 24 Dall Sheep in their usual spot near Destruction Bay. Once (2022?) we saw them near the highway, but today they were dots unless we zoomed in with binoculars or camera. We saw a Northern Harrier…
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Retirement
Plans for most days in the next month: Garden/Forage Bird Watching Exercise Prep and eat healthy food Read Other plans, not necessarily every day: Travel planning and prep Family, friends, church Various computer chores, about 2 hours per day so it doesn’t build up. No more than 4 hours in a day!!! Games on my…
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Persimmons and Pomegranates
Oatmeal with pomegranates reminds me of my Alaska spring oatmeal with lingonberries. Deliciously tart red jewels, yum! While I can’t grow pomegranates in Virginia, there are lots of options for persimmons. I can forage for tiny native persimmons, and ate a few this year. The cultivated varieties are bigger with fewer seeds. I grow ‘Ruby’,…
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Routine
A significant change in routine for 7 months presented unexpected challenges when I returned to Virginia. I thought that I would settle quickly into my old life but found I had lost the groove. This last week I have felt somewhat more settled and productive. The first 3 weeks I found it especially difficult to…
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Fall Colors
I am not sure about the rest of Virginia, but around our place it is an exceptionally colorful fall. This is the longest and most beautiful fall of my life, starting with the blueberries and aspen in Alaska in early September. When we arrived in Virginia 2 weeks ago the black gum trees were red.…
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Pumpkin Berries and Ptarmigan Berries, Week 20 in Healy
Three more edible berries are ripe nearby. We have a lot of pumpkin berries (Geocaulon lividum) around the house. While they look gorgeous, edible does not equal tasty. The pumpkin berries can stay on the plant as yard decoration. Fortunately the Ptarmigan Berries (also known as alpine bearberries, black bearberries and many other names) are…
Me & C 