First Harvest

I took the opportunity provided by a cool, early morning to poke around the garden to see if anything was ready for picking.  The crookneck squash does a good job of obscuring its produce with abundant, giant leaves, but there was a squash of reasonable size that I went ahead and plucked.  Since there are many more to follow, I will probably just slice into this one and eat it raw to see what it would best pair with flavor wise.

The radishes are probably planted a shade on the dense side so it is a bit harder to see how they are coming along. I found a few that were showing a larger root size toward the top, they will be eaten shortly.

The lettuces that were unhappy with the heat seem to have made the adjustment to our early Colorado summer.  I have some strategies for getting plants in the ground next year and keeping more of a continuous harvest.  I am starting to see some action from the other veggies ... the tomato plants are doing their best to branch out and supply me with lots and lots of tomatoes, more updates to follow ...

Gardening is Hot!

Everything in the yard has been growing much faster than I have been keeping track of and documenting! I managed to get some seeds and seedlings in the ground sometime shortly after the mother's day weekend which generally gives Colorado Front Range gardeners the green light for frost free planting.  I suspect I could have started earlier and I will next year with some seeds started indoors.

What was once an empty box, aside from the dirt added, is now full and lush. The one of the crookneck squashes (upper right corner of the first box) has really taken off. The other seems to be lagging behind a bit, but maybe that will result in an accidentally staggered harvest.  The various lettuces seem to be doing alright, but something is nibbling on the row of bitter salad mix ... as well as the radishes.  I suspect the culprit is the notorious flea beetle.  I have seen a few hop around when I have plucked a few leaves for sampling.  Word on the street (or the internet) is that used coffee grounds repel these little guys and fortunately I have a very steady source.

The radishes have been rapid growers and I never really took the opportunity to space them out after they sprouted.  I'll be harvesting them as they start showing decent sized roots, I don't want them to get too bitter. I did space out the romaine, unfortunately right as it started getting hot out. Some of it should survive, but it definitely looks a little stressed.

I thought the Japanese Eggplant blossom was particularly charming looking with its purple hue.  I hear that eggplants can be quite prolific once they start fruiting.

Besides pest control, I have a pretty regular schedule and cycle of garden chores.  There seems to be no shortage of weeds that magically appear around the plants.  I rather enjoy my late evening watering and picking sessions. There is something very relaxing about the mindless activity.  With any luck, my next shots will be of my first harvests!

Road Trip!

Dempsey gets to go on his first camping trip this weekend.  We're hitting the road and heading towards Chaffee County and Huron Peak.

In preparation for the trip, we've continued a regimen of cross-training with Avery on the tennis courts. He should have plenty of fitness at this point to tackle the 10+ mile hike up to 14,000' and back.  I'm more curious to see how he will do in a tent overnight!

This will be the second trip out of town for some outdoor adventures. Two weeks ago, I went out of town with the Blah Life, up to Steamboat Springs. There was hiking, there was some getting lost, there was some snow, there was some relaxing., and hot spring soaking.. All in all it was a lovely time. More to follow...

South Pearl Activities

The morning dog walk is a magical time, the quiet of the morning is a great time to think and observe my quaint, quasi-urban surrounding.  Some mornings are marked by beautiful sunrises, tranquil moonsets and I am usually the only soul (Dempsey excluded) out and about.

The camera phone doesn't really capture the serenity of the morning, but it is good for some details.

The early morning light and shading of the faux concrete at the entrance to Sushi Den give little indication about what the cropping of the picture is hiding.

Somebody stole the neighboring building under the cover of night!

I knew that changes were coming since there was significant work on the inside of the old Pearl St. Grill space.  What I suspected was that it would be a renovation of the existing space, after which, the Wynkoop Group would take over the Izakaya Den space and the Super Den would be depleting the world supply of delicious tuna at an accelerated rate.

I will be very curious to see how construction on the "addition" will progress.  The previous projects I have observed over the last few years, the construction of Izakaya and the iterations of Ototo were build in a manner that suggest no expense was spared.  I am assuming this one will follow suit . . .