Wooden Dolls

Many moons ago, I purchased some wooden people turnings from Casey's Wood Products. Inspired by Leah's craft project, I pulled them out this weekend and left them on the kitchen table with markers. They were a huge hit.


By the end of the day, about seven new dolls had entered our lives. In one day, they have sailed the seas, traversed distant lands of the kitchen floor and taken up residence in my youngest son's doll house.

Dog Tired on a Hike in Eaton Canyon

Curtain Repair

While we were out, our dogs burst through our bedroom window smashing through the screen and tearing the curtain in the process. Perhaps they were hot on the trail of a raccoon, opossum or snake. I'm sure it wasn't pretty.


Thanks to a fun sewing night with a friend, a new curtain was made.

Deadheading the Sage

Before

This weekend we trimmed the dead flowers off the sage and the St. Catherine's Lace buckwheat (we harvested the buckwheat - hopefully more on that later)

After

We'll chip the trimmings and use it for mulch on the California natives in the yard. It isn't as good for compost because it has compound in it that inhibit germination of other plants. That keeps the weeds down around the native plants but it's not so good for the vegetable garden. Now we just wait for rain to bring the flowers back.

Black Widow in the Mop Bucket

This one was in the bucket...


...this one on the mantle.
I like bugs but these make me nervous.

New Hem for Old Shorts

I have this pair of shorts that are the workhorse of my summer wardrobe. Sometime around June the area where the hem attached just kind of disintegrated and I trimmed it cleanly with scissors.

That was good for most of the rest of the summer but I became annoyed with cut-off look and with the little strings that hung down and brushed against my legs, especially around dusk when I was being pestered by mosquitoes. I kept thinking I was being eaten alive when it was just a harmless piece of thread.

This past weekend when I was relaxing watching the kids I decided to put a hack-job blanket stitch hem on them. We'll see how it weather's the washing machine but whatever the outcome, I'll be satisfied. Frankly, I relish the loosing battle. We'll see how long I can ultimately keep these shorts in service but it looks like they'll at least see the beginning of another summer.

Pomegranate Season

Pomegranate season is here. The harvest is a bit early this year, perhaps because the hot dry weather caused the fruit to break open. A break for the birds. Some of the busted pomegranates are picked completely clean. And who can blame the birds for feasting on such a delicious treat?


We understand the lure of the pomegranate.


It's written all over our faces.

The Annals of Small Improvements Continued

I don't know how long this faucet has been missing the button that says "hot". All I know is it has been an embarrassingly long time, many months if not a year. I kept the button on the sill above the faucet as a constant reminder.


The stars aligned or maybe it was the harvest moon. I finally fixed it.

Bottling the Beer

Last weekend I finally got around to bottling the beer that was racked almost a month ago. Our friend Andrew who was out from NYC lent a hand (thanks Andrew!). The picture above shows the bottles coming out of the dishwasher. They really have to be clean going in, the dishwasher just sanitizes them.


Here we are siphoning from the carboy to the bucket. A little sugar was added here for bottle conditioning. The little remaining yeast will eat the sugar, add a little alcohol and carbonate the beer naturally over the next three weeks.


Here I am filling one of the last bottles. I used Stone IPA and Pale Ale bottles because I like the beer and the labels are painted on so I can run them in the dishwasher without removing any paper from the bottles first. Later I may get some enamel paint and paint over them but for now these will do.

Here is the final batch- 46 bottles of beer. there was more waste and evaporation than I expected. I hope to get closer to 50 or 55 next time but maybe this is a normal batch?

Here are my lessons learned for next time:

1. Get a bigger pot to boil the wort. I tried to use a large pot that we already had but I need the full 20 quarts to ensure that the wort doesn't boil over next time. The wort is extremely messy to clean up; it's super sticky and a little smelly. The bigger problem with the boil over though is that some of the hops float out with the overflow. This will make my beer much less bitter than the recipe intends.
2. Build a cooling system to drop the temperature of the wort more quickly once the hops schedule is done. I think I remember a DIY tube set up on Homegrown Evolution's blog. I'll check there and build or buy something for next time. The beer gets a little cloudy otherwise. Not a big deal but still I'd rather have a nice clear beer if I can.

Gopher Snake

My youngest son and I were out playing in the yard when we stumbled upon this five foot gopher snake. She/he had her head held high with her long body draped across the roots of the olive tree that holds one end of our laundry line. I'm not ashamed to admit...well maybe a bit... that I let out a yell. The next yell was to my older son to come out and join us to watch this amazing creature. She slowly moved down from her perch.


I deposited the boys on top of the bed of Eric's truck to watch the snake slither slowly down the slope and under the car.



This is the first snake I've seen on our property. And what a magnificent snake. I was shocked by the size perhaps plump from feasting on a seemingly limitless supply of gophers. I used the opportunity to remind the boys to keep their eyes open for this and other snakes while they are playing. Gopher snakes are not poisonous, but they do bite when they feel threatened. Thankfully, I got the rambunctious dog quarantined while I was taking these photos.

Lizard Skeleton

A testament to our hot dry weather.

Grass Spider

Outside our kitchen door, I stumbled upon this web. Usually I find grass spiders (Agelenopsis) in our Canyon Prince grass with tunnel webs looking like a thick gossamer funneling into a black hole.


I was surprised to find this enterprising grass spider using a vacant bolt hole as it's tunnel. The web is not particularly sticky.


When prey stumbles into the web, the grass spider darts out quickly to grab it and bring it back to it's hole. We searched all day for earwigs to feed to the spider. With our hot dry weather, our typically abundant earwig population was no where to be found.

Agelenopsis identified using the Audubon Society Pocket Guide: Insects and Spiders.

The Annals of Small Improvements

We fixed a gifted pocket shade that we like to take to the beach. It's a great shade for napping kids. One of the tent poles splintered. We finally found some replacement poles, cut them to size and rethreaded the shock poles.


Back in action. This small repair inspired another.


While camping, we noticed our tent had a hole. We fixed it before it was too late.


Ready for our next adventure. Although we are slowly outgrowing this tent.

Encouraging Native Bees

At a recent Backwards Beekeeper meeting the subject of native bees and the potential competition with honey bees was discussed. Then just the other day, this came in our email update from the Theodore Payne Foundation (TPF). I would link to it but it appears to only exist in email form. The picture above is from Casey Burns who I assume is a TPF Member. Lisa from TPF sent the email but most of it was written by Matthew Shepard from the Xerces Society. I couldn't find a link to his article either however while looking I came across these other really fantastic resources:

Learn how to make nest-boxes for wood-nesting native bees.

and

Farming for Bees: Guidelines for Providing Native Bee Habitat on Farms

Here is the email from Lisa at TPF:

For homes for native, wood-nesting bees, Casey Burns has found that 3/16" diameter holes are the most popular with the bees in our area, but a variety of sizes in encouraged. (Please see the photograph, courtesy of Casey Burns.)

For a little more info about the importance of native bees as pollinators and how to help them, here's an excerpt from the article "Nests for Native Bees" by Matthew Shepard, from Pollinator Conservation Information of The Xerces Society:

Native bees are a vital part of our environment. They ensure healthy wildflower communities and harvests of fruit and vegetables. Bees are suffering from the fragmentation and loss of their habitat and extensive use of pesticides.

Although flowers that provide nectar and pollen are important for bees, a lack of nesting sites is probably a greater threat to native bees than a lack of flowers. Unlike butterflies and other pollinator insects, bees make nests in which they create brood cells for their offspring. In many modern landscapes, a desire for neatness has usually resulted in the removal of bare ground, dead trees, and untidy corners of rough grass-all important nesting sites for bees.

The good news is that there are several easy ways in which bee nesting sites can be made. Providing suitable nest sites is a simple thing that we all can do to improve our gardens, parks, and wild areas for these important insects.

Nesting sites for solitary wood-nesting bees: The great majority of bees nest on their own, many in holes in wood. With wood nests, providing a range of hole sizes between 3/32" and 3/8" (2.5 mm to 10 mm) in diameter will support a wide range of bee species. All of these types of nest need to be placed so that the open holes face the morning sun. Not only will this warm the nests earlier in the day so the bees will become active, but it will also prevent them from overheating in the hottest part of the summer afternoons.

Nesting blocks. Bee blocks can be made by drilling nesting holes between 3/32" and 3/8" in diameter, at approximate ¾" centers, into the side of a block of preservative-free lumber. The holes need to be smooth inside, as deep as possible, and closed at one end. The length of the lumber is not critical-8" or more is good-but the lumber should be at least 4" deep. This block can be fixed firmly to a stake, fence, or building, or placed in a tree.

Twig bundles. Some plants, like teasel and bamboo, have naturally hollow stems. Cut the stems into 6" to 8" lengths. Be careful to cut the stems close to a stem node to create a tube with one end open and the other closed. Take fifteen to twenty stem pieces of a variety of internal diameters and tie them into bundles with the closed ends of the stems together. Fix each bundle to a stake, fence, or tree with the stems horizontal to the ground.

Logs and snags. Get some logs or old stumps and place them in sunny areas. Those with beetle tunnels are ideal. Plant a few upright, like dead trees, to ensure some deadwood habitat stays dry. On the southeast side of each log, drill a range of holes. Make the interior of the holes as smooth as possible. Bees don't like rough holes and may avoid them.

For more info, please visit the website of The Xerces Society, www.xerces.org

In the original Casey Burns gives his email and phone number - email us if you really want to call or email Casey a message - I don't want to post that here.

If I have any of the attributions wrong or anything else for that matter, either email us or please let me know in the comments.

Cross Posted on the Backwards Beekeeper's Blog.

Kid's Camping Highlight

It's all about the marshmallows for the little guys.

Northern & Central CA Trip Photo Essay

Natural Bridges beach in Santa Cruz.

Quesadillas from Tacos Moreno.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium "water tent".

Jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Pedestrian foot bridge at Pfieffer State Park.

Lord of the Flies camping.

Two crows and a Stellar's Jay.

River lounge options. Waded the waters and enjoyed.

A view from the back seat through the lens taken by our oldest son.



Home again and already thinking about our next adventure.

Juiced Watermelon

Eric's quick thinking solution to quickly restock our juice supply and keep our army marching.

Bedtime Interrupted

Our normal bedtime ritual was interrupted by this house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata).  It scurried across the bathroom floor as we were getting ready to brush teeth.  We stopped, caught the critter and pulled out our National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America.

The house centipede is found throughout North America and is a friend that feeds on household pests.  We released the centipede outside in hopes it might get to work feasting on ants.