I may have mentioned that one of my favorite things to do is bite off more than I can chew and then tend that group of items obsessively using highlighted lists and intricate schedules. I didn’t make an obsessive farmer statement’ for nothing. But I do sometimes know when to say when and to take advantage of a simple, good thing when I see it. Enter weed fabric. This humble product allows me to keep the large lower garden from becoming a jungle (and to have time for fun stuff in the summer like rolling around in Lake Pend Oreille like an otter).
Nothing to Trifle With: Bald Faced Hornets
Objectively, bald faced hornets are quite beautiful, emblazoned in bold black and white, with a powerful look and a sentience that seems to go beyond the usual insect.
It’s Dahlia Time Again at Double Decker Farm
If you see cars swerving in downtown Sandpoint or in the Selle Valley around September, there just may be a roadside dahlia spotting involved. They’re that astounding. Tall and stately, crowned with colorful mopheads of eye-catching petals, dahlias take up space in the most pleasing way at harvest time. Dahlias are flamboyant and almost always get a reaction from anyone paying any attention.
When Life Gives You Cabbage
Back in spring I was an innocent lamb. I planted and I planted — with nary a care for what weeds might rear their ugly heads come June. I didn’t think about yield or much else, I just wanted to tuck little baby plants into healthy soil.
On Knowing Your Limits . . .
Double Decker Farm, by all logical accounts, is crazy. What we have here is a two-level gardening situation and last time I checked, I am still just one person.
Selle Valley Reverie: A Childhood Steeped in Tradition
I was fortunate to grow up in the Selle Valley from the fourth grade on, attending Northside Elementary School just about a mile from my family’s home as a girl. I graduated from Sandpoint High School and later, the University of Idaho.