Wallingford in bloom

This week, while my father and I were hard at work building fences and benches from cedar planks, my step-mother, Joy Peters-Kurtz, cruised the neighborhood snapping pictures of spring blooms. These are too good not to share.

 

My new rhodie is blooming!

 A neighbor's Ceanothus takes my breath away 

Ornamental cherry trees are one of the best parts about spring in the northwest

My chives are back from their winter nap and looking quite gorgeous.

Apple blossoms! Last fall this tree was given to us through City of Seattle's neighborhood tree fund program. This one is a combination tree: Fuji, Granny Smith, Braeburn, and Jonagold all grafted to a single trunk. Our other choice was a Lapin cherry... the decision was not easy. 

New street trees where there were none. Thanks again to the neighborhood tree fund.

The dogs were happy to help both dad and me with the wood work, and Joy with her photography.

Back yard transformation part III

This week my dad came up from L.A. to help us with the back yard transformation. Our number one project: fixing the fence that was falling down. We reused as many cedar boards as possible, which resulted in a sortof circus tent look. It's definitely unique, which I like. I learned that spraying new boards with a baking soda and water solution will result in an instantly aged look. I may decide to try that. We had to raise the lower level of the fence to accommodate the raised planting beds that we will install along that side of the property.
All in all we had a great time working on it, and I'm quite pleased with the result.

Candied rhubarb

Rhubarb is in season, but not for long, so now is the time to use it. The other day I found a recipe for candied rhubarb. The result was sour, sweet, and fresh. Perhaps the best sour candy ever. I paired it with home made shortbread cookies for a scrumptious dessert.

Candied Rhubarb:
1. trim the rhubarb into 6" long matchsticks
2. melt 1 cup sugar with about 3 tablespoons water
3. steep the rhubarb in the sugar solution for about 30 seconds
4. place the sugared rhubarb strips on a parchment-lined sheet pan, making sure that no pieces are touching
4. dry out the rhubarb in a 200 degree F oven for about an hour.
5. If you like, curl the rhubarb candy around your finger, or the handle of a wooden spoon when you take it out of the oven.

Back yard transformation part II

Last weekend we rented a pneumatic jackhammer, invited some friends over to help us, and ripped up all the concrete in our back yard. It was hard work, but a ton of fun. What is amazing, is that since ripping it all up, our yard has been flooded with birds checking out the new digs. Goodbye cold, hard, impervious concrete, hello wildlife.

 

That's a lot of concrete!

Spring fragrance

One of my favorite parts about spring in Seattle is the smell of lilacs. Purple and white, both are beautiful, smell divine, and abound throughout the city.

Yesterday we pruned some of our lilacs way back to make room for an apple tree. Before sending the prunings off to a compost pile I clipped the blossoms and put them in vases through our house. They are just on the brink of opening up, but they already smell like heaven.

Alleycat Acres in the paper

I am a member of the Alleycat Acres urban farming team. A few weeks ago we got some good press in the Seattle Times. A reporter and a photographer came out to our Beacon Hill site as we were busy, with a slew of volunteers, incorporating Groco compost into the soil. We incorporated 10 cubic yards of compost that day. It was awesome. A lot of work, and a lot of fun.
Here's a link to the Seattle Times article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011220435_urbanfarm01m.html
Below is a picture of me pushing a wheelbarrow full of Groco compost. Pretty hilarious expression.

photo: ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Corned beef and cabbage

Some call this Irish-American classic stringy meat with soft vegetables. I call it pure bliss.

This year I cleaned out my vegetable drawer by adding: cabbage, brussels sprouts, potatoes, parsnips, rutabaga, onion, and carrots.

Mustardy, briny, sweet, savory, delicious. Welcome spring!