Simply Belle

Gardening in Arizona is extremely tough because not only do we have to worry about the extreme sunlight, dry temperature, and lack of rain, we also have to deal with hungry critters that will eat the young plants right down to the ground. Our worst enemy though is the scorching heat and dry climate because it cooks the seeds before they even have a chance to sprout up. We also have the elk that comes at night and can jump over any fence below 8 feet, the quail that likes to peck on the baby plants, the huge and fat grasshopper, a bevy of hungry birds, and other creatures we don’t even see. So, what do you do? Give up?

That is what we did for a while when the gophers practically demolished every single plant in the garden last year. It was a devastating feeling knowing that our gardening days were over. My husband even thought of moving to another state like Oregon which boasts of mild climate, and deep-top soil – a gardener’s paradise. But, we invested so much time and effort on this garden, we can’t just give up and leave, right? There must be another way of beating all the odds, thus, the idea of raised bed came to mind.

I tell you, it isn’t easy. It is a back breaking job. First, my husband dug down below ground level, spread the hardware cloth to ward off gopher, and laid the cement blocks three layers high. Then he filled the bottom with rocks for drainage, followed by a combination of sand, top soil, and compost. We had this compost pile for years and finally found a use for it. A very very rich soil, I must say. The idea of including the sand is for the water to penetrate down to the roots instead of settling on the surface and because of our dry weather, it evaporates in no time.

Let me tell you first how pocket gophers operate. They remind me of the Taliban fighters-very clever. They build a centralized hole underground and from it, they branch out and create tunnels all over, and cover the end of the tunnels with soil to conceal them from the gardener.Hmmm, I am beginning to think that Taliban must have gotten the idea of underground operation from these creatures. Notice the similarities? So, when you finally spot a hole, you try to stick a piece of lean wood to try to corner them, but they just go to the next tunnel and exit at the other end. Just like the Taliban, they are extremely hard to fight because they attack from underground engaging in a methodical and perplexed operation. So frustrating!

Anyway, going back to my story:

Seeing that the first bed was doing extremely well, it gave my husband the inspiration to build a much larger one. He has been working on it for about a month now and is only half way through. In other words, he had the bed built but hasn’t filled it up yet. Two days ago, I talked him into visiting our friends’ garden in Roosevelt (an hour-drive from home), and gladly obliged with the utility trailer hooked behind our truck. He said since we were going to that direction, he might as well haul some cow’s manure for the second bed.

When we got there, he said, “honey, i brought an extra shovel just in case you want to help.” “Huh, I am not wearing the right shoes!” I squalled. And I am talking about temperature in the 100′s with practically no humidity! But I relented, and started shoveling away filling up the front side while my husband took care of the back side.

Here are the pictures:

You see the flip-flop I was wearing? Definitely not suitable for shoveling.

A shade cloth is used to cut down 40% of the sunlight, and to help keep most of the insects out and the soil from drying out fast.

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In this day and age, when all the fruits and veggies you buy in the store are not only expensive, but adulterated, and pesticide-laden, wouldn’t it be a good idea to avail of the vacant space in your backyard and fill it up with your favorite vegetables and fruits? Not only that, it practically costs nothing to raise a garden especially in the province where rain is a plenty. Unlike here in our place where water rain is scarce and so it costs expensive to water a garden even with drip irrigation installed.

While I was in the province vacationing two months ago, there was a time that I couldn’t figure out what to cook for lunch. There was no fish available because it was the day after typhoon Frank. I looked around in the property and in no time, I knew exactly what to fix for lunch – “Kamote top salad.” That was really good and refreshing dish! And it is such a good feeling to be able to turn to the yard and make a meal from it without spending a dime. Plus, knowing that it is organic makes one feel good.

Before our Philippine trip, when everything was at an all time high, I suggested to my husband that we start a garden again. I don’t know if you remember in one of my old entries, we had gopher invasion in our garden last year and turned our yard into a complete disaster. They attacked from below the ground and cut off the roots of the plants and pulled the dead plants inside a hole and nibble on them. They did it methodically until all plants were gone. Seems like a battle hard to win, huh?

But not for long…

My husband outsmarted the pocket gopher by putting a hardware cloth, which is a wire mesh fabric, and spread it out at the very bottom of the raised bed. He used blocks to make the garden bed. It took him 3 weeks to finish the whole job. That whole process deserves another post and will be posted shortly.

Two weeks later when all the seeds had a chance to sprout up, here’s a sneak peek of my husband’s hard work.

Pechay

Beets

Tomatoes that we planted in the pots before the Philippine trip so gopher will not get them.

Herbs are being eaten off by some insects.

Figs up close

Prolific fig tree

Delicious Johnny Gold apples

Persimmons

And my lovely visitor that frequents my yard.

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fire pit

Last Sunday, we had a cook out at our friend’s ranch in celebration of her husband’s and a friend, F’s birthday. I always love going to this ranch because it is private, huge, and quite a ways from town. We can laugh, giggle, dance, sing, and drink to our heart’s content and not worry about disturbing anyone. A good respite after a hard day at work. I stayed mostly outside, frolic around the area, and watch birds fly by. We also built a fire in the evening to warm us because it was getting chilly. Boy, it was fun sitting by the fire and reminisced old times. A few friends had a glass or two of margarita and I matched it with a good cup of coffee for myself, which I haven’t had in a while because I am a green tea drinker.

My husband and I came in two cars because he doesn’t like to linger at a party. Whereas, I do, now that I don’t have kids at home to care for anymore. It is not that I like not having my kids at home; of course I miss my girls but it is such a nice feeling that I can hang around much longer now when there is a gathering as opposed to rushing home like in the old days.

The horse in the stable at a far corner was such a nice treat. We all went down to spend some time with Chico and gave him something to eat. Very very friendly creature! He seemed thrilled to see us because he seldom gets to see new people and sad to see us go. I wonder if the owner R ever takes him out for a run. Horses are made to run and ride.

I rescued the birthday girl as soon I noticed her red cheeks and half-closed eyes. She had a tad bit too much of margarita already and was dozing on and off on the chair. She was alert and wide awake in the car though and maintained an enjoyable conversation with me on our trip back home. I watched her from my car as she proceeded to her house to make sure she was okay. She looked in control and didn’t stagger at all. Happy birthday dear F! I am so glad you had a blast on your birthday.

The birthday celebrant in charge of the barbecuing while the host was busy taking pictures.

Delicious barbecued shrimp and chicken wings

I wasn’t sure what my friend, M, was doing here with her arms spread out like that. Doing the chanting, maybe…hehe. You see those two old houses in the background? Those are not livable anymore and soon to be demolished. Currently, they serve as shelter for wild animals, like elks, cats (9 to be exact), and probably javalinas, too. R, the owner, spread hays inside for the elks to munch on and water bowls to drink from.

friends sharing stories by the campire. the problem with being the photographer, you are not included in any pictures.

Chico, the horse.

L, G-G, and F, the birthday girl.

G-G patting the horse.

mother and daughter

pretty 12 year-old G- G

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Tagged by teacher Julie

I do blog next to a window but all I can see is a wall that my husband built for privacy. Behind that wall is our next door neighbor’s house, and there is nothing worthwhile to look at, thus, I leave that window half close most of the times. The window across from my computer, however, faces to the garden where we enjoy lush setting of garden environment during summer and spring, and even fall. Though, there is not much to it right now because all the trees and flowers lost its foliage in preparation for winter. In fact, today was the first time it went 4 degrees below zero. And during winter, I hardly ever visit my yard.

I had taken some pictures of the garden last summer right after I finished weeding. And here they are:

This is where we try to garden after the danger of frost is over. Notice I used the word try because except for the first year when our garden was prolific, the next years weren’t as productive due to the weather unpredictable behavior and pest problem.

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I meant to submit my entry to PMN before the deadline but I missed it again for the second time. I received an email early this morning from Dine reminding me of the deadline but I was getting ready for work so there was no way I could make it. Thanks Dine! Anyway, I thought I would just post my entry here in my blog.

I had this plant sitting on my kitchen counter for quite a while now. When I bought it, it had plenty of red little flowers and thick silky leaves. It was so beautiful that I just had to take it home. I thought it would die right away after several months like any other house plants that I have had but lo and behold, this particular one is still alive and looking good. I hope to see flowers by next spring.

Last week, I went out in the garden and took pictures of the butterflies but only this kind came out half decent.

Bartlett Pear- the best eating pear.

Our fruit trees (left to right) persimmon tree, apricot tree, and apple tree.

Persimmons- my favorite autumn fruits

Persimmons-up close

Apples

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We had a great time last night. Everyone had his/her fill. I took care of the meat, hot dogs, potato salad, dips, and fruits and my friends brought sinigang na bangus, pansit, bratwursts, steaks, and leche plan. My husband filled up the cooler with all kinds of soda and beer. Since I am not a soda or beer person, I cracked open three baby coconuts and poured the juice in the pitcher. I then shredded the meat and mixed it in with the juice. I was going to add some condensed milk for richer flavor but my husband totally opposed the idea. Nevertheless, it was a refreshing treat for the hottest day of the year, so far…104 degress F!

My daughter invited some of her friends, too, so I threw some hot dogs in the grill and I also made the Mexican Dip Ole, which was layers of refried bean, sour cream, avocado, olives, chopped tomatoes, green onions, and shredded cheese. It was the favorite dish among the kids and even finished it off in no time.

An hour later, we all gathered in the front porch to witness the fireworks. My husband positioned the tripod ready. I was so excited at taking photos when, suddenly, I noticed that my camera was completely out of battery. Darn it! I was so busy cleaning and fixing food earlier in the day that I forgot to check my camera. Oh well! I guess I will have to catch it next year.

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This afternoon, we spent some time in the backporch. I normally just eat baby coconut and some rice for dinner, but today, I thought of barbecuing the leftover chicken from Lexie’s graduation party before it gets spoiled. One more day and the chicken would have been a goner.

It was nice out. The weather was just perfect. My husband enjoyed reading books while I was fixing dinner. The hummingbirds were as usual busy buzzing around and chasing each other. Beautiful sight to behold on such a beautiful day like this.

My husband got rid of the old hammock by the Juniper tree even with Lexie’s resistance. He thought it was ugly and old. I was a little sad to see it go. Then an hour later, he came back with a newer kind that he found in Home Depot. Lexie was happy, of course, and helped his dad carry it to the back porch. I prefer to spread it outside by the tree but he thinks it is better if it stays under the cover.

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I have been enjoying taking pictures of everything that is around me. This morning, still in my morning pajamas and sans my morning tea, I went out in the backyard with the camera dangling around my neck.

Then later in the afternoon, my husband and I went for a ride around town and took whatever subject struck our fancy.

And ladies and gentlemen, here they are:

I just planted this Petunia in the pot a week ago.

Yellow gold flowers




This particular flower thrives in extreme hot climate of downtown Phoenix.

I have been admiring these flowers right where I deliver mail for a while. I just love the bright red color.

Wildflowers

I finally got a picture of a hummingbird flying in mid air.

This hummingbird flew on the tree branch right above where I was standing. The picture turned out to be bigger than its real lifesize.

A Raven on top of the Saguaro cactus sippping nectar, I supposed.

A deer that never strays off.

I took a picture of this hammock because my daughter in college can’t wait to get home and do a lot of reading in this hammock this summer.

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Took these pictures today.

These are the birds that come in our backyard on a daily basis. They love our bird baths. First, they come and take a bath, turn around and poop in it, and take a nice big drink. Ehew!!! How unsanitary!

Has anyone of you seen hummingbirds? If not, look at the first two pictures. See, how small they are? They are the smallest birds in the world, about ohhh, 2 inches in length. They can only be found in north and south America. They are known for their ability to hover in mid-air by quickly flapping their wings. They are the only birds that can fly backwards. They can hover stationary, too. Talking about agility! They are a delight to watch especially those with interesting colors. So far, we have two hummingbirds in our backyard, but later in the summer, they come in droves and in different kinds.

Sometimes, there are 4 or 6 hummingbirds vying for a place at one feeder. Males are very aggressive and territorial. They will chase anyone hovering around their feeder and this goes on all day. I often wonder how those less aggressive ones get their meal.

This Black Chinned hummingbird finally sneaked in and had a chance to get his meal without getting chased by Anna, the aggresor. He/she must be scaring other one or must have dozed off. See Anna in the next picture.

I presume, this is Anna because of the iridescent pink colors on the head. You can barely see it. Click on the picture for better image.

I believe the next two pictures are gold finches. Finch is shown doing his usual bath-poop-drink routine.

Lovely gold finch on the Juniper tree. Juniper tree, by the way, gives out pollen that affects most people here including myself. We can’t escape from it because our forest is surrounded with it. Nasty tree!

I carefully took this picture of the quail through the blind from my bedroom.

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