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R.I.P. Gaucho the Magnificent Chicken
Gaucho the Magnificent Bantam Rooster died in March of 2023 at age 15. He passed peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his hens, Buffy, Bad Buff, and Wynona.
Salvia Spathacea (Hummingbird Sage)
Hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) is a low-growing California native in coastal oak valleys. In the rainy season it grows spiky pink blooms hummingbirds love.
Vegetable Garden Kickoff – 2023
Here's how this committed procrastinator and all around lazy man got his vegetable garden cleaned, refreshed and ready just in time for the first day of spring
An Atmospheric River Makes a Real One
All the rain not only created a ground squirrel clearing spring creek, but it also unearthed a strange, blue-eyed relic from a long time ago.
Echeveria agavoides in Bloom
Echeveria agavoides looks like an agave, but it's a succulent from Mexico. The leaves are lime green in winter but turn lemon yellow tipped with red in summer.
Kalanchoe Daigremontiana
Here's a closeup of the Mother of Thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana) in our sunroom getting ready to drop some new babies. They look like little green oysters
Batch 22 Hot Sauce – Entry 7 – Bottling Part 1
After 191 days of fermentation, I'm pulling Batch 22 hot sauce out of the fermenter and bottling it. Cayenne-Thai peppers with fresh garlic aged on toasted oak.
Aeonium Haworthii ‘Kiwi’ in Winter Colors
Aeonium Haworthii "Kiwi" is hypnotic in its colors both in winter when it's various shades of green, and summer when it's trimmed in reddish-pink.
Making Chicken Feed
The high price of feed and eggs has people sprouting grain as a cheap form of chicken feed. I tested it with my chickens, but received mixed results.
Abutilon megapotamicum
A Brazilian bellflower is the "roof" in one of our subtropical gardens. The sunlight through the dappled leaves and papery orange flowers is quite pretty IMHO.
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