Rufus at the Oregon Tulip Festival. 4.23.22

 There were lots of tulips there.  South of Oregon City.  I think Rufus got a little overstimulated but if so, he's all better now.

The Buried Dead Chicken Test. 4.21.22

 For the past two years, I grew sweet corn in this area.  The year before, it was potatoes, and squash the year before that.  Last winter, I buried a dead chicken who was viciously murdered by some sort of chicken-obsessed predator.  Then I planted nematocidal mustard in the bed for green manure and to kill of any nematodes.

The lush thick leaves are the mustard on the chicken grave.  The test is the mustard where there are no buried chicken victims.

It's the same seeds, but obviously the area over the chicken is much more fertile than the rest.  Those leaves are green and lush, and the plants are very vigorous.  The other mustard plants are puny and unhealthy looking.

That proves that the soil there is now depleted and needs fertilizer (preferably organic) or nothing will grow well there.

It also proves that chicken corpses make a good fertilizer, at least for mustards.

The Last Batch of Seed Potatoes are Planted. 4.21.22

Thanks to my helper who dug the trenches, I was able to plant two rows of late potato Elba and one of mid season potato Soraya.  This area has not been used for garden before.

That's the last of the potato starts.  I could celebrate by having an impromptu parade on Main street, but I feel too tired LOL.

Just because potato starts in a trench aren't all that interesting, here is a free vintage illustration of potatoes from a website called freevintageillustrations.com.

It doesn't look like potatoes have changed much over the years 😀

Trench of Elba potato starts, before covering them.  I mixed in about a half cup of "Morecrop" vegetable fertilizer in the trench before planting.

Here is a view with my loyal companion.  He's keeping a careful watch so that evil cats and stupid deer don't attack.

Making Some Gingersnap Cookies. 4.20.22

 After my mom's cousin Pearl died, my mom gave me the cookbook that she had inherited from Pearl.

It's mostly just sat in my baking cabinet.  Thanks to the pandemic, I've been baking more and got it out.  With feelings of nostalgia, I bought a Sunbeam stand mixer.  I didn't want a mixer made in "that" country. Plus I could have bought a Kitchen Aid, which ate certainly high quality, solid made-in-USA machines.  However, the big Kitchen-Aid mixers are too big and heavy for me, and the mini model still cost more than double what the Sunbeam cost.  Plus nostalgia, my mom had a Sunbeam.  This one is remarkably like hers.  More plastic, not as heavy, but it still reminds me of her.

So I used her recipe book to make a batch of gingersnaps.  I've never made them before, but it was pretty easy.  I love molasses, so these were right up my alley.

I wasn't able to spend a lot of time with my mom in her later years, but sometimes she sent me cookies.  I can look at these as a gift from her.

Edit:  I looked at the label on the bottom of the mixer.  Made in China.  Well, I will keep it but won't buy another from them if this one breaks.  I don't mind buying imported goods, but I think we should have the ability to determine where something is made before we buy it.

Planting Some Soraya Midseason Potatoes in Potato Bag. 4.20.22

 It was raining and I am feeling the effects of a shot from yesterday.  I was able to plant the potato growing bag that I made yesterday with five chitted starts.

Here is how they looked before I covered them.