the first REAL batch

This is the real deal folks - my first batch of real grape wine.  A Washington Merlot...here's hopin'.

our new tenants

I built the tiny town for birds in our backyard simply because it was fun and it looked nice.  To our surprise, this weekend some new tenants actually moved in - looks like apartment C is now taken.  We watched two birds go in and check out the living quarters - one stayed inside while the other would bring sticks and fluff back for nesting arrangement.  Totally cool.

Below are a series of photos - kind of hard to see - of the nuthatch couple that live on the premises.

"Is this twig appropriate for the feng-shui?"

"The view is AWESOME from our roof-top deck!"

"Where is he with my next piece of fluff?"

springtime in the pacnorwest

AJ and I were treated to temperatures approaching 60 this weekend, with sun all day Friday, most of the day Saturday, and even some of it today.  This tricked us into thinking it was summer - I wore shorts, flip flops, t-shirts, and shades all weekend - and it kickstarted our backyard productivity to once again be the garden of eatin.  Above are the salmonberries that grow along our fence - below are some images from the yard this weekend.

Icelandic poppy and a bunch of bulbs blooming in the grass strip out front

AJ checks out all the little radishes coming up in our new greenhouses

Not quite sure what I am watering, but I'm enjoying it

New succulent plantings - can't shake the SoCal outta me

The many many paper pots with seedlings sprouting in our basement - implications of the bounty ahead

The fields lay a-fallow for the time being - but not for long...