I am on a break from work for a couple of weeks so I've been able to put some time into the landscaping redesign I've talked about. Part of this involves a ring of willows that will serve as a windbreak around part of our property. Unfortunately, we have some very poor soil in areas around our yard. So the first task was to give the future trees a better chance at a good start. I dug twenty-four holes spaced fifteen feet apart. Each hole is 24" across and 18" deep. They will be re-filled with good topsoil, plus some organic material to enrich the soil.
The hard part in all of this was that about half were in soil with a lot of rock in it. I had to use a five foot pry bar in a lot of spots to dislodge the rocks and lever them out. Some of these holes took two hours to dig because of that. But after four days of work, the holes are dug. It gets easier from here.
Next up: I'm thinking of digging a trench that would be roughly 90 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 1 foot deep. This would be serving a similar purpose as the holes above, but this time for a hedge of red osier dogwoods. They are hardy around here, and they've got a really nice red color that would look great against the winter snow. That's the plan, anyway.
But the morning will start with a trip to the nursery for a Kerr Crabapple. This apple is supposed to be very good eaten fresh, and it also is an excellent keeper (I've heard as much as 27 weeks). Best of all, it is extremely hardy. With this, I should be able to get some production out of our Rescue Crabapple. This tree has bloomed nicely for us for the last couple of years, but produced little or no fruit. How was I supposed to know that it required a different species for cross-pollination? D'oh!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
I got this in the mail yesterday. It is pretty sweet. A tongue in cheek review done in the style of a real lens review can be found here. Thank you canonmugs.com.
I'd love to have this lens for my 40D, but it is pretty tough for me to justify the $2800. I like photography, but don't spend near as much time doing it as I should. I have done some Strobist type stuff that has turned out pretty well. Maybe I'll get to doing a little more of it now that I'm on holidays for two weeks. But the priority right now is on landscaping: the scope of my plans seems to be growing. Not sure if that is a good thing or bad.
I'd love to have this lens for my 40D, but it is pretty tough for me to justify the $2800. I like photography, but don't spend near as much time doing it as I should. I have done some Strobist type stuff that has turned out pretty well. Maybe I'll get to doing a little more of it now that I'm on holidays for two weeks. But the priority right now is on landscaping: the scope of my plans seems to be growing. Not sure if that is a good thing or bad.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
More on propagation
My experiments with propagation continue. I've tried willows, blue honeysuckle, and shubert chokecherry so far. All the leaves on my willow shoots turned black and fell off. But closer examination of the shoots did show signs of rooting. Even if the willows do root, they are off to a poor start. Not so good, actually.
So I turned to the internet and read that willows will do well if you just cut a 9" to 12" long stalk about as thick as your thumb and stick it in water. I tried this and am seeing signs of rooting in less than a week. Score! So I've expanded the program now for some red osier dogwoods that are also supposed to support this method. Popplers work this way too, and I know where there are some great looking monster popplers to try. These three types of tree apparently have some kind of hormone in their bark that allows them to root readily when stuck in water. Let's give it a go, shall we?
Meanwhile, I'm thinking of the overall landscape plan. I need some kind of hedge on one side of the property. I'm thinking now of a kind of an S-shape that flows with the existing plantings and the driveway. I've laid out a piece of garden hose as a prototype and will let that shape percolate for a bit.
So I turned to the internet and read that willows will do well if you just cut a 9" to 12" long stalk about as thick as your thumb and stick it in water. I tried this and am seeing signs of rooting in less than a week. Score! So I've expanded the program now for some red osier dogwoods that are also supposed to support this method. Popplers work this way too, and I know where there are some great looking monster popplers to try. These three types of tree apparently have some kind of hormone in their bark that allows them to root readily when stuck in water. Let's give it a go, shall we?
Meanwhile, I'm thinking of the overall landscape plan. I need some kind of hedge on one side of the property. I'm thinking now of a kind of an S-shape that flows with the existing plantings and the driveway. I've laid out a piece of garden hose as a prototype and will let that shape percolate for a bit.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Visitors
Now I like to think that I pull off something interesting every now and then: a little hack here, a cool little design there. But I am getting a visit tomorrow from an uncle of mine that pretty much pwns me. Let's put it this way: the guy built his own garden tractor. From scratch. And the rototiller attachment to boot. I am not worthy.
So I hope he's going to like the Sous Vide pulled pork I'm working right now. After my pork butt sat 12 hours in a brine made of 1 liter of water, 70g of salt, and 30g of sugar, I tossed it into a 68C (155F) water bath (see my Food Lab page). The roast has got a pepper / sugar rub on it that is on pretty heavy. I'm expecting it to melt in our mouths after a 24 cook. We shall see.
So I hope he's going to like the Sous Vide pulled pork I'm working right now. After my pork butt sat 12 hours in a brine made of 1 liter of water, 70g of salt, and 30g of sugar, I tossed it into a 68C (155F) water bath (see my Food Lab page). The roast has got a pepper / sugar rub on it that is on pretty heavy. I'm expecting it to melt in our mouths after a 24 cook. We shall see.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Ups and Downs
Life is full of them.
On the downside, I'm having my doubts about the willows I've been trying to propagate. A lot of them have leaves that are turning yellow and many of them have been in there for less than a week. Further research on the web suggests my method is less than optimal. I am cutting small shoots and leaving some leaves attached. The cut end has rooting compound applied. Then I put the shoots into a small bit of potting soil and either keep misting them or keep a plastic sheet over top to keep the humidity up. Other people seem to have a great deal of luck by cutting one foot branches and simply sticking them in the dirt. Apparently willows have some property, much like poplars, that they will readily propagate this way. Argh. I'll stick with my current approach for now and use that as a Plan B. Interestingly enough, the blue honeysuckle looks to be doing well so far.
On the upside, I've stumbled across the Franken-Weber. The Franken-Weber uses a Weber charcoal BBQ bottom plus a custom lid that allows internal temperatures to get up to 800 - 900F. This is what you need to make great pizza. Unfortunately, the video is short on details (probably deliberately so) on how he made this thing. The key is in the lid, which he mentions is a mixture of cement and perlite (yup, the stuff in potting soil). A bit of digging around and it is apparent that the cement is really refractory cement, used for high temperature stuff like fireplaces and the like. More digging and you find that this stuff is also called Furnace Cement. And it just so happens that you can get Furnace Cement at your friendly local Canadian Tire. Oh, and it also seems like you can get fire brick there too. These are the bricks that the pizza is sitting on in the video linked above. Oh yeah.
So right now I'm seriously considering making my own Franken-Weber. It would be a fun project for my upcoming two week holiday break. And I miss the awesome thin crust pizza that I had during the many months I spent in Italy years ago. Hmmmm.......
On the downside, I'm having my doubts about the willows I've been trying to propagate. A lot of them have leaves that are turning yellow and many of them have been in there for less than a week. Further research on the web suggests my method is less than optimal. I am cutting small shoots and leaving some leaves attached. The cut end has rooting compound applied. Then I put the shoots into a small bit of potting soil and either keep misting them or keep a plastic sheet over top to keep the humidity up. Other people seem to have a great deal of luck by cutting one foot branches and simply sticking them in the dirt. Apparently willows have some property, much like poplars, that they will readily propagate this way. Argh. I'll stick with my current approach for now and use that as a Plan B. Interestingly enough, the blue honeysuckle looks to be doing well so far.
On the upside, I've stumbled across the Franken-Weber. The Franken-Weber uses a Weber charcoal BBQ bottom plus a custom lid that allows internal temperatures to get up to 800 - 900F. This is what you need to make great pizza. Unfortunately, the video is short on details (probably deliberately so) on how he made this thing. The key is in the lid, which he mentions is a mixture of cement and perlite (yup, the stuff in potting soil). A bit of digging around and it is apparent that the cement is really refractory cement, used for high temperature stuff like fireplaces and the like. More digging and you find that this stuff is also called Furnace Cement. And it just so happens that you can get Furnace Cement at your friendly local Canadian Tire. Oh, and it also seems like you can get fire brick there too. These are the bricks that the pizza is sitting on in the video linked above. Oh yeah.
So right now I'm seriously considering making my own Franken-Weber. It would be a fun project for my upcoming two week holiday break. And I miss the awesome thin crust pizza that I had during the many months I spent in Italy years ago. Hmmmm.......
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Body Lab page is up
Been meaning to do this for a while, but I've finally started a Body Lab page. Check it out. I'll add more to it one of these days, but this is a start.
Canada Day, Eh?
It is Canada Day. Which is nice if you are a Canadian. Like me. I will be taking Friday off as a vacation day, so that gives me a sweet four day weekend away from work. Best of all, I really don't have anything from work I need to get done over this long weekend. That will let me get a bunch of stuff done around the house and yard.
And there are many things to do. More trees to propagate, lawn to cut, landscapes to plan, etc. I also want to try getting in a few fasted training sessions. My last couple of cracks at this have worked out pretty well, but given that I work a regular day job, is only really practical to do on a day off. My workouts in general have gone very well lately. Military press, deadlifts, and squats have all been good this week. I consider bench press to be lagging somewhat, so I've been reading a bit to see if I can improve my technique here a little and get my poundage up. One of these days I will put together a Body Lab page that talks a lot more about this stuff.
And there are many things to do. More trees to propagate, lawn to cut, landscapes to plan, etc. I also want to try getting in a few fasted training sessions. My last couple of cracks at this have worked out pretty well, but given that I work a regular day job, is only really practical to do on a day off. My workouts in general have gone very well lately. Military press, deadlifts, and squats have all been good this week. I consider bench press to be lagging somewhat, so I've been reading a bit to see if I can improve my technique here a little and get my poundage up. One of these days I will put together a Body Lab page that talks a lot more about this stuff.
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