As the recovery - or lack thereof - continues, it is becoming more clear that there is an important shift in economic power away from Europe and America and toward the emerging Asian economies. There has always been concern that the Chinese sleeping giant would awake and overtake us, but I doubt that anyone anticipated the entire [...]
Author: Gary Rondeau
Fresh Picked Cookies!
Cookie parties come with the holiday season. It's a great time to gather with the neighbors, to share a few cookies, drink eggnog and hot mulled wine and other libations, and catch up on the gossip since last year. Some of us can only eat so many sweets before it's too much, so this year [...]
The Grand Amaranth Experiment
Update September 2023 I've been growing amaranth for more than a dozen years now, so it is time for a little update. The article below is still a good place to start if you wish to learn a little more about this fun and beautiful crop, but after doing this for a few years I [...]
Summer Garden Retrospective
Summer garden abundance came early to much of the rest of the country, as an early summer heat wave kicked in on the east coast. Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest has remained one of the cool spots on the globe this year. Spring was two to three weeks late, the summer was cool, and only time [...]
Depressing Debt Dogma Distills Deflation Dilemma
As the less-than-adequate federal stimulus funds recede from view, we are left with a sinking realization that this recession is depressingly persistent. Gains on the employment front have reversed. A fifth of the population is either unemployed or under employed, so demand for goods and services is lacking. Without demand, companies aren't hiring. With the private sector in [...]
Bees – Turning Nectar into Honey
A few weeks ago I commented that the honey flow was about to begin and that my hives were heavy with bees but very light on stores. A quick check last Sunday (7/18) revealed that the bees have been very busy. The honey supers on all three of my colonies are almost completely plugged out. [...]
Parsnips as High as an Elephant’s Eye
The parsnip seed project looks to be a success this year. Plants left in the ground over winter are happy to turn the energy stored in their delicious roots into vigorous growth in the spring. The parsnips were one of the first things to green up in the spring, and now they have the record [...]
Berry Daze
The Fourth of July weekend brought beautiful weather for camping up the McKenzie River. Everything is late this year, including the mountain wildflowers. The meadows were carpeted with little pale blue flowers and deep blue larkspur, with paintbrush adding accent. Arriving home, the berries and peas needed picking. The strawberries are just about done, but there are [...]
Turning Honey Into Bees
In this part of the world, beekeepers want to have plenty of bees in the hives when the blackberries bloom. I saw my first blackberry blossom last week, so it was time to assess the status of the hives. Only one of my three colonies managed to make it through the winter. To replace the dead colonies [...]
Spring Seed-Saving Surprises
On the last day of May, I just harvested the first seed of the season. Last fall, I planted some mache (aka corn salad or lamb's lettuce) but it was too late, so there wasn't anything for the fall, and I forgot about it over the winter. This spring, I was cleaning up that section [...]
Squash Practice 