Daffodils are coming up. Is spring far behind?

Daffodils are up and the buds are getting bigger day by day.  In case you don't remember what they look like, I am posting some pictures from last year.

Such a simple flower, easy to take care of, deer won't eat it, gophers won't eat it either (actually it is poison so they are wise not to eat them).  Here in Grants Pass Real Estate they start coming up in January and just keep coming. We have had rain, freezing weather, a little snow, lots of frost, some warm sunny weather and through it all they keep coming.  Each year there are more of them.  They are lovely.  What's not to like?  Nothing apparently.  

I posted some of my early blooming daffodils last year, but I did not get around to posting these that come on later.  We have blooming daffodils for almost two months.

                            

Nice to be with you again.  So long for now from Grants Pass Real Estate.  

God bless.

chuck

30 Years to Bloom

This plant is one that my Mother gave me 30 years ago (actually it is more like 31 years, but 30 year plant sounds better).  












So I have had this plant for 30 years and I like it.  It is a succulent  so it can dry out and not suffer.  I liked it because of its look.  It had never bloomed.  That is, until a few days ago when my wife said, "Chuck, look at this."  I was amazed.  It sure looked like a bloom forming, a big bloom forming.


So now we have a beautiful plant with a bloom to be and I am thinking, "who knew it would bloom?"  


When I talked to my wife yesterday she said, "It opened!" When I looked at it, I thought, "Wow! what a blossom!"



I didn't actually measure the blossom, but it is at least six inches across.  Wonderful gift from my mother 30 years ago. She passed away 16 years ago and part of why I like it and keep it is to remember her.  I wonder if she knew it would bloom?  However, God knew and it is a gift from Him.  Good things come to he who waits.  

God bless you from Grants Pass Real Estate.  Bye for now.  chuck
P.S. Mother and Dad's wedding anniversary was today, September 9th.  They were married in 1931.
P.P.S. I never knew the name of this plant, but a friend did a search and found it.  It is called Stapelia gigantic, also known as the carrion flower since it attracts flies for pollination by its foul-smelling flowers reminiscent of the odour of rotting meat (I need to tell my wife, she thought the smell was me).  It is native to South Africa. 

Daffodils! Spring is here!

Spring is here.  the daffodils have been in full bloom for a while now.  I am putting up a few recent pictures of some of ours.  Daffodils are great flowers.  They are poison so the deer won't eat the blossoms and the gophers and moles won't eat the bulbs.  They multiply and come up year after year.  They do need some cooling hours so if you live in a warm climate, you will need to dig them up and put them in your freezer for a month each year and then replant them.  Fortunately, here in Grants Pass Real Estate we have a mild winter that is enough to make the daffodils and tulips bloom.

They come in a variety of colors from white to yellow to orange.  There are also double blooms and fancy blooms.  I have a few of those that are starting to bloom.  When they come out fully I'll put some more pictures up.

They are always cheerful flowers.  Just the thing for spring to brighten your day and bring a smile to your face.  So long for now from Grants Pass Real Estate.  

chuck

SNOW!

 We had our first snow of the year recently.  On February 10th, 2011 I woke up to about 6 inches of snow at my house.  As I drove to town the snow got less and less until in Grants Pass there was only about an inch.  The home base for Grants Pass Real Estate is about 8 miles west of Grants Pass.  So at my house and in Merlin and Selma and Cave Junction we got snow.  Grants Pass and near Grants Pass had only a little.  By the afternoon, the snow was off the roads and by Saturday the 12th the snow had melted entirely (except for the snowman who hung in there for a few days more).

The snow was wet and stuck to the  trees which made for some lovely pictures.

                                                                                                                                             When I was a  kid, I grew up in Iowa and we had snow and then more snow and more snow throughout the winter.  It was fun for a while but soon got old.  Here in Grants Pass Real Estate we get snow once or twice a year and it doesn't hang around long.  So it remains fun to have snow.

What  could be better than to have enough snow for fun and beauty and yet have it go away before it becomes a bother?  That is winter in Grants Pass Real Estate.

So long for now.

chuck

Garden Time

Garden time again.  Tilled up the garden on Saturday, let it rest a few days and planted it on Tuesday evening.  I found lots of good plants.  Went to Fort Vannoy farms and got some peppers and melons including a Crenshaw melon.  They get large and very sweet.  

Went to the grower's market and got tomatoes, peppers and more melons.

Went to Chet's Nursery and Redwood Nursery and got more tomatoes, melons, peppers, sugar snap peas, lettuce, squash and cucumbers.

I put down black plastic for the melons, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, since our nights here in Grants Pass Real Estate are cool during the summer and the black plastic collects and holds the heat so they grow better, faster and ripen better.  I found a Sun Gold cherry tomato--very sweet and prolific.

Inside of the Compost Tumbler after 10 days.  Still steaming and warm, about half the volume it was when I filled it up.  A few more days and it will be finished.  I used the compost tea mixed about 10 parts water to 1part tea as a pick me up drink for all the new plants in the garden.  Great fun here in Grants Pass Real Estate.
       So long for now.   
           chuck

Lilacs, Apple Blossoms, and Bird House Gourds

Lilacs have a short season, but they are so beautiful and the smell will carry you away.

Always a treat.

And now for a 

few apple blossoms.

If I can keep the ground squirrels 

from eating the little apples,

then I will have some good

eating in the fall.

This is a five way apple

with five different varieties grafted

onto one tree.

And now a bird house gourd.  I planted these a few years ago in the garden and got a bumper crop of gourds.  This spring I put a hole bit on my drill and voila--bird house.  I actually put up three of them.  One in the Princess Tree, one in the Redbud tree and one on the garden fence.  The ones hanging in the trees are more romantic, but the one on the garden fence is the one that the birds started to build a nest in.

God has a sense of humor.

So long for now from Grants Pass Real Estate.

chuck

Wild Flowers

This is a wildflower that comes up every year in late spring.  I used to know the name of it, but I have forgotten and since I didn't plant it I can't look it up.  However, since God planted it, I am sure He knows what the name is.

Lovely blossoms that can be seen for the price of a walk around Grants Pass Real Estate.

So long for now from Grants Pass Real Estate.

chuck

More Daffodils

Here are a few more pics of daffodils.  Later blooming than the others.  We have had daffodils at Grants Pass Real Estate for a long time this year.  Maybe the weather has been cooler than usual.  We have had blooms since late January.  

 

This one is a double bloom.  Didn't know I planted it but am glad I did.

Such cheery faces these blooms have. Does my heart good just to look at the picture now.  Spring is always lovely here in Grants Pass Real Estate, it lasts a long time and eases into summer.  One more of God's blessings for us.   

So long from Grants Pass Real Estate for now.  

chuck

More Spring Flowers!

We have more spring blooms. This is flowering quince. Lots of lovely flowers early before the leaves are fully on. And no fruit. This one is planted close to the house so I have to trim it every year to keep it away from the house. Better to plant it in the open and then you can choose to prune or not.

This is a blossom on an azalea.  Lovely early blossoms.  Slow growing plant, but reliable bloomer.  Notice the pine needles as a mulch.  Azaleas and rhododendrons like acid soil and the pine needles accommodate them.  When I lived in Virginia and North Carolina 


I could get a bale of pine needles for mulching.  They have lots of pines and lots of azaleas and rhododendrons so it works great.  Blueberries also like acid soil.  Most of the soil in Grants Pass Real Estate is not acid so amendments are needed.  Pine needles are the cheapest fix.

Another picture of more of our daffodils.  Lovely time of year in Grants Pass Real Estate.


So long for now from Grants Pass Real Estate.


chuck

Composting.

Here is a picture of my Compost Tumbler. I mow my lawn with a riding mower with a grass catcher on it. I fill up the composter with 4 parts green and one part brown. For the green I use fresh grass from the lawn and kitchen scraps (fruit, vegetables, coffee grounds, egg shells). For the brown I use dried grass and dried leaves though you can use newspaper, sawdust, small wood chips. Fill up the composter. Turn five turns once a day. It will reach 160 degrees the next day--hot enough to kill most weed seeds. Two weeks to compost. Great. Compost is good for any soil. Soil too sandy and loose--use compost--it will bind it up and make it more like good topsoil. Soil has too much clay--use compost--it will loosen it up and make it more porous and topsoil like. Composting is great in Grants Pass Real Estate.
This is my traditional compost pile. During the winter the weather is too cold to make compost in the compost tumbler. So I pile stuff up the old way. Leave it for a year and you still get good compost. You also have a place to put the kitchen scraps in the winter. Pull back some of the grass, dump your scraps, pull the grass back over top. It will not smell bad and if you don't put in meat products, you won't have animals digging in your compost pile.

So long for now from Grants Pass Real Estate.

chuck

Daffodils!

Daffodils are blooming now. So beautiful. And coming early in the year. At least in Grants Pass. I checked the weather in Platteville, Wisconsin and the high today is 34 degrees with the low being 18. Later in the week the high and low are forecast to be 22 and 2. Yes, that is 2 degrees. Daffodils can withstand cold weather but let's not be ridiculous. I grew up in Iowa and have vivid memories of the winters there. Spring and fall once they came were great but short. Spring was on Tuesday and Fall was on Thursday. The rest of the year was hot humid summer and cold winter.

You might also notice that the grass is green. And it is growing. In fact, I am going to need to mow my lawn soon. I haven't mowed it since October, but it has been green the whole time. To be fair, it is green throughout the fall (once it starts to rain), winter, and spring; however, in the summer, if you put no water on it, it will turn brown. Still in the Midwest unless there was snow in the fall and winter, the landscape was brown.

To be blunt I much prefer the climate here in Grants Pass. But then, I am biased.

A man was in New York and he went into a church and saw a red phone on the wall. When he asked the pastor what the phone was for, the pastor said, "That's a direct line to God." The man said, "Can I use it." Pastor said, "Oh, sure. The call costs $20,000."

The man traveled through many states always stopping in a church and seeing a red phone asking and getting the same answer, "Yes, direct line to God, $20,000."

Until one day he got to Southern Oregon and when he asked got the response, "Yes, direct line to God, 20 cents." Twenty Cents! How come? "Oh, this is Southern Oregon. It's a local call."

So long for now from Grants Pass Real Estate.

chuck

Royal Empress Tree

This is what will be the blossom for the Royal Empress Tree, also known as the Princess Tree or the Paukownia Tree. This tree is widespread in the South and the Midwest, and the East Coast where sometimes it is regarded as an aggressive invader. However, it is not widespread here on the West Coast probably because the conditions for its easy spread are not met.

The wood is prized in China and Japan and used for jewelry boxes and furniture. Sometimes it is planted in the USA with thoughts of selling the wood. There are reports of selling a tree for $20,000. However, I have not found any markets for it.

I bought it for it's beauty and fast growth. It was touted as growing up to 40 feet in eight years. I have had mine for about 12 years and it is about 20 feet tall. I got it by mail order from http://www.raintreenursery.com/ for $15.00, though now it is listed at $9.75. It came in a little pot and was about 6 inches tall. I thought, "What have I done!" But it grew 2 feet that summer. Then it died down to the ground in the winter. They did say it would do that, though.

The next year it grew to 4 feet. And died down to the ground. The next year it grew to about 8 feet and stayed up. From the first it had huge leaves. After 10 years it bloomed. Lovely blooms. Overall I find it to be a wonderful specimen tree here in Grants Pass Real Estate.

So long for now.

chuck

Daffodils are up! Is Spring far behind?

Daffodils are up! They started coming up in January and now have blossoms on them. It won't be long before they are blooming. Even though it is still winter, can spring be far behind?

Daffodils are great here in Grants Pass Real Estate. They are hardy. They are perennial, coming up year after year. They multiply. Plant a few and wait and you have more, then lots more. They don't have enemies. The deer won't eat them, they are poisonous to moles and gophers who also won't eat them. And they are beautiful.

In this photo you can see some of the daffodils. And the taller plants are garlic. Garlic also comes up by itself. These started in late October and will be up and ready to pick in the late spring or early summer. Or you can let them go and watch the beautiful blossoms and let them die down and come up again in the fall.

Here is another harbinger of spring. These crocus are up and lovely.

Even though it is still winter here in Grants Pass Real Estate we still have some nice weather and it is mild enough to have daffodils and crocus come up early.

So long from Grants Pass Real Estate for now.

chuck

Merry Christmas to You.

No snow yet this year, but here are pictures from other years.

Snow here is fun as we don’t get it often and when we do it usually doesn’t stay long. We can build a snowman, have a snowball fight, and slide down the hill on our toboggan and usually by that time the snow has melted off the roads.

I believe that we yearn for a White Christmas because new snow looks pure and it thus represents the purity of Christ, the pure expression of love from God to us.

Luke Chapter 2 verse 10-11 “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

May the joy and peace of Jesus Christ’s presence envelope you now and throughout the New Year.

So long from Grants Pass Real Estate.

chuck

What is new in Real Estate in Grants Pass?

Three Local Real Estate Companies Join Forces.

Agents from ERA Prestige Homes, Coldwell Banker Doran Taylor, and RE/MAX Ideal Brokers, Inc. are merging to help agents survive and remain competitive in the still challenging real estate market. Bob Gervais, owner/broker of RE/MAX office said, “We will have, at the least, about 45 full-time, seasoned professional agents. We will not only survive, but thrive.”

Michael Masters, owner/broker of ERA Prestige Homes, said, “I have released my agents to work for one of my competitors, since there are just too many offices to survive in the challenging market.” He plans to stay with ERA until his commitment to ERA is up. Then Masters plans to join the REMAX management group.

Coldwell Banker Doran Taylor is closing. Bob Chalupa, owner/broker is retiring. Most of his agents are expected to move to RE/MAX.

RE/MAX will have the synergy of three good offices combined in one office and the excitement and positive energy that comes with that.

So long from Grants Pass Real Estate.

chuck

Brrr! It's Cold!

Last night, I was sitting beside the wood stove toasting my back and thinking about the temperature. It was unseasonably, unreasonably cold. 18 degrees when I went to bed and 10 degrees when I got up. Frosty as you can see.

Crinkly, icy frost. However, the cold weather is good for our fruit trees here in Grants Pass Real Estate as they need a certain number of cooling hours in order to produce fruit. (Cooling? Doggone this is cold!) Also tulips need the cold in order to bloom. I remember reading an article years ago where a lady from Florida was asking why her tulips would not bloom. The answer was to dig up her bulbs and put them in the fridge for 2 or 3 months in order to chill them enough to bloom. Not here. Even in a normal cooling year, the tulips bloom when you leave them in the ground.

When the sun came up a little more, things looked a little better, but still only 15 degrees. This is unusual temperatures for us. Yesterday Grants Pass broke a record for cold temps going back to 1896.

Global warming.

So long from Grants Pass Real Estate.

chuck