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

Nasturtiums!

Nasturtiums.  What a treat.  Lovely flowers and you can add them to your salad to brighten it up and provide a nutritious bite of joy.  They taste mildly peppery but very delicate.

Another treat here in Grants Pass Real Estate.

Bye for now.

chuck

Fall Leaves

Here is a photo in our yard.  A few clouds in the distance and setting sun make the light just right for this picture.   Note that now the grass is all green--not just the grass where we irrigate.

This is our Redbud in full fall color.  From spring through fall this is a thoroughly delightful tree.

 

This is a shot of one of the local golf courses.

This is a picture of a tree in Grants Pass.  Fall colors are especially lovely this year.  I took this shot on a simple drive around town. We have just enough of a winter to make the four seasons possible.  Lovely times here in Grants Pass Real Estate.  

Bye for now.

Chuck

Fall Garden and Flowers

Zinnias are so easy to care for and give you such beauty.  Here are a few. 

This is a magic lily that sends up deep green straps in the spring.  In the summer they die down to be followed in late summer by sturdy scapes that are topped by these lovely blooms.

This is a petunia.  They are such reliable bloomers.  Filled with blossoms from late spring until frost they are a joy to have around.

This is an aster.  Perennial to its core it comes up each year to brighten the fall garden.

Bye for now

chuck

Rhodies, Strawberries, Lettuce and more!

Our Rhododendrons are late this year.  The unusual  late cool rainy spring we had this year made them bloom much later than I have seen  in over 20 years.  Still they are now lovely and grace our landscape here in Grants Pass Real Estate.

Here is a closeup of these magnificent blooms.

Also the garden is now growing.  The strawberries are small, but oh so sweet.  A delicious treat.

The lettuce is coming on fine.  Colorful and nutritious.


The Roses are now coming on as well.  Lovely so see and these are antique roses that actually smell like roses.  Ahhh.

Oh, by the way, some birds have started to make a nest in a second birdhouse gourd.  The gourd hanging in the Redbud tree now has little sticks in it.  Always fun to watch the garden and yard here 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