Welcome to the finals
This week will bring to a close the seventeenth year for Mears Garden Picture contest. We started in 2005, missing one winter 8-9 years ago. This contest has been our little way to get through the sometimes long Iowa winter.
But wait. Winter is not quite over. When the contest ends it is suppose to be spring.
After another glorious Wednesday, with lots of warm sunshine and blooming crocuses, the cold came back. Early on Saturday morning, in the dark, when I started to write this, the front porch temperature temperature reading was 7 degrees. I am not talking wind chill either. That is 07 degrees. Fahrenheit. Moreover the front porch reading is usually a few degrees warmer than those proverbial low lying areas. There was wind too.
We knew the the cold was coming all week. But what was anticipated was lows in the low teens, not single digits. I guess we will see just how hardy are the early spring bulbs.
Being positive, which is ever the goal, I can report that the predicted temperatures are suppose to get to 40 today (Sunday) and 50 tomorrow. That is only appropriate since 50 is the average high for this time of year, in Iowa.
First, let me give you a few pictures from that glorious Wednesday, before I get to the contest. You might just see some of these pictures this coming winter.
Thank you deer for leaving these lovies alone.
Last Week in the Contest
Last Week was the third and final week in the playoffs. The winner, by the smallest margin was....
Stop the presses. Late on Saturday, one last vote was cast. It brought the Fall crocus into a tie with the African Violet.
We have cowinners. They will both advance.
I had hoped this would happen. The crocus was down 17-16, after being tied at 16 for several days. Actually 17 votes was how many the Iris got last week to advance to the finals. Somehow it seemed fair to have both pictures advance.
Here are your two cowinners:
Here was the final vote total.
The contest really was the closest of the season, (other than the tie in Week #3.) The margin stayed at about a single vote for most of the week. I kept waiting to see if that 50th vote would be cast. It wasn't. But then, it was.
This Week the finals
#1 Purple Crocuses
April 10, 2022
There you have the four pictures you have picked to get to the finals. Can anyone stop the purple crocuses? Will the crocus vote be split, allowing one of the other pictures to get to be the winner?
Vote away.
And thanks for that fiftieth vote. That was the most votes all season.
By the way if you only have one computer more than one person can vote. All you have to do is refresh your page and it will allow a second vote.
And remember, every vote counts.
Right Now
The dance of the early spring bulbs was completed when the crocuses joined in the festivaties. They added color to the aconite and snowdrops to form a wonderful trio.
Here is a video I took on Wednesday. This is about the longest video I have posted. I keep waiting to see what is the memory limit to this technology.
Here are more pictures from that glorious Wednesday, just 4 days ago.
I realize how these all go so well together. It makes me want to get a few hundred purple crocuses. I would sprinkle them in with the aconite, where the aconite currently play by themselves. A few more snowdrops wouldn't hurt either.
More winter farmer's markets have allowed me to add more African violets.
This first picture was of a plant I obtained last Sunday.
I cannot say enough about how lovely these violets are. They are also so inexpensive. These plants are sold for $5/each. Where else can you get that kind of value?
I have saved perhaps the best for the last part of the "right now" section.
These pictures were all taken yesterday morning, after the temperatures got down to single digits. It never did get much above 20 all day. I wandered around in the morning and looked to see if there was much damage. The path positively crunched as I walked around, as the moisure in the paths was frozen.
Sometimes you just have to look carefully to see what is there. How true.
The snowdrops were bent over. I expect they will return to an upright position maybe on Monday when it warms up.
Julia's recipe
Avocado sauce
This recipe is from the Milk Street cooking magazine. It's a green sauce. The magazine suggested serving it with baked chicken, which we did. Hoever, we think the sauce would work with fish or hamburgers or even added (in a dollop or two) to vinaigrette dressing. Versatile. Easy to make. No weird ingredients. A real find.
The ingredients:
1 ripe avocado;
most of a bunch of flatleaf parsley;
1 tablespoon olive oil;
1 cup chopped onion;
1-1/2 tablespoons white vinegar;
1/2 teaspoon (or less) red pepper flakes; and
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper (not shown).
I peeled the avocado (by cutting it into quarters, and then peeling the skin off each piece). Then I cut the parsley leaves off the stems, chopped the onion and put all of that stuff into a food processor.
I added the vinegar and oil and red pepper flakes and salt and pepper and buzzed it up until it was pretty smooth.
I had started the chicken earlier, seasoning it only with salt and pepper. I baked it at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, flipping the pieces over after about 30 minutes.
After 40 minutes, I flipped the pieces back to skin side up and then jacked up the heat to 400 degrees for about 20 more minutes.
We like chicken to be done through and through so I bake it longer than others might.
On the table. We had some orzo left over, so reheated that as a side. And some green beans and strawberries with yogurt.
But then I thought about pita. We had only one so cut it into 1/3s (Maggie had joined us for dinner).
The best use of the chicken and the sauce was to shred some of the chicken and make a little pita, chicken and avocado sauce sandwich. Delicious.
Odds and Ends
According to the TV weather we had the coldest St. Patrick Day in 30 years.
The Iowa state government is really awful. They are getting around to passing bills. They seem to want to find people to hate. Florida is the model and that means more bad stuff is to come. In addition to the legislature being in session we have begun to have a parade of Republican presidential candidates come through the state. It could be a long next 9 months.
On a more positive note our backyard sale to feed people has begun. This will be the fourth year. We passed the $100 mark. I have been selling aconite ( I have a few extra) and some amaryllis. Some amaryllis just break dormancy with no prompting. I received about 50 last October when someone learned I grew them and knew how to care for them.
I was between books to read at the end of the day. I resorted to looking at old garden magazines. There was one article about hellebores. They really have some lovely plants these days. So I bought a few. It was one of those purchases where I figure I will find the space for them when the time is right. (That could be in about two weeks.) Unfortunately I have a list of plants and other garden items that waiting to determine location.
I still need to see about some caladium.
Pray for peace. Pray for Iowa. Pray for all of us to figure out how to get along.
Philip
3 comments:
I guess this is the year of the purple. Even the white iris has a lot of purple in it. I voted for the white iris but I assume I’ll be outvoted. My favorite part of today’s blog are the photos of the aconite one on top of the bed of leaves — a beautiful winter scene.
This is my first year of having spring flowers. I have noticed the tips of my crocuses, daffodils, and tulips coming through. I am excited to have these designated spots in my garden to walk around every day now to see how much has changed over night. I’m hoping the bunnies leave them alone so that I can see their full potential. Because of you, I have fall and spring crocuses, (planted last fall), and now aconite that I bought from you last week. Thank you for sharing your garden with us.
I went with purple crocus - the colors did it for me. All that purple, the orange stamens, and...ooooo those blue squill peeking from behind and under. It was hard to resist the sparkles in the African violet again though.
Post a Comment