Mired as we are in the deepest and coldest part of winter, I thought I’d do a review of last year’s garden. Just to remind us that brighter days do lie ahead.
As would be expected, the 2022 gardening year had its share of highs and lows. Let’s get off on a positive note and start off with the highs.
Thanks to a wet winter, the flower display in the spring was amazing! The irises I divided in 2021 (see here: Iris division) really put on quite a show. The rest of the garden was especially lush as well.
Growing tomatoes in a bucket sort of paid off, and I finally got to eat home grown tomatoes from my own garden after years of failure.
The bunnies were much scarcer this year; thus, the bunny damage was significantly reduced.
Even though the summer heat was brutal, the autumn display was especially dramatic last year. As a bonus, it lasted for a couple of weeks. It was a very nice finale to the gardening season.
With that being said, how about less talk and more show. On to the pictures!
Crocuses herald the arrival of spring in late April.
Blue/white irises harmonize with blue/white columbines in May.‘Princess Irene’ tulips and Brunnera in late MayMajestic deep blue iries mingle with deep blue penstemons in early JuneChocolate flower and catmint on a bright and sunny June day.The old veggie border in full bloom in late June.Lily blooms leaning against a pine tree in JulyFirst batch of homegrown tomatoes in late July.
Low points
Now, since I am definitely a glass 3/4 empty kind of guy, I was able to find lots of lows in 2022.
The cool, wet spring gave way to a hot, dry summer, and the garden suffered because of it. The plants became overly lush during the wet spell and then wilted in the heat. Even though the majority of my garden is comprised of low water plants, the display still suffered. After all, one way for plants to deal with drought is to reduce growth and/or blooms.
While I did get some home-grown tomatoes, the yield was underwhelming. The work/cost-to- reward ratio made growing tomatoes in a bucket a bust. I need to find another way to raise tomatoes to produce higher yields. It didn’t help that one of the tomato plants died before producing any fruits.
While the bunnies may have moved elsewhere, they were replaced by hordes of ravenous grasshoppers. These little gluttonous bastards laid waste to large swaths of the garden.
That is the way of gardening. A gardener, much like a farmer, accepts the whims of Mother Nature. A gardener must learn to work with her, not against her.
Six-legged nemesis surveying the destruction wrought by its comrades.
In spite of the heat and the two months without rain, parts of the garden still looked great in month of August.
In August, black-eyed Susans and Russian Sage signal the arrival of late summer.
With the arrival of cooler temperatures and much needed rain, the garden revived in September.
Asters reign over the late September garden.
A dramatic vignette from the October garden.The garden’s grand finale in late October.
While Old Man Winter still has a very icy grip on the Vintage garden, these photos are a hopeful reminder to me that the growing season will be back very soon. Patience is another thing gardeners must be willing to learn. For the growing season will return soon, with all its joys as well as its attendant chores and duties.
It the meantime the gardener, and his garden, rests and awaits the arrival of spring.
Posted inGardening|Taggedgarden review|Comments Off on The 2022 gardening year in review
Recently, I attended a retirement party for a friend that was held at the Welcome Home Brewery, located in Parker Colorado (Welcome Home Brewery).
I was having such a good time hanging with old friends, that I forgot to take any pictures!
Here is a meme instead.
Welcome Home Brewery, located in south Parker, Colorado, is a newcomer to the Colorado brewery scene. Opened in 2018, Welcome Home is a law enforcment and woman owned business.
The brewery has quite an eclectic selection of brews. But their hard seltzer selection is unreal! Apparently, they use a base seltzer and then add a fruit flavor while you wait. It’s kind of like those coca-cola machines, where you start with coke and then add whatever flavor you want.
Since I’m not really a seltzer guy, I stuck with the ales.
I started off with Feisty Lass, an Irish red ale. Fairly malty, with little bitterness. I found it pretty good. However, it was a little drier (low sweetness) than I like. Still, I would have be fine having two or three at one setting.
I rate it 3 belches.
Next up was Steinhoffer’s FiestBier, an Oktoberfest. Yeah, I know, it’s January. I do love me some Marzen style beers, regardless of what the calendar says. Again, fairly malty with little bitterness. But this Oktoberfest was also a little drier than I like. And, again, I would have no problem kicking back and downing two or three in a sitting.
Three belches.
Ambience and Staff
Welcome Home has a very relaxed vibe to it. A long table with bar stool runs down the middle of the brewery. Around the edges are several tables with regular chairs. And there is even a seating area with four comfy chairs and a rocking chair around a coffee table. It’s a pretty comfy place. Dare I say cozy? Sure, why not?
The staff was outstanding. Friendly, professional and efficient.
Overall, Welcome Home Brewery is indeed a very welcoming place.
(Editor’s note: this post comes from the now deleted “Bookshelf” page, but I liked it so much I’ve converted it into a post)
I have read many thousands of books in my lifetime. In fact, I have given away more books than I currently own, and I still own two or three thousand. Mrs. Vintage and I have dedicated one whole room of our house as our library, and the bookshelves groan under the weight of the tomes upon them.
I must confess that more than a few of the books I have read in my lifetime were garbage. I was an indiscriminate reader in my youth. I am no literary elitist, but my reading “palette” has improved as I’ve gotten older. If I’m going to plunk down hard earned money on a book, I expect it to be a well written and interesting.
I recently heard about a book called “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” by Marie Kondo (see here). Ms. Kondo recommends keeping no more than 30 books in your living space because the value of books lies in the information contained within and there’s no reason to keep them on your shelves after you have read them. Ms. Kondo is obviously not a bibliophile.
While I do occasionally give away some of my books to make room for new ones, I am not sure if I could live with just 30 books in my home. But if someone put a gun to my head and told me I had to give up most of my books, the ones I have listed below would be the 30 I would keep.
1776 by David McCullough
– Opening act of the American Revolution.
Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson
– Extensive history of the American Civil War.
Beside Still Waters by Gregg Easterbrook
– Mr. Easterbrook makes the case that doubt is an important part of one’s faith.
Blue Highways by William Least-Heat Moon
– One man’s journey to discover himself on the backroads of America.
Citizen Soldiers by Stephen E. Ambrose
– The European theater from the day after D-Day to the fall of Germany.
The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson
– The first Walt Longmire mystery; the high plains of Wyoming are the backdrop to this story of murder and revenge.
The Crucible of War, The Conquering Tide and Twilight of the Gods by Ian Toll
– In-depth account of the U.S. Navy’s war in the Pacific against the Japanese Empire during WW2.
Dune by Frank Herbert
– Set in the far future; a prophet arises to overthrow a corrupt feudalistic government
Hear that Lonesome Whistle Blow: Railroads in the West by Dee Brown
– Fascinating account of building the American trans-continental railroad.
High Adventure by Donald E. Westlake
– Hilarious adventure yarn about drug runners, real estate scams and corrupt police officers in Belize.
Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
– Orwell’s experiences during the Spanish Civil War.
The Initiate Brother by Sean Russell
– Fantasy novel set in a country much like our ancient China.
Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison
– Three novellas in one book: tales of revenge and consequences.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
– Probably the greatest western novel ever written.
Lord of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
– Yeah, I know, it’s a trilogy. But you can get all of them in one book, so I am counting it as one.
– Hemingway scattered his semi-autobiographical Nick Adams stories throughout his short story collections. This book collects these short stories and puts them in chronological order.
One Man’s Garden by Henry Mitchell.
– Henry Mitchell was the Washington Post’s gardening writer for several decades. This book is a distillation of his best gardening articles.
The Religions of Man by Huston Smith.
– Overview of the world’s major religions.
The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind by Justin Howard and Howard Reid.
– Account of the Egyptian city that housed the Great Library and the Great Lighthouse.
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
– Bio of Teddy’s upbringing and his rise to the Presidency
Roughing It by Mark Twain
– Hilarious account of Mark Twain’s first trip out West.
The Savage Wars of Peace by Max Boot
– Description of America’s “small wars” fought between the big wars. Max Boot has turned into a loon, but this is still a good book.
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
– The future of war and ruminations about the age-old conflict between combat and morality.
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
– The first of the Harry Dresden fantasy novels; magic and crime solving set in modern day Chicago.
A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman
– The best of the Leaphorn/Chee novels. A mystery of a missing archeologist and stolen Native American relics set in the American Southwest.
We We’re Soldiers Once, and Young by Moore & Galloway
– The U.S. Army’s first direct conflict with the North Vietnamese Army in the Ia Drang Valley during the Vietnam War.
A World Lit only by Fire by William Manchester
– Life and faith in Europe during the Middle Ages.
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan
– An account of the Dust Bowl and those who survived it.
Posted inBooks, Reading lists|Taggedbooks|Comments Off on If you could only keep 30 books in your home, which ones would you choose?
