Morpheus Creative Photography_comments

Getting photos for the fair

2008-07-13T22:54:00.001-07:00

Having a rare Sunday off, I took off for the afternoon and decided to check out the scenery around Dalton Gardens and Hayden, Idaho. The reason: Fair photos. I am getting a collection together for the North Idaho Fair this year and angling to buy a photo printer that I can attach to the old laptop and print out the ones I plan on taking. A type of "Photoshop" program, "Picture this" that is Microsoft's version of Picassa. But unlike Picassa, you can add shapes. So, deciding on the desire to enter at least one manipulated to its silliest and a second one made black and white on the laptop, I tweaked and played around with the photos I plan on taking. The one I have here, I don't think I doctored.

In gardening news, having set up my large greenhouse/cold frame in order to house my 24 each, eggplants, tomatoes and peppers; the smaller built in shelf green house was simply getting too crowded as the plants got taller. So now they are sitting, eggplants and tomatoes, on plant stands with boards stretched between them. The peppers crowd the shelves of a coverless greenhouse. I plan on building covers for the tiered greenhouses by fall and place one in the giant "cold frame." The built in shelf greenhouse will be rebuilt and then covered in the fall and placed near the back door. That way, I can simply walk my seed flats out to it by February. The FarmTek sales people suggesting making double covers. I have a cover for the large "cold frame" already and need only get it on by September. The tier greenhouse that I plan to park in the "coldframe" will get a single cover with a roll up door. A second tier greenhouse will get a double cover and a doubled roll up door. (I don't do zippers.) The third tier greenhouse that I plan to store plants in between treks to the Farmer's Market won't get one since after May the likelihood of frost begins to diminish drastically. The built in shelves greenhouse will get a double cover and a roll up door too. Having used about a third of the 180 foot roll of greenhouse film, I am certain that I shall have enough plastic to take care of what is necessary.

At least my tomatoes are blooming in the middle of July after having been started the first of May. Hot house tomatoes, they did better "under cover" for having been planted so late than if they have been planted out in the back garden.

We had a wicked wind blow through the inland Northwest last Thursday, picked up some hot blazes over in Washington state and tumbled my peppers and some of my eggplants. Must have been blowing around 60 mph. Much like a Santa Ana wind. Didn't lose any eggplants, but did see a loss of some of the peppers. One snapped off below the crown but will regrow. Couldn't ressurrect the seedling that had been recently planted. Another one had also snapped off near the base. I bought a pepper and having two to spare of my own, planted them as well. So, it takes time for young peppers to get big enough to begin bearing. But "under cover," they will have to the end of the Market to produce. So in that dept at least, hope springs eternal.

Middle of June, a garden.

2008-06-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

I have successfully potted and boxed a working garden up on my deck. Pumpkins, gourds, winter and summer squash, an herb garden, some cucumbers, and cutting flowers. I have my fair projects: Peppers, herbs, tomatoes, and an eggplant. I put together an area for my Farmer's Market tomatoes, peppers and eggplants: I resurrected a built-in-shelves green house that had literally broken down over winter and arranged my pots of the above on it. I also added a "plant stand" or mini green house to put peppers, fair project herb garden, and a fair project herb in it. I covered the whole shebang in plastic. But, only just enough for frost and deer protection, but not so much so that the peppers, eggplants and tomatoes won't get the breezes necessary for fertilization. Between Tuesday afternoon and again on Thursday, I have rototilled my garden out back and planted corn seed as well as soybeans and pumpkins. Because my onion seed did not grow in the first plot when planted in May, I retilled that and planted Indian corn, pumpkin seed and last year's melon seed. Hard to know if it will grow. Still a spot left to put out excess tomatoes and eggplants that don't sell as plants. But, I'll have to cage these to try to keep the deer off. So this year, I'll have a garden to work with.

Doing something different.

2008-05-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

The deer had become such a problem in the last 2 years that they have been very prone to chewing up just about everything that gets planted in the garden. Given that I don't want valuable business investments to go the way of deer fodder, I have taken to planting a container garden again this year. Much of it is now generally sprouting on the deck of my house, the rest I am putting up on plant stands and covering in plastic to keep out the beasties. At least I am gardening again. And have planted much of the garden I am going to have already.

In other news, the Farmer's Market of Kootenai County has been going strong now since before Mother's day. On the first day of the market, (red face here) I had one flat of plants that got dug out of the yard and our flower bed. That's because the seeds I had finally gotten to plant in the garage had barely come up and weren't yet ready to sell. My legitimate whine was, that February then March was too cold to try to plant anything. Then April came and with it wild swings in weather. So it wasn't before May that I could finally get something in the flats and put it under lights. Mostly, I was planting peppers, tomatoes and eggplants for sale as produce plants later in the year. When I got the plants I wanted for my container garden, then and only then would I try selling the excess. But herbs and flowers would be potted for sale and those are now coming along beautifully.

Got an exotic herb out of one of my seed catalogs this year, it is called Ajwain. I believe I got it from Ecoseed and Ajwain is described as an herb where you can use its leaf in sandwiches and its seed in Curry. So, Ajwain from E. India is the new spice herb. It goes over well, I'll get it again.

Starting anew on container gardening.

2008-01-18T09:00:00.001-08:00

I began ordering my seeds for my new garden since December and planted the first of them on the first of January 2008. Tomatoes have come up first and are now starting to put out their first true leaves. I am still waiting for the peppers to sprout, it seems to take them longer to actually get going. One thing I have noticed about the daylight bulbs I installed last year, the tomatoes are not long and spindly for lack of light. I also managed to save one pepper from last year. Wow, one pepper. The others had wilted and died off completely. So, I'll keep this pepper going and put it out with my new plants in the spring.

Because of the deer problem I am completely reorganizing how I garden. Some of what I plant will go in a cold frame, lettuces and greens, carrots and radishes. I certainly have enough stuff on hand to build it and create something of a raised garden in my garden. For other veggies that don't do so well in containers, such as beans, I'll put out tomato cages and twine to keep the deer from munching my produce as severely.

Of everything else, I can easily pre-start corn, cukes, zukes, winter squash, pumpkins and gourds. Companion planting corn and vining veggies, putting wire cages and twine in strategic places, and hopefully it will keep the deer and their predations off of the garden somewhat. So here is good luck to my next Farmer's Market Garden.

First of January

2008-01-02T06:34:00.000-08:00

I have put together a container garden in my basement. It comprises tomatoes and peppers initially with two kinds of eggplants to follow. One of those peppers and a tomato will eventually become Kootenai County Fair submissions. Why plant so soon? I want to have produce for sale at the beginning of the new market this year. It need not be until February before I start planting the plants I want for sale. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, flowers among other goodies. By April, I should expect to set up containers and put them under a cold frame for lettuce and other greens. It doesn't take long for them to grow. I plan on a new and productive garden this year that I can take down to the market.

Planning on a good garden.

2007-12-25T09:49:00.000-08:00

I get a lot of seed catalogs. I plan on two orders from Jungs seed and nursery. One to go out on my payday and the other in March of 08. This second one will be planting and garden supplies. Deer busters hanging sachets to be put up around the garden when I get it planted. I am getting quite annoyed at the deer breaking down the trees that I plant for my orchard, hope this works.

And hanging up some in my mother's own plot may drive them off as well. If it works as advertised, we should have a flourishing garden this year free of pests.

I don't mind spending the money in order to have a commercial garden for the Farmer's Market.

I don't typically make personal issues a news column

2007-12-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

I don't share anything in common with Christians when it comes to actual belief. I know what Christians have borrowed from those who believe as I do, what they have utilized through history as they adapted it to their use. But Christians declare themselves to be monotheistic and I am pantheistic or if you prefer polytheistic. Multiples of Gods is what any pagan believes in. So, it becomes news to me when Dave Oliveria who edits and manages the Huckleberries on-line @ Spokesman-Review.com actually thought I was an atheist for not sharing a religion in common with Christendom. Well, as a little reminder, 3/4ths of the world doesn't actually share anything in common with Christianity but likely less than 1% are actually atheist. Pagans still believe in higher powers: those who govern the sun and the storms, the seasons, the moon and the earth. Pagans have engaged in rituals in order to get on the better side of Gods and Goddesses, pagans do pray. But, pagans are not as a rule Christian and never will be. Onward...

The History Channel ran, last night a 2 hour "Count down to Armageddon" special which I watched part of after seeing "Eragon" on Cinemax. (Max channels on Dish Network). Of course, The History Channel trotted out all the usual suspects from radical preachers to radical religious activists turned novelists who gave their own interpretation of what would finally happen on this Earth some 2,000 years after "legend has it" that John of Patmos penned his revelations. What no one assumed was that "John" was probably writing for his own time and to the Christians in his own era. Most certainly there were terrible disasters: The Roman Empire lost some important cities such as Herculaneum to Mt. Vesuvius. Unquestionably there were famines and diseases that may well have contributed to the downfall of the Roman Empire. Without question, the barbarous Germanic tribes brought an ancient Pagan (later to turn to Christian) kingdom to its knees. That is, if indeed John of Patmos (as a matter of theory) were writing to his own time, and an oppressed Christian church. However, Pastor Haggee was of the assumption that what "John" wrote could only come true today. So did Tim LaHaye. So, question: Why are Christians so intent on seeing the world end tomorrow, anyway? It could, but only if such "Christian" leaders as GW Bush pushes the nuclear button just because he "fears" what Iran might do.

Speaking of that, "John" probably had the place for the last battle of forces between Christ and the anti-Christ in the wrong place. Israel today is not the Israel of 2,000 years ago. In fact, until after the first World War middle eastern borders weren't that firmly established until the British, and etc. carved up the old Ottoman empire. The place that Christians establish as the point of final battle, strategically, the hill of Meggido (sic); that they recognized as a place where many such battles had been fought before. Which undermines the theory. Why Israel? "John" is exiled to Patmos that is no where near Israel. Armageddon has always been to my best information a world wide conflict. It has a point of origin, but it does not in fact end where it began. If there is a point of origin for an Armageddon to begin, most certainly it began with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict the moment the world finally recognized Israel as a state. But the terrorism that rose from such a conflict has in fact engulfed the rest of the world. What stands solid and stark in front of Christian eyes and they fail to see it. Armageddon isn't a place, but an allegory for final conflict. --Referring to above, the History Channel showed clips of Christ in various paintings. One of the paintings shown had Christ adorned with the Druid's solar Cross.

So why would Christians look for the world to end tomorrow? Throughout all of the last 2,000 years there have been numerous plagues, famines, natural disasters, wars, conquests, terrors, civil unrests. Most of those terrible times had the underpinnings of religion. On the basis of religion people died horribly. A thousand years of peace as Pastor Haggee declared, when men no longer studied war. But the time that men rise from the grave and stand before their God in judgment, does he allow men who made war against their fellow Christians into heaven because of questions of belief? Who tortured and slaughtered "witches" because they made use of folk remedies to cure ills? Who couldn't be bothered to love the neighbor who didn't think exactly like them? Quite frankly, if I were the Christian with that sort of sordid background, I wouldn't be in any kind of hurry to want the world to end tomorrow. Belief: isn't it as much about the practice as what gets preached?

Buying the seeds early

2007-12-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

It is December, gifts have been mailed as of the 14th. On the same day, I have put out my first order for Tomato and Pepper seeds to Totally Tomatoes. When they arrive, I shall begin planting them in the basement for my pot garden. Tomatoes and peppers planted early will be in bloom when they go out on the deck toward the end of May. Much of my garden will in fact be planted in containers. As for the garden that covers a third of an acre, I have those seed orders ready to and will have to look into ways to defeat the predatory deer.

Looking forward to gardening this next year.

Domain Hostings of America

2007-11-26T08:06:00.000-08:00

I took a hit off my business account and made a $50.00 payment to Domain Registration of America for two years registration of my Morpheus Creative Photography business web site. Hopefully, it will make my web site more widely known. If so, then an investment well worth it.

Onward.

I am planning ahead now to the next Farmers' Market. I am making out seed orders so that I can begin to plant for that first day in May when the Market will again start. Best be saving some money as well so that I can get the seasons' pass paid for too.

What to do when not gardening

2007-11-07T22:06:00.000-08:00

Seed catalogs start to come in at this time of the year. But, I won't begin to truly check them out or order anything until January of 2008. So, I am instead planning on some holiday cooking and gift giving. Bought some mandarin oranges in a 5 lb box today and then went looking for recipes in which to use them. In most cases, the recipes call for canned and then drained oranges. Well now, how about freshly peeled out of the box mandarin oranges? I believe that I can figure an 11 oz. can to be about 4 oranges and go from there to make a bread, a cake, a pie, a batch of cookies, and slow-cooked mandarin orange chicken. You got it, that some of what is made will become holiday gift giving.

I also plan on a sauce. Just thinking that I could can this and send it along as a condiment to close relatives. Only one could not use it because he is diabetic.

This is now November and there is a promise of snow in the forecast by next weekend, a few days before Thanksgiving. What is going to be a real headache for a lot of people, and that is if the weather in N. Idaho gets particularly brutal, natural gas for heating has now shot through the roof as has the price of oil. That is going to make for a very ugly winter for a lot of people.

When taking your garden indoors

2007-10-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

I put peppers and tomatoes into pots about mid July. Only since September have they shown any significant willingness to bear. It is now October, what to do, what to do. Having a recent discussion with a fellow I vendor with down at the Kootenai County Farmers' Market. He told me a lot of light, he also suggested using a fan. I can think of why on the latter, stirring the air around plants would reduce fungal infections as well as keeping them stronger for not being out in the wind. As for "lots of light." Well, you need special fixtures and ballasts for "sun stick" full spectrum lights. But checking out the Sylvania web site and I found "daylight" light bulbs of various wattages (I chose 60 watt.) And ordered 3 packages. Then going to Lowes, I found 48" 40 watt daylight fluorescent tubes. Installing them without need for a special ballast and they were roughly equivalent to the sun stick in near all spectrum bright. And not as spendy. So, my plants are now in the basement. Hopefully, I can overwinter at least the peppers and bring them out next year. If I actually manage to overwinter the tomatoes, I'll let my fellow vendor know, and what to use as light. Tomatoes need 14 hours of daylight. Would daylight bulbs help? Stay tuned.

When deer are a problem

2007-08-14T01:13:00.001-07:00

Many problems got in the way of my putting in a main garden this year: rototiller broke down, weather, dinged my foot. My mother had put in a garden in good order and then got to complaining about the too hungry deer feeding on her plants.

Taking that as a cue, I started putting what I'll call a garden into pots on our deck. As this black and white digital HP photo demonstrates.

Here in Dalton Gardens, Idaho and living near the mountains as we do, deer can be real pests. Nice to look at and a problem when you try to grow a commercial garden on a shoe string.

Did you know this?

2007-07-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Recently getting an herb catalog, saw where the people putting it together listed various hot peppers as an herb, a spice with medicinal qualities. How about that?

So, come county or state fair time, here is one for you: If there is a garden area for the fair and if the garden portion of it also allows exhibits of potted herbs, submit a hot pepper plant. You may have to explain to everyone however just why a hot pepper can actually be displayed in the potted herb section.

But, what the hey, for the folks who view a tomato as a vegetable and not a fruit, the local Kootenai County Fair manages to confuse anyone who thinks a tomato is a vegetable by wanting it displayed in the fruit section of the garden section of the fair. So, let's display a hot pepper plant as an herb and really throw a kink in how people should understand what they grow in their gardens or buy in the supermarkets, Farmers' Markets, road side stands and etc.

Weather is always a factor

2007-05-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

When setting up for the Farmer's Market, weather can make a big difference as to how much business it will get that day. People do not like to come out when it is cold and rainy. As happened Saturday the 19th of May 2007. It rained for about 5 hours in the early morning and finally stopped around 9:00 am. Up and until that time, barely anyone of the customers was even walking through the market on the corner of Prairie Ave. and Highway 95 in Hayden, Idaho. As for myself, I am out there getting drenched and wondering if the rain will stop.

As a result of weather, I am more likely to set up plants for my booth and/or produce if I have it. Since photos and crafts don't do so well in pouring rain. Checking the desktop weather on my computer, the weather for Wednesday is cloudy and around 70*. Which should bode better for my comfort and decent sales at the downtown Coeurd'Alene, Idaho Wednesday Farmer's Market.

What's new this month

2007-05-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome visitors to the blog: Morpheus Creative Photography Comments: I shall post on this blog for any new developments that you might just be interested in. For example, the Kootenai County Farmer's Market starts on Saturday, 12 May 2007. You will find this site on Highway 95 and Prairie Avenue. We are in operation for this site every Saturday, from now through the middle of October. The hours of operation are: 8:00 am to 1:00 pm.

What you will find at my booth: I plan on bringing tomato plants, cabbage plants, assorted herb plants, lettuce planted in pots. And Broccoverde, the green novelty cauliflower.

I shall also be bringing hand crafted items as well as photographs.