9 Weeks and Counting...

...until we will be frost-free and ready to plant. In the mean time:

The tomatoes are growing, slowly but surely. This year I grew 10 varieties of tomato plants, with a nice mixture of cherries, heirlooms and standbys. I planted seeds around Valentine's Day and have just transplanted everything to 9-packs. In a couple weeks I'll move them up to 3" pots and then finally to 6" pots before transplanting into the greenhouse.

I've transformed the downstairs bedroom into my little gardening paradise with two large sodium halide lights, a whole bunch of seed trays and a complete supply of fertilizers, plant tools, inoculants and more. By the time June 1st hits, I'll have successfully grown my entire collection of vegetables, and some awesome new perennials. The most exciting new additions to the gardening club are hot pink cauliflower and self-pollinating cucumbers (admit it...you're quivering with excitement). Now if only that snow would disappear...

Sierra posted this on Mar 28, 2007 from the garden | | permanent link

Psycho Cycle

Ever since I got my new job people been asking when I'm going to buy a new car. At first I was slightly insulted - what is wrong with my car now? Then I realized that the people asking were the same people who had saved me from busted fan belts, overheated engines, and a slew of other car crisis...so I suppose I can't blame them too much. In response to the question - when will I replace the car? The answer is - not any time soon.

One of the greatest, and probably the most obvious benefit, to not having a new car, is that we don't have any car payments. While we could probably afford to make car payments, we have decided instead to invest our money into bicycles. For the cost of a new car, we can easily afford the bikes we need to commute to work, and play on the week-ends. Although Tony and I have been riding to work, the melting snow and longer days means more bike time. In anticipation, we have been cruising the bike shops finding all sorts of awesome components to bling out the bikes.

In celebration of today's buying extravaganza, the whole family went out on a bike trip. Unfortunately Starbuck wouldn't stand still for the picture:

The ride was fantastic and proved that biking is fabulous in almost any conditions. Although, I must admit that 28 degree heat and a nearby ocean is pretty marvelous.

Sierra posted this on Mar 25, 2007 from the outside | | permanent link

My Love of Obsession

I should be asleep, but instead I'm enjoying my newest obsession Facebook. For those who haven't joined the phenomena, I have to caution you, if you enjoy your free time or current hobbies, it may not be a good idea to join up. Facebook is one of those wonderful mechanisms created so that people don't have to take the time to actually phone or see each other in person. All kidding aside, it's a pretty fun way of reconnecting with people you haven't seen or spoken to since you were a little tadpole or chubby teenager. Unfortunately, between my obsession with getting all my vegetable seeds started and my obsession with Facebook other, healthier hobbies are taking a backseat. I'd expand on this topic, but lets be honest my new profile site needs updating...

Sierra posted this on Mar 23, 2007 from the livingroom | | permanent link

When will it stop snowing?

It's snowing again! The Yukon has been bombarded with snow this year. The snow is so thick on the deck that my poor dog can't make it into his doghouse. While this means lots of great skiing and a great insulating layer for my perennials; it also means a lot of shoveling. Or more precisely, a lot of me nagging Tony to go outside and shovel.

In the past 5 months and 5 feet of snow, I have shoveled exactly zero times. Thankfully, in the past 5 years and 50000 flushes, Tony has cleaned the toilet exactly zero times, so I don't feel too guilty. Despite the fact that I don't actually shovel snow, I still hate everything about it. While Tony doesn't exactly enjoy shoveling, there is one member of the household who does. Unfortunately, he doesn't have opposable digits, so his love of shoveling is largely wasted.

While Starbuck can't exactly contribute to the clearing of the driveway, he does provide lots of entertainment for Tony. The great thing about the dog is that he has the acute ability to look at every situation as an opportunity...to fetch. While you or I might think of shoveling snow as moving an unwanted item from one place to another, Starbuck sees it as someone throwing a million mini white sticks all for him to fetch. By the end of the driveway Starbuck has eaten 2 pounds of snow, run the length of the driveway a million times over and inadvertently knocked half the snow back onto the driveway.

Trying to get a picture of the beast at work was difficult, as he was much more interested in jumping behind clouds of snow then posing for my pictures. Although I couldn't quite capture the full hilarity of the situation, these might help.

Here is Starbuck getting ready:

Catching the snow:

Doesn't he look proud of himself?

Sierra posted this on Mar 16, 2007 from the outside | | permanent link

My New Bike

It's warmed up to a balmy -25 here in Whitehorse, which means it's the perfect time to test out my new mountain bike. Tony built my bike from parts he found on the internet and at our local bike shops. The "piece to resistence" is the wicked pink pedals that I bought this morning. I'm going to try to order a pink seat and then my bike will be pretty much the greatest mountain bike of all time.

Biking in the snow is definitely a different experience. It's a lot slower than biking on a packed trail and is much more like biking through sand. It was a fun winter ride and Starbuck certainly appreciated the exercise. The giant mittens I bought Tony for Christmas last year are awesome. They were basically made for dog-sledding, meaning that they are super warm especially as the wind hits your hands on the handlebars. I think I'll have to buy my own pair for future cold weather biking.

Sierra posted this on Mar 03, 2007 from the outside | | permanent link