Pretty Flower and Delicious Fruit

This flower is gorgeous, even the bee cannot resist it.   What kind of flower is it? Cactus? 

Are you getting an idea what it is?  

It's the Artichoke!!!

Squirrel Scores a Peanut

Hey, Squirrel, did you see there is a peanut next to you?

I don't want any competition, I'm taking the peanut to the tree.

I love the peanut!

I'm so enjoying the peanut.

 

Love it, love it, love it.

Gifta's Wool Becomes Pretty Mittens

Gifta has a beautiful show coat that won her 28 legs, 25 of these legs are

 Best of Breed, 3 of the BOB advanced to Best In Show 

and 4 advanced to Reserve In Show.  



All good things have to come to an end.   Gifta's coat was cut after WCC and spun into yarn, here is one of the balls.  

Gifta's chocolate agouti color is very rich, it stands out when combined with the natural color commercial yarn.   It's better not to use Angora yarn for cuff because Angora yarn is so soft and it does not have memory;  in other words, it does not spring back.   The cuff needs to hug the wrist to keep the mittens in place thus the commercial yarn is a better choice.

Mittens are knitted in round, the tool used is four double point needles.
 This photo shows knitting in progress.

This is the wrong side of the mittens.   The one on the left is done with tucking loose ends while the one on the right still needs to be done.

So called "tucking" means using a crochet needles to hook the loose ends and hide them. 

The loose ends of both mittens are all tucked in then ...

...turn the mittens to the right side, now we have a completed pair.

Changing Swamp Cooler Pads

The evaporative cooler, or more commonly called the swamp cooler, are very useful in hot and dry climate.   The cooling design is using water running through the pads on the sides of the unit with the motor drawing air through the pads.

The original pads in the old days are made of Aspen.

After years of use, the aspen pads maybe clogged by the calcium deposits from the hard water.

We can see the calcium deposits even on the outside of the cooler sides.

A newer design of the pads is made of special material.

The new cooling pad material comes in as a big roll, you measure the cooler to cut the pad to fit the sides.   Our cooler has the dimension of 21.5 x 27.  

The pad is cut and put into the door panel of cooler.

This is an panel installed with then new pad and ready to be installed onto the cooler.

Now the cooler with the new pad can run efficiently for serveral years.

Bees Crazy About Lavender

The lavender plant is blooming again, the bee is having a feast of the nectar in the flowers. 

So many flowers, so many choices.

There are more nectar than enough to share.

Bee landing.

Bees love to go from one flower to the other.

Delicious Fava Beans

Next to Betty's rabbit barn (see upper left) is a veggie garden with fava beans.

View from the other side of the fava bean garden.

 

Lots of pods hanging on the Fava plants.

When the pods are fat and full, it's time to harvest.



 

Pods removed to expose the beans.



It only takes a few minutes of stir frying to make a delicious fava bean dish.  

Josh Humphries for ARBA President

ARBA President Josh Humphries and his better half Sue Monahon at WCC Reno.

Josh's campaign button, I'm proud to wear it.

Josh is one of the best ARBA presidents who I have the honor to know in the last 35+ years.   I'm proud to call him a friend.   He is willing to listen, has the vision of installing new ideas, has the courage to do the best for the organization regardless of the cost to him personally.  We are lucky to have him willing and able to serve his 3rd term.    When the ballot comes in mid July,  VOTE FOR JOSH!