New Steps Project

Shortly after we moved into our house, the back steps began settling. And then settled some more. In the end, we had a set of three steps, each with a different vertical height. For the uninitiated, it was almost always a cause for stumbling. Not only was this dangerous, it was an eye-sore.

Sure, we could have some guys come in and "mud jack" the steps back to where they should be, but I decided the steps were ugly enough to be replaced. Or simply buried, which is what I opted to do. So one of my projects this summer was to build some bigger, more attractive steps around the existing steps, and to provide a more consistent height for each step.

I decided to bury the steps because: (a) I didn't know what to do with all the concrete I pulled out of there, and (b) I didn't have much spare soil to fill in the steps. Leaving the steps in place made sense.

After redesigning the pond, I was left with many large cement blocks which could provide the step material. First I made the lower ring of steps around the existing steps.

Then I built up this layer with soil and other left-over blocks and built the second layer. More filling and the landings were covered with left-over flagstone to match the patio.

The resulting steps are not perfect, but they are much better than the original cement steps, and now the height of each step is a consistent 6 inches.

Sunset Beauty

On June 12 of this year, Russia's Sarychev Peak volcano blew its top, offering many locations around the world beautiful violet and lavender sunsets. I haven't witnessed any of those yet here on the high plains, but we do get our fair share of beautiful sunsets. The best ones happen this time of year when the sun sets more to the north, which gets it away from Pikes Peak and allows it to drop lower into the sky.

Here are a few shots taken within the past week from my back yard. These were taken on three separate nights. Enjoy!

Winter Scallions

Last summer I tried to squeeze in a second crop of scallions, since we eat so many of those buggers. But I got them out too late, and they did not mature before winter came. So I left them, thinking I would dig out their wilted, dead carcasses come spring time.

I'll be damned if those things didn't survive all winter long! They even grew. Slowly, but they grew. This picture was taken in April:

Yeah, they don't look like much, but let's see how you look after spending all winter outside.

A couple weeks ago we finally harvested them. I have to admit that they were a little tough, but after grilling them with a blast of olive oil, they weren't too bad.

This winter I am going to experiment with growing scallions in the greenhouse. Daytime temperatures are much warmer in there, but the nighttime temperatures aren't much different than outside because the greenhouse offers little in the way of insulation. However, with proper watering, I think I will be able to actually grow some edibles throughout the winter.

Other plants might work as well. A couple years ago I left a parsley plant out all winter, and it also survived. Parsley is biennial, though, so it didn't live past the next summer.

Do any readers out there know of other vegetables I can grow throughout the winter? Spinach? Cabbage? Please comment and let us know!

Robin, or Robin Hood?

I love birds. Really I do. I find their singing and chirping relaxing and it's enjoyable to watch them flit around. But, dang it, those buggers would strip my garden bare if I let them.

The worst offenders are the robins. They don't seem to eat bird seed, of which I put out plenty. But they love my strawberries. I put a net over the plants and yesterday one robin managed to get inside the net. Then it couldn't get out! Its foot had gotten tangled up in the webbing. I ran out there with scissors and cut the netting around the foot so it could get out. I'm sure it still has the netting around its foot like an anklet. Serves it right, stealing my berries. (This was probably the same klutzy bird that blundered into my window well as a baby chick and couldn't get out. I had to fish it out with a pond skimmer.)

Today a black bird ate the only two cherries I had on my young cherry tree. It nibbled all around and left the pit still attached to the stem. Didn't even say thank you.

So my questions to readers out there are: do I need to protect my blueberry bushes? This is the first year we have any berries, and they are still green.
And are there any better ways to keep birds out of my berries? I don't want the birds to leave, I just want them to leave my plants alone!