Our Friendly Neighborhood Parrot

Most mornings I am awakened by a big brown boxer but this morning I was awakened by some very loud parrot noises.  I often hear him when I am working out in my garden but until this morning he has been my phantom parrot.  Today he seemed to be posing at the top of my neighbor's walnut tree where there appears to be a nest. I think he is adorable. Has anyone else in San Jose seen parrots in their neighborhood?

A Winter's Day at the Farm

Certainly there was plenty I could have been doing at home for the good of the cause (in terms of care and maintenance) but I wanted to be out on the Veggielution Farm today. It is wonderful to witness this enterprise, which is flourishing. It is amazing how many winter vegetables are thriving right now.  Here is a list of todays harvest.

Saturday from 10 to 12:30 is the weekend workday that is open to the public now and it consists of work like weeding, mulching, planting, thinning, cooking, and digging and harvesting.  Here is a picture of Chloe, the rescued rooster, "helping" prepare vegetable bean soup (to be eaten at the end of the work session).

The resident peacock has quite an attitude.

One night he got into the greenhouse and leveled the trays of seedlings.  Everything had to be replanted thus delaying the planting in the fields.

One of the biggest projects of the day was shoveling the compost into wheelbarrows and then onto the grounds. Check out the steam coming off the pile.

This is Stella, who gets into plenty of mischief of her own and keeps a very close eye on the rooster.

The Early Bird Gets...His Picture Taken

It seems I always find the time to get my garden work done but I'm not so good at finding the time to sit and enjoy the fruits of my labor.  So on this labor day it was a pleasure to sit back and watch the visitors to my garden.

First Falcon Fledged

As if San Jose City Hall wasn't special enough, for the past three years a female peregrine falcon has nested there. The father this year was Esteban Colbert. When Mayor Chuck Reed was interviewed the other day on the radio, he mentioned how Esteban Colbert liked to hang out on a railing outside his window. Mayor Reed says Esteban gives him the "Colbert Stare" sometimes and sometimes he is out there ripping a pigeon to shreds. Mayor Reed compares the pigeons to Stephen Colbert's guests on the Colbert Report. Much of the city (and beyond) has been captivated by the beautiful falcon family that goes about its business as the occupants of city hall go about theirs. While I was riding home on Monday I spotted two people near San Jose State looking through a telescope at the rotunda. They pointed out the little falcon sitting on the rotunda and told me she had JUST flown out of the nest. What a sweet sight. You can watch live footage of the falcon family in their nest by clicking here.

Let's Talk about Chicks

Off you go to your new home.

A few weeks ago when I arrived at the Master Gardeners Annual Heirloom Tomato and Pepper sale a few minutes after the 9 AM start time only to find there were NO PARKING places near the event and then 15 minutes later after parking a short distance from the sale and walking to the rows and rows of tomato plants only to discover many varieties were already sold out, I got the feeling that home vegetable gardening had become something of a phenomena.  There were scads of people cruising the aisles, loading up on tomato and pepper plants and these weren't just us old-timers like me.  There were plenty of young people including young parents pulling wagons full of kids and plants.  How heartening!  This weekend I decided to check out the chick sale at Sam's Downtown Feed store and saw a scene similar to the plant sale only a smaller scale.  Sam's hosts a baby chick sale each year with 4H members on hand to inform and educate the public on chicks and 4H.  The chicks were selling like crazy.  I overheard one customer urge someone on the other end of her cell phone to decide quickly because there was only one of a particular variety left.  Are these "victory chickens" to get us through tough times?  If you would like to get in on this backyard chicken movement then head on over to Sam's on Saturday, June 6th when this event repeats.  You can learn all about raising poultry, buy a few chicks and pick up all the feed and equipment you need for them while you are there.

Sheep in Downtown San Jose?

When I set out to take pictures of this whimsical front yard I had spotted last week on North Second Street, I wasn't expecting to have the surprising and enjoyable afternoon that I ended up having.  After shooting these pictures, I headed over to Guadelupe River Park to take the dog for a walk. We were stopped short when we spotted a flock of sheep grazing in the historic orchard.  This unexpected sight was quite exciting for me and Burgan (the dog) and I ran back to grab my camera.  While putting my camera away, I met a friendly and interesting man who also enjoys taking pictures of San Jose, mostly archiving relics that are about to be plowed down.  We connected with each other and we ended up having a rather lengthy and meaningful discussion about many things.  I just think it's unlikely I'd have this kind of afternoon if I was still living in the suburbs.  I love San Jose!