tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16709910958924762592024-03-06T01:06:24.171-08:00KP on Blogginglife is a garden.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-57709014200799669712011-08-10T13:40:00.000-07:002011-08-10T13:45:09.646-07:00Summer 2011Summer has been dry, and very hot. Tomatoes are in and very plentiful. Zucchini were great, we got so many, had to give some away. Shredded and froze some for later use. made a WW zucchini bread that was yummy. Also, cooked with tarragon which was different.
<br />Apples on Honey crisp tree did not do well will only get two out of a dozen or so.
<br />The other tree only has two apples but looks beautiful. cucumber were wonderful, but all but one of the plants has died, new cukes on the remaining plant. Eggplants have been good 3 so far more to come. Peppers Jalapeno did well. Overall it has been a good year. NO blight, that has plagued the garden the last few years. Was is the straw? I didn't use it this year.
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<br />Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-53253725774644041122011-05-20T08:56:00.000-07:002011-05-20T09:46:01.870-07:00Spring 2011 In the GardenThis has been such a wet spring. Somehow I managed to get in a garden, in between the raindrops, or down pours I should say.<br /><br />This years plantings look like this<br /><br />Vegetable garden:<br /><br />lower box, on trellis that Andrew put up this spring are, peas then cabbage, purple cabbage, spinach and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">swiss</span> chard. Been in since mid April.<br /><br />middle box: on the trellis, pole bean, than tomatoes 4 plants beefsteak variety, then <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">brussel</span> sprouts and cauliflower.<br /><br />top box: cucumbers on the trellis, eggplant, zucchini and a couple of volunteer pumpkin plants.<br /><br />Fruits:<br /><br />Apple trees look good, honey crisp has LOTS of apples, golden a couple. put in two stake type fertilizers on each. need to spray when the rain finally stops!<br />Blueberry bushes: last year's bush is full of blueberries, 3 new bushes this year, adjusting well but no berries.<br />Two new strawberry plants went in very early (March) and are well established with lots of berries.<br /><br />Herb scene:<br />Replaced purple sage, lavender and rosemary this year. planted some more parsley. dill came up on its own. nice.<br /><br />Chickens have been laying well since February. molt lasted a long time. all are laying every day or every other day.<br /><br />Very <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">persistent</span> fox has been hanging around mid to late morning or later in the afternoon.<br /><br />Flowers:<br />planted some poppies this year from Home Depot (on sale) two survived and have been blooming beautifully, older poppies doing well. Need to more red poppy from iris/daffodil patch.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-19335550605617691892010-11-04T11:13:00.000-07:002010-11-04T11:20:06.649-07:00Fall Garden and Clean Up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZFO3PQaRqPYcMKNzhEDXkNez3z36qfuwSaiJ0gm6OIfyrERUTDC_UwAvLeYfHwAV-7UHs63iZ-SrMV2uIkzfvqMAh3VU6xf9Lc1L2fx1GoHEYWwdoVwe8PdTa9BEb5EnVXxtbvBxwOmM/s1600/carrots.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZFO3PQaRqPYcMKNzhEDXkNez3z36qfuwSaiJ0gm6OIfyrERUTDC_UwAvLeYfHwAV-7UHs63iZ-SrMV2uIkzfvqMAh3VU6xf9Lc1L2fx1GoHEYWwdoVwe8PdTa9BEb5EnVXxtbvBxwOmM/s320/carrots.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535759664994663202" border="0" /></a><br />Beautiful carrots (kalidesope from burpe) were one of the things I pulled this past weekend. I also took out parsnips and peppers. There were tons of green tomatoes and a few cherry tomatoes turning red. With the upcoming frost predicted thought it best to pick them.<br />There are still brocolli plants and lettuce, arugula, and spinach left.<br />Cleaned up the herb garden, ready for next year. cut back roses, and hydrangea.<br />A few weeks back I planted 10 gorgeous mums by the lampost and driveway and 4 ornamental cabbages. Hope the mums come back next year. and I hope i didn't disturb the tulips bulbs I put there earlier this year.<br />Chickens are not laying, 1 egg a day for over a month. Molting I suppose with all the feathers in the coop.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-28060025446429726582010-08-31T09:55:00.001-07:002010-08-31T10:04:53.037-07:00HummingbirdRan out the door this morning on my way to work and almost smacked right into a hummingbird who had been getting a drink from the fountain on the patio.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-66949163199446336092010-08-31T09:51:00.000-07:002010-08-31T09:53:07.314-07:00Apples are delicious!We got the first taste of our Golden apples and the verdict was unanimous! They are crisp, sweet, and juicy. Too bad we only got three of the this year.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-46468254574397738182010-08-27T07:51:00.000-07:002010-08-27T08:23:23.578-07:00How could a whole year go by.........Well here it is, August 2010 and I haven't posted once in a whole year!! Shameless, really. <br /><br />Unfortunately, not to much has changed with my garden.<br /><br />I planted a variety of tomatoes, heirlooms and hybrids. Same blight happened again this year. Tomato plants went in early, before Mother's Day and grew like crazy, reaching 5ft by early June. Tons of tomatoes on the vines, my favorite hands down was a Roman Candle. It was a gorgeous yellow plum, very firm meaty variety I got from a coworker. He also gave me a variety called Gold Medal which was a yellow and red swirly stripy variety tasty but not as good a producer. Brandywines where wonderful too until the blight hit and dessimated my tomatoe crop. I waited as long as I could then pulled all the tomatoes off the vines and put them in various places to ripen. I left them on vines and cut vines off. The Roman Candle tomatoes grew in bunches like grapes, very cool to see. One good thing, I planted a couple of tomato plants late after clearing out the remnants of the blight, same bed and they are doing really well, lush and green.<br />In the spring I grew mesculen and arugula lettuces which have grown wild at this point.<br />Carrots and parsnips are coming along.<br />Peppers and eggplants going crazy.<br />We hung a netting for pole beans and they are climbed up the top, no flowering yet. <br />On the Herb front I planted a couple of new plants in the herb garden<br />two new strawberry plants which did very well,<br />Pineapple sage, maritini spruge, eucaliptus, are other additions<br /><br />The blueberry plant we planted last year came in really nicely this year only no blossoms or berries!! Have to work on that for next year. Maybe has to do with soil condition? There are plenty of other blueberry bushes in neighbors yard that did fine.<br /><br />Of the two apple trees we planted last year only one produced apples. the Golden Delicious apple tree started out with 5 apples, deer ate 2 so 3 are left.<br />Honey crisp apple tree did not blossom at all and looks sick. Have sprayed for worms, and will feed this fall.<br /><br />Chickens are great!! still have 4 healthy girls producing 2-3 eggs a day. Leaving the coop open at night when the temperature was really high. Need to start closing it as it is getting cooler in the evening. Next time I get feed I am going to get some oystershells to add to their diet. <br />They haven't been out to free range at all, hopefully this weekend we let them out to spread their wings.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-52815331240898685582009-08-19T13:12:00.000-07:002009-08-19T13:20:42.500-07:00Late BlightIt looks as though I have or should I say my tomatoes have "late blight" . Probably from all of the cool weather and rain we have had. I vainly tried to remove what I could and start anew, but the referenced article above does not give me hope. There are still a ton of tomaotes which are usable if they don't have the spots etc. <br />On a lighter note>..<br />Carrots are beautiful and should be ready to pick.<br />I have planted lettuces, rocket, but the neighbors cats find this bed compfy, and so I find them sleeping in it. I may try to start seeds inside in a more controlled climate.<br />The honey crisp apple tree is doing very poorly. leaves are brown and diseased looking. so sad<br />the other green able tree (golden something ) is doing much better despite the deer eating at its lower branches.<br />still need to put the blueberry bush in. thought I would wait for cooler weather.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-79577772151177980462009-08-05T13:24:00.001-07:002009-08-05T13:24:41.508-07:00Julie & Julia Soundtrack Player<script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/4a6e4cff94072783/4a79ea881d886241/4a6e4d0746b81e9b/7978ef55/widget.js"></script>Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-61525995573862258122009-08-05T06:18:00.000-07:002009-08-05T06:51:10.599-07:00Fresh Tomatoe SauceMy first attempt at making a fresh tomato sauce was somewhat successful. I need to figure out how to thicken up the sauce. It was very watery.<br />I used AVM recipe for fresh sauce.<br />I must have used 12-15 tomatoesKathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-81411086866157186672009-08-04T12:38:00.000-07:002009-08-04T13:18:19.751-07:00Summer 2009Well here it is, August and I am finally starting to blog about my garden. I want to use this space to record the goings on in the garden so next year I can be a better gardener!<br />so recap of the last three months:<br /><br />Vegetable garden:<br />We have three raised beds,<br />Bed 1: gets most light, newest best soil, tomatoes (too many) bell peppers, 1 eggplant<br />Bed 2: pumpkins, cukes, carrots, beans<br />Bed 3: Gets least light broccoli, bibb lettuce, swiss chard.<br /><br />Late Feb- early March I started from seed. some I got from the Phili Flower show.( Money Garden packet with broccoli, carrots, tomatoes cucumber and lettuce)<br />brocolli<br />peppers<br />tomatoes<br />pumpkins<br />cucumbers<br />inherited two tomato plants from John J ( reisentraube, and golden?)<br /><br />From seed in early May<br />carrots<br />lettuce<br />swiss chard<br />green beans<br /><br />Mothers day brought two appletrees<br />golden<br />honeycrisp<br /><br /><br />Mid june<br />I planted 3 eggplants (bed 3-2, bed 1-1) and cayene pepper from the market<br />I started some peppers and more cucumbers the first plants overtaken by bossy pumpkin.<br /><br />Brocolli, big and beautiful produced small trees not bunches but lots of them. Chickens LOVE the blue leaves<br />swiss chard is delicious and red, yellow and orange.<br /><br />Pumpkins took over the garden again this year and contracted some sort of blight and had to be removed did get four or five regular pumpkins and 6 beautiful bumpy squash.<br /><br />Mid July- i put in a zucchini and squash plant in the herb garden.<br /><br />The side of the herb garden closest to the porch gets the least amount of light. maybe try cilantro there next year.<br /><br />So here it is the beginning of August, and the garden is wild<br />I planted too many tomato plants and they over grew the eggplants and peppers.<br />I took out the broccoli and pumpkins and picked a peck of tomatoes. Planted late cucumbers and peppers.<br />looking forward to fall gardening.<br />lettuces (red, bibb etc) and arugula<br />swiss chard, cabbages.<br /><br />Herb garden: new additions this year,<br />Purple sage,<br />thai basil,<br />moved and replaced thyme, parsley<br /><br />Deer have eaten alot of the apple tree at the bottom of the garden.<br />Andrew planted grape vines down there along the fence and have grown very slowly.<br />I also have blueberry bush, but cant' decide where to put it.<br /><br />Flowers<br />Perenials<br />I planted another Lupin in the lily garden hoping it get established but it still is not doing well.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-14972812742893968382007-12-14T09:55:00.000-08:002007-12-14T10:17:52.345-08:00Thing # 24 Revolution OSLearned alot about what "free software" means and where the term "open source" came from. I had not sense of the magnitude of the movement and that it was so HUGE. The movie detailed the history/ timeline of the movement and inspired me to do some research on things like , <a href="http://www.fsf.org/">Free Software Foundation</a> Richard Stallman, <a href="http://www.gnu.org/">gnu</a>, Red Hat Linus, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyleft">copyleft </a> .<br />Very interesting characters, some of which I seem to remember as the geeks and nerds from my high school. After viewing this film I feel that I have a better idea of what the Open Source movement is all about and where it is going. The end seemed kind of abrupt and the most recent history seemed to be missing.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-71931798828342776672007-10-29T10:42:00.000-07:002007-10-29T10:51:10.610-07:00Thing # 23 The End- The BeginningOOPS, I was going to title this post the END but it isn't the end, it the Beginning!! I feel like I am almost as smart as my 10th grader! Hey that could be a game show!! I say "almost" because I have only scrapped the surface of the technology that he is using daily without much thought. It has been a eyeopener in a good way in that I have learned about so many things that are out there that can make my job easier and more enriching. Tagging is everywhere if you look, almost every website has a tag search feature. How much easier could it get than that? More information is being fed to me in one day than I could read in a week, a month!! I intend to continue on with my newfound interest and use my new skills to just get out there.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-26659716772014538262007-10-29T10:33:00.000-07:002007-10-29T10:39:01.174-07:00Thing # 22 audiobooksI spent some time exploring Overdrive, and found the tutorial very helpful. Audio books are wonderful, I use them all the time. I even bought an Ipod just for this purpose. You can imagine my surprise when I found out that Apple doesn't support free downloads etc. so I am really looking forward to the day when they do. I keep hearing that they are in negotiaions blah blah blah but no agreement has been made yet.....stay tuned. I will also be trying to download cd's and videos wow that sounds great. We must have Microsoft media player to do this so I guess i"ll have to do it at home since we are sans Microsoft here at HCL.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-19517266183764897342007-10-24T12:53:00.000-07:002007-10-24T12:57:03.395-07:00Thing #21 PodcastBeen exploring podcast lately and finding my impressions mixed. Yahoo pod cast directory will no longer be active after October 31. similarly I found that Podcastally listed podcast that were old-er. aug 2006 I found some interesting things. Then I took a different route to locate interesting podcast. At the Baltimore Symphony website there are podcast for recent concerts. Thats more like it. It also advertised upcoming podcast for upcoming concerts Nadja Salerno Sonnonberg with Marin Alsop. Yeh, thats what I am talking about!!Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-84558771830534468022007-10-22T08:39:00.000-07:002007-10-22T08:46:51.632-07:00Thing # 20 You TubeI have seen and used You Tube for some time, never really liked it. I find its is too hard to find the good stuff. This time I used the tag Library, thinking that surely more wholesome useful stuff would come to the surface, WRONG. There are some twisted people out there. I get that its fun to see your friends on the computer ripping a tune on their guitar, or doing the daring skateboard stunts. It is hard and time consuming to find the good stuff unless you really know what you are looking for or if you are looking for someone or something specific.<br />I did attach a video from Karma Tube (You tube relative) that if very worthwhile. It's called Johnny the Bagger and I hope you enjoy it!Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-77915790573388093732007-10-22T07:53:00.000-07:002007-10-22T08:02:17.677-07:00Thing # 19Web. 20 Award Winners<br />Upcoming<br />this is an event calendar a service of Yahoo.com. It is comprehensive, and very much like alot of the services we find on yahoo. (think flickr) Some of its features are Maps with locations all around the US and the world and click on a location and events there will come up . Organized by date. Today Tomorrow yesterday next week next year. whatever. Site is very easy to maneuver through. some is its most useful features are tags for searching for related events, sign up or reservation link, photos, comment field, watch list, and maps (mentioned above) There is a link to related events and a My Event page as well as a my scrapbook. Of course there is a networking feature so you can plan with friends and relatives anywhere in the world.<br />Libraries could certainly put their events programs on the site, its free did I mention that? I checked out an opera concert at the Peabody Institute in baltimore. And could easily find other music or opera events coming up.<br />I give this site a 3 thumbs up. and if it could generate enough business or hits would be a terrific success.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-53758426951244966612007-10-03T07:54:00.001-07:002007-10-15T06:04:21.584-07:00Thing #18 volunteer programThe volunteer program at Howard County Library is active. There are over 200 volunteer volunteer over 600 hours per month.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-85029875509217297552007-10-03T07:02:00.000-07:002007-10-15T06:02:46.088-07:00Thing # 17 SandboxKnitters are everywhere!! I always enjoy reading about what knitter are up to. They are so busy, with their latest project!! I have quite a stash now, so I am always looking for new ways to use it. Sandbox is so much fun!Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-79977891447453099232007-10-03T06:12:00.000-07:002007-10-03T06:28:52.197-07:00Thing # 16 wikiWikis and the Library- A One Stop Shop<br />Wiki's are an ingenius way to collect information and have it be easily accessed by many people. I looked at the SJCPL wiki and found it very interesting. My first impression is that the intial interface was not very attractive or eyecatching. But after using it which was very easy and intuitive, I didn't care that it was not appealing because it was so useful. I looked at the subject headings and was impressed with the extent of the contents. For example, under the subject heading Legal Information was a list of what librarians can and can't do, weblinks to lots of government agencies (social service and judicial, police) , local, state codes, law related websites, free forms, library materials by catagory, related periodicals etc. It is very extentive and EASY TO USE. The subject heading "pets"had the library materials (books, periodicals, DVD) as well as local shelters, adoption centers, related blogs, etc.<br />Wiki and Library seem to go hand in hand here. Information is plentiful and easy to access<br />It is also centrally located. In the last discussion about the future of librarys Rick anderson suggest that librarys find a way of brining the information to the customer instead of relying on the customer visiting the library. This appears to be part of the answer to this.<br />It is a One Stop Shop for customers looking for information about a certain subject.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-77134552118585946052007-10-02T08:34:00.000-07:002007-10-02T08:49:14.325-07:00Thing # 15 FutureRick Anderson has nailed it. His article Away from Icebergs aptly describes the future of libraries in a simple easy to understand way. Three problems with the way we presently provide service are highlighted<br />"Just in case" collections (those collections we keep just in case someone, somewhere may need them ) make us feel as though we have to row faster and faster, trying to keep up with growing feeling that libraries must have everything.......the fast moving tide of new technology and the every growing and changing wave of resources and the ways we access them. He makes those just in case collections sound very..... well unnecessary, archaic and well just obsolete.<br /><br />He talks about Reliance of user education. What he means is that, the tools we have now to access our information are too difficult to use. Hours and hours are spent trying figure out how to use the dang thing. If we need extensive training to use it, it is too hard to use and customers surely will go elsewhere to get what they need.<br />and the last problem with libraries to day is the idea of access to information. In the past customers must come to the library to get what they need. In the future, what they need will come to them. Big changes are coming. think RSS on a global scale. <br /><br />He alowKathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-39851102493278810892007-09-26T11:20:00.000-07:002007-09-26T12:46:52.770-07:00Thing # 14 TechnoratiTechnorati is based on a very interesting concept. Tagging is a unique way of organizing information and Technorati uses tagging in a social networking way. People with similar interest can be put in touch .Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-8302964020246939122007-09-21T11:17:00.000-07:002007-09-24T11:45:45.214-07:00Thing # 13 Del.icio.usTagging and Del.icio.us. It took me a little to figure this feature out. I now have a del.icio.us account with 5 articles related to volunteering that I found interesting and useful. I have used the buttons adding and accessing my del.icio.us account. I appreciate its capability as a shared reading list, but realize that the chances that anyone will notice or use it are slim. I hope to remember to use it for collecting and reviewing resources related to my new position.<br />Visit my del.icio.us page at http://del.icio.us/plittk.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-30769862890199290712007-09-21T09:35:00.000-07:002007-09-21T09:37:49.883-07:00Thing #12Rollyo- If one were to spend all her days searching the web this may be useful. I am not sure it is much different than having feed sent to me through bloglines. I used all the examples and discovery tools and found this whole exercise to be dull.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-77418276162562805292007-09-20T12:37:00.000-07:002007-09-20T12:43:27.216-07:00Thing # 11 Library ThingLibrary Thing<br />I found this site very useful for networking with other book nuts. It could be useful for students, book clubs, librarians, school media specialist, bookstore owners and others who love books.<br />One of the more interesting things I learned from this exercise is how to add content to my page, other than blog entries, I hadn't added anything except photos . How did I do that? I'll have to check my blog for that Thing!! Once I got my instruction from Jaye, I was able to add other things as well. Things are easy when you know how!!Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1670991095892476259.post-4476491821832909052007-09-20T12:29:00.000-07:002007-09-20T12:36:20.834-07:00Thing # 10 Online Image GeneratorsFinding the generator site and creating the image was very easy, not sure how useful it will be though.<br />Adding it to my blog took a little more effort, but with the assistance of O Great One, Jaye Holly our 23 Things Leader I was able to get the job done. Don't want to spend too much time bloggin on it but it was mildly entertaining.Kathy Plitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09269442755520300843noreply@blogger.com1