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The garden can be full of surprises. An interesting vine sprouted a few months back. Although I didn't recognize it, I decided to let it grow. My theory is that with as many wildflower seeds as I've sown I try to give any new plant a fighting chance to prove it's not a weed. My bet paid off with a Morning Glory.

Blossoms on Delicata Squash (Cucurbita pepo) vines in the garden. Delicata (a.k.a. Sweet Potato Squash) is a heirloom variety with great flavor, but it is uncommon in the grocery store given its softer skin which doesn't stand up well to rough handling. So far it's been pretty easy to grow for us and forms the base of our Three Sisters (corn, beans, squash) garden bed.

More Info:

Wikipedia - Winter Squash

Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

Those were the simple directions at the end of The Omnivore's Dilemma. It's a straightforward and direct answer to the question "What should people eat?" Yet somehow, that wasn't clear enough for a lot of people. What is food? How much is too much? What kind of plants? Etcetera and so on. So, Michael Pollan wrote In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

Got Garlic?

Freshly harvested Allium sativum L. (i.e. Bosque Early Garlic). I dug these bulbs up yesterday evening and they are now hanging up to dry. The laundry room is quite aromatic at the moment. My wife informed me that we will be planting 'three times as many' after seeing the ten garlic plants I pulled up. I have no argument with that whatsoever. I may have to try a few different varieties like Spanish Roja or a hard-neck garlic.

More Info:
Wikipedia: Garlic

While I was watering the garden yesterday I saw something lurking in the leaves. It was a Coccinella septempunctata hunting for prey amongst the Allium Schoenoprasum. If your garden Latin isn't up to speed - I saw a Ladybug on a Chives bloom. It's nice to know that beneficial insects have found my garden and are chowing down on aphids and the like.

More Info:

Coccinella septempunctata - Ladybug

Allium Schoenoprasum - Chives

Have you ever walked past an empty lot in your town and thought, 'What a waste.' You might just be a guerrilla gardener in the making. In every town and city I've ever known there are vacant lots and open patches of land that fill with weeds and trash due to neglect. What if you decided to 'adopt' an otherwise ignored patch of dirt, plant some seeds and let it grow?

In a New York Times Earth Day column, Michael Pollan asks
 "Why Bother? That really is the big question facing us as individuals hoping to do something about climate change, and it’s not an easy one to answer."

"It ain't over until it's over."

Spring in the Rocky Mountains doesn't begin precisely on the Spring Equinox. Winter can hang on for several weeks, especially among the mountain peaks. Snow storms in the spring are a common enough occurrence, yet they still manage to surprise visitors and locals. I love these spring snow storms for the water they bring, the bright white coat they give the mountains and skiing for those willing to hike for their turns.

If you live in the suburbs, like I do, the yard around your home is the closest you come to the natural environment on a day to day basis. This begs the question - Is your yard a natural environment?

Looking east towards the Sangre de Cristo mountains from just below Tesuque Peak on a snowy February 5, 2008.