Summer so far

It's been a mild spring and summer, although there was a heat wave here last week that nearly melted my face.  On the other hand, tomatoes LOVE heat.  And I guess peppers do too.  The bugs have been really "good" this year.  The honey bees are back in great numbers.  The ants have been staved off, for now.  The big black bumble bees really love the salvia flowers and kind of fight for space with the hummingbirds, who also love the salvia flowers. 

Butterflies, moths and dragon flies are frequent visitors.  Have to keep an eye out for caterpillars.  They can take down plant in one night.  Julie found a big one yesterday, tucked away under my Husky cherry tomato (center of picture).  It was getting ready to do some damage.

This little guy really liked the catnip.  Now that our big yellow tom cat is no longer around, catnip plants actually get a chance to grow.  This plant would have been smashed to death long before getting to flower.




During the worst of the heat wave, I installed the "Sun Sail" to help decrease the harmful U/V in the late afternoon.  Peppers, tomatoes and squash all love the heat for help in getting production going, but the direct sunlight on the leaves when the temp is 105 or above really does some damage.  The sun sail lets light through but decreases the burn. 

Here are some more photos from the backyard this year:

 

Travel

Trinity river was beautiful. Too early for salmon. Its not my backyard exactly but come on. Isn't it all of our backyard?

Plus there was plenty of time to enjoy another person's grill.

Your Spring is showing.

Starting to see lots of buds and little flowers. The American Gold Finches were here yesterday.

 

 These violets are some of the first flowers to show themselves each year.

 First mow and trim of the year... 

Smokin' in the Backyard

It's still cold, and raining a bit. The ground is moist and winter sun patterns mean that a lot of the backyard never sees direct sun this time of year. I have a system of changing shoes and using towels and mats to keep mud out of the house, but it's a constant fight.

Here's something - one thing I find offensive is the idea that there is a "barbecue season." I went into a store a couple of years ago in December looking for lighter fluid. It was a major pharmacy chain whose initials are RA, so I figured they would have what I needed. When I could not find any lighter fluid or charcoal, I was told they only carry those things during "BBQ season."

I left and thought to myself, BBQ season? When is that?

I love cooking outdoors and once the rain stops and the sunny crisp days of January set in, I like to sit outside next to the smoker or BBQ and take my time cooking things like smoked salmon, tri-tip and pork ribs.

 This year, Julie's dad gave us this Brinkman smoker, which I have yet to modify, but still worked pretty well on test runs.  This tri-tip was slow marinated and cooked low and slow with hickory and mesquite chips.

This was the weekend before, when I did country style pork ribs and smoked salmon.  Need to work a little more on the techniques and make some modifications which should help.  For one, putting the legs on the outside instead of the inside should give me better access to the coals when they need adjustment.

Also, there is a charcoal/wood pan which does not have any holes in it.  The fire puts itself out after a short period of time.  I'm going to drill several holes in the pan for ventilation.  That along with easier access should allow for better temperature control.

This probe thermometer works really well for roasts. With this, I don't have to take the lid off and let the heat out to check doneness.  And there is an alarm to tell you when it's at the target temp.

I need to buy and install a better temperature gauge, maybe two.  One for the lid area where the top grill is located and one for the middle of the barrel, where the other grill is located. The one that comes on it tells you absolutely nothing useful.

BBQ season? Please!

Still in the yard

Things are still a bit muddy from the last storm but i got to get out in the yard a little today. I raked the last big pile of leaves into smaller piles so that the under leaves could dry out.

Got some chicken breasts and fired up the BBQ/smoker. Smoked the chicken, made enchiladas and ate them. Yum.

Now it's raining. The BBQ is still warm but out in the rain. And i guess the leaves are wet again. Tomorrow I'll tip toe out and put the Q away. Mud. Damn.

Update: Red the hummingbird hung out with me while i cooked. He's still here and enjoying the yard.