You lose some, you win some.

Sad garden news... 

Something dug up my sage plants.  I say "something" and not "Stormy" because I am pretty sure I watched her well all day... and somehow the bed keeps getting dug up despite the fence around it.  It's a short fence, but as far as we know, Stormy doesn't know she can jump that high and always obeys fence boundaries.  I replanted them and hope they survive, and will not let Stormy out of my sight tomorrow. 

All 5 of the mexican gherkins fried to a crisp in the sun over the course of one day.  I also only have 1 left of each of the cuke and squash seedlings, but the list of which numbers corresponded to which varieties is somehow lost, so I wouldn't know which is which anyway.  I spent 3 weeks hardening these guys off, but I guess it wasn't enough. 

Looks like I'm planting a lot of seed directly in the ground tomorrow to try to catch up!  What grows, grows.  And if it doesn't, there's always seedlings at the local hardware store.  Maybe, just to be safe, I should just get a couple squash seedlings.


But on the bright side...

At least all the tomatoes are fantastic, the transplanted mint is having a field day in its new home, the basils and chard are looking stoic, and the strawberries and malabar spinach still appear vibrant.  These guys thought that 3 weeks was plenty of hardening-off time.  There should still be a lot to harvest.

I also repotted the extra tomato seedlings that were in the tiniest pots... sooooo many seedlings!  I have a big decision to make about the remaining garden space... how much do I want to give to squash (which never works for me), and how much do I want to give to tomatoes (I already planted 14)? 

Night of the Living Tomatoes

Yesterday wasn't as productive as I'd hoped, because Torin is teething and his tolerance of my other responsibilities was pretty nonexistent.

Before nightfall, all I had done was organize the seedlings by variety and decide on placement in the garden.

7 different flavors!  Plus baby and pup.  

Obviously I lined up every young living thing that is precious to me for this photo.

I was not deterred.

I had to develop an alternate plan, and ended up gardening in the dark for a few hours after he went to bed.  It was a frenzy of digging and flinging dirt and cupping roots with my bare hands.  Night gardening is very life-affirming... I had no thoughts beyond the dirt, the the plants, the hopes for bringing forth nutrition from the soil, and keeping an ear open for the baby monitor.  I haven't felt a zen quite like that in a while. 

The only downside to night gardening was the bugs.  I had to dig deep for the tomatoes, so I found several cutworms shining white and creepily in the moonlight.  At one point my zen was disturbed as I realized that my arms were completely covered past my elbows in ants because I'd disturbed a nest... but I just brushed them off and kept digging.


Much was accomplished!

The total seedlings planted for the night:

• 5 basil
• 2 sage
• 4 malabar spinach
• 13 tomatoes (9 in the ground, 3 in giant pots, 1 in a large pot for my grandpa)

Every tomato was planted up to its neck in the soil, so they have excellent potential for growing very large and robust root systems. 


The garden is almost done being prepped for summer.

When I woke this morning, it felt like a great surprise to have all that work done!  I still have to find spots for at least 2 more tomatoes and the rest of my herb/cuke/squash seedlings, but the bulk of the transplant effort is complete. 

Then I plant more seeds directly outside, and repot the leftover tomatoes.

Then I need to find new homes for all the excess tomato babies. 

Tomato Planting Day

Today is the start of tomato planting!!

I heard from someone who has had both great and horrible success with tomatoes over the years, and they say that if they plant any earlier than the end of April, they always have a bad time... there's always a cold snap, and then the plants become stunted.  It's already April 28th, and I checked the weather which forecasts no nights under 50 degrees (plus a couple of 90-degree days) for the next 10 days... it is time.


Yesterday's productivity means I'm ready for planting.

Yesterday I spent an hour weeding in the front yard, and an hour doing prep work in the backyard.  This is one thing I made...

First time trying a net in the garden.

Each of these beds are 5'x2'.  The left contains 2 tomato cages and is fully surrounded by a deceptively sturdy Vine-and-Veggie trellis net (5'x30' for the whole thing, $10 on amazon if you're curious), and it will hopefully hold dragon egg cucumbers and sour mexican gherkins.  The net will also keep Stormy from digging there!  The right has 2 tomato cages plus the rest of the net supported along the fence plus a wooden trellis that's been nailed to the fence since before we moved into the house, and it will hold 2 tomatoes.  The plants in front of the beds are volunteer chives.  I'll very likely have to add a few more nails to keep the net supported, but it's fine for now.

I'm off to place seedling pots on their new spots in the garden.  The thrill is giving me goosebumps! 

An Open Letter To My Oven Mitt

Dear Mr. Oven Mitt, 

I can take a hint.  I can tell when it's time for a relationship to end.

Our decade together meant so much to me... you were my first oven mitt, my only oven mitt.  We got together straight out of college, when I had no idea what I was doing.  Just a budding chef and her oven mitt... we certainly learned a lot together.  But lately whenever I reach for you, trying to touch in the way we used to touch, I get burned.  Have we just grown apart after all this time?  I used to be able to depend on you, but you keep letting me down.

Have I ever let you down?  No!  I have defended you against those who said you were looking a little rough around the edges, that you were letting yourself go, that I could do better.  I even stayed by your side when others said you weren't treating me well, weren't protecting me anymore... but over the last year, I've come to realize that they were right.  It's not how you look that bothers me, it's how we're no longer a team.  You've made it abundantly clear that I'm better off without you.  So I'm kicking you out.

So long, and thanks for all the lasagna. 

Good luck out there in the world, I hope you decompose quickly out on some rotting pile of garbage.  Your matching potholder will be joining you shortly... don't think that you can leave your crap behind at my house.

Up yours,
- Kendra

PS:  I already don't miss you.  I met some Swedish twins at Ikea the other day and brought the ladies home, and WHOA, let's just say that cooking has never been better. 

Exhausted after a few hours of baking...

Doorstep Farmers... 2nd box

Here's what came in today's box!

Nearly a beet a day!

• Kale x2... 1lb 8oz
• Red beet bunches x2... 4lb 2oz
• Cucumbers x4... 1lb 14.4oz
• Green beans 1.66 pounds... 1lb 9.6oz
• Hass avocados x2... 14oz 

Total:  10lb exactly

If I'd received a regular box instead of opting out of potatoes and fruit, this is what it would have had:

• Curly kale x1
• Red beet bunch x1
• Cucumbers x3
• Fuji apples x3
• Golden potato 1.33 pounds
• Green beans 1 pound
• Strawberries 8oz
• Valencia oranges x4

How do I feel about this new box?

As for the composition of the box, I am extremely happy.  There are always apples, oranges, and potatoes (bought in bulk) in the house, so the only variety I'm really missing out on from the regular box is the strawberries, but I'd totally take avocados over strawberries.  The veggie-only box (minus potatoes and onions) is a really good choice for us!  The veggies are extremely fresh and vibrant... I have NEVER seen such happy-looking beets and kale at a grocery store.  The photo doesn't do those beets justice, they are nearly 2 feet long.

As for the value of the box... last time I wasn't all that happy, but this time it is satisfactory.  It ended up being exactly 10 pounds, which is on the lower end of their range of 10-13* pounds for the box, and worked out to $2.87 per pound.  For organic produce delivered to my doorstep, I'll take it.

Torin's to start solids in 2 days, so I need to decide whether he gets kale or avocado this week. 

I can't wait for the farmer's market to start up in a couple of weeks so I can do some comparison shopping!  In the meantime we've decided to get another Doorstep Farmers box to tide us over until the farmer's market.  Ryan is very in favor of the box due to the variety which surpasses that of our typical farmer's market... it's true, they always seem to have the same stuff besides the new fruit of the day.  

*Doorstep Farmers' more easily accessible "how it works" web page says 10-13lbs, but I discovered today that on the "shop" page if you click the box three times, it says 7-9lbs.  So the 8.7lbs from the first box may have been intentional and/or more current.  All the boxes appear to be a few pounds lighter on the shop page, so I do not know which estimate is correct.  Their customer service didn't reply to my feedback (which they had requested)... if I was wrong about thinking it should be 10-13 pounds, I feel that they would have let me know by now or updated the website. 

Random culinary experiment of the day: Homemade Lemonade Jello

Someone recommended using Great Lakes gelatin because it fixed their peeling nails problem.  Mine have always peeled, no matter how well I care for them.  Why not try it?  I've been trying to get more collagen in my diet anyway by eating more bone broth, but lately I'm not in the mood for broth (especially turkey broth after that elimination diet!), yet I also don't want to eat the jello in my cupboard whilst breastfeeding 'cause it's all full of artificial dyes and lots of sugar.

I've also been trying to drink more lemon juice for an extra shot of vitamin C in the mornings, especially after the baby and I got sick.

So... lemon juice, gelatin, and low amounts of sugar?  Sounds like it's time to try making some lemonade jello in the same way I make a homemade gatorade.  The following is enough for one day's "prescription" of gelatin, lemon juice, and my magnesium supplement.

2 cups of jello:
- Let 1T gelatin "bloom" in 1/2c cold water for a few minutes by just dumping the gelatin on top of the water and waiting until the powder is hydrated. 
- Add 1T agave syrup*, 1/4c lemon juice (about 1 lemon), a pinch of sea salt
- Optional vitamins:  1-2tsp of magnesium powder (I use one called Natural Calm).
- Add 1 1/4 c boiling water, stir until totally dissolved.  Taste, add more sweetener if desired.
- Chill in fridge 2+ hours.

Sluuuuurp!

Hey, it's not bad.  Actually, it's pretty refreshing!  I wouldn't mind coming home after a long sweaty hike to some nice chilled lemonade jello cubes instead of the homemade gatorade... the jelled form makes me pause and appreciate it more instead of just chugging it down.  It also makes me feel like a kid again.  :)


*If you're used to sugary drinks, you will probably want more!

Updates on the weekend's goals.

Things always take much longer than I expect.

This weekend I didn't plant all the seedlings or seeds.  So much for that plan!

Parts of the plan that did get completed:

• repot all the tomatoes, 
• deeply pot a tomato for my grandpa, 
• fix the drip system (well, Ryan did that)... we're trying soaker hoses to see if Stormy will leave those alone,
• remove the ivy (an entire garbage can full), 
• leaf blower all the things, 
• decide where to put the clothesline, 
• repot the meyer lemon, 
• avoid sunburn (a miracle!)

Other stuff kind of got in the way of planting time.  

I decided not to put the seedlings out yet, because the basil seedling I planted has just a touch of sunburn on it... it means that the hardening isn't complete.  They may need a few more days.

We made a trip to OSH and got some 20-inch pots and a bunch of garden soil, mostly with plans to put tomatoes in them since we have so many seedlings of cool tomato varieties.  We also brought home a few ornamental grasses and a baby Japanese maple.  'Cause new plants are addictive.

I didn't plant the seeds in one bed because it ended up needing far more prep than expected.  Instead, I totally removed the giant chocolate mint from the raised bed (and collected a ton more cutworms, ugh) because I was worried about the roots compromising the structure of the rock wall.  I buried a large pot in the bed in that same spot and planted some peppermint in it to contain the roots.  Lastly I broke up the rest of the peppermint and planted it in a contained area on the pool side of the house... we have other plans there for next year, but in the meantime it's a safe partly-shaded place for the mint. 

I put the buddha's hand tree into a permanent place in a half wine barrel, with the hope that it will give us fruit this year.  Next I potted up the baby maple and found a nicely sheltered spot for it to live. 

The pomegranate tree will go into the front or side yard someday (next year??), but until we decide what to do with the lawn, it must be pot-bound.  I traded it up to a 20-inch pot from its 16-inch one, so it should be happy for a little while longer.


And then, dog drama...

Whilst starting to pluck the inside of Stormy's ears (a monthly grooming task with poodles), I saw a really fast bug that looked like a red fruit fly traveling under her neck hair next to the skin.  Really hoping that wasn't a flea!

I managed to get it out, but it escaped... and I was grossed out enough that I shaved her down pretty far.  Then I detail-shaved her feet, butt, and face.  Then there was the ear plucking and cleaning and nail trimming, and then she got a bath.  I think the entire thing took me a solid 2 hours... she is such a patient pup.  Now that she's had a bath, she needs a second trimming all over to make her coat look professionally even.


Well, it was a nicely productive weekend anyway.  The proof is that my back feels like it got quite the workout!

What's this plant?

I could use some help identifying this plant:

Cute, yet rapidly spreading.

It ranges from 1-3 inches tall (both lengths are displayed in the photo), and looks like individual sprouts but I just discovered that they are actually attached by long runners.  It's making a lush green carpet in the partial shade section across 4 feet of one of my raised beds, and I need to rip it out in order to plant herbs... unless it's edible. 

If it's edible, I'll let it run wild since it doesn't seem to be interfering with the nasturtiums, chard, or kale.

36 Tomato Seedlings!

Originally I planted 6 pots each of 7 types of tomato.  Yeah, it seems like overkill... but last year almost every single seedling I had planted ended up either not sprouting or dying within a couple of weeks.  I wanted success this time.  Out of those 42 plants, 36 survived!

This year I successfully sprouted the following heirloom tomatoes...

• 5 Egg Yolk
• 5 Yoder's German Yellow
• 5 Tigerella
• 6 Black Plum
• 5 Black Krim
• 5 Amish Paste
• 5 Green Zebra

Here's the "before" photo, as they were prepped for transplant and getting hardened off to the elements.

So many tomato possibilities.

I didn't realize exactly how many tomatoes I had until they were all potted up.  I'll probably make a post in a few days about how many tomatoes need to find new homes.  Yeah, most of them are pretty leggy... but with tomatoes that's not such a bad problem because you want to plant them as deeply (or horizontally under the soil) as possible so that all the stem turns into a robust root system.


My plan was to get all the garden stuff done this weekend, and this is a really excellent start!

Frostless and a bit behind.

Today's the last possible frost day.  Do you know what that means?

It means the sun is out and I need to get my butt in gear!!  Arrrg... except for one raised bed, I am a little behind on pretty much everything.

Yesterday Torin watched me weed for almost an hour (a miracle that I could set him down for that long!), and I also got in another good 40 minutes during his nap... it's looking mostly clean out there, and the geobin is full*.  Today's garden mission is to harden off the seedlings some more, transplant one of the basil seedlings to see if they're ready to handle the elements, go over my smartgardener plan (just printed it out), finish up weeding from the side yard, and apply compost to the last 3 planting areas.  Then the majority of the beds will be ready for a rapid massive effort to plant everything.

I should have a few days of intermittent help with the baby coming up, so...


This weekend's mission:

1. Plant all the seedlings besides tomatoes.
2. Repot all tomato seedlings.
3. Pot up a cherry tomato for my grandpa's tiny back porch.
4. Plant all the seeds.  ALL OF THEM.
5. Work on the wedding mead.  
6. Repot the small meyer lemon tree.
7. Plant the pomegranate in the front/side yard.
8. Trim the birch back a bit.
9. Fix the part of the drip system that Stormy chewed.  Again.  Also run it out to the pomegranate tree spot.
10. Remove all the ivy that has crept over from the neighbor's yard.
11. Use the leaf-blower on all the things.
12. Hang the clothesline for the diapers.
13. Don't get sunburnt.

But really, I'll probably only do the first 5 things at most.  I hear there's a free HBO weekend and we might need to marathon-watch some Game of Thrones?



*Just because the geobin is full, it doesn't mean it'll stay that way.  I keep filling it almost to the top, and it compacts surprisingly quickly. 

Doorstep Farmers... 1st box

Well folks, the box arrived!

Contents:

• Leek, 1, 1lb
• Kale, 1 bunch, 8.2oz
• Golden beet, 3, 1lb 4.7oz
• Baby broccoli, 1 bunch, 9.8oz
• Gala apple, 3, 1lb 2.3oz
• Naval orange, 3, 1lb 10.4oz
• Ruby grapefruit, 2, 1lb 11oz
• Kiwi, 4, 12.3oz

Total:  8.7lbs of produce (3.4lb veg, 5.3lb fruit)

The receipt says that 0.75lb of red onions were included, but since I opted out of them, none were included and they added 1 grapefruit which actually got me an extra 0.1lb. 


There is one big problem with the delivery, and a few positives.

The obvious issue:  we paid for a regular 10-13lb box ($29) but got the size of a senior/student 8-10lb box ($23).  Maybe it's shallow of me, but I am trying to stay somewhat frugal here and $3.33/lb doesn't fit into the budget (or into expectations set by the website, where no box gets over $2.90/lb).  I've never done a CSA before, so I don't know if some boxes are slim while others in other parts of the year are more bountiful.  They DO send an itemized list with the costs adding up to $29, but seriously, who pays $2.33 for a single grapefruit?

It also says that this box is for 1-2 people for a week... not counting meat/grains/beans of course, it would feed just me alone for 3 days and I'd still have to add in my extra carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, salad greens.  I have a feeling that my expectations are way too high, and/or that we eat more produce than most people.

What I do like is the freshness!  Each item is high quality.  I haven't tasted everything, but the kiwis are fantastic (don't forget to eat the skins!) and now I kind of want a kiwi tree.  I also like that the box asks you to flatten it and place it out the night before delivery for reuse.  Another benefit is that they sent me 3 veggies I rarely cook with (last night's beets were a fluke), so it'll help me get a little more creative in the kitchen this week.

The plants look store-bought, down the the stickers on the apples and the printed ties on the bunches of veggies.  If they had a budget box that had cosmetically imperfect fruit or veggies with farm dirt still on them, I'd be all over that.  


Looking forward...

As the current box stands, it is not worth it to me.

I am going to change my preferences to only vegetables, since there is always a plethora of fruit in the house and I'm primarily looking to increase our veggie intake.  This move will very likely increase my happiness with the product.  I'll get at least one more box in 2 weeks, then decide whether or not it's worth it.

I am also going to visit the next farmer's market with $29, the same I spent on the box, and see what I come home with.  Now, I always restrain my spending to like $5-8 at a farmer's market for some reason... I've never forced myself to spend what I had, so this'll be a different experience.  I'll try to come home with the most variety and bulk as possible, then take photos and compare it to the boxes.  Maybe it'll be cheaper by the pound since there's no personal delivery cost involved, and it doesn't cost me much at all to travel since it's just a mile from the house.

The only problem is that the farmer's market doesn't start until May 9th!  My science experiment will have to wait.

Perhaps I'll end up doing the farmer's market while it's available May-Oct, and the CSA Nov-April.


In summary, 

I really need to get the rest of my garden planted.  NOW.  I'm running out of the volunteer mustard greens finally, and there's nothing really edible out there besides a few herbs, 1 kale, and some extremely happy nasturtiums. 


Edit:  I just found their Facebook page, and their variety from week to week is really impressive, there are almost no repeats!  Looking at the extra veggies that come with the bigger boxes, I do think that I'll be happier with a veggie-only box.


Second edit, 2 weeks later:  Doorstep Farmers' more easily accessible "how it works" web page says 10-13lbs, but I discovered today that on the "shop" page if you click the box three times, it says 7-9lbs.  So the 8.7lbs from the first box may have been intentional and/or a reflection of a more current estimate.  All the boxes appear to be a few pounds lighter on the shop page. 

Ideas for a non-lawn?

We've been considering getting rid of our lawn since we moved here 3 years ago... for just a circle of 700 square feet, it uses an incredible amount of water, and I just do not seem to have a green thumb when it comes to lawns so it always looks vaguely crappy (probably because I refuse to water it for 15 minutes twice a day, as people in my neighborhood say they do!).  Plus I'm pretty allergic to grass.  It's surrounded by bushes (mostly juniper) on all sides. 

What would you recommend?  We have a dog that loves to run circles on it, and a baby that would need a child-appropriate substrate in a couple of years.  It's surrounded by bushes on all sides.  It must look nice during the transition since we live in a HOA.


Option 1:  Take advantage of our water district's rebate plan, get $700 to work with.

They give you a free 2-hour landscaping consultation, and pay you $1 per square foot to remove your lawn.  They drive by and check for a few years that you haven't re-introduced lawn. 

The downside is that you have to jump through their hoops... you can only choose from their list of drought-resistant plants, and must install a drip system (and remove sprinklers), and 50% of the area must be covered with plants once they are mature.  The money gained would definitely help with the cost of the drip system, plants, mulch, etc.


Option 2:  Edible lawn.  Combine with Option 1?

Here I'm picturing perennial herbs that wouldn't take more effort than mowing/trimming, a kind of edible lawn.  Maybe stepping stones in a spiral or some other pattern across the circle of space, with a groundcover of creeping thyme around the stones.  We could leave the sprinkler system in place, or thyme (creeping, wooly, or carpet creeping) counts for Option 1.

It'd take a year or two to cover the entire space if we planted the groundcover every 8-12 inches... so do we mulch in between to keep it looking nice?  If I started some pots of it early, then I could take tons of cuttings to make this process cheaper.


Option 3:  Herb garden

Similar to Option 2, but with a lot more variety and more garden-like.  Maybe lots of different varieties (colors of flowers and heights) of creeping thyme to cover the ground, but then bushes of rosemary, mints, sage, thyme, lavender, etc.

Taller herbs could go in a circle in the middle that is divided up into different areas for each perennial herb.  Or they could go in a ring around the outside of the thyme-lawn to leave a larger play area inside.  We could separate the areas with retaining walls or stone borders, or not.

I do know that oregano grows well here (needs to be chopped down once a year but mostly stays green), and rosemary grows well here too and flowers for a very long time.


Option 4:  Non-edible non-lawn.

Is there a plant like creeping thyme that is easy to step on and can be mowed but requires little water?


Option 5:  No plants.

This would be the lowest-maintenance option.  Maybe do a decorative pattern with larger rocks and gravel, maybe spread mulch.  Gravel might be too hot for a kid to play on, and mulch might risk splinters?  Hmm.  But a nice rock garden, maybe with a giant basalt column, could look pretty cool. 

I could add interest in areas with pots, and remove/add pots as the plants become attractive or die out.


Option 6:  The tree.  Combine with Option 1?

We could put a single tree in the center of the circle, and mulch around it.  If we used a pomegranate tree, it would count for Option 1's rebate.  So would the common hackberry which has edible fruit.


Option 7:  Scorched earth.  Combine with Option 1?

We could get rid of the lawn AND the bushes.  Put in tiers on the main-street side that slopes using retaining wall bricks and add something interesting like small rose bushes or tufts of tall grasses or small irises, as a few neighbors have done when they've gone lawnless.  Then use one of the above methods for the rest of the area.  This would essentially double (or triple?) the play space, but it would also get rid of the protective feeling that the thick junipers give to the play area (they keep Stormy on the lawn, and would protect the house/lawn area from a drunken driver).


Thoughts?  Ideas?

Joining a CSA

Today seems like a good holiday for talking about abundance.

Last Tuesday when I was leaving for an errand I saw my neighbor across the main street getting a package from Doorstep Farmers.  Could it be?  A CSA* that delivers to my area?  The delivery guy was swift with purpose and had a happy bounce to his step.

I've had a fantasy about signing up for a CSA for a while, but the ones that friends recommended or that I found online seemed to all either not deliver to my house, they were too expensive, and/or they required a large commitment (like ordering by the season), or have some other inconvenient issue.  Why can't I just get cheaper organic veggies shipped to my house by the box?


This one seems like it might work out...

I signed up for an every-other-week delivery of the "regular" box, which is 10-13 pounds of organic produce, averaging $2.50 per pound.  In an attempt to increase the value I opted out of receiving onions and potatoes, 'cause I tend to get those in bulk from Costco anyway and grow my own onion greens.  If my fruit trees perform well this year I'll opt out of plums and apples too.  I figure we'll do at least 2 deliveries before deciding whether to keep it or increase it to every week.

I'll keep you updated with a photo of the first box on Tuesday.


*someone asked what CSA stands for, and I didn't know:  Community-Supported (or Shared) Agriculture

BOB for the win!

The past week was the first time that I was able to exceed my mileage goal for the week since I made my new year's resolution to travel 1000 miles by foot this year.  One would think that 2.75 miles a day isn't that difficult of a goal, but I guess it was.

What changed?  I purchased a BOB stroller from a family friend, and it has enabled me to take both the baby and dog out hiking in my old favorite spots.  Walking just got a lot more fun.

Ah trail, I have missed you.

I wasn't able to take the old stroller on hiking trails, so my only option for the trails had been to baby-wear... which is just too hard on my back when also walking an excited dog who pulls at the leash at the same time (yes, we are still trying to train this behavior out of her!).

Walking Stormy with a stroller plus her halter makes the walks much more pleasant.  Pulling the leash when on the halter pulls her toward the middle of the trail, but when the stroller is there she doesn't want to hit it, so she is forced to ease the pulling.  If I walk at just the right distance from the edge of the trail or sidewalk, she will walk next to me perfectly and is able to be aware that I am giving out treats for good behavior.

The jogging stroller handles like a dream!  It provides just as much resistance on grass, gravel, bark mulch, and the packed earth of a hiking trail as the regular stroller did on pavement.  If you give it a mild push on a flat surface, it will just keep going... this is where the emergency break wrist strap comes in handy, because if you let go at the top of even a mild hill the stroller would pick up dangerous speed quickly.

The only downside is that being on a trail that is slightly tilted to one side makes you super aware of how top-heavy the thing is with a 17-pound baby plus a 15-pound car seat perched on top.  It feels like just one wrong bounce will send the stroller toppling over.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but this part of the trail has just enough slant that I won't be back until Torin can handle the ride without the car seat attached.   Theoretically there's just 2 more weeks until he's ready to ditch the car seat, so it won't be too long.

Besides that one trip on the slanty trail, we've been doing Stormy's favorite 2-mile trail, wandering about the town, hitting up the ol' green belt behind the house, and exploring trails at the base of Mt. Diablo.

Shark Baby!

A year ago on April 1st I announced the pregnancy with Torin.  The ultrasound photo I used was of an adult hammerhead shark instead of a human baby... and I hear reports that a few people fell for the April Fool's joke! 

In honor of that announcement, I present to you the real shark baby. 

  Thanks for the shark hat, auntie Catherine!