Dragon Fruit

This is one of the neatest, coolest fruits ever! :)
I first experienced a dragon fruit when my hubby brought one home from our local grocery about a year ago. I had never seen one before, and I had no idea what to do with it. So it sat in my refrigerator for, gosh, it must have been 3 months! Finally, when I was cleaning out the fridge, I decided to cut this strange fruit open and see what it was like. What a surprise!! The inside was translucent white, scattered with tiny black seeds. I smelled it, poked at it, and finally decided it had not gone bad. So I tasted it. Again a surprise! It tasted like,... well... dragon fruit! -Very delicate, light, and tropical. We bought several more, but again, they sat around. We just didn't know what to do with them. It's funny how we humans can be such creatures of habit! But, even though we haven't adopted these fruits into our diets yet, they have been in the back of my mind. So I finally decided to bring them to the front of my mind and do a bit of research on them. I found quite a few recipes; blended in smoothies and sorbet, balled in fruit salad, or just sliced and served! The first thing I learned to my complete and total shock was that my mother had a rather large dragon fruit plant as a houseplant when I was a kid! I just never knew what it was! It never made any fruit, as dragon fruit needs 2 or more plants in order to set fruit. But I do remember the stunning flowers! I also remember how easy it was to grow. I've read, too, how this plant is easily grown from cuttings or from seed simply collected from the pulp of the ripe fruit. So add dragon fruit to the list of plants we will be growing in our greenhouse!
Just look at all the varieties at this link!
Pine Island Nursery
Guess what! dragon fruit grows wild here in Hawaii! I've seen them on several hikes in misty areas of the island, though I've not seen any with fruit. If I had known what they were, I'd have brought home a few cuttings! Here's an article in our local paper about growing dragon fruit here in Hawaii:
Honolulu Advertiser, Island Life

Yikes! New Vaccine --Problems!

http://www.newswithviews.com/Tenpenny/sherri14.htm

"Problems with the cervical cancer vaccine starting to emerge.

"Five schoolgirls at Sacred Heart Girls' College in suburban Melbourne, Australia, were confirmed to have taken ill after receiving an injection of Gardasil, the newest vaccine to be mandated for young girls. Soon after the vaccination, twenty-six girls were seen at the campus medical clinic; five were admitted to the hospital after being injected. Two of the girls kept in overnight in observation for dizziness; one had temporary paralysis and loss of speech.[1]
*snip*

"Histidine, an amino acid, readily converts into another amino acid, histamine, when it enters the body. When released, histamine causes redness, swelling, itching and allergic reactions leading to widening of capillaries, decreased blood pressure… people can faint. The vaccine also contains Polysorbate 80, an agent used in creams, ointments, lotions, and multiple medical preparations including vitamin oils, and anticancer agents. Polysorbate 80 is a can cause potentially fatal reactions in including anaphylaxis, characterized by a sharp drop in blood pressure, hives, and breathing difficulties… people can faint."

There are better ways to prevent cancer than poisoning your body!

• eat a healthy diet of fresh RAW fruit, nuts, seeds, and vegetables
• exercise EVERY day for at least half an hour-- more is better
• do not smoke
• do not drink alcohol in excess (more than 6-8 oz per day- depending on body weight)
• get 10 to 30 minutes of sunshine on as much bare skin as possible EVERY day (unless it's raining!) double that in winter- triple for winter in northern climates
  
• drink filtered tap water or bottled water
• And this one may surprise you-- practice a religion or spirituality- The act of seeking God/Higher Power is VERY health-promoting!*

* Caution- Negative religious ideas such as unworthiness, self-sacrifice, fear, and death are detrimental to health. Avoid these pitfalls at all costs! Keep it positive! Ideas such as oneness, unity, love, abundance, sharing, life, and resurrection; these concepts are life-enriching and health-promoting.

Red Capped Parakeets

For certain, I want to have a couple of pairs of red-capped, or pileated, parakeets in our Avian Garden. I have kept this species before, and I adore them! I have been turning over every stone on the internet and I can find very little information on this, one of my most favorite of all aviary birds! I did manage to find ONE breeder. I sent an e-mail and hope to hear back soon. I also found ONE good article about them, here.
I can't believe there is not more about them on the internet! These birds are so pretty with their purple chest, dark red head and vent, greenish yellow cheeks,.... I just love their colors! :) Their song is quite pleasant and quiet. Even rosellas are noisier. And they are quite tame and curious! They have a bad reputation according to the article I mentioned, saying they tend to be "flighty and timid". Indeed, those must have been wild-caught birds, because the two breeding pairs I had several years ago were friendly even when they were on eggs! I hope I can find a pair! If there is anybody out there who knows of any breeders of red capped parakeets, please let me know!!!! Just post a reply here or send me an e-mail!

Sunny Sunflowers!

One for me, two for the birds! *giggle*
...and healthy for us both!

Every garden needs a few sunflowers! They attract birds, squirrels, bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, they add huge splashes of warm color, and they are packed with nutrition!
It would take a bit to list all the species of garden birds that love to eat sunflower seeds. If you leave a few heads standing overwinter, you are sure to have lots of feathered company on those chilly days! Some of my favorite sunflower-eating birds are cardinals, chickadees, orioles, and blue jays (east) and mountain jays (west). Oh and don't forget the furry company of fluffy-tailed squirrels and chipmunks!
Isn't he cute! ->

Which variety to plant? There are so many to pick from! They come in every shade of white, yellow, orange and red. With flowers as big as a turkey platter or as small as a button. Some grow on huge stalks that would make Jack's bean stalk jealous, while others spread out and grow on short branching bushy-like plants.
Hear are just a couple varieties. From left to right, moonshadow, the joker, and velvet queen.
Sunflowers are nutritional powerhouses! Just a quarter-cup of seeds has over 90% of the US RDA of vitamin E!! Have a look at this link and read all the benefits of adding raw sunflower seeds to your diet! No wonder the birds eat them! (Check out this link)
Here's a question I haven't been able to answer. In my bird raising studies, I have always heard that black- oil sunflower seeds are better for birds because of higher protein content than other varieties. I cannot find any information on differences between seeds when I look up nutrition facts for humans. But I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that eating black-oil sunflower may be a tad healthier than eating regular sunflower seeds. The birds seem to think so. I think I will listen to them!
(See that image of the white sunflower above? Notice the whorl the seeds make? Isn't that a nice fractal?)

Want even more nutrition out of your sunflower seeds? Sprout them! This is a quote from here:

"One can think of the sprouts as pre-digested seeds. Unsprouted sunflower seeds are high in fat and protein. However, sprouting activates the seed, with many changes as it sprouts: dramatic increase in enzyme levels, seed fats are converted to essential fatty acids and carbohydrates, proteins are converted to essential amino acids and/or sugars, and vitamin levels (on a dry basis) increase substantially. Due to their activate enzymes, sprouts are much easier to digest than dry seeds. Further, as the seed sprouts its flavor is enhanced - sunflower sprouts have an earthy flavor and are very popular.

"While the sprouts are pre-digested seeds, the greens [sprouts that are allowed to grow a few days] are a tender baby vegetable, high in chlorophyll, and a substitute for lettuce. Sunflower greens have a slightly salty taste that some compare to watercress. They are rich in chlorophyll, enzymes, vitamins, proteins, and the most important "nutrient", the life force. Some writers report the greens are a rich source of lecithin and Vitamin D. Additionally, unlike most expensive freeze-dried supplements such as spirulina and algae, sunflower greens that you grow are alive up to the time you eat them."

Another Moving Update!

Reservations, Appointments and Deadlines, OH MY!

• We have reservations for the hotel in Spokane,
• We have reservations for the hotel here,
• We have reservations for the critters for the kennel for the last 4 days on the island,
• We have appointments for the critters' health certificates,
• We have appointments for the kitties' shots (soon, before the moving stress begins)
• We have reservations for the critters on the plane

..... I know I'm forgetting something.... umm.... OH YES!!!! OUR airline reservations! giggle, just kidding. We have those too.
I think the only thing left on the checklist is the movers. We have to wait for them to contact us. We have the dates set, so .. everything should be ok. But I sure do wish they would contact us and firm up those dates for us.
Overall this move has been super smooth. I hope it stays that way. But I guess we have done this so many times-- ha! We're experts by now! :P

Purple Cauliflower!

It's a bit confusing to try to find the origins of the purple cauliflower. According to one website, it originated in Denmark. According to another it was the Netherlands. According to Wikipedia, it originated in Italy. But from my research, it seems the first and only true purple cauliflower is the Purple Cape Cauliflower, an heirloom variety that came from South Africa in 1808. Since then there have been a few hybrids. One is Violet Queen, a cross with a purple variety of broccoli. Then there is Graffiti, a hybrid (I suspect with Purple Cape) This one is reported to be sweeter and nuttier than white cauliflower, and even retains its color when cooked! (color stays better if a tsp. of lemon juice is added to cooking water)
I think I will try both Cape and Graffiti in my garden.

The purple color is due to formation of anthocyanins also found in red cabbage and in red wine. Anthocyanins are healthy compounds belonging to the group of phenolic antioxidants. This is one reason why many doctors recommend drinking a glass of red wine every day.

Setting a Sundial

Do we really need digital watches and clocks to tell us what time it is? I guess if you're an accountant working on Wall Street you have to be a slave to schedules. But if you're a gardener, a sundial can be an even better way to tell the time.
I put this post under the sustainability label because sundials do not require industrial technology to build or maintain and cause no pollution. But they are an attractive, and useful decoration in the garden. Not only can you tell the hour, you can easily follow the path of the sun throughout the year, learning the direction of light and shadow in your garden. It takes a bit of education to get the most out of your sundial, but learning is always fun, and getting a better understanding of the movements of the sun throughout the day, the season, and the year, can be very rewarding for a successful gardener.
There's a couple ways to learn about setting and reading your sundial. There's quite a few books on the subject if you really want to get serious. Here's a couple that are highly rated:
...
Or, Another way to learn is just do it! Make a simple sundial or buy a fancy one and put it in your garden. Then ... watch! Observe your sundial and compare it to a conventional clock. Make adjustments as you learn.
Sundials come in so many styles and mediums, it's easy to pick one that fits the personality of your garden. They can be made of brass, concrete, colorful tiles, carved stone, resin, or wood. They can be combined with zodiac wheels, a compass, or in combination with flowerpots, fountains, or birdbaths. Here's a cute one. The gnomon is a sailboat!

Easter Egger Chickens!

YES! I can have a few chickens! I just checked the laws and we are allowed to have chickens in the Spokane city limits as long as they do not smell or wander, and NO ROOSTERS!
SO! What kind of chicken(s) should I get? Easter Egg Chickens of course! I want one chicken that lays brown eggs, one chicken that lays pale or pinkish eggs, and one chicken that lays blue or green eggs!

Believe it or not, the blue egger will be easier to find than a pink (actually just light tan) Blue eggs are laid by Araucanas or Ameraucanas. The blue egg shell is a dominate trait, so crossed breeds will also lay blue eggs.
Wikipedia has an excellent article on the blue egged chickens: Araucana
Here's another article: click here.
If you read a bit about the araucanas, you find out that this is a mutant breed to say the least. These chickens are missing the last vertebra on their spine and completely lack a tail! I like chickens with tails (not to mention all their vertebrae) so I will stick more to the Ameraucana type. Here is the history of that breed: ameraucana.org

For my brown egger, I think I like Marans the best. Welsumers also have brilliant colored eggs, but I think maran eggs are spectacular! Dark rich mahogany-colored! Just look at these pictures! Also, The most common feather color of the British maran is cuckoo, my favorite chicken color!









So, now for the light tan to pinkish eggs. For now, somewhere in the neighborhood of this color. (like the eggs in the left of the right picture above) This is a bit more unpredictable. I think it may be sort of trial and error with a few brown-egg chickens until I find one that lays light eggs. There are a couple of breeds that are known for lighter eggs, and I will look for one of these. Prehaps after some breeding efforts, I can develop a chicken that lays pink eggs. Wish me luck! :)