Christmas 2010

I could totally get used to having a summertime Christmas! Here is what we got each other for Christmas this year:

Veggie garden & other things growing in our yard

I can't remember the last time I had the time or ambition to plant a garden in Michigan, so you'll have to excuse my excitement over a few measly vegetables growing in our tiny garden! The first cucumber grew really fast and it's almost ready to pick! I think the butter beans must have grown last night because I don't remember seeing them yesterday. I've never grown broccoli or cauliflower before, so I'm not sure what to expect with those. So far they've gotten very leafy, but nothing much seems to be happening with them. And the green peppers, which I am most anxious for, do not seem to be growing yet. The plants look good, but no sign of any peppers. Our friends gave us 6 strawberry plants last week, but I don't think we can expect any berries this year.

Here are some of the other things growing in our yard.

Karangahake Gorge

We visited the Karangahake Gorge yesterday. It's an old gold mining area that is now open to trekkers. We took a 3.5 km trek that followed the Ohinemuri River. The trail led us through lush vegetation including Fernwood trees which look like palm trees with fern leaves. Then we walked through a long tunnel through a mountain. The tunnel had been used as a railway tunnel during the mining operation. We visited a local craft market and had lunch at a nearby cafe. The Spring weather has been more Summer-like with temps in the upper 70s to low 80s and we usually have a nice breeze. The sun is amazingly hot here, even on a cool day. Luckily we had some cloud cover yesterday which made it a very pleasant day for hiking.