Heat Wave?

The weather forecasters are calling for a heat wave over the next few days.  Last week they were talking possible snow and now a heat wave.  The weather sure is mixed up these days.  My poor tomato plants aren't sure what to do.  Some keep growing and some just gave up and died off.  Can't say that I blame them.  It is hard to figure.  And the leaves haven't started changing yet either.  Hopefully, they will start soon.  It won't feel like October, until they do.  We have had winter and summer weather within the past week and that leaves me to wonder, where is autumn?

Autumn Chores

Now that it is October, winter can't be far behind.  Now is the perfect time to get out into the garden and get it ready for next spring.  Autumn is a great time to add compost to your soil and to mulch in plants and trees that are already established.  When you use a natural mulch material such as wood chips, they will slowly decompose over time and provide compost to your soil as well as helping it retain moisture.  Well composted soil retains water much better than unamended soil.  So adding compost and mulch to the plants already in your yard, will help them become healthier and stronger and in turn you will use less water in your garden. 

So before fall turns to winter, get out there in the yard and add compost and mulch and let nature do it's work over the winter while you are inside enjoying a toasty warm fire and a hot cup of cocoa.  Remember that we have free wood chips available to anyone here on the hill. 

Frugal Friday

Today is the first day of autumn.  That means summer is over and the gardening season is winding down quickly.  I am always amazed at how fast the vegetable garden goes from lush abundance to looking like it's better days are long gone.  It seems to happen over night.  The good news is the tomatoes are ripening by the dozens and that means all sorts of yummy things like tomato pie, BLT's and of course fresh, homegrown tomatoes adding to just about everything I make from salads to pizzas. 

I have also been sharing my bounty.  I think as gardeners, we love sharing what we have grown with others.  They always seem so appreciative and it makes me happy that someone else will enjoy what I labored all summer to grow.  I should can some tomatoes, but I don't know if I will get around to it or not.  Right now I am enjoying taking bags of tomatoes to unsuspecting neighbors and watching their faces light up!

Hope your garden was bountiful and that your autumn will be too!

Monday Musing

Here we are back in the office after an absolutely gorgeous Pine Cove weekend.  Sometimes it is hard to believe what beautiful weather we are often blessed with.  As we move towards autumn, these last warm days of summer are to be relished.  All too soon we will hunkered down indoors with darkness arriving as we prepare our evening meal and Old Man Winter howling at our doors.  Autumn is such a glorious time of year as we grow weary of the heat and gardening chores of summer and prepare for the upcoming holidays and for spending time indoors.  But in the meantime, enjoy every glorious moment that you can and hopefully there will be many more sunny days we can spend outdoors before cold temperatures force us inside.

Labor Day

Well folks, I guess it is official.  Summer is winding down.  We just had our last official holiday of the summer season.  Since it was cool and rainy all day on Monday, I imagine a few plans got rained out or changed.  As for myself, I spent the day making jam from some boysenberries I got from a friend in Anza and canning green beans that I grew myself.  So I was happy for the less than perfect weather.  In my book, rain is the perfect weather.  But no matter, we hope everyone had a great holiday regardless of what they did.  And as the summer of 2011 comes to a close, we can take comfort in the fact that we  have the wonderful autumn season to look forward too! 

Autumn means cool, brisk mornings, spectacularly perfect sunny autumn afternoons,  leaves changing colors and that feeling in the air that the seasons are changing. We will smell the smoke from the first fires of the season as the evenings start to get cold and the smell of pine and cedar will permeate the cool evening air. It is also a time to get back to cooking soups, stews and all sorts of things that get put away for the summer months when cooking heats up the kitchen too much or there is just too much to do outside to be stuck in the kitchen over the hot stove.  But sandwiches and salads lose their appeal after several months and a bubbly beef stew with warm, homemade bread fresh from the oven and a fresh baked apple pie for dessert have been on my mind lately. 

While I am sure summer has a few punches left for us, I know it won't be long until my favorite season of the year is upon us.  Meanwhile, I will be having salad again for dinner tonight!

Winter is here!

Well, it looks like Old Man Winter has arrived a little early this year. While the moisture is wonderful, I was hoping for a few more weeks of some beautiful fall weather before we were thrust into the throes of winter. But, I have no say in the matter and Mother Nature will have her way. So, ready or not, here comes winter. Perhaps we will get lucky and have a break every now and again throughout the long, cold months. Let's hope we have a season that is full of adequate moisture. We are off to a good start with October's rain and now November's rain and snow, but we are no where near being ahead of the game moisture wise.

We encourage our customers to continue doing the superior job they are doing with conserving water. To that end, we would like to remind you that we still have Water Saving Kits availabe free of charge, for all Pine Cove Water District customers. Just stop by the office at 24917 Marion Ridge Road and ask for one. It is as easy as that.

Everyone here, Jerry Holldber, Becky Smith, Vicki Jakubac, Jerry Johnson and Jeremy Potter, and Stitch the dog, wish each and every one of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaches, everyone here at the Pine Cove Water District wishes each and every one of our Pine Cove neighbors a happy and blessed Thanksgiving Day. Please stay warm, dry and safe throughout this 4 day holiday. I am sure with all the activites in the village this weekend, the roads will be busy. If you are going off the hill for the Thanksgiving holiday, please drive carefully. We are thankful for all the wonderful people that we are blessed to know here in Pine Cove.


Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Jerry H., Becky, Vicki, Jerry J., Jeremy and Stitch

Monday Musings

I cannot believe this. I woke up to rain again this morning. I was very happily surprised that we were blessed with more moisture today. I do hope this trend continues, even though the powers that be are predicting a dryer than normal winter. We may not be breaking any precipiation records, but in my book, some rain is better than no rain. I do hope this pattern keeps up.

The trees are turning colors and it is really looking like fall here on the hill. Add to that the cooler, foggy weather this morning and it adds up a perfect autumn day here on the hill. Of course, the weekend was beautiful as well. It seems that everyday is a beautiful day here on the hill no matter what the weather is doing.

We still have free mulch available for those who want to get some mulch down prior to the snow flying. Just come on up and help yourself. The mulch pile is located on Marion Ridge Road right behind our workshop/garage. You can't miss it!

Wet Winter Ahead?

The weather station has recorded a whopping 2.52 inches of rain so far for the month of October. Wow, that is great. Is this a sign of things to come for the winter? I keep hearing a drier than normal winter is in our future, but who knows for sure? I sure wasn't expecting this much rain in the past week.

I do hope that we will get at least a normal amount of moisture this winter. With October typically being a bad fire month, I am also hoping that all this rain will at the very least eleviate some of the fire danger that we normally have to deal with at this time of the year.

Another good thing is that if you have done any fall planting this you, you didn't have to do any watering recently. Plants always prefer rain water over tap water, so this is a really nice start to anything you may have planted. I personally transplanted a bunch of cedar trees. I am hoping they take root and grow. They were in an area that was way over crowded with cedar saplings, so I hope to give some of them a chance to grow big and tall by moving them. They seem to have enjoyed the rain as they are all still alive!

Soon the leaves will be turning in full force and the Thanksgiving holiday will soon be upon us. As fall turns to winter, I hope we are blessed with more precipitation, expecially in the form of snow, so that we can continue to be fire free and the trees and wildlife will continue to prosper.

It's Frugal Friday!

Ok, here we are in the middle of October and the weather has been beautiful so far. This is wonderful news for gardeners and their gardens. Working in this beautiful weather makes even garden chores seem pleasant. This is also a great time to plant trees, bare root roses or shrubs and bulbs. Fall planting gives plants a chance to establish roots and eliminates the need to water during the winter months. Come spring, your plants have had a head start and reward you by springing to life.

Since we are trying to be frugal while gardening, now is the time to clean, oil, sharpen and put away those garden tools. By taking care of them, they will last much longer than if you don't. Who wants to keep spending money on the same things over and over again just because you let them sit outside all winter long?

If you do have some tools that have seen their better days, why not recycle them into the garden? Even household items that have outlived their usefulness indoors, can find their way into the garden to continue being useful. Old tool handles can become stakes for vines. Metal headboards can also be used as supports for climbing plants. Clam shell contains, like the kind muffins come in, can be re-purposed into mini greenhouses for winter seed sowing.

Old pantyhose and T-shirts can be used to tie up plants and old shower curtains can find a new use as tarps out in the yard. They are great to lay out on the ground when you are raking leaves and need to move them to the compost pile. Simply pile them up on top of the shower curtain and then pull it over to the compost pile. If you use your imagination, I am sure you can come up with lots of uses.

Now is also a perfect time to add a layer of mulch to your garden if you haven't already done so. And guess what? We are giving it away, free of charge! What could be more frugal than getting something great for your garden for free? Adding mulch to your garden will help it retain moisture over the winter months as well as protect plant roots from harsh winds and freeze and thaw cycles. The mulch will also slowly decompose over time, enriching your soil with wonderful compost. Compost rich soil retains water better as well, thereby reducing your need to water as often come summer.

So get out there and enjoy this beautiful weather and get some autumn gardening done before it is too late!

More Rain!

According to the weather station, we have received 1.14 inches of rain so far in October! This is great. 4 days into the month and we have over an inch of rain on the ground. Saturday's storm was fairly heavy and at my house we even got some hail. More rain is a possibility this week.

Now might be a good time to get out the old umbrellas and rain coats and make sure they are in good condition as we slowly move into the autumn and winter months. And remember to drive carefully if you find yourself on the road during one of these downpours. I had to drive to Hemet on Friday afternoon and there were times when my windshield wipers could not keep up with the pouring rain. Also remember to slow down as rain can make the roads very slick. Better to get where you are going a little late, than to not get there at all.

We hope you are enjoying these pleasant cool days and the refreshing rain showers. Hopefully, we will be blessed with many more rain storms over the next several months. Stay dry and stay safe!

Garden chores

Hopefully, autumn will soon be upon us. With that in mind it is time to get out into the garden an get going on autumn chores. Any work you do now will be less you have to do come spring. While there is a lot to be done in the fall, the cooler temps make working outside pleasureable once again.

Now is an excellent time to add compost to your soil. It helps the soil retain moisture and this in turn conserves water. If you have oak trees in your yard, you can rake up the leaves and add them to your compost pile. Don't have a compost pile? Make one. You can be very low tech and just make a pile in the corner of the yard somewhere. Pile you leaves up, wet them down and Mother Nature will quietly work to turn those leaves into compost.

Once your soil is amended with compost you will want to add a layer of mulch to help protect it. This is esepcially beneficially to plants and trees as it helps reduce water loss. Plants transpire water through their leaves and evergreens will continue to lose water this way during the winter. Moisture must then be taken up by the plants' roots. The roots will will continue to absorb moisture when it is available, but when you aren't watering, when the ground is frozen or there is a dry spell, the necessary moisture is not availabe. The plants will continue to transpire water but at this time it draws moisture from living cells. If too much water is give off from this source, the cell dies leaving brown out. Adding compost to the soil and then a layer of mulch, helps retain moisture in the soil enabling the plant to continue to absorb moisture through it's roots and give it off through it's leaves or needles. This will result in healthier, better looking plants and trees come spring.

Of course, you can take that one step further and get a compost bin and compost not only your leaves, but your kitchen scraps as well. You can get fancy composters that spin around, 3 section composters or a basic bin that you toss your thinks into. No matter how you go about it, composting is a good thing to be doing.

Now is a good time to trim up your hardwoods and plant bulbs, bare root roses, shrubs and trees. A little effort now will be rewarded come spring as everything you planted in the fall burts to life in the spring. Plus it will give you peace of mind all through the winter knowing that you prepared your garden for winter and will not be faced with a garden mess come spring.

It is also the perfect time to clean out your rain gutters or add them if you don't already have them. You can set up a rain harvesting system now as well. The more snow and rain you collect over the winter months, the less water you will have to use to irrigate your garden come summer.

Once done with your garden chores, clean off your tools, oil them or have them sharpened if necessary and put them away. It would be a good idea to dig out your snow shovels and put them where they can be easily reached. If you have a snow blower, check it over and make sure it is in good operating condition and that you have gas for it if it is gas powered. Waiting until the snow is falling fast to find your cold weather equipment is never a good idea.

Fall seems to come and go quickly some years and there is much to be done before winter settles over us. As your garden sleeps you can rest easy knowing you prepared it for it's long nap and come spring you will already be one step ahead of the gardening game.

Autumn, where are you?

Here it is, the end of September and we are having a heat wave. Anyone who knows me, knows I loath the heat or any temperature extremes. Winter and summer are both too intense for my delicate sensibilities and I could live happily with just spring and autumn year round. Maybe a week of snow around Christmas for ambiance and a week of heat in the summer for beach going. Other than that, I could do without the extreme seasons. By the end of August, I feel like a wilted flower and have had more than enough of summer. Once September arrives, I happily looking forward to the cooler days and chilly nights of fall and wait with great anticipation for the changing of the leaves.

Autumn brings even more delights as the cooler days mean I can turn my oven on again! During the dog days of summer, my kitchen seems to go on hiatus with the exception of salad, sandwich and iced tea making. The oven sits idle and even cooking something on top of the stove is avoided for fear of making the house hotter than it already is. Even with the ceiling fan running full tilt, it still seems to be too hot to do anything but open the fridge. In this hot, non cooking state, ice cream suddenly seems to be an acceptable dinner entree!

Eventually though, one does grow weary of the no cook, pick something out of the garden or eat a Popsicle diet. Even ice cream looses it's appeal once you have eaten several gallons of the stuff. I grow weary of cleaning the ice cream maker and I am tired of making a gallon of tea each and every day.

The onset of autumn is a welcome relief because it means fully cooked meals are on the menu again. Things we haven't tasted in months are suddenly appearing on our plates. Meatloaf, stews and casseroles are bubbling away in the oven. Zucchini and bananas are magically transformed into delicious breads and tomatoes are baked up into pies. Beans and other garden delights are canned and put away for later. Hot tea in the tea pot replaces the gallon pitcher in the fridge and ice remains in the freezer for more than a few hours. In the fall, the kitchen seems to suddenly spring back to life!

Cooler autumn nights mean throwing a blanket or quilt on the bed and digging out that nice fuzzy bathrobe that has been in hiding for many months. That chill in the air as you rise in the morning is invigorating. Sleep is much more comfortable and the pugs are content to snuggle up in their doggy beds with their blankets instead of walking around most of the night constantly trying to find a cool spot under the ceiling fan.

As you make your way to the kitchen, you know that first cup of hot coffee or tea is going to taste so good. It is a bit chilly and don't break into a sweat by the walking into the kitchen. Instead of cold cereal, you can actually entertain the thought of cooking something for breakfast. What could be better on a chilly autumn morning than coming down to the kitchen, turning on the oven and baking up a batch of cinnamon rolls or biscuits? The heat from my 1950's O'Keefe and Merritt oven takes the chill off the house and the smell of coffee perking in the percolator and cinnamon rolls baking in the oven permeates the air. It is on these mornings that I know why I moved to the hill and why I love autumn so much. So Autumn, where are you?

Meter Reading

Well folks, it is that time again. Later this week, the boys, aka Jeremy and Jerry, will be out and about reading water meters. Remember if you don't know where your customer valve is located, now is the time to locate it. If you need help, please call the office at (951)659-2675 on Monday through Friday between 9am and 4pm. We will be happy to send someone out to help you locate your valve and show you how to turn it off. We are happy to do this while the weather is nic

Autumn

Well another summer has flown by and as autumn quickly approaches, we need to start thinking about preparing for winter. Autumn is a wonderful time to add compost to you yard and garden. The single most important thing you can do to help your soil retain water, is to amend it with compost. If your soil is able to retain moisture, it will help your plants and trees and reduce the amount of water you need to use for outside watering. Amending your soil prior to winter's arrival ensures that your plants and trees will be able to absorb and retain moisture throughout the winter season, which in turn will keep them healthier and enable them to fight off disease and pests.

If you are a gardener, then you probably already realize the benefits of adding compost to the garden. Once you have your garden all cleaned out, it is the perfect time to add some compost.

Autumn is also a wonderful time to add a layer of mulch to your garden as well. Adding mulch or topping off what you have, will help to protect your plants as well as slowly decompose, adding valuable nutrients to the soil without you having to do anything at all. It will help retain moisture and prevent runoff. If you are in need of mulch, we have bark chips available for FREEto anyone who lives on the hill. Just stop by and help yourself. They are located behind the workshop/garage on Marion Ridge Rd.