RpR, thank you. I've looked up the average monthly temperatures and it's pretty much the same, except for 3 to 4 months (December through March) that are warmer in Colorado. I'm not sure what I will do yet, if I want them in my windbreak or not but if I do I will buy them locally. pnbrown, I will order it right away! I've read a few pages through the "Look inside" option on Amazon and it does seem interesting! althea - thank you for the link! I do believe that chlorothalonil has been banned for lawn maintenance in Quebec, since 2006, but I don't think it's been banned for agriculture use. There are dozens and dozens of different pesticides that can be used for potato fields though and I will have to ask the owners of the lands behind our house if they use chlorothalonil. I've located the owners but am still debating on how to approach them regarding the pesticides... The owners are quite old and I don't want them to think I'm rude or that I want them to change their ways or anything. I do know however that they will be using these lands for industrial hemp for a few years starting next year, and from what I could gather on the subject pesticides aren't sprayed on hemp. I think they're also dealing with nematodes right now and that could be why they accepted to use their lands for something else than potatoes - I've heard they are ravaging their plants. As far as jacking the house, since we have the basement it is impossible to do. And well, it's not just the fact that my BF and father built the house, but also that my whole family lives close. Moving is out of the question right now, as I mentioned earlier, but I'm ready to take all kinds of extra steps to reduce our exposure to chemicals and toxins all around our place. As a side note they finally came back to spray their lands yesterday (for the 1st time since I started this thread). They were not spraying the same way as they usually do... the tractor normally sprays in a perpendicular manner (facing our street/house and going back in the opposite direction) but yesterday, he sprayed in-parallel with our street/house. I'm not sure if he did it this way because of the wind direction but it's the first time I ever saw him spraying like this. greginnd - I appreciate this discussion as well. :) I find it very refreshing to be able to talk with people who are as much concerned about their health (or the environment) as I am. I mean, many members of my family and friends usually think I'm nuts for doing everything I'm doing (the whole organic/vegan/green aspect of living) and I've been having a hard time dealing with some of the things they do and not care one bit about. Anyways, I really do enjoy these discussions! Regarding the winery, I've read in the pesticide book mentioned in my very first post that grapes are nearly as heavily sprayed with pesticides as apples. I'm guessing you're planning on doing everything organic? Or as safe as humanely possible for both humans and the environment? Very interesting about the herbicide staying in the soil for years. For my future garden I was planning on doing something similar like square foot gardening. I am not sure I would use any "special" soil (as suggested by Mel Bartholemew) but I was planning on using some other type of soil than the one we have in the yard. I'll be careful about where the soil comes from, for sure. From the research I did on the owners of the field behind our house, they are not corporate farmers. Some of their family members are however, and own lands in other areas of our town. Your garden looks very big - and clean! Very impressive! I'm used to seeing my mother's garden and it sure looks nothing like yours. She lets weeds grow everywhere and really isn't working on it that much. How big actually is your garden? I've been wondering how big of a garden I should do for my boyfriend and I. We do eat a lot of vegetables and fruits (though less fruit than veggies), and I juice quite a bit as well (at least once a day). I was thinking about making a garden that would be big enough that we were able to go through a few winter months with our own supply of vegetables (I would make and then freeze our juices in advance) but I have not been able to determine how big that garden should be. I guess it'd be a trial and error thing. And I totally agree - the one thing I am very sure about from the research I've done so far is that a plant-based diet is what seems to be the most healthy for humans, as long as these plants are as free of chemicals/pesticides as possible and consumed as raw as possible. I've found many raw food recipes that look great and I can't wait to order my food dehydrator to make some of them already! Well, I wish you good luck with that winery project of yours. :-) I cannot get myself to drink a glass of wine as of right now - I hate the taste of it - but I've been told (about 7 years ago when I was just shy of 20) it's something you get to enjoy more as you age. Oh well, maybe some day.

Awesome pictures Brenda!!

The gravy turned out very well. The entire process: - Reduce about 1 gal turkey stock to about 2.5 cups, which took most of the previous afternoon/evening - Attempt and fail to clarify the reduction - Weigh the reduced stock at 515 grams - Consult fancy-pants modernist cooking website which prescribes 2.5 grams (0.5% by weight) xantham gum. - Tap xantham gum powder onto my kitchen scale - Note that said scale only displays to zero decimal points, and seems erratic in distinguishing between 2, 3, and 4 grams. - Wish for a coke dealer's scale - Guesstimate at 2-3 grams and whisk into reduced stock - Admire the smooth, spoon-coating consistency of the gravy - [Wait 15 minutes] - Curse at the obscene, gloppy consistency of the gravy - Add almost 1 cup of chicken stock and buzz with immersion blender to get a smooth, coating gravy with, alas, less flavor than previously - [Wait an hour] - After roasting the turkey, deglaze roasting pans with some chicken stock, scrape all the dark, crusty, sticky stuff into a bowl, buzz to a smooth espresso-colored paste with immersion blender, and whisk that into the gravy - Sigh in relief at the intensely flavored, chocolate-colored sauce/gravy of a substantial but not gloppy consistency. Aside from the bleeping sauce, everything else was easy. This was the most relaxed Thanksgiving I've had in years. We had 15 people but others provided half the meal, no dishes had to be scrapped, and we were cleaned up by 10:30 pm. My son was assigned to mash the potatoes, and he just had to use the immersion blender, so they ended up rather gluey. The final menu was - Cheeses - Roast stuffed turkey (I'll get a pic up in a bit) - Grilled lamb chops - Garlic mashed potatoes - Roast brussell sprouts with garlic, hazelnuts, asagio cheese - Beet and persimmon salad - Cauliflower gratin - Sauteed gai lan - Bacon, sausage, mushroom bread stuffing - Three or four pies, one was a chocolate-pumpkin, also a chocolate-caramel-pecan pie - A couple of wines and martinis were had, but it wasn't a big-drinking night. I had the good sense to drink naught but coffee for most of the evening, so I'm not even hung over. The very best eating of the evening was the grilled lamb chops. My friend simply tossed the chops in salt and olive oil, waited until everyone was seated and eating, then disappeared to the grill for ten minutes and returned with a platter of still-sizzling chops on a bed of rosemary. My laboriously constructed turkey was fine, but didn't compare to the perfect timing, perfect doneness, and perfect simplicity of that lamb. We got some good news during the evening. The lamb griller and his family have been preparing to move to Dallas, because his practice here is struggling; now he may be able to stay in Portland after all, knocking-on-wood here. Another friend's bike shop/tavern was called out in the most popular local cycling blog; named as one of the top three things Portland cyclists have to be thankful for. Like many of you, I have a refrigerator full of left-overs now. This morning, we are making "leftover pies" from stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes, sausage, etc. We'll freeze them. Tonight, I'll ask a couple of neighbors over for a "left-over dinner" and try to get rid of the rest of it. I'd like to have a stuffed turkey leg for lunch next week but that is all.

I love the ruffled edge of first crush ! And I hear ya on the instant gratification thing .. That's how I ended up with Beverly and fire opal ! :) forgot to reply to your other question about trax farms , I think I was there once but can't place it ! Have you been to soergels orchard ? It may be a drive for you but it is also a winery and grocery and bakery and excellent little lunch place. Now it's been years since I've been but they had a lot of wonderful plants and roses ! If you have never been it's a sweet little spot to visit. They even had a bee hive behind glass with tubes for the bees to travel in and out so you could see. It was my favorite place to go after church !