Hi everyone! We've been i-n-s-a-n-e-l-y busy over here getting settled into our new home. It's spring now so I'm busy running around feeding and weeding and throwing the ball for the pups :)

The pups were part of why we've been so busy. We got a new bundle of trouble which I mentioned on an earlier thread. Our spring has been crazy wet so there has been a big spike in cases of giardia throughout the PNW - my poor little guy wasn't spared. That has been awful. Violet needed surgery on her knee and the rehab has been all consuming. Then Sadie didn't want to be left out so she broke her tooth and developed an abscess that required surgery. This last winter/spring has been brutal on my sanity.

Then winter started to give way to spring so I brought out all my figs from the shed. Sadly the winter was also cruel on my garden. I knew I lost a few figs but as spring marches on I'm realizing my figgy death rate was higher than I hoped. Many of my youngsters in 1 gallon pots didn't make it. Even a few in 3-5 gallon pots were lost. We didn't get much snow but we got a more cold snaps than usual and they lasted longer than usual. Even though I moved them, it wasn't enough. I even lost some established in-ground (non fig) bushes and trees. I am going to rectify this by building a high tunnel (hoop house) type greenhouse. I don't want a repeat of this next winter/spring :( 

So that's the latest. I'm starting this post on a bummer note, so here's some pics of the positives:

I have some brebas! (for those who don't remember - in the PNW brebas are what we're after)

This is the resident DK fig loaded with brebas.
    

 

And of course my negronne is giving me a handful. I think there are 5 on this tree this year. Every year gets better.
 

 

This year I got a couple of new contestants to the game. Here is Madeleine of 2 Seasons (from Raintree nursery) with 5-6 large brebas.
 

 

This little youngster, Shih Berdy, is feeling ambitious and giving me 2 brebas. It's a small plant still so they may abort, but it will still get an A for effort.
 

 

And finally Lyndhurst White
 

Almost forgot one - Italian Honey
 

I think that about covers it. I'm going to lick my wounds and slowly try to replace what was lost and try to do a better job this winter so spring isn't so bitter sweet next year. Cruising ebay for cuttings for a little retail therapy ;)

Hope all has been well with you all!

Aloha, Nichole.  Hopefully springtime will be much more kind to you than ol' man winter.  Those are some gorgeous pictures though, and very promising fig trees indeed.  Mahalo for sharing!

Nate

Nichole,

I sent you a PM about a month or two ago but you never replied. I figured you were busy.
How are the girls doing?

Great to hear from you, Nichole.  As I always say, it could always be worse.  Hope you have a great summer.

It's very nice to have you back! I am really sorry about your losses. My kids have been telling me all winter how awful it was up there. Sorry also about the pups. My son and my best friend lost theirs over the winter. A little devastating.

If you need anything specific please let me know and I'll do my best.

Frank, yes it was a bad winter for us but I know many had it worse. Our winters are usually fairly mild compared to much of the US so we're a little spoiled. 

Tami, so sorry to hear about your son's and BF's loss. More than a little devastating. While it was a rough winter health wise, everyone is still around to drive me bonkers so I am blessed. Violet's knee is a bit better these days and every day gets better.

Rafed the pups are doing good. Tucker and Sadie seem no worse for the wear and Vi gets better every day. She had so many vet appts for 2 month period that the clinics felt like Cheers - where everyone knew my name. No alcohol though, which I really could have used at that point ;) Tucker is getting to be an obnoxious teenager who is eating me out of house and home.

A pic for you - the trio. Violet laying down munching grass, Tucker running for dear life with the ball, and Sadie hot on his tail to get it back (and jumping over Vi while she's at it)
 

Just another day in the life :)

Today I am dedicating to the figs. Feeding, sorting, organizing my inventory and figuring out exactly what is lost so I can get more cuttings and try again next year. 

Great photo!  Best of luck with your figs!

Good to have you touch base with all of us again.  Sorry for your losses and the other bad luck.  Many of us are rebuilding our collections.  The winter was terrible for far too many of us, and the fig tree damages and deaths just keep piling up.  I haven't seen any Bronx, NYC trees sprouting leaves.

Frank

I've been reading through the forum and seeing that compared to some, I got off easy. Glass half full, most of my established trees made it. My biggest losses were those that were small, and/or started as rooted cuttings last year. Nothing that a little patience (try again next year!) can't fix. And better shelter :)

I lost my large brown turkey in a 5 gallon container. I don't plan on replacing it ;)

Greetings Nicole! Been wondering were youve been! Winter in the Carolinas last year was tough too. Glad you're back!

Did a head count and updated the inventory list.
13 varieties lost.
9 varieties at risk for being lost but time will tell.

Not chucking anything out yet because you never know but not holding my breath for those 13 varieties. Some of those 13 include multiple young plants of the same variety. Bummer.
But lots are breaking bud and I'm definitely taking note of who survived strong. While many are struggling to come back, there are some that didn't even bat an eye (or branch) at that weather.

Very nice photography Nichole.  Hope you have a good season.

Hi Nichole!  Love those pictures!  Sorry about your tree losses, I lost a couple also, we had very strange weather here in N Texas.  Frost on April 16th!  Crazy!

Are you all settled in the new house?  I hope it's everything you dreamed of.

Hello Nichole,
Some months ago you posted about the water drainage issue at your new place, I'm curious if you ever decided on a solution, and how the condition is doing this season?

Hey Nichole.  Sorry about your losses.  I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.  Beautiful pics and pups!  What are you shooting pics with?

Jo-Ann: yup getting settled! Painted more rooms, more organization, slowly but surely it's turning out great. My biggest disappointment has to do with the drainage in a portion of the back yard but I feel like this can be overcome with a little persistence and brainpower. And money ;) How's your new home treating you?

Ed: Indeed we were having some drainage problems. I think I was seeing it at its worse because March was our wettest spring ever - but the problem is still a reality because it's still soggy with any sort of excess rain. Grasa sent me an email about permaculture, watched a bunch of videos, and opted to not dig a bunch of french drains. I'm going to bring in someone else who can maybe approach this without installing drains. A cheaper solution is I can dump a bunch of wood chips in the area and add some depth. The chips will break down over time adding more healthy soil. We'll see. Lots of ideas, no solid movement on any of them yet.

Danny: I have a new camera these days, a Nikon D610 with a 50mm lens. I had a cheaper camera before and it was great. It was a D5000 in case you're in the market. Was a great little camera. Kinda sad I sold it :)

Nicole, you can do what I did with a soggy back yard.  It was extremely cheap however, you may have to get a landscape person (someone that knows how to get water to flow naturally) to get your yard to have an outward or downward slope.  Then you can install my crazy drain bucket idea attached to a garden hose (the cost was under $50 bucks!).  The system works extremely well.  Once pressure builds up in the bucket, the water will come flying out and suck the area dry. 

I attach a cheap clear water pump to the garden hose.  The pump fits in the palm of your hand.  It's powered by DC aka a car battery.  Once the terminals make contact the pump is self priming and the water shoots out.  I let the pressure build up for about 15 minutes then disconnect everything.  The water will continue to flow until the bucket is completely empty.  For a picture of this design, go here and read post #38:  http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/new-fig-deck-finished-6862395?pid=1282496244#post1282496244

cheers!

It all looks great, Nicole!  Today, I was doing a photo shoot of the dudes blending 3 concrete eras into one.  Then, I turned around (I was on the big view deck), and this Pakistan Mulberry that I just stuck in the ground (naysayers said, it will die), well it is visible from the top deck and has many growing leaves.  You can't believe the nay sayers.  Believe in you!

Suzi

Nicole,

  Nice to hear from you. Lovely photos, as always.

Suzi why do they think your mulberry will die? I also put one in the ground just a couple weeks ago, an Illinois Everbearing. Mine hasn't woken up yet. Have many more fruit trees to put in the ground yet. (avoiding the swampy area for now). The area I am planting in has nice soil but very rocky so it takes a while to clear out enough of the rocks, but what's left behind is great. Appreciate the encouragement from everyone here.

Dennis thank for the link!

Since the dogs felt 2 weeks away from the vet is entirely too long, Sadie decided to get herself into trouble again. This is what consumed my day today. It's either an insect sting/bite, a foreign body (like grass seed) or a bad tooth. Time will tell. I think she tried to eat a bee but we shall see ;)
 

I am realizing I may have confused Suzi and Jo-Ann in my earlier post - I know one of you guys got a new home last year!  :)