Seeds

Here are my seed orders for 2012. All my seeds are heirlooms, no GMOs, mostly organic and from farms that sued Monsanto over their use of GMOs.

From Baker's Creek:

Caspian Pink Tomato
Black from Tula Tomato
Tigerella Tomato
Five Color Silver Beet Chard
Petit Gris de Rennes Melon
Ronde De Nice (summer squash)

From Adaptive Seeds:

	Lettuce, Soulie
	Tomato, De Berao Braun
	Hot Pepper, Szegedi 179 Paprika
	Tomato, Uralskiy Ranniy
	Cucumber, Mideast Peace
	Melon, Sweet Freckles
	Sweet Pepper, Liebesapfel
	Campanula, Dinner Bells
	Cauliflower, Leamington Winter Giant

From Seed Savers Exchange:

Bean, Climbing French , Packet 50 seeds
Bean, Sultan's Golden OG, Packet 50 seeds
Sunflower, Torch , Packet 100 seeds
Flower, Persian Carpets Zinnia, Packet 100 seeds

D. Landreth Seed Co (oldest seed company in the US):

Chervena Chujski (bulgarian red pepper).
Mervielle des Quartres Saisons Lettuce (wonder of the 4 seasons).
Coczella di Napoli (zucchini).

Left overs from last year that I will start again:

Tropeana Tonda Onions (loved these mild pinkish onion which could be used fried or raw for salads)
Franish Marigold (open pollinated of french marigold and danish Ildkongen marigold).
Bozeman Watermelon (early variety was ripe mid-august - fantastic).
Grune Perle (green pearl) curley Parsley
Genovese Basil
Blaugruner Farinto Leeks.

Knights Brook Closing, Part I.

On Friday December 23, 2011, the Town of Newington's Conservation Commission acquired a conservation easement on behalf of the Town to protect 38 acres of the Knight's Brook prime wetland in partnership with the NH Department of Transportation.

The project was required as mitigation for wetlands impacts due to the expansion of the Spaulding Turnpike. The NH DOT provided about 90% of the funding with the Town contributing the remainder and receiving a conservation easement in return that ensures the easement area will be permanently protected.

Signing on behalf of the Town are Selectmen Jack O'Reilly and Conservation Commission member Nancy Cauvett. Also in the photograph are the David Hislop and FX Bruton who served as the attorney for the Conservation Commission.

Garlic (July)

Garlic was the first plant to come up this year and also one of the first to be harvested in late July. Being a hot July, the significance of the harvest and the approach of fall seemed remote but now it's two weeks from the start of school and the nights are getting cold even if the days are still hot.

Elsa and Josie really enjoyed pulling them up ~ and it's great to let them harvest a plant they can't really damage by pulling the wrong way at things they can't reach etc.

The two varieties shown here are from New Roots Farm in Newmarket (who make the most phenomenal hot-dogs from their own cows) and Meadow's Mirth Farm in Stratham (who grow the best potatoes anywhere). Both are excellent.

Mockingbirds

I was watering the trees between the Newington Public School and the Fire Department when I noticed some mockingbirds in the flowering pear tree by the side entrance. You can see both adults in the three in this first picture.

In the second picture you can see four chicks with their beaks open. They seemed pretty stressed. It was still about 98 degrees, down from 102 earlier in the day. You can see their mouths open ~ hopefully because they are hungry and not due to dehydration.

Top Sunflower

Title says it all. I am six foot two inches tall, so this has to be at or above 10 feet. Tall in any case.... you can see some stupice tomatoes to my left as well.