Garden on July 30th

I have some new pictures of my garden taken on July 30th.  I did manage to get the fencing, and put it up.  Stretching it between posts proved pretty difficult so it is not as taut as I would like, but it will do the job of keeping goats, chickens, and children out.  Many of vegetables are doing well.  One variety of my beans is under serious attack from some sort of bug.  I used some non-chemical pesticide, and bought chemicals in case it doesn't work.  My pumpkins are also pretty sad, and all the other plants have mild bugs but I'll start applying some sort of pesticide regularly to keep them under control.  I have a recipe to make a pesticide using local plants which I've made once, but I need to stay more on top of making it for it to be effective.

 

 

On a side note, my room is starting to develop some serious mold issues... my backpack is covered in it.



 

My garden with the fence.

Tbe perimter of garden has berms which I have planted with cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, strawberries, and one rosemary plant.  I weeded the berm after this picture was taken.

Tomatoes and cucumbers. I built a lattice for the cucumbers which may have to be expanded, and support for the tomatoes.  These are in the bed that many, many peope repeatedly informed me that nothing would ever grow due to the nearby tree.  The strawberry berm is on the leftside of the picture.

Cauliflower and cabbage.  The smaller ones are from my nursery which was started several weeks after the big ones which I got from a different nursery.

Leafy greens (mustard greens, lettuce), and tomatoes.  I was able to pick some of the mustard greens on the 30th.  The lettuce is also being eaten by bugs.

Corn and pumpkins

Carrots and beans.  I was able to pick quite a few beans on the 30th with more soon on the way.

Fun around Pokhara and Monsoon falls

First, I hope making this a private blog wasn't too inconvenient for everybody reading it.  I hear there have been some technical difficulties with accessing it.  I'll see what I can figure out.  If it becomes too difficult I'll just make it public again, but only post very selectively.

The other week there was a Peace Corps training in Pokhara.  I went to Pokhara a little early and got to go on a few little adventures around the area with Tara.

First we went to the International Mountain Museum which is run by the Nepal Mountaineering Association.  It is well designed and includes many different exhibits though much of the focus is on the history of 8,000m peak climbing.

Spending a bit too much time in the geology section... it was very comprehensive and probably could use a whole day to really learn about all of the interesting forces at work in such an active place in the world.

Checking out one of the many beautiful photographs in the museum

"Too much geology."

Checking out some fine bivouacing action... That does not look all that pleasant

The word "tale" insinuates that the yeti is made up.  I'm laughing at that absurd idea.  I've seen so many tracks.

And a stuffed yeti puppy to prove they're real.  This one was unlcuky enough to stumble into an army camp, and even so it took almost the entire armory to bring him down.

She's smiling... the yeti is no laughing matter.

After a quick lunch we were off to Bat Cave and Mahendra Cave.  Both caves had large entrances and pretty large caverns once inside, and both featured a smaller "adventurous" exit option.  Bat cave was tighter and involved more scrambling.  The exits are not all that well marked, so we had to do a little bit of exploring to find the exit which was also quite fun.  Mahendra Cave has lights in it, but Bat Cave does not.  At the entrance of Bat Cave they give you a large flashlight.  Bat Cave is called so because of the all that bats that inhabit it at certain times of year.  Right now, (rainy season), they are not there.  We saw one.

Nothing says romance like a dark, damp cave.  (Just before the tiny exit place).

Tara went out first.  She had a much easier time because 1) she is more lithe than I am and 2) she is much smaller than me.

Slowly crawling my way out of the cave.

Almost there

Headroom!!

Mahendra Cave

Mahendra Cave.  Notice the red dots called Tikka.  At the end of the path in the cave there is a priest sitting there who gives those who come a red dot.  Of course, you have to pay him.

The entertaining exit from Mahendra Cave.

 

A while after returning from Pokhara I went for a little walk down near Beni to check out some of the monsoon waterfalls.  These seasonal streams run all of rainy season, and during and immediately after big rains they are quite spectacular.  In these photos it hadn't rained for a day, so the falls are smaller, but still quite beautiful.  I do have a thing for waterfalls.

Some of the recently planted rice terraces.  I'm not sure what the little huts are for; we don't have them up where I live.

 

My Garden in June

Here are a few photos from my garden: (These were taken a few weeks ago, and I just forgot to upload them).  I'll have more coming in a week or two.


My garden (still no fence....just a door)

Corn and pumpkin bed

Nurser with plastic covering. Contains: cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber, mustard leaf, tomato, and lettuce.  Bell peppers did not come up this round.

Carrots still under plastic and beans

Cabbage and cauliflower.  Brocolli and more cabbage and cauliflower will be added to this bed from the nursery.

Cucumber.  These did not transplant well.  I'll try direct seeding next time I think.  This bed will also get tomatoes.

My strawberry plant.  Hopefully it puts out a lot of runners and I get a lot of strawberries.

The fencing material is really taking a long time.  It's probably been two months since it was first ordered, then forgotten and reordered... I'm not sure what's holding it up and this point.  Some people say I need a fence, others say that I am greedy if I don't let the kids steal my vegetables.  These are probably the same people who tell their kids to steal other people's vegetables... I've heard this happens.  I hope the fence gets here.