2nd Annual THB Hop Harvest

The day of anticipation finally came....Sunday was the 2nd Annual THB Hop Harvest.  This is the day we have been waiting for since March when the little bines started peaking through the soil.  If you don't remember, last year I planted 2 hop variety rhizomes.  One being the Cascade variety and the other one Chinook.  If you aren't familiar with hops....they give the beer bitterness, flavor, and aroma.  I am what they call a hop head...meaning I love the bitterness, spicy, piney, citrusy, earthy, and floral qualities hops have to offer a good beer....the more the marrier.  With this harvest being our second year.....the plant should produce more than their rookie season.  Last year I believe we were able to harvest about 4 oz of hops......this year Marie (my little picker)and I were able to pick 33.1oz.  Yes, 2 pounds of green sticky hop cones.  Would you just look at em'!

Marie just loved the aroma they gave off.

 Cutting them off their support system.

Getting ready to brew with the Cascade/Chinook mix.

Marie is stirring the mash.  I developed a very simple Pale Ale recipe.  I want the THB hops to shine through.  Stay tuned to hear how the brew turns out!

Making Some Changes.....for the Good!

The KZ project is coming along "somewhat" smoothly.   I spoke with my local bike shop today and they sadly informed me that the carburetor jets have been on backorder for the past week.  This is a real bummer, I thought I would have had them by now and buzzing our hill.  I did receive two ebay purchases this week....one being a set of side covers and the other is a new aftermarket flat/drag handlebar.  I am looking for that cafe/bobber style....all I am lacking is some fat tires and the back fender cut shorter. Hopefully this weekend I can make my mind up on how to cut the fender.  I plan on buying an aftermarket bullet style tail light and front and rear signal lights.  Last weekend I took the "new to me" seat pan and built a new seat.  I didn't want the dual seat position that I had before.  This is a cafe/bobber now, I want a flat and uncomfortable seat.  I played around with the old seat foam.....some movie theatre seat foam....and carpet padding.  I finally picked the carpet pad.  

I have known since the bike has been running that the head gasket is leaking.  After doing some research on the KZ I have found out in discussion threads that this is quite normal for this style and they didn't really fix the problem until Kawasaki changed the engine in the late 70's.  Since the top end is going to be torn down I will replace the gaskets and the piston rings for sure....maybe even the pistons.  If the new jets don't solve the smokey muffler problem this will.  I hope to discuss this with the shop tomorrow morning about this next step.  I did ride it around the block a few times tonight and it ran pretty good.  I had a few stutters along the way and I'm not sure its from the head or the carb.  Only time will tell.  I do like the position I sit with the new seat and flat handlebars. 

Day 1

Tonight after the ride.  Like my retro style open face helmet?

Gardens Gone WILD!

Who would have thunk that a little sunshine and heat would make a garden grow? It is definitely a novel concept up here in the PacNW.  Monday night we harvested a bounty of goodies: tomatoes, lettuces, snap peas, fava beans, zucchini, cucumbers, baby carrots and even a baby beet!

Fava beans accompanied our jalapeno turkey burgers... too bad we couldn't have a friend and some Chianti for dinner!

Check out this gorgeous salad... Prepped by Chef Willie... with our lettuce, tomatoes, beets, and carrots! Topped with some seared scallops. Gormet.

We harvested our 6-foot flowering dill.... and worked a barter trade with the local veggie stand.  We got a huge seedless melon from Hermiston OR in exchange for 2 buckets of dill. Works for us!

Pickin' snap peas...

Thinning the 'maters.

Romaine and red leaf... plenty to share!

Hop buds are getting B I G!

Our first quart of bread n butter slices.

The chickens are enjoying our garden scraps... not quite the same as having cows like the G'rents used to... but they are pretty stinkin cute!
We are hoping for much more gardening excitement in the coming weeks... hopefully the weather will cooperate!

The Texans Come to Town

We were so lucky to have a visit from some of our Texas family.  Leigh Ann, Maxim, Alex, and Sam arrived on Friday, July 20th for a week long stay.  Our week was definitely power packed... Lots of walks, visits to the chickens/garden, a steam train ride... trips to Seattle (Pike's Place) and Olympia (for the LakeFair Carnival)... tons of delicious eats and abundant laughs.  We even got to enjoy watching the Bachelorette Final Rose with Leigh Ann!  And fun times with hula hoops and foxtails... We just wish it never had to end.

We welcomed them with a sweet cherry pie. Marie was skeptical, but it was very tasty.

A pic of Uncle Buddy showing Alex the chickens...

One of our morning walks... followed by one of our evening walks...

A visit to a local blueberry farm.

Family laughs.
We had such a great time. Our house was so quiet and lonely after they left... we have so many memories to treasure.  It is just hard to have half of our hearts in Texas.

She is running better!

While Marie was gone this weekend I worked on the KZ400.  I had ordered some new jets for the carbs, but unfortunately they were the wrong size.  So I reordered them and they should be in next week.  I took the old jets and cleaned thoroughly just so I could get the bike running.  After reassembling the carbs the bike kicked over and ran.  I installed the new pod filters as well.  I drove it around the neighborhood a few times to warm up the engine.  After the engine gets warm there is smoke coming out of the left exhaust pipe.  This could be an indication that the mixture is too rich.  Hopefully the new jets will solve this problem.  I have been reading up on the clutch adjustment....this will be my next task.

I purchased an old seat and two side covers from Ebay, they should be here some time next week.  I will keep you posted.