Doe Visits Hidden Valley!

Hi Everyone,

So I was working outside on the gardens and started feeling as if I was being watched by somebody and, to my surprise, as I turned around I found this beautiful doe standing still looking at me! I couldn't help it and just stood there watching her back. It was wonderful to see this friendly visitor on our grounds!

DID YOU KNOW THAT ...?

* Deer have a great sense of hearing and can even move their ears in any direction, without moving the head.

* The antlers of deer are the fastest growing living tissue on earth.

* A fawn (a baby deer) starts taking its first steps hardly 20 minutes after being born.

Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary Eric and Marie!

We would like to congratulate Eric and Marie on their 1^st Wedding Anniversary! They are the couple that won our free wedding contest last year and were the first couple to hold their wedding at Hidden Valley. We have a lot to celebrate because Eric and Marie just gave us the great news of the baby boy they had! His name is Noah and is just 2 months old. We received his picture and he is an adorable baby and looks just like his mommy. We are very happy to know that their love is getting stronger and we are sure that little Noah is making this 1^st anniversary that more special. We wish them many more anniversaries like this one, full of love, family and great news!

A little pat on the back

Chelsea and her youth group stayed with us 2 weeks ago and left us such a nice review we had to share it with everyone.  We appreciate the feedback and a positive review makes all the hard work worth while.  To read her review and more go to our yelp page at http://www.yelp.com/biz/hidden-valley-retreat-and-spa-escondido

"I recently brought my youth group from Arizona here for a little weekend getaway. We absolutely loved everything about this place and it is easily said that it exceeded my expectations!! I Highly recommend it for any occasion and age. The home and property is well maintained and very comfortable. The grounds are fun to explore, beautiful to look at and, and completely relaxing!! I know that we will for sure be returning to Hidden Valley!!!!


Thank you Chelsea, we look forward to having you and your group back again soon.

So Much Zucchini!!!

Anyone who has grown zucchini knows that once it comes, it comes in mass quantities all at once.  And you can't neglect it otherwise you end up with something that looks like this.

GIGANTIC, MONSTER ZUCCHINI!!!

In case you can't tell, that zucchini is as long as my arm from elbow to fingertip.  And there wasn't just one, there were 6 this size. 

That being said, we have had to get creative with the recipes.  Here is a recipe we've been enjoying for the world's best, super moist zucchini bread.  My friend Daune came up with the recipe and it has been getting eaten as quickly as it is getting baked.  Plus, it freezes well and lasts in the fridge for up to a week.

Ingredients:

6 c AP Flour

2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Nutmeg

1 tsp Allspice

1 tsp Cloves

6 Eggs

1 c Vegetable Oil

1 c Applesauce

2 c White Sugar

2 c Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp Vanilla

6 c Grated Zucchini (with the excess moisture squeezed out)

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. Grease and flour a 4"x8" loaf pan

3.Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl (everything up to the cloves)

4. Beat eggs, oil, apple sauce, vanilla and sugar together

5. Add tthe wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix to combine.

6. Add the zucchini and fold to combine.

7. Pour batter into pans (about half way up)

8. Bake 1 hour or until the a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

This recipe make 3-4 loaves

It took me about 1 hour and 25 minutes to cook 2 loves at once but it was well worth the wait.  Enjoy!!

Rabbit vs Hare

There are hundreds of these rabbits/ hares on the property.  We see them bounding about the gardens, orchard and up and down the roads.  I greet them as "bunnies" but it occurred to me that they may not be rabbits.  So I did a little research and looked at a lot of pictures of both and I have come to the conclusion that these are hares.  The main differences are the long ears, long legs, their solitary life and their instinct to run from us rather than hide.

If someone can correct or confirm my assumption please let me know.  Either way, they are the cutest thing to see on the property.

Organic Pest Control

As many of you know we are trying for a completely organic property. That being said, there are some creatures we would rather not have on the property like: mosquitos, mice, rabbits (in the garden) and gophers. The organic way to control the pests and balance our ecosystem is to encourage preditors to live on the property.

In the case of bats and owls we are building them homes. Bat boxes and owl boxes are easy to build and you can find the plans for free online. You can also find kits and prebuilt ones as well. We have an owl that lives in the palm tree by the deck and if you sit out there at dusk you might see it leave to hunt. Watch carefully because when they fly they are completely silent.

Here is a link to the Bat Conservation page which has tons of resources including step by step plans to build your own bat box http://www.batconservation.org/

Same for the owl boxes. http://www.owlcam.com/whatever/boxbuild.htm

In our garden, we have a family of gopher snakes that keep the rabbits and gophers at bay. We didn't need to build them a home, we just avoid approching them so they don't get scared away. Since they are completely harmeless they are invaluable to anyone with a garden.

If you give nature a chance it will balance itself out and benefits our guests in the process.

Garden Update

Here are the current pics of our veggie garden.  As you can see it is doing very well.  Our sunflower has bloomed, we have a ton of baby zucchinis growing, the beans are blossoming and our watermelon is starting to vine.  It's so exciting to see all our seeds grow into such huge plants.  Our hard work is soon to be rewarded with fresh vegetables.