Kicking and Screaming

I’m personally a fan of the extremes.  I love Summer and I love Winter.  Fall I don’t particularly care for because I’m usually not ready for summer to be over, and as much as I should love spring because of the gardening aspect I’m afraid it’s just too muddy overall for me.  It’s chilly and frankly just teases you with the cold sun that looks like it should be a lot warmer.  So here we are again.  Somehow Summer has managed to race by and I’m not sure where it went.  Like it or not I know summer is coming to an end.  My morning glories are already getting burned by the cold nights, my tomatoes and cucumbers were never the same after the storm and have no chance of kicking into another round at this point.  And slowly the black eyed susans that bloom so brightly for the better half of the summer are finally winding down. 

In New England summer seems to come and go this time of year.  We got really cold where I actually broke out some sweaters already, and yet this past weekend I was wearing shorts again.  However there is no fooling the trees that surround me.  As I lay in bed what was once a view of lush green is beginning to become a blend of reds, yellows and oranges, a sure sign colder days are ahead.  Driving around you can see the fields sprinkled with orange globes as the pumpkin plants die back to leave the fruits of their labor behind to be picked.  Our pool is still open, the last holdout of summer.  Once we cave there I’ll be looking forward to the days of lounging in front of a warm fire while the world is blanketed in white.  (while dreaming and planning next year’s garden of course) In the meantime though I’ll head into fall kicking and screaming as I hold on to the last few days that feel like summer regardless of what the calendar says. 

Is that Butter? ? ? ? ? Now what?

It’s amazing how you can’t do something if you try, but you always manage to do it when you least expect it.  Last year when I started making bread I thought it would be cool to make my own butter to go with it.  I thought it was only fitting.  So I got some heavy cream, did some research and started whipping, and whipping, and whipping and of course nothing happened.  Imagine my surprise this past weekend. 

I was making a dessert that needed some whipped cream.  It only needed a little bit so I tried making it in a different container than I usually use.  My immersion blender has a whisk attachment, and when I turned it on it causes that cream to fill the whole container (think tall cup).  Well I thought I had whipped it enough, but when I went to pipe it onto my cupcakes it looked a little watery.  I still had some leftover so I decided to whip it some more so I could use it later.  Well it didn’t get thicker.  Instead it got more watery, so I whipped it some more.  Next thing I know I’ve got CLUMPS!

Then I got excited.  So I kept going and guess what.  I GOT BUTTER! ! ! ! Well that was what I was guessing it was anyway.  Turns out it was.  I kept going so the butter had completely separated out.  I put it in a container to take to work (a co worker I knew use to make butter) and asked now what.  Turns out you don’t really need to do anything else.  So we put it on some bagels and it was AWESOME! Turns out it tasted better with a little salt added for the bagel, but seriously how awesome is that.  Fresh butter that I actually managed to make.  Of course I couldn’t do it when I tried, but now I know what container to use to make butter (note to self not a good container to make whipped cream in).  Now where is some fresh home made bread?

Mother Nature Keeps on Ticking

I’m happy to say that some of the garden has survived, and besides the complete jungle out there you can’t really tell there was any damage on the surface.  It’s been an absolutely insane month since the storm.  Thankfully all our deadlines (tax) got extended so that has helped.  However, I still couldn’t tell you what I’ve been doing for the last month.  Or even how a month has even gone by. 

The flowers have straightened themselves out and are as tall as ever. Guess there’s no beating mother nature down.   Luckily Irene didn’t destroy my cotton plants which are still going.  I’ve gotten multiple blooms off them this year which really aren’t that exciting.  The seed pods though are getting bigger by the day so I can’t wait until they finally burst open.  I bet it’s going to look very cool with this little cotton ball in the garden.  I will say I have definitely forgotten just how tall Cosmos can get when they are happy.  I think some rearranging is in order for next year. 

The tomatoes which my girl friend forgot to mention were the TALL ones have just about flopped over everything.  Unfortunately they have not fared well even after the storm.  BUT . . . . . I was finally able to get enough to try this pasta dish that started the whole journey into the world of multi colored tomatoes and let me tell you completely fantastic and totally worth it.  Maybe next year I’ll figure out how to can and be able to keep some of it for the winter months.  Our corn is still going and managed to stay completely upright.  I even have a few ears of popcorn growing.  I’m crossing my fingers that they get big enough to actually get something.  Ahhhh so many goals & wishes but simply not enough time to get them all done. 

Next on our list is our new veggie garden.  We just got the wood delivered so hoping we can get that is pretty shortly and have it ready to go for next spring. 

Irene August of 2011

WOW can a little tropical storm do a lot of damage.  I’ll be honest I never thought it would really hit us, and even if it did I didn’t think it would hit us that hard.  So I picked up made sure everything that could get picked up by wind was taken care of.  Brought all my plants inside, and actually filled some containers with water, filled the bath tubs and at the last minute filled a bucket for the dogs. 

We lost a tree and it seems that my garden has seen better days since the storm.  Trees were down all over our town and for once we actually lost all power and cell service for about 6 days in my area.  Work had power so that made it a little easier to get cold water on a daily basis.  We also had the pool in the backyard which also made it easy and a little fun to actually bathe out there.  At least we were clearn. 

Even things that looked like they made it are not very happy right now.  The cherry tomatoes are rotting on the bushes and my watermelon is just dying back.  Looks like I’ll have to wait until next year for some real results.  I did however find a watermelon out front which I think is the orange glow that seems to be growing quite well.  Can’t wait to see if it grows and I get anything. 

Flowers seem to be hanging in there.  Some of my cosmos split straight down the middle, but are still going.  If I thought my front was a jungle before the storm it’s deep jungle now.  I did finally found a spot that the cotton seems to be enjoying and that has made it through the storm just fine.  I can’t wait to see if I actually get a cotton ball with new seeds in it from the plant.

Crossing my fingers.!

Some of the fun from IRENE

two trees at the top of our street.  One tree fell onto the other, but at least it was stopped befoe it actually landed on the power box.  Both trees were quickly removed. 

This is the tree we lost.  It was actually struck by lightning a few years ago, and was doing fine, but it was no match for IRENE.  This is right after it fell before the town came.  It was blocking about 3/4 of the rd which is about 4 cars wide. 

The town came by prett quick to get it out of the rd.  they cut off the branches that were along one side and used a snow plow to puch it back into our yard.  Thankfully they didn't puch it into our baby cherry tree. 

The garden in front of the deck.  It's amazing how straight everything was until the storm.  Thankfully even the flowers that were split are still hanging on and haven't started to dye back. Hopefully they'll make it through the season.  it's a total jungle now without question. 

My Full Basket ! ! ! ! !

When I jumped back into real gardening (not just containers on my balcony which was right outside my door) I quickly realized that I needed a way to get the stuff back to the house without making a million trips.  SO I found a garden hood which is a great sturdy basket with a wire bottom so you can rinse your picks and it will drain right out. 

Well Like most times once I got it I didn’t really need it.  Even though I totally needed something before.  But this year I was finally able to really use it.  I can’t tell you how awesome it was to just go and pick stuff and have a place to put it.  Usually I was putting them in my shirt, my skirt, my hands or once in a while a container that I grabbed (ex raspberries). 

Turns out it actually holds a lot.  I wanted to pick as much as I could before it all blew away or got broken and ended up with the following: tomatoes, cayenne peppers, jalapenos, lettuce, cucumbers (big and small), basil, and even a couple of egg plants.  It actually ended up being a pretty hefty load.  YEAH!  At last! Now if only the rest of the tomatoes would ripen.  I want some fresh sauce. 

Now I get to add some mystery peppers, tomatoes (that were supposed to be plum) and lots of black and white cherries.  Looks like my orange and red cherries are just rotting right now.  I've been able to get tons of basil, greens and egg plants this year.  Funny how my staples aren't doing as well, but things I've never had any luck with at all are doing fantastic this year.  Funny are mother nature works that way.

Changing Winds

It’s amazing how time flies.  Most people don’t truly see the changing seasons.  We just wake up one day and realize that we’re wearing different clothes.  That the “normal” temperature is changing.  Then sometimes you can feel it.  In the spring it’s an exciting time.  People are itching to get outside and enjoy the warmth of the sun.  I guess fall can be exciting too.  For me I’m not ready to let summer’s warmth go just yet, but some how last weekend I felt something in the air, and suddenly the mornings got a little chilly, and I saw a forecast with 48 degrees as a low.  Maybe the change has started, or maybe it’s just this crazy hurricane called Irene that seems to be changing things. 

Either way it’s clear that fall is one it’s way.  The vegetable garden has turned into a jungle, fruit is starting to ripen and pumpkin products have started to hit the shelves.  It’s only August, but plans the pumpkin carving party and what to do with the seeds are already underway.  Guess every season has a plus. 

August so Bitter Swet

August seems to always be so bitter sweet the last few years.  It's an awesome time because most of the hard core gardening chores are done.  Hopefully summer projects are coming to an end, and the dog days of summer seem to be in full gear.  With all that what's not to love?  The fact that time has flown by.  It seems like yesterday that I was anxiously waiting for the sun to warm everything up, I was on time for so many things and it looked like this would finally be the summer where it all came together.  Fast forward to today and not so much. 
We did manage to get in two new spaces.  One brand new garden, and one complete redo where there use to stand two HUGE burning bushes.  Oh and we finally got the back pool corner cleaned up, planted and mulched.  So we really have gotten a lot done.  It just seems so sad that today I got my fall seeds going.  I'm making plans to pull up what's left of the spring peas and start them fresh for the fall.  And realizing that in about a month it will be time to start pulling out the long sleeves. 

Our two new gardens look great and have at least filled in with some great annuals.  The hops are completely taking off this year and look fantastic on their trellis.  The non planted morning glories have finally filled in, and I even think my climbers out front have finally settled in.  So now it seems that my goals are changing to maximizing my time by the pool.  I know before I know it we'll be talking about closing it, or arguing about going in because I'll think it's too cold. 

So rather than rush I'm trying to plan the attack for the fall (to try to avoid last minute rush and sticking plants in random places) and trying to kick back and enjoy the sun while we can.