The Third Act

feels like summer

Today it feels like summer.  It's not that hot, but it's become humid and that always makes it feel hotter than it is. 

I managed to get the garden watered...quite a task at this point.  We still haven't gotten much rain, although there are potential storms on their way...we shall see.  I also had to do some critter interference.  There were green tomatoes on the ground here and there, so someone has discovered them.  Of course, the fruits are discarded because they're green...such a waste!  I had just enough mesh to envelop the trellised tomato plants.  There was also another kind of cloth that will do for now, that I draped on a couple of the determinate variety plants.  Then a thorough spraying of Liquid Fence.  And that's enough for now!

I have developed a bit of a relaxed attitude toward garden production.  There are so many variables that can make it difficult for plants to produce abundantly.  Given the shade in my garden, the clay soil (which has been getting better over the years) and the critters...there's a lot going on.  So, whatever I can pick for myself (and possibly share) is almost icing on the cake.  I'm after good soil and strong plants and that just takes a while.  

 

 

 

 

a new shade of poppy showed up today

raspberries

The fall into your hand ripeness of raspberries...literally tastes like candy to me.  I remember the first year the canes fruited, popping one of these into my mouth and being amazed at the flavor.  I thought back to my childhood and those tins of candy (were they European in origin?), the raspberry ones actually shaped like a berry.  Perhaps there was artificial flavoring in them.  Still, the fresh ripe berries have the same intensity and sweet/tartness.  I'm very grateful for these fruiting plants in the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

Baba Yaga's garden

I've thought of my home and garden as a dedication (of sorts) to the archetype of Baba Yaga.  I like the connection to her through my ancestral ties, even though my mom never knew of this mythology.  Given my own cronehood, my predilection to living in tune with nature, my little woodsy abode...it has always seemed fitting.  At the time I moved here, life was in great transition and there was a lot of repair work to do within.  The old Baba made sense as a partner in this effort.

She's not always been easy, though, Baba Yaga.  But she never is, is she?  There are lessons, tests, but the rewards can be great.  And what better place to learn than in the garden?  It never stops either...there's always something new.  Over the years it's become less triggering (?) for me to adjust to changes...shall I say, to things I find frustrating or upsetting.  It's become easier to feel the joy of the moment, the delight in little triumphs, the awe of discovery.  The garden in particular offers a refuge and sanctuary which is uncannily uplifting. 

And after a while the line blurs and she may meld with me.  How interesting is that?  I learn from her, but she is within.  And the garden?  An extension of that energy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

kale pie

The kale in my garden has done ridiculously well.  It was planted by seed in autumn.  For the majority of the winter, it sat in the bed at about eight inches high, in stasis.  It didn't die, it didn't grow.  Coming up on spring, I knew I needed the bed cleared for warm crops.  I didn't have the heart to just pull up the little kale plants and put them in the compost.  After all, they'd survived the winter (granted, we had a very mild winter).  So I dug them up and transplanted them in a space they could take up for a while.  Spring comes and after a month of not really growing at all, the kale takes off!  I now have about ten plants that are robust and big.  

Over the past couple months I've been eating on this kale quite regularly.  There's only so much "kale sauteed with garlic and olive oil" I want to eat though.  I want something new!  I'd been thinking a lot about historical cooking recently.  One thing that came to mind was savory pies...hand pies to be specific.  While I like the idea of hand pies, I really didn't want to go through all the trouble.  A regular shaped savory pie is what I ended up making.  I cooked the kale, of course, in olive oil with some onion, garlic, red pepper and fresh corn...oh and lots of fresh dill from the garden.  Added to that some fresh cheeses and one egg.  I found an Italian savory crust recipe that used olive oil...and I subbed whole wheat for half the all purpose flour.  A layer of jack cheese went on the base of the crust before I put in the rest of the filling.

And there you have it.  It's really good!  There are leftovers.  I'm sharing a couple slices with a neighbor (food is always better when shared).  I shall file this idea away in my memory bank (maybe I should write it down?).

 

 

 

 

 

more Agecroft hall

It was really a perfect day for an event on Saturday.  Maybe a bit warm, but not terrible.  Today is gray, cool-ish and a little rainy.  All things I'm quite okay with!

 

 

 

 

not my garden (for a change)

Agecraft Hall had a market event today, which included free admission to the gardens.  The wares on display were all very nice, although I can't say I was necessarily looking for anything (that being said, I did bring home some Blackheath mead).  Really, I just wanted to see the gardens.  This time of year is really prime, especially since we've not been blasted with unrelenting heat yet.  Yes, it has been dry-ish, but the cool evenings and nights are a treat.  It'll be hot hot hot very soon.

I have more little Instax mini snaps than this, but I'm trying to learn to pace myself with my sharing.  Maybe that doesn't really matter (most of the time I know it doesn't really matter).  It's funny these "rules" I sometimes create to make myself be less like me.  Weird.  But anyhoooo....

 

 

 

 

 

 

peaches

I'm so happy to have summer fruit in the fruit bowl again...

 

 

 

smokey days

I think this is day three of our skies being affected by smoke from the fires in Canada.  It's not as bad as further north, to be sure, but it's still icky.

For some reason I couldn't go back to sleep after waking around 1:30 am to Avery's critter warning call.  I tossed and turned for hours.  Finally around 5 I decided to get up because I wanted to see if the sun would be red as it rose.  Well, turns out the tree line is too high to see it at that stage.  Also, what I thought was haze from smoke early this morning was actually fog!  Ah well.

The air wasn't terrible in the morning, so I managed to accomplish some necessary yard work.  After lunch...I had to take a nap.  And after that it was Costco, Avery walk and dinner.  Clearly, I'm just getting around to post later than usual.  It was just a weird sort of day.

 

 

rhubarb and strawberry crisp in the making...

 

Avery seeing what there was to see in the early hours...

hazy day

The smoke from the wildfires has been making its way south for a few days now.  We're better off than regions north, but the air is still pretty bad.  Consequently I've curtailed any intensive garden work until things start to clear a bit.  Oddly, it's not particularly hot out and would've been a nice day to mow the lawns or continue the weeding project.  But it's okay...we roll with it.  

I did spend a little time feeding and watering some of the beds.  Avery spent her time hunting the things she hunts.  At times she reminded me of a bull in a china shop, just traipsing right through established plants...on a mission apparently.

After lunch we took one of our many "go stand in the garden" breaks.  It blows me away how tall the plants get!  I thought to bring out the Lomo'Instant and take a few pics of me in the garden...so there's some comparisons as to height.  Sure, I'm not very tall, at 5'2"...but still.  There's a shot without me that just shows the red bee balm...know that that is taken from my eye level.  Also, one of me leaning?  I was trying to position the remote button to get the shutter to fire, but it ends of up looking like I'm leaning over hugging the plants...which is completely appropriate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday

I need to take my exercise walks alone.  Avery gets her sniff/stroll walks at another time.  Today promised to be very warm (hasn't turned out to be so bad), and going forward this is the time of year that these walks need to be done early.  I decided to carry along the little Lomo'Instant mini and shoot off a pack.  Here are few that I like...