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| A variety of lovely vegetables |
Our month of Abundance/ Ripening ended with this full moon. Things are ripening, and some things are in abundance. Mostly bills, unfortunately!
The garden is producing enough for us to eat and store away some for winter.
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| Leafy greens and peppers |
We've harvested cabbages, some chard and some kale...
Patty Pan squashes in great quantity,
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| Tri colored snap beans |
and snap beans in large numbers.
Tomatoes are out there, but not turning red in any numbers yet. We've only enjoyed two small ones so far. We're looking forward to more soon.
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| Laying out garlic to dry |
The garlic and shallots have been harvested and are drying in the attic.
Corn ears are developing. Regular and sweet potatoes aren't ready to harvest yet, although we have sneaked some regular potatoes to enjoy now.
The drying beans are looking good with pods growing.
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| A wash basin of shiitake mushrooms |
Our shiitake logs gave us a nice crop, too. We couldn't possibly eat all of them fresh so I dried most of them.
I got two quarts of dried slices. These will make especially good soup this winter.
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| Two quarts of shiitake slices |
When not working in the garden, we've been harvesting and splitting wood. Bob did fell a dead cherry tree, but mostly we're cutting up wood already down on our property.
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| Bob with and old section of red oak |
Bob saws the trunks into rounds and wrestles them onto the log splitter. I do the job of an eight year old. I run the splitter control, help stack the wood and gather twigs and small branches for kindling. I don't feel like I'm doing much, but Bob says it's a big help.
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| Wood pile at present. Black walnut, cherry and maple |
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| Lammas eve at Lodi Point Park |
We celebrated Lammas Day on August 1. That's the climax of summer, the halfway point between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox.
On the night before, the three of us went to nearby Lodi Point State Park just before sunset.
It was a very nice evening.
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| Gorgeous cloud at Lodi Point |
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| Buttermilk Falls, Ithaca NY |
The next day, Bob and I hiked in Ithaca's Buttermilk Falls State Park. It was a lovely day. We packed a picnic lunch to eat there.
After coming home, we played a game, read aloud to each other and had a nice supper.
No work that day - a real holiday!
We've had a streak of unfortunate (and costly) occurrences this month. First, Bob has to have more costly dental work done. We're hoping that the dental insurance will cover a little more than last time, but it's still a tiny fraction of the bill. Bob has a genetic predisposition to dental issues. We've decided we need to expect and prepare for this type of expense every year. We're both healthy in other ways, so I guess it could be much worse.
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| Old tank has to go |
Our fuel oil tank failed inspection and needs to be replaced before they will bring any more oil. (Remember, this is not only our back up heat, but also our source of hot water.)
Of course, the tank is full and all of that has to be pumped out. It's a loss because to reuse it would void the warranty on our new tank.
Right after getting the news about the oil tank, Bob got a flat tire on his car. This car doesn't come with a spare, just a "fix a flat" thing. He's going to buy a tire and rim to keep as a spare. Both cars need full sets of tires before winter.
The "topper" is that our big property tax bill is due the beginning of September. Hurrah! When it rains, it pours! That list aught to make at least a few of you feel better about your situation. Glad I could be of help!
Lunette fell and hurt herself this week. She has "safety slippers" to wear on our wood floors, but someone (who will remain nameless) neglected to put them on. There are no broken bones or dislocations, just swelling and pain. The vet has given her a new pain medicine. If it works well, it will become part of her daily med routine. It looks like we need to add more carpet runners for her to walk on. Our house already has "doggy runways" all over the place! For now she's laying low and hobbling around on three legs. The squirrels are taking advantage of this.
I guess that's all the news for now. Enjoy the rest of your summer and we'll check in again around the time of the next full moon.
Till then,
Kathleen, Bob and Lunette
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| The August garden |
