Song Time/ Falling Leaves Time 2020

 

A sample of Autumn treasures

The full moon occurred here just three hours ago, and so ended our month of Song Time/Falling Leaves Time. 

It has been a busy time here, so we've got a lot of material to cover in this update.

Our weather has been very dry and definitely getting cooler. We had light patchy frost here on the mornings of Sept 21 and 22. Our average first frost date here is generally 10/11-10/20, so you can see that we're headed into cool weather early.

Fall raspberries

Our fall raspberries are doing very well. Much better than our summer berries did.

Picking snap beans

Our snap beans have been doing very well also, especially after the slow and spotty germination this spring. Our Lima beans out did themselves. I've frozen 15 quarts! I pulled the plants this past weekend, so that's the last of them.

Laying out potatoes to dry

We've begun to harvest the potatoes. We plan to finish this harvest on Saturday.

The tomatoes have done well. I've frozen 48 pints, and dehydrated nearly 8 quarts so far.

Lunette inspects the sweet potato bed

Lunette insisted that it was past time to harvest the sweet potatoes. She apparently had inside information, thanks to that terrier nose!

As we began to dig, we found extensive rodent damage!

Rodents gnawed nearly every potato!

We've never had this kind of damage before. Only two hills out of 24 were untouched! Fully 2/3 of our harvest was affected! I had to work  hard to salvage all of the damaged ones. I froze sweet potato puree and also dehydrated both puree and slices. We also ate quite a few meals of sweet potatoes for a couple of weeks. I was able to salvage all of them by cutting away the gnawed areas and cooking them.

Look carefully at the left side. You'll see my helper.

On Labor Day weekend, we renovated the strawberry bed.

Bed before renovation

As you can see, it was an overcrowded mess! We dug up 54 good plants and threw all of the rest out.

(I did save some leaves to dry for tea. It's very good with a little almond extract added.)

Some of the plants were very nice

We removed the plastic mulch and found all kinds of mole tunnels under there.

Lunette inspects a mole run

After pulling everything out, Bob tilled in some rotting wood chips and mushroom compost. We then reset the plants in three orderly rows. Lunette was a great help, as you can see.

Inspection is needed at every step

We finished that job in one day, and we were all worn out.

Hard work takes its toll!

Now we are working on garden clean up. As plants complete their usefulness we take them down.

Cleaning off one of the bean trellises

 This year we're trying trench composting. Bob digs a nice trench in the bed and we fill it with the garden debris, along with the household vegetative matter.

One of Bob's trenches

When filled, he covers the trench with soil and then will top the bed with partially decayed straw.

We still have plenty of work to do in the garden.

On to the pantry. Bob got the drywall hung on two walls and had just finished the insulation work, when we received word that our windows were going to be put in ahead of schedule! Fortunately, we were ready for them.

We now have two wonderful south facing windows in that room.

Back wall before windows

Back wall after windows

View from inside the pantry

We had them replace the two front sidelights at the same time. Now we can open and close those windows and the house has a more finished look.

Front sidelights before

Front sidelights after

Bob begins his two week vacation from Cornell on Monday. He hopes to finish hanging all of the dry wall (among other things) during that time.

Well, as you can see, we've been busy and continue to be so. We did take a day of rest and refreshment on the Equinox. One of the things we did was to take a walk to Teeter Pond in the nearby Finger Lakes National Forest. It was a very lovely time.

Teeter Pond on Sept 22, 2020

By the next update we should be further along in putting the garden to bed. We'll be plenty busy till that time.

We wish all of you a happy, healthy and safe autumn.

Till next time,

Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

Lunette sitting in the sweet potato bed

Harvest/Ingathering 2020

 

A bounty of vegetables

This month of Harvest/Ingathering has passed quickly here at Thistledown Gardens. I've been plenty busy picking produce and stashing it away for winter use. One freezer is full, the second is on its way there. 

Red cabbage ready for the freezer. That's a lot of borscht!

I've gotten the cabbage all frozen- fifty pint boxes all together. Kale and chard, green beans, limas and herbs are being put away, too.

Freezing corn

I have frozen some corn, but still have more to do. There are also more limas and green beans to be done. I've just begun freezing tomatoes and eggplant sauce.

Just some of our vegetables

We're enjoying patty pan squash and tomatoes currently. We did enjoy cucumbers, but are glad that they're all gone now. We've had a few of our potatoes, but most are still underground, as are the sweet potatoes.

Wax and green beans with French fingerling potatoes

New potatoes and green beans mean that it's time for Grandma Neill's green bean soup. There's comfort food! It was delicious.

I've begun picking my dried Aduki beans. They are always the first to be ready. They don't all ripen at once, so you have to pick over each bed three or four times. If you wait too long, the little stinkers split open and you lose all your beans on the ground. The other varieties don't tend to do that. Thankfully. The other dried beans are not ready to harvest yet.

Removing dried seeds

I have also harvested spinach seeds for next year. Noble Giant. A good variety.

While I've been busy with food production and preservation, Bob's been at work in the pantry.

Applying spray foam

The foaming is all done on the two walls that can be done now.

Future closet in the pantry

The closet is all framed in and he's begun hanging the drywall. (Hurray!) 

Drywall begins

Once the drywall is up, he'll shift to cutting firewood. Taping and mudding of the drywall will be done on rainy days. And of course, the fourth wall can't be done until the new windows have been installed later this fall.

It's been dry here this month, with some moderate to warm temperatures. Just in the last few days it has cooled down a fair amount. The seasonal change is certainly close at hand.

I checked my journal, and I'd say that we're at least two weeks behind last year at this time. I hope the weather holds off for those extra two weeks, so we can catch up. But, we get what we get and life rolls on.

Over the Labor Day weekend, we plan to refurbish the strawberry bed. It's not a job that I look forward to, but I am looking forward to it's being done and crossed off of the "to do" list.

We hope you enjoy the rest of this season. Tend your gardens, and don't forget to prepare your inner garden for the season to come.

Till next time,

Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

Abundance/Ripening Time 2020

The garden on July 28th

It's another full moon, so it must be time to hear from those crazy Romicks again.

We've just finished our month of Abundance/Ripening Time.

Our produce is coming in a bit slowly this year, so I've certainly been able to keep up with it.

Peas and berries have been harvested...

...some beets and lots of greens like chard, kale and parsley.

Red currants have been picked and nine pints frozen.

Shiitakes have produced well. This year I sauteed them and then froze them.

Garlic and shallots have been harvested and are drying in the attic.

Squashes, cukes and celery are beginning to come in. Celery is an experiment this year. I was asked to grow out the seed. This variety is strong and tough and used mainly in soups. I'm chopping and freezing the leaves. I'll dehydrate the stems and use them for making stock for soup this winter.

We're still waiting for tomatoes, beans, peppers and eggplants.

Work on the pantry continues. We've pulled out all of the filthy fiberglass batts. (So much mouse poop!)

Bob's now fitting in new 2" foam board. As soon as that's done, he'll seal all of the edges with spray foam. Then he'll build a closet in one corner, so that this can serve as a bedroom at some point, if necessary.

We took time away from pantry work to remove two Yews which flanked our front door. These should have  come out at least twenty years ago. They were crowding the door and made access to the two sidelights impossible. Since we're having these windows replaced, the shrubs had to go. For now we've left the two shrubs at the front corners of the house because Lunette likes to sit in their shade.

Speaking of Lunette...

We've had some very hot days and she has spent a good deal of time sleeping right underneath our A/C unit. She knows what to do in the hot weather!

We got a new futon. We ordered it from a company in California that specializes in "clean" (chemically speaking) bedding. Lunette immediately claimed the mattress as her own. Sorry doggy, no such luck!

It took four weeks to receive the futon, but it was worth it. There is absolutely no odor about it.

We've just started Lunette on a new anti anxiety drug. We're halfway through the trial period, but it seems to be working better already. This won't cure any of her health problems, but should make the time she has left a little more comfortable.

We celebrated Lammas Day on August 1st. That's the halfway point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox. It's a celebration of early harvest, or first fruits. We enjoyed our first patty pan squash, some new potatoes and our first cabbage salad of the season.

I suppose that's all the news for now. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and may your gardens produce abundantly.

Bob, Kathleen and Lunette

Fire Fly / Long Days Time 2020

Two buddies relaxing

Greetings form Thistledown as we come to the close of Fire Fly / Long Days Time.  Things have been "popping" here as we roll into summer.

Our weather has been hot and fairly moist, so things in the garden are finally taking life seriously.

Assorted greens from the garden

   

 

   The greens have been coming in nicely. 

Pac choi, parsley and shiitakes

I've even gotten some put by in the freezer.

Garlic scapes

   

   Garlic scapes have been harvested...

Pesto patties ready for the freezer

...and made into a vegan pesto. The patties are in the freezer for use next winter.

"Red Climber" Kidney beans

Planting beans along a trellis

   I've got all of the corn and drying beans planted. All are growing nicely.

Happy Solstice!

We celebrated the Solstice with strawberry shortcake. Our berries produced very poorly this year. I've been ignoring the beds and need to spend some remedial time with them this summer. Raspberries and tree fruit also look like they'll be sparse. Thankfully the blueberries look like they'll give us a good yield.

Our big renovation project for this year has begun: the pantry. 

Pantry before: SW corner

   Past owners have used this room for a bedroom or a family room (den). We use it as pantry space, housing our two freezers, clotheslines (for inclement weather), extra large cookware and bulk beans and grains.

Pantry before: NW corner

The space was in a deteriorating condition, having last been updated in the 1960s. We had a permanent ceiling and lights installed right after we moved in. Now it's time to tackle the rest of the room.

Temporary set up of pantry

   First we had to empty the room. I narrowed it down to essentials and they are now in our dining room. (We are eating in the kitchen). The extra things are in the cellar in an accessible location.

   Then on to the room...

Example of torn carpet

Bob began by removing the carpet. This was foam backed indoor/outdoor stuff. There were many tears and the backing had deteriorated. That made it come up quite easily.

  Underneath the carpet were asphalt tiles. The glue on these was also decaying, so they popped off easily, too. Now we're down to the plywood subflooring.

Bob begins to pull up the carpet

Off come the paneling

   Next, Bob moved on to removing the paneling. As we suspected, there was no drywall behind 2/3 of the walls. That accounts for a lot of the cold air coming in. There are fiberglass batts, poorly installed, that sit between the paneling and the outside clapboards. Nice fire safety, there! This is why we have building codes, people!

Wall with old window opening

Behind one wall we found what we believe was originally a window. An even bigger surprise was ahead.

Old exterior door

   The next wall revealed an original exterior door. It was simply nailed shut and paneled over. It won't be reused because it's a solid wood (non insulated) door. It's too large to use anywhere else in the house. Too bad.

Drywall coming down

Bob's now removing what old drywall there was in place.

His next step will be to remove a rough grid work that held the paneling in place. Then he'll properly insulate the walls with rigid foam and expandable spray foam.

We've contracted to have two new windows installed on the south wall. This is scheduled for the autumn, so the project won't be finished before winter. But, there's plenty to do in the meantime.

That's what we've been up to here. Lunette continues her squirrel watching, punctuated by outdoor naps. She's having a difficult time this week. Someone in the neighborhood feels the need to shoot off fireworks on a daily basis. Even with her prescription medication, she gets extremely agitated. She has a weakened heart and we wouldn't be surprised if some such Tom Foolery sent her into a fatal cardiac event. But let's not interfere with anyone's fun. Sorry, but I'm getting very tired of our national tendency toward selfish disregard of others.

Please think and act in a caring and kind manner as you go about your life this summer. We're all members of this universe together, whether we like it or not.

Till next time,

Bob, Kathleen and Lunette 

Napping dog. We often watch to see if she's still breathing.

Bright Time/Flower Time 2020

Apple Blossom

With tonight's full moon, the month of Bright Time/Flower Time comes to a close. Another month of uncertainty and anxiety for everyone. We hope all of you readers are well and continuing to use precautions, not just for yourselves, but for the sake of others.

We've had a bit deeper experience with the pandemic here this month. Bob took my mother to Urgent Care for a twisted ankle. Since he missed lunch, he stopped at a local grocery to pick up a ready to go sandwich. A few days later, we received word that he may have had contact with someone who tested positive for COVID 19 while at the store. So, off he went for "the test" and began a period of self isolation. For the duration, we needed to stay six feet apart, sleep in separate rooms and use separate bathrooms. The bathrooms were no problem. Bedrooms more problematic. We have two rooms, but only one bed and no sofa. It's not a simple matter of just spending the money and picking up a bed (or sofa). With my allergy issues, conventional beds and furniture are not a good choice. Acceptable alternatives must be special ordered and are expensive. So, Bob slept on our latex foundation and I slept on the floor on our mattress topper folded in half. It was a mighty uncomfortable twelve days for both of us. We're glad to say that his result was negative and never developed symptoms. Also glad to be off the floor!

Cleaning garden edge

While he was restricted, he got quite a bit of weeding and mulching done in the garden.

Putting down mulch

But when he ran out of mulch, he couldn't go and get another load to finish the job right away.
This disappointed him considerably.

Hay, baby

After isolation ended, he got a bale of spoiled hay from someone at work.
This is why we have to keep one gas powered vehicle. It has to have the power to tote this kind of stuff.

Washer repair

He also found the time to repair our leaking washer. I'm sure glad that U Tube video worked out!

Cleaning cilantro for freezing

I've been doing garden work. I've frozen a few quarts of herbs and gotten everything planted except one bed of corn and the drying beans.

The plants have been growing slowly due to the unseasonably cool weather (which has now turned hot, by the way).







In the middle of the night on June 2, we were hit with a severe storm: 3/4" of rain, strong wind and 1/2" hail, all in about 30 minutes' time. Our chimney cap was blown off and deposited in the garden, some one hundred yards away. The garden plants sustained significant damage.
Tomato and pepper plants were broken clean off. Kale and chard, which were just getting big enough to harvest, were shredded. Even the garlic and shallots took a beating. It's all very discouraging!

That's about the sum total of our troubled month. We're hoping for better next month.

We'll leave you with some of the lovely flowers that have graced us in this month of Flower Time.
Till next time,
Take care.
Bob, Kathleen and Lunette

Trillium

Forget Me Nots