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

Shoots Show / Growing Time 2020

Nectarine blossom

Greetings to our captive audience! We can judge how bored everyone is becoming by watching how quickly the number of "hits" on our post climbs. Glad we can be of service!

We're still carrying on here. Apparently spring is also on a "stay at home" order, because it's sure not visiting us! Our weather has generally been cloudy, wet and close to twenty degrees below normal.

Young plants under cover this afternoon

There's another freeze warning tonight, so we've put some protection over the plants in the garden again.

Birthday Bob

The month began with Bob's birthday (April 16). We couldn't go out to eat, as is our birthday tradition, but I made him one of his favorite dinners. Lunette took him for a walk in our woods. As you can see, we had snow for the occasion.







I've gotten all of the cool weather crops planted. Just now some of the peas and lettuce are starting to emerge. They need more than one warm and sunny day every two weeks to really get going.

Setting out seedlings

Here's a list of what's out there, above or below the surface: lettuce, chard, spinach, kale, cabbage, potatoes, tat soi, pac choi, shallots, garlic, peas, mustard greens, carrots and beets.
The warm weather plants are in pots, waiting to be planted at the end of May (I hope).

Our strawberry plants look pretty good. It's hard to believe that they'll have berries by the end of June.

Rhubarb

The currants and rhubarb are looking good. I've got all of the necessary ingredients for my rhubarb sauce. Can't wait for that!









While I've been busy with the planting, Bob's been weeding and maintaining the edging around the "bird garden".

Cleaning the edges

He's removed the large edging stones so that he could dig out encroaching grass. He needs to replace some of the landscape fabric, too.

Wall at the lower edge

He's also gone to the creek bed for more stones. The downhill side needed a second layer of stones to guard against washouts.
When he's done, fresh cedar mulch will go over the exposed ground.









We've had a lot of bird activity lately. Just this afternoon I watched seven (2 female and 5 male) Rose Breasted Grosbeaks sitting in our nectarine tree, not more than 15 feet away from me. We've had two male Baltimore Orioles also visit this same tree daily. There are Robins and Cardinals nesting in our front and back door shrubs. This evening as we ate supper, we watched a White Crowned Sparrow in our bird garden. I'm glad that the birds are free to move about. It's so nice to watch them.

That's about all of the news from here. We're looking forward to some warn and sunny weather more than anything else.
We hope all is well where you are. Keep on keeping on. We don't want to have to delete anyone from our mailing list due to COVID 19 losses!

Till next time,
Be smart, be safe
Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

Windy Time/ Awakening Time 2020

Coltsfoot, The first flower of spring

The moon is full tomorrow and brings this month to a close. And what an extraordinary month it's been!

First, let me send hope that you are all well and acting safely and responsibly.
Second, let me assure you that we are well and practicing safety measures here.

Bob modeling one of his masks

Bob is considered an essential employee, so he has to be away from home three days a week. This is the "chink in our armor". We have a sanitizing routine he follows each time he returns home. I just finished making him three masks to wear at work. In his job, sometimes social distancing just isn't possible.









Aside from the "reentry clean up", we aren't too impacted by the stay at home order and shortages. It is our custom to only go shopping once a month, and I did that before all of this "hit the fan". We already had a case of toilet paper on hand, but even that isn't really necessary, since we installed bidet seats in both bathrooms last year.

At this time of year we are generally running low on vegetables and eat a lot of sprouts. Same this year. I would normally only buy carrots and onions. We have over a year's supply of beans, and about 150 pounds of various grains in the pantry. We won't starve. Some of our meals may get a bit strange, but so what. When we run out of extras, we run out. It's not worth risking your life to get cooking oil or a bag of pretzels.

So, we stay home. We're both introverts, so this is no punishment for us. Our life goes on pretty much as it always does. That being said, here's what we've been up to...

A Equinox treat

We welcomed the Vernal Equinox with whole wheat blueberry scones for breakfast.

Our weather has been more damp and dreary than not, but the season rolls on in spite of humankind's problems.







We've been busy with early spring chores.

Bob trims an apple tree

Bob has gotten all of the fruit trees and brambles pruned and ready to get growing.












He's also gotten five shiitake logs started.

Drilling holes for the spore plugs

Pounding in the spore plugs

Finished delft piece

I've finished the cross stitch runner project.

Those dusty ceiling fans!

Then I tackled the spring house cleaning. I've decided that next year I need to break it up somehow. I'm getting too old to clean 12 large rooms in one marathon session (ten days). My joints and stamina can't take it anymore. But, the house is really clean right now!







I've also been tending seedlings for this year's garden.

Sweet potato slips

Sweet potatoes, cabbage, kale, chard, tatsoi, spinach, lettuce, parsley, celery, peppers and eggplants are all up.

Most have been transplanted into pots now.

Flats of tiny plants

Separating out cabbage seedlings for potting

Potting up in progress

I sowed tomato seeds over the weekend.
In the garden, the chives are up and growing big. The rhubarb and sorrel are up and on their way. Won't be long now!

Tired but must keep digging!

Lunette thinks that the soft spring soil is perfect for digging. She comes in with very muddy paws most of the time now.

When you're old, she says, it's perfectly acceptable to do your digging while lying down.







So you see, we continue on much as we always do.
We ask you all to be careful and act wisely. Each person's actions impact so many others.
Be safe and practice peacefulness amid this storm,

Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

Hope for all