Wordless Wednesday: The Cellar, So Far

62, cool and sunny. Warmer and humid later, a small downpour, but sun returned.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Garden News

70 this morning and sunny. Expected to be near 90 today.

Still Covid positive, daggone it. 

But other than that, life goes on. I canned salsa,but and dill pickles...again. I swear, everyone will be getting 12 jars of pickles this Christmas! The cucumbers have loved all the rain.

But sad news about the tomatoes. Despite everything we have tried, the deer are still getting in. So Larry picked every tomato in that garden, green or not. He also picked all the butternut squash as the deer got to them too. They were nowhere near ready but oh well. So tomorrow I will be making green tomato mincemeat, and those squash I hope will ripen and just be small. 

Gardening is tough these days, with the deer population expanding by leaps and bounds. It doesn't help that many neighbors feed the deer. They don't grow gardens, you see, and think the deer are pretty. Which they are, but there are far too many of them. West Virginia has the nation's highest rate of vehicle-deer collisions, and this in a state with one of the least populated states! You would think our Department of Natural Resources would see that there is a problem, given the amount of crop damage and accidents involve deer, but they take no action except for incremental increases in the amount allowed during hunting season. 

It's not just deer, either. As the corn approaches picking stage we are watching out for other marauders. Larry has trapped 6 raccoons and 2 possums so far this summer. Sometimes it feels like a battle between us, the wildlife, and the weather.

Still, we certainly won't go hungry. The cellar and the freezers are exploding with good food. But it is disappointing to work so hard on growing a good garden and then see it damaged and not be able to prevent it.

Enough ranting! I know I am blessed with a good life, and surrounded by beauty. I went out in the smaller garden--the one we call "my" garden because I have more to do with this one than with the bigger garden-- for the first time in 2 weeks this morning, and while it was disheartening to see how the weeds have grown, it was also nice to see how many things are thriving. We do have a few tomato plants in this garden so will at least continue to have eating tomatoes.

We came back to the house with cabbage, dill, a few tomatoes cucumbers, squash, and potatoes he missed the other day. He tilled that ground for fall planting and found these taters with the tiller, so they are a bit damaged. I will use them to make potato salad today.

Onward we go. I hope to finally kick this virus soon so I can get back to the gardens, but meanwhile I have at least been able to keep up with canning and freezing. Another blessing.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Uh-Oh

72, cloudy, humid, showers. We have had rain every day this week, often very heavy downpours. Flooding happening in many areas of West Virginia.

Well, we learned that Larry's friend who owns the antique store across from our mall had Covid, and since Larry had been in close contact with him we decided to get the home tests.

And bingo. We both tested positive. What.A.Bummer. We have managed to avoid Covid for over 2 years, but it finally caught up with us. We are doing well; I think I am mostly over it now. Larry seems to have a worse case but is still not doing badly. He rests a lot and has the cough, but no fever or head cold like me. So we're homebound for a while, which as you probably know suits me very well.

We have both been busy, in between resting. We finished up the Hoosier-style cabinet yesterday and have it loaded in the van. I will finish the small chest of drawers now that I have space to work, and start on another kitchen cabinet. Larry is working on an old cupboard too, so that one will be in line for paint soon.

I am still sorting drawers and cabinets and have another full box for the thrift. Also shipping books to various people, and some of my storytelling notebooks to a friend who might be able to use my research. 

Since I found that eggs seemed to be the thing causing my stomach issues, I have avoided them. But yesterday I decided to try egg whites only, and had no problems. So today I made this delicious thing for breakfast:

It's a slice of thick wheat toast, then a slice of ham, guacamole, egg, tomato and sour cream on top. So tall we ate it with knife and fork. I think it has all the food groups! 

We haven't been able to get in the gardens much at all. Larry has ventured in to pick what he can. Tomatoes are starting to ripen, and the one on our breakfast was a large German Pink. 

The hibiscus has started to bloom, such large, beautiful flowers. I will be moving this bush next year, and making this small space a little rose garden. There are already 2 rose bushes there, but the hibiscus hides them.

I was saddened to hear of the unexpected death of Mick Maloney, an amazing Irish musician, historian,  ethnomusicologist, teacher, and so much more. I feel fortunate to have met him and heard him speak and play. Such a loss. I will close today by leaving you with a taste of his rich talent.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

This and That

72 this morning. Hot. Humid. 

Just some random thoughts today, which I'll intersperse with a few photos from around the flower gardens.

I didn't like the way these black petunias looked, so added some pink and white to brighten them up.

The weather has continued on its July way, but honestly, it hasn't seemed as bad this year as usual. I've said before that July is my least favorite month, but this year it's been bearable. Perhaps because we've had more rain than usual, which gave us a some cooler days uand relief? Or because, since the garden is later coming in this year, I'm not in the hot kitchen, canning? The one thing I do love about July is all the birthdays in our family: 3 granddaughters, our youngest son, and Larry's older sister. So many good reasons to celebrate.

                                                    

You know, since being retired, I've noticed something that never occurred to me before, probably because I was at work during the day. But during the workday hours, there are so many senior citizens out and about--at the stores, the bank, roadside rest areas, library, etc. It's one of those obvious things that you just don't think about, but of course this is when we'd all be out, isn't it? Weekends, of course, all ages are out and busy, but during the weekdays it's us old folks doing business, traveling, and so on. 

It has made me realize the impact we have on the economy. In past times, there were housewives out during the day and that's still true but not nearly to the same extent. And there are shift workers, but again, the preponderance of people in stores and on the road in the daytime is seniors. Think of all the month we/they spend--I bet there are some places, like the popular Bob Evans restaurants, that would find it difficult to stay in business without the oldsters. Not that this is an important or original thought, for I am sure AARP plays on the importance of the senior dollar in their lobbying efforts. But now I'm noticing, and it's interesting.

                                            

We are still getting out in the gardens early to get some of the work done before it gets hot. I do love these mornings. The air is so soft, even if I am still sweating at 70 degrees because of the humidity. But the light is just different, there is deep shade, and the scent of flowers and herbs lingers. We've been doing a little watering but nothing like in past Julys. The seeds I put out last week are all up, and I planted a few marigolds here and there in places that need color. We were dismayed to discover that the grass had grown so quickly from the rain that it was in the electric fence before we knew it, which grounded the current, so the deer got in and ate my lima beans. My lovely, lovely, lima beans. They were just doing so well and it looked like we would have a good crop. Now, we will be lucky to get a mess or two. 

                                                

But the beans Larry planted are up and thriving, and he picked some of the tiny first plantings and dug some new potatoes because he is craving one of his favorite dishes, beans and new potatoes cooked together. They're on the stove as I type. Poor man was so desperate he even snapped the beans. And look at size of this potato--they have done exceptionally well this year.

                                                

I harvested the beet seeds which had dried nicely outside, and I think I'll try planting some of them soon and see if I can get them to over-winter like they did last year. We had late beets in the fall, early beets and greens in the spring, and then I left the rest to go to seed. We shall see how they do.

                                            

I was disappointed that the seeds sold to me as rhubarb seeds are actually rhubarb CHARD, not rhubarb. I was so excited to actually grow my ow plants and just babied those things, but duh. Ah well, they'll be good greens.

Yesterday was a work day at the antique mall, filling in for the owner whose mother is very ill. It was a nice break and I got a lot done while I was there, but it sure tires me out to work a full day. I'm good for nothing by the time I get home. Usually we go in on Fridays to restock, but since I am working again Sunday we will stay home and work on furniture projects instead. We have several in the works, and need to get them out of the house.

And now that I mention it, I better get back to work. See you tomorrow, I hope.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Yowch, Kraut, and Comments

70 this morning, pleasant and partly cloudy. No ran forecast til the weekend, so we are watering some areas of the gardens.

So remember I said something a while back about a friend being shocked at her monthly power bill? We got ours this past week, and yes indeed, it was a shock, about a third higher than usual for June. We had to run the AC more than we normally do in June, which accounts for some of the increase, but the rest is just a rise in the price. So now we are being much more careful with using the air conditioners, and watching other electricity use as well. It's sad to have to do so in this hot month, but fortunately the temperatures have been moderate, so we turn on the AC for a few hours in the evening, then turn them off. Let's hope it helps the bill.

Yesterday was sauerkraut day. We harvested all the cabbages that were ready, about a dozen or so, and got busy. I "butchered" the cabbages and cut them into pieces that would fit in the food processor and Larry manned the machine. So much easier than the old days when we used a manual kraut cutter, or mandolin as I hear them called. We ended up with 12 quarts of kraut, and then I also put 12 bags in the freezer. That will be plenty for the year. These were early flathead Dutch cabbages, and three were Ruby. We still have some Stonehead cabbages in the garden, not quite ready, and those will be for eating fresh. They hold very well in the garden without splitting, a nice trait.

I have been busy in the gardens every morning and most evenings, beating back the wilderness, i.e. weeding and pruning. I also did some replanting here and there in the flowerbeds. The place is looking as good as it's ever looked, and is a real pleasure to my eyes when I rest on the porch. I harvested more basil too, which is hanging to dry, making the kitchen smell wonderful.

Today was booth day. We took the long dresser I've been working on for several weeks, along with a few other items, to our Ravenswood location, then took a few things to our new booth in Ripley. It was a nice break, although it was work too. 

About comments: I have been publishing every one of your comments, but for some reason they don't seem to be showing on my blog so I can respond to you. I appreciate ALL your comments, even when I don't reply, but tonight I was all set to write replies, and they are just not there. My management page shows them as approved, and published, so why I can't seem them on the blog I have no idea. I am so sorry, and will try to figure this out. Maybe just a Blogger bug?

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

In the Gardens

66 this morning, following a day of light rain. Red sky last night.

More errands yesterday, picking up hay for mulch from our son's barn, getting a new phone for Larry because his had something break where the charger attaches, picking up garden seed and flowers, etc. I think we're caught up. I hope.  I dislike being out two or three days in a row; it seems like it just wears me out. But sometimes that's what we must do. Today I'll be working at the antique mall, a bit of a break, unless it's a busy day. Still, another day away from home.

At least I made good use of the evening, getting the big flower bed cleaned up and the new plants put in. It was quite a job, taking me about 3 hours to get all the iris leaves cut back, spent plants either pulled or cut back, and weeds pulled. I have a mess to clean up this evening when I get home, but it feels good to get this done, and it looks so much better. I still have the other flower beds to do, maybe this evening or tomorrow.

Around the gardens: a bit messy still since I haven't been in them much for the past few weeks. That's changing now that I have no upcoming obligations that will keep me away.Can you hear my big sigh of relief?

Tiny cabbage seedlings. This tub has been very useful. First it had lettuce andradishes, then cucumber seedlings that we transplanted, and now cabbage. 

My new rose for this year. Can I remember its name? Of course not. I should do better at that. The pansies were in a planter but looked so poorly I pulled them and planted something else. But they seem to like this damp, shady corner with the rose.

I do love phlox, and have tried in vain to get other colors started. This is the old-fashioned pink. I do have one other one, a white, that needs to be moved as it's mixed in with the monkshood and is too shaded to spread.

The last of the native daylilies--well, I guess they're native, because they grow wild everywhere. Perhaps they were an import? 

Basil living happily in its planter. I will be cutting and drying some of it tomorrow.

Our new-to-us garden bench. We got it at an auction last year, painted it a bright turquoise and tried to sell it with no luck. So we sold our old beat-up red glider instead, and kept the bench, and I am so glad we did. We repainted to a color I liked better.

A happy planter. I used to ignore coleus for my gardens, but it has grown on me, and Larry loves it.

Annabelle hydrangea. This was a new start last year, given to me by a friend. It has grown amazingly well, and the best thing is that it blooms on new wood so no worries about it freezing off in the winters. The black tape is videotape, which we now have around all the flower beds to scare off the deer. I don't like the way it looks, but it's better than having everything eaten.

Can anyone tell me what this tall, ferny plant is? I don't know if it's something I planted or if it's a weed. It shows no sign of blooming yet.

Yesterday evening's slaughter, or a small part of it anyway. Lots of mulch for the garden.

After the cleanup, and with the new plants in place. This is one end of the bed.

And here's the other end. 

This little coreopsis has thrived in this location. I wanted more coreopsis this year, but they were hard to find locally. They seem to love our soil.

The lamb's ears self-seed, and move from one place to another in this garden.

Still have to put down new mulch, and I need a few more plants in here, but it's coming along.

The smaller vegetable garden, early morning light. It's done well so far, and has a lot more coming on.

Oh, here's our new truck, the one our son gave us. Isn't it pretty?

The upper end of the veggie garden. The far end has cucumbers, melons and pumpkins, with a row of kale, carrots, and basil on the right. In the foreground and hard to distinguish in this light are squash, cabbages, kale, and tomatoes on the right. Also in here are some flowers, lettuce, beets, a few green beans, leeks, and rhubarb. The tomatoes will be late tomatoes, as they were planted about a month after the others.

The grapes are loaded and so far no sign of blackrot. I have my fingers crossed, but it usually shows up in mid-July and ruins most of our grapes. The only cures seem to be strong poisons, which I hate to use.

The pretty drift roses, coming into bloom again.

This garden is my next project. There are things blooming but they can't be seen for the iris and other things that need trimming back.

And finally back to the house, where Daisy is waiting for us.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

In the Gardens

58 this morning, beautiful weather for the past week. A little on the warm side, buut at least not in the 90's like last week.

Where have I been? In the gardens, of course, and working on furniture. But mostly in the gardens. Here's a look at what's going on out there.

The roses have just about finished, sadly, but this climber is still lovely, and will come back and bloom again.

The big garden is now all planted: about 170 tomato plants, corn, beans, butternut squash, limas, potatoes and corn are in here. Still waiting for the butternut to come up, and we had to replant some of the corn and beans because the seeds washed out in some heavy rains we had a couple weeks ago.

All pink and white here right now--wild yarrow and pink poppies, along with lamb's ears and I forget the name of the plants in the crock. The crock is badly cracked, but makes a good planter.

Some different kinds of petunias this year--black and some interesting striped ones.

More of the pink and white garden. I guess I should have organized these photos better.

Celery, all wrapped up for blanching. This isn't the first time I have planted celery, but the first I've tried blanching it. Without blanching it has a strong, almost bitter taste. It is supposed to be wrapped like this for 3 weeks before harvest. I used newsprint and twine to wrap them. Larry said it looks like a row of mini Klansmen.

Garden salad: dill, green ice lettuce, daylilies, and dwarf grey snow peas, my favorite variety because they freeze better than the snap peas.

The celery is in front, prior to being wrapped up.

Potatoes in the center, limas in front and peas on the fence in the back. Snow peas are ready for picking, and the shell peas are not far behind.

The bloom on red potatoes is so pretty, a delicate pinkish-purple color

Closer look at the black petunia.

Another reason I like the dwarf grey sugar peas is the pretty, pretty, purple and pink flower.

The smaller garden is all mulched except for this area that needs hay. We'll do that tomorrow, have to pick some up today. I prefer straw, but there is none available right  now. This garden has a bit of everything: melons, cucumbers, squash, celery, cabbage, lettuce, flowers, radishes, beets, kale, dill, basil, some tomatoes, carrots...can't remember what else. Still waiting for some seeds to germinate. We need rain.

That's a quick look, anyway. I think I have enjoyed gardening more this year than I have any other year, honestly.  Now, to keep everything alive and growing.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.