Thursday, July 31, 2008

Quote of the Day

"A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world; everyone you meet is your mirror."
- Ken Keyes, Jr.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Simple Pleasures

The mimosa tree by the road has been in full bloom for about a month now, but about a week ago I noticed that it was full of hummingbirds. They move so fast it's impossible to count, but there must have been close to 10 of them flitting from bloom to bloom and then darting off in pairs to find another source of nectar. After many tries I actually got a picture of one. I know it's not good, but I should have a new camera in a couple days. GE decided that the problem was with the camera and they've sent a replacement.

While I was picking peaches over the weekend I didn't see many hummingbirds, but the tree was covered with butterflies. This red-spotted purple was on the compost pile.

I was able to freeze 3 quarts of peaches and make 8 pints of peach jam, so I was pleased. Every other year the bugs eat way more than we do. One thing I noticed was that the peaches that weren't quite ripe had no bug damage, but by the time they get ripe the worms have gotten to them. So next year the tree needs pruned more, concentrating on removing some of the small branches and the peaches need to be picked just before they get ripe and allowed to ripen inside away from the bugs.

Now if only my kids would eat what is coming out of the garden. You would think I was trying to poison them by feeding them 'raw tomatoes, fried banana peppers, beet greens and zucchini.' Heaven forbid!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Gardening - Tools, Rocks and Weeds

One of the best things about my garden is that it is where piles of cow manure from a small dairy were left to compost for years. Now the soil has tons of organic matter and and clumps break up easily. It is easy to till and easy to pull weeds.

That's a good thing. Because one of the bad things about my garden is that while it was composting it spent five or more years growing weeds and spreading enough seed to grow weeds into the next millennium. My mantra this year has been 'if it doesn't seed there won't be as many weeds next year.' The new tiller is helping, but by the time I got it, the weeds were already too big for it. Which leads me to tools.

I have always heard to buy the best tools you can buy because they are well worth the money. My dad has said it, Donny always says it, every man I know says it, but it always seems like when I go to buy tools I never have the money to buy good ones. So, the rake I bought early last summer isn't usable this summer and the hoe I bought at good, old Walmart broke the first week.

New mantra. 'Buy good tools.'

Now for the other bad thing about my garden. When all that cow manure was scraped over to the manure pile, lots of rock went along with it. I don't know if I can ever get all the rock out, but with the help of my trusty wheelbarrow (a good one that Donny gave me when he upgraded to a two wheeler) I've been filling the holes in the driveway. Since my driveway is about 800 feet long, I figure that all the holes will be filled about the time the garden is free of rocks.

Now the best thing about my garden is eating a vine ripened tomato warm from the sun during a break from weeding.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Ultimate Relaxation


Sitting in a canoe in the middle of a lake, knitting and drifting. I wish I could do this every night. If only I could turn my pond into a lake, I'd have it made.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Peaches

Yes! I found the first ripe peach last night. It was small, but tasted wonderful. I guess that means putting up peaches this weekend. Beetles haven't gotten them yet, so I may actually have a small crop. Maybe Ashley will even make a peach pie. She's turning into a pretty decent baker and she even makes the crust from scratch.

I'll probably can them so I can save freezer space for beef.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Blackberries are Ripe

May was really dry, but in June we got just enough rain, and the blackberries have loved it. The berries are large and juicy and abundant. We have made two cobblers, frozen 4 quarts for cobblers later in the year and over the weekend I made 9 pints of jam. Another gallon of berries will do us.

There is something satisfying about seeing jars lined up in the pantry and knowing that your family will eat good over the winter from food that grew just outside your door. Peaches will be next. They aren't large, but there are a lot of them and the beetles haven't found them yet, so we should have plenty and some to spare.

Here's the cobbler recipe my grandma used. I love it because it's so easy.

  • Melt one stick of butter in a baking dish. (I cut this back to 1/2 stick and it's still good)
  • Mix 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of self rising flour add one cup of milk to this mix. Pour over the melted butter. Add one quart of fruit and use spoon to make an 'x' through the mixture without stirring.
  • Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until brown on top.

Of course we won't talk about the poison ivy on both ankles and arms or the chiggers that have eaten me alive.

We also got the first tomato from the garden finally. I made my traditional tomato and Miracle Whip sandwich for lunch Saturday, but the girls were not impressed. Next year I need to pay more attention to maturity dates and pick some early veggies so we don't have to wait until July for that first tomato and corn.

Google Reader pointed me to this local eating website that has some good information on it.

Pictures to come when I get them off my phone. Hopefully I'll have my camera back soon. The new one I got at Christmas decided not to power on.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Recycling Things You Never Thought About

This web page has some great links and ideas on recycling things that you never thought about recycling. Old tennis shoes, wine corks, toothbrushes. Check it out.