Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category
‘This is From a Nearby Neighbors Farm’
I’ve been enjoying my downtime since the departure of my better-half for her trip to Ocean City. The downside to her leaving is the fact that I’ve been stuck with some of her watering chores. She has at least a hundred plants surrounding the house, on the deck, and even in the house. I find having three plants six feet high in the living room very interesting. It’s like living in a jungle and that jungle needs watering all too often. God help me if these plants aren’t all healthy and happy upon her return. There could be bloodshed.
My second chore involved the babysitting of her daughters dogs. I need to drop in at their house everyday around noon to let the little buggers out for a pee break and a romp around the yard. I really don’t mind it all that much because I actually like most pets more than I like most people.
‘Good Eating’
Once her chores have been handled I can then move on to my list. Fortunately my list is flexible and if I choose not to complete anything on it no one would give a damn anyway. My list includes the garden that is continuing to produce ridiculous amounts of veggies. I’ve been trying to keep ahead of it by canning a few things each week but I’m quickly falling behind. Here’s a list of what we’ve canned so far and believe me I’m ready to call it a day anytime.
10 – pints of hot mustard dill pickles
6 – pints of pickled zucchini
12 – pints of pickled jalapeños
1 – quart of pickled veggie mix
6 – pints of pickled veggie mix
10 – pints of hot B&B pickles
I still need to make two large batches of salsa and a huge batch of chili. The salsa will be canned to the tune of twenty quarts or forty pints. The chili will be frozen in twelve one quart containers and that should give us enough for most of the winter.
‘This is Kick Your Ass Chili’
‘This is Double Kick Your Ass Salsa’
Once the better-half returns from her final trip of the summer we’ll get down to some serious work for a few weeks. It’ll be a huge relief to get the garden processed and into storage. If the results so far are any indication, we’ll surpass any expectations we had for a garden as small as ours. I’ve already started planning for next summer with the addition of a small greenhouse and an irrigation system that will use our water more efficiently. That will allow us to grow a few additional items in a more controlled atmosphere with less bug problems and better water control.
Back to the fun.
This Summer continues and of course the garden related tasks keep right on coming. With a break in the rainy weather I thought I should begin harvesting and drying some of the herbs from the garden. This summer’s abundance of rain has caused the herbs to grow like never before.
I learned a lot of what I know about herbs from my later mother who had a world class green thumb and could grow damn near anything. Herbs were no different. Over the years I’ve collected a small library on growing herbs and their many uses both culinary and medical. I’ve always maintained an herb garden and use them in almost every dish I prepare and eat. I realize that many of you recognize the names of herbs but have never actually seen the growing plants. Here’s a shot of what Oregano looks like in bloom. The blossoms are beautiful and can be used to enhance the presentation of any kind of pasta dish.
I’ll guide you through the drying process as best I can so please don’t get too bored. First I cut a collection of chives from a number of areas in the garden as well as an armload of Oregano for drying.
The part of this task I dislike the most is cleaning weeds and other debris from the herbs. It’s a pain but must be done meticulously. I do meticulously really well especially when it’s concerns something I’ll be eating.
A quick blanching and a dip into ice water helps kill bacteria and maintain the bright green color. A quick chopping and then it’s off to the dehydrator for drying. Tomorrow I’ll remove it from the dryer and package the herbs in airtight containers for storage. This should supply us with excellent flavors for our meals in those cold and nasty months of January and February.
I’m sure that by the end of the summer I’ll complete this process at least three more times with the Tarragon, Sage, and Parsley. The entire house smells of fresh herbs when their drying and I love that. Someone should come up with a room freshener like that instead of the everyday run of the mill vanilla and spice.
I’ll continue this posting in a day or so with a few photos of the finished dried herbs and the veggie mix the better-half is preparing for canning later today. This pace will continue for another four weeks or until every thing is dried and canned. Then we can kick back and enjoy the late summer and Fall activities. It’s the best time of the year here in Maine with dozens of festivals being held on the weekends. We Mainer’s do our best to make the most of the Summer and Fall seasons because they just don’t last very long.
These days it’s become chic to announce your addiction, get your 15 minutes of attention, and then check into some over priced and ridiculous rehab center. It apparently makes a person something of a celebrity when they can gain sympathy for having the good sense to go to rehab. It’s a lot of nonsense to be sure but it is what it is, you get to be the final judge. It"s worked for more celebrities than I could possibly name but Lindsey Lohan and Charlie Sheen immediately come to mind.
I need to step up myself. Being a former smoker I realize just what an addiction is and how difficult it can be to stop. It’s been some thirty years since I last smoked but as one addiction is disposed of others then become a real possibility. I drank a little too much for a time but eventually was able to put that behind me and there were a few other minor things like green M&M’s, chocolate of any kind, and Tootsie pops. I seem to require at least one ongoing addiction at all times.
About fifteen years ago I became hooked on something new which has become my all time biggest addiction and there doesn’t appear to be any rehab facility anywhere to address this problem. The first step in any twelve step program is to admit you have a problem and I’m here today to do just that. Here it comes. I AM ADDICTED TO JALAPEÑO PEPPERS!!!!! I feel so much better now that I’ve finally shouted that out to the entire world (meaning this blog).
Yesterday I was running errands and doing some food shopping when I drove past my favorite Vietnamese market. I stop there often because they carry a huge assortment of southeast Asian spices and food products that I was introduced to while serving in the Far East for a few years. They also carry a wide assortment of fruits and veggies priced well below other food retailers in the area. What did I find? They were having a huge sale on jalapeños and I was immediately caught up in the excitement of the moment. I was out of control with desire and immediately purchased twelve pounds of some of the most beautiful jalapeno peppers I’ve ever seen. I made the purchase and couldn’t wait to speed home with my peppers .
I decided to pickle and can them as quickly as possible. I currently eat at least a jar a week and when your buying them off-the-shelf from a Walmart or Hannaford it can get a little pricey. I had enough peppers to fill at least twelve pint jars which would tide me over through a couple of months during the upcoming winter. I took a few minutes to develop a recipe for a brine, wrote it all down, and checked my canning supplies to be sure I had a sufficient number of jars to get the job done. With my jalapeño peppers in one hand and a cutting board in the other I was ready to begin.
I put on two pair of latex gloves to protect my hands, I plopped my ass in front of the TV, and watched a movie while slicing the jalapeños. That’s what we call a night of relaxation in this house. An hour or so later the job was done and the peppers stored in the refrigerator to await canning tomorrow. Thank God for latex gloves!
It’s now tomorrow and here are the jalapenos fresh from their water bath. In a month or so they’ll be ready to eat whenever I get the craving. I’ll keep my eyes open to purchase more if I can find them because I can never have enough. That’s how an addiction works.
I know it’s a little early in the year but with the garden filling up with cucumbers it was time to get busy. Last night I gathered all of the equipment together in preparation for canning. I cleaned jars, gathered lids and rings, pots and pans, and updated my experimental pickle recipe. We normally make hot Bread & Butter pickles and a lot of them. I’ve made dill pickles in the past but never was really happy with the results. My approach to things has always been to identify a problem and then fix it and this new recipe for Hot Mustard Dill Pickles is the fix.
I took my normal kosher dill recipe and jacked it up with a number of additional ingredients and spices. The end result will be pickles that are extremely hot, canned in a liquid containing dry mustard, curry, habanero powder, and a handful of other minor ingredients. I soaked the cukes in canning Lime overnight which should help keep them crispy once their canned.
Yesterday afternoon we picked the cucumbers, zucchini’s, and jalapeño’s from the garden along with some herbs. I’d be making my mustard pickles and my better-half would be making her new experimental recipe for hot pickled zucchini or as she calls it Hot Zucchini Pickles. She’s trying to come up with a few solutions for processing and storing of the large number of zucchini’s we’re expecting. She’s always made a lot of zucchini breads but we can only eat so much of that.
We work well as a team and set up an assembly line in the kitchen. I sliced the cukes, the habaneros, and a few jalapeños and set them aside. She prepared her zucchini, and jalapeños, and we were ready to rock and roll. She was responsible for packing the jars and I then added the brine, capped the jars and placed them into the water bath. It took a couple of hours of work but we rolled along like a well oiled machine.
After all was said and done we had ten pint jars of the mustard pickles and six additional pints of pickled zucchini. The jars sealed properly and will be ready for labeling tomorrow. Unfortunately we have to wait a month or so before we can taste the finished product. The veggies need time to absorb the flavor from the brine and the heat from the hot peppers. We can’t wait to try them and will keep our fingers crossed for the anticipated good results.
“The Finished Product”
Every once in a while I find something that catches my eye. This photograph is of a entry gate that leads to an old and extremely run down house located next door to nowhere important. I saw it a few months ago as we were driving around looking for anything interesting. I didn’t stop for the shot then but I did a few days ago when we happened upon it once again. I found it simple and fascinating.
It’s been an interesting few days. Shortly after posting earlier in the week I came down with a truly nasty 24 hour stomach virus. I won’t get into the stinky and smelly details but that virus targeted areas of my body that shouldn’t be messed with. All of my activities ceased immediately except for staying within running distance of any bathroom facilities. I was on the mend within twenty-four hours and regained my appetite and my antagonistic attitude rather quickly.
Just when I thought things were improving my better-half said those infamous words you never want to hear, “I think I’m getting a sore throat and my stomach hurts.” It’s only this morning that she was able to get out bed and go to work. She’s one of those women who seems more macho that most men when it comes to missing work. She gets some sort of rush by being able to make it to work regardless of the circumstances. I was like that once but times for me have changed, thank God.
Since I’ve been staying close to home these last few days I thought I’d spend a little time photo documenting every type and color of flower in our gardens that we’ve been blessed with this season. I was more than a little surprised at the variety myself. Here are a few samples of some of those flowers with more to follow as they begin blooming.
Believe me when I tell you there’s no better way to spend an hour or two each week by walking through the garden and photographing everything. It’s a really tough life I have but you know someone’s gotta do it.
Now that my better-half has returned home from her trip our lives have slowly normalized somewhat. She has returned to work after much whining and complaining and is back to her old self. I’ve returned to my projects again after pretty much ignoring them for a week. Don’t forget her vacation was also my vacation.
The garden is growing wild and today I finally spent three hours on my hands and knees pulling weeds. Don’t misunderstand me, I pulled thousands of weeds, enough to fill the trailer pulled by my lawn tractor. It was extremely hot and in just a few minutes I sweat through my clothing. I have to admit it felt pretty good to be digging in the dirt because it’s one of those times that allows my body to do it’s routine work and all the while my mind is elsewhere. It takes a good hour of this kind of work to calm me down and allow me to really relax. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t discover this outlet a few decades earlier than I actually did. Once again my father was right but I wasn’t listening as usual.
As you can see the frames are slowing filling with beautiful green plants of all kinds. I’ll probably begin picking, blanching, and freezing kale this week. After it’s washed and blanched I can cut it into strips and freeze it. It’ll make for some really flavorful soups this coming winter.
I was forced out of necessity to take the pruning shears to the mint patches. They grow so damn fast and if not properly controlled will take over the entire garden. It makes working out here really pleasant when all you can smell is the aroma of peppermint and spearmint. From the looks of things it’s going to be an unbelievable year for the herbs. I replanted a number of oregano plants after losing a few last winter and the way these things are growing I’ll eventually have enough dried and stored to last me for two winters.
After all of the weeding was completed I returned to the houses to take a quick shower, make a close check for any of Mother Nature’s little friends (ticks), and to rehydrate. The next thing on the agenda was to rack off the dandelion wine once again. It’s clearing nicely and the color is spectacular. Now, if it only ends up tasting as good as it looks. I’ve been disappointed a few times in the past when a gorgeous batch of wine has ended up tasting like battery acid. I’m crossing my fingers again and hoping for the best.
We’re expecting a beautiful weekend and I’m sure we’ll be visiting the beach and hitting a few yard sales and flea markets. The better-half has the weekend off for a change and we can have a little quality time together. Sunday is approaching and we’re looking forward to babysitting the grandson for a few hours to give his parents a little breather and some alone time together. It’s something all of us need. We just have to search out those things that’ll give our minds a little peace and quiet. I consider my self fortunate to have a number of outlets like that to clear my mind and keep me mentally calm and fresh.
In just a few short weeks the festivals will begin in earnest. Almost every weekend from now until mid- October has a festival of some sort scheduled somewhere in Maine. Every small town and community has one and it’s a great way to support the local farmers and artisans. Good food, beautiful summer weather, and communities who love to celebrate and share their community spirit with visitors. It doesn’t get much better than that.
The monsoons of Arthur have finally left this area and are on their way to Nova Scotia. Three and a half days of rain were badly needed but OMG. My nice little garden and the better-half’s flower gardens look like the jungles of Vietnam. It’s hard to believe that they can grow so quickly when doused with copious amounts of water. You’ll see with today’s photo’s that I may need a machete to get around in there.
I planted a variety of kale plants this year that a week ago were four inches high. Today they measuring almost 14 inches. I’ll be harvesting them sooner than expected and the freezer will be filled very quickly.
The herbs are out of control as well and it’s obvious I’ll be able to restock a large part of my dried herb collection and be more prepared than ever for the coming Winter.
I harvested almost three pounds of rhubarb seeds yesterday which I’m slowly drying in one of the cold frames. After a few days of direct sunlight they should be ready for storage until next Spring. I plan on planting as many as possible around the property because my goal is to have a huge patch of rhubarb within the next two years.
The better-half’s flowers are beginning to bloom everywhere. The assorted colors of these day lilies makes picture taking a real pleasure. I especially love the dark red ones.
I normally plant three zucchini plants each year and harvest probably 5 or 6 zucchini’s per plant. This year I was given a great deal on plants and ended up buying a few extra. As you can see I’ll be knee deep in zucchini in just a few weeks.
I’d like to keep posting but I’ve got three hours of weeding and general maintenance in that garden. The better-half returns tomorrow morning from her trip and I’d like to get these tasks out of the way before then.
I still find my life difficult after six years of being retired. First of all I never expected to ever be retired and honestly thought I would have died long before this. For a change it’s nice to be wrong about certain things.
Adjusting my day-to-day existence from being an over achieving workaholic to a gardening, bird watching, and laid back retiree has been interesting and at times distressing. I now understand that my high blood pressure issues were probably responsible for my former fast paced life style and the workaholic obsession.
“The garden is producing already. I just thought I’d brag a little.”
But with my slowed down and medicated lifestyle I’m now a much more calm and controlled person. Yesterday I spent a good part of my day taking photographs. I was able to spend more than an hour taking pictures without ever leaving my yard. I’ve never had the luxury of free time like this and it still makes me feel guilty as if I’m being lazy and unproductive. I’ll show you a few of my photo’s and you can judge for yourself if it was worth my time. After looking at them I found myself very happy with the results and felt the time had been well spent. See what you think.
I’ve placed numerous bird houses on the property and this year we have a number of winged residents living with us. I’ve come to find out that birds can be a vicious bunch. They’re very territorial especially when they’re nesting and protecting newborns. This first photo is of a mother spending twelve hours a day coming and going to feed her recently hatched babies.
This second photo is that same mother protecting those young from an intruder. Two years ago this same bird had two nestlings killed by a bird of the same species. I found their little corpses in the nest after the birds left on their southern migration. I finally had to replace the box because they refused to come near the old one even though I’d cleaned out the old nest and dead babies. The first year after replacing that box they returned and took possession of the new one once again. They seem to be much more protective these days than in the past and rightly so.
Hopefully within a few weeks we’ll have a few little ones making a racket as they mature and prepare to leave the nest. That’s assuming no further catastrophes occur such as other birds or the neighbor’s cat. I might be forced to put a few Be-Be’s in the ass of that damn cat to help them a little if necessary.
I then moved through the garden to an area with freshly blooming day lilies. They are some of my favorite flowers for photographing. The colors are just so vibrant and beautiful I can’t resist them.
Lets get just a little closer to see more of Mother Nature’s finest work.
It’s these things that help keep me sane. I could easily roam for hours taking pictures of anything and everything and never be disappointed.
After a day of doing this I’m not quite so discontented with retirement. Doing things I never thought I’d have the opportunity to do is even cooler than I imagined. I do miss working more than I thought I would but it’s all a matter of adjusting to change. I’m almost there.
Every person has the ability to create almost anything. That’s a simple statement that I’ll bet most people would disagree with. I can’t begin to tell you just how many people over the years have told me they have no creative ability. To those people I can only say "I’m sorry". I’m sorry that no one ever gave you the confidence to discover those abilities that you have. I’m sorry that people weren’t there with you when a little push was all that was needed to lead you to a life of creativity and self satisfaction. It’s a damn shame that many really creative and talented people are sometimes convinced early in their lives that they didn’t have what it takes. How many potentially great artists, poets, and writers have been lost to us?
Your probably asking yourself what exactly prompted that last paragraph and why I’m on my soap box about it. Let me explain. Over the past months I’ve had the privilege of watching a small baby begin to grow and turn into a real person. I watch him closely when we’re together and have been intrigued by his interests and curiosity. I can see his mind working as he builds fantastic block creations without prompting from any of us adults. He’s experiencing true creative freedom and seems to be enjoying it immensely. Fortunately for him his parents and family are people who will recognize his efforts and encourage him in any way possible. He’s a lucky young man who in the future will come to appreciate that fact as he artfully paints, writes poetry, or sculpts a masterpiece. Maybe he’ll be a teacher or maybe a ditch digger but he’ll always have the freedom to sit quietly and create something new and exciting and to appreciate the feeling of satisfaction it provides.
For years I’ve watched my better-half talk about creating this or that but never seeing it happen. She’s spent many of her formative years being a Mom, raising three children, and working hard to give them every advantage in this world. It’s paid off in a big way and she should be proud. She’s one of those people who has immense reservoirs of creativity that up till now have been used to create three well adjusted and intelligent human adults. She’s proud of those accomplishments but I don’t really think she’s see that as being creative. She’s wrong!
In recent years I’ve begun to see her slowly developing a different outlook about many things. She’s finally discovering herself. I’ve watched her create beautiful flower gardens without giving it a second thought.
She has the innate ability to plant them in certain ways that is more than just a little pleasing to the eye. She does it without thought and again doesn’t consider it being creative. Again, she’s wrong!
I’ve spent many hours with her wandering around this state taking thousands of photographs. She has a photographer’s eye and has taken some breathtaking photos. She doesn’t count that as creativity, she’s just taking pictures. Once again she’s very wrong!
Oh, I forgot to tell you she’s addicted to sunflowers. So I have hundreds of her sunflower images in my archives and their all gorgeous. But as she’s told me many times “I’m just taking pictures of things I love”.
She’s slowly losing that fear that other people won’t really like the things she creates. Once that fear is defeated the gates will open like never before. I watched her yesterday as she sat totally focused for over an hour and took bits and pieces of sea glass she’s collected for years and with some effort created a rather unique mosaic on a large pot. At some time in the future that pot will be filled with flowers and have a special spot on the deck.
Watching her was very similar to watching her grandson as he plays. She was in that special moment of creating and she was excited and mesmerized by the experience. It did my heart good to see her beginning to really appreciate the talents she wasn’t sure she had. I look forward to more of her creative projects and intend to encourage her at every turn. She’s about to become a much happier and confident person and will grow creatively just as her grandson is.
I’m the lucky guy who gets to watch the two of them growing together.
Another Father’s Day has come and gone. It was great day primarily due to my better-half. I was able to spend an hour or so early in the AM finishing my project for my man-cave. It’s now complete and after drying for one more day it’ll be moved into the cave once and for all.
“The Finished Product”
We initially decided to fire up the grill for a meal of corn-on-the-cob, steaks, and a fresh garden salad. The garden is growing so fast that I actually ate my first radishes yesterday. Take a look.
All of the recent rainfall has accelerated the growth of almost everything. I especially love the bright green colors and the lushness of the garden at this time of the year.
Now, let’s get back to my Father’s Day celebration. My better-half and I after a few cold and refreshing alcoholic beverages decided to cancel the home cooked meal and head for Old Orchard Beach, a local tourist trap and amusement park. She was in deep withdrawal due to a lack of greasy chicken wings and I was looking forward to some good old amusement park junk food. To hell with the weight loss program for this night.
The place wasn’t overly crowded but the tourists had definitely arrived in force. People watching in the park and a walk along the beach gave me my first “big butt” beach picture of the season.
I was really hungry so as the better-half waited for her chicken wing order at the Chinese hole-in-the-wall I discovered a new entry into the food competition right next door. Lo and behold a Mexican food stand had magically appeared and I was drawn to it like a gigantic black bean craving magnet. My black bean and rice addiction kicked in and I was hooked.
Three tacos covered with jalapeno vinaigrette and hot sauce were just what the doctor ordered. I threw in a fresh fruit cup for good measure and to help ease my guilty diet-conscience. The food was excellent and fresh but suffered from tourist pricing. No big surprise there.
Not too bad for amusement park food. We snapped a few pictures and did some window shopping and people watching. All in all it was a great night filled with good food and better company. Happy Father’s Day to me. I saw this shirt and I almost bought it. If it’s still there on my next trip I might be forced to make the purchase and regift it to a certain friend.
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