Memories

 Every once in a while I just drift away to what I call my "happy place". I know it's not real but in some ways it is. This happy place is full of my memories. Times in my younger days, times of better health, and just times of pure fun and enjoyment. Our heads are full of such places, some we remember fondly while others may bring a tear to our eye. Either way, these memories are what has made us what we are today. Yesterdays events helped shape today and all of our tomorrows to come. I hope that I never forget being at my grandparents farm and walking down the lane to the swamp. Here amongst the cattails was the spring where the cows drank. In the spring of the year there was always a crop of pollywogs in the water and us kids would watch them grow into frogs. I don't know who owns the land now so I haven't walked that lane in almost 50 years. The barn and all the farm buildings have been gone for forty years and my grandparents house has been gone for at least 10 years. I'm not sure if the horse chestnut trees along the driveway are still there or not. All I know is that in my memories everything is still the same as it was and us kids are in the meadow playing baseball. At the house that I grew up in, I can still see my grandfathers old guernsey  cow standing on the hill under the apple tree. And there is gramp in his garden on top of the hill. Memories. As long as I have my memories, things that have long since changed will return as they were 50 years ago when they were here, alive, and well. Our past lives in us because we are a product of our past. As I can pickles today, I'm reminded of my grandfather in his garden years ago. Maybe I'm carrying on a family tradition by gardening. Canning and freezing the vegetables that I grow is not only going to save me money , but it's helping to keep my memories alive.

It's finally RAINING

 In the last 3 days we have gotten about 2" of rain. This usually wouldn't be cause for a celebration but this year it is. That 2" of rain is more rain than we have seen all together since the first of June. I'm grateful for the rain that we have received because I know there are places where rain is needed even more than we did. The weather has been changing over the years. This change has sparked many arguments over the cause . My belief is that the change may be caused by 2 factors. One is man's blatant disregard  for his surroundings. We have raided the earth of it's natural resources and replaced them with trash. We keep burning fossil fuels and adding to an already polluted atmosphere. Then we complain about the price of these fuels. Then when an earth friendly power source is mentioned, we the people who want cheaper power, complain about scenic pollution. They have built several wind farms in my area and it's sparked several arguments over noise and scenic pollution. These wind mills aren't noisy at all in comparison to these huge power turbines at power plants like in Niagara Falls. And as far as scenic pollution goes, the power lines needed to transport the power from point A to point B, are a nuisance to those whose land they cross to bring power to those who are complaining about the new systems. Humans want their cake but want to eat it too. Humans don't care if their wants and needs are an inconvenience to someone else. As long as they have what they want all is right with the world.
 The second reason for this change in the weather, once again this is just my opinion, is the normal progression of the earth and the rest of the solar system. If the earth didn't go through a process of change, we would still be living with dinosaurs and many other extinct species of plants and animals. We know that change happens constantly throughout the universe so wouldn't we be crazy to think that the earth and our sun weren't going to ever change? We have 4 seasons because of the earths position with the sun. Maybe we are just a bit closer to the sun than we were 100 years ago. Is there a way to measure exactly how close we are and is the angle exactly the same? I don't know the answers to these questions nor do I know if anyone knows for sure. All I know is that things are changing and we as part of this universe had better get used to that fact and be ready to adjust our lives to new conditions.

Just keep plugging away

 Sometimes it seems like I'm making no progress at all. We are 4" short on rainfall for the season so it's water the garden twice a day in hopes of saving the crop. So far, so good. I've been able to pick and freeze both green and wax beans, peas, and squash. The tomatoes, cukes, and lettuce are on the way to getting ripe. Then just for more excitement, last Monday I developed an infection involving my dialysis. Every time I get a bad cold, as the cold germs are leaving my body, I get an infection. So now, as I shell peas and slice beans, I can do a treatment laced with antibiotic. Just one more adventure to embark on.
  My garden this year has been quite successful. The only 2 vegetables that I tried to grow that I had problems with were celery and parsnips. I should have looked into how to grow celery before I did almost everything wrong when I planted it. The parsnips on the other hand, have me confused. I've never had problems growing parsnips before but this year has been different. The first planting of parsnips didn't germinate very good so I made a second planting. The second planting was even worse. I've got 6 parsnip plants in an 8" row. Maybe my seeds weren't all that good, I can't find any other reason for the poor germination. Oh will, I'll try again next year
  Sunday night I made fried chicken with a twist. I sliced chicken breasts into strips, dipped the pieces in egg then flour, then fried until crisp and brown. Now the twist. In a bowl I melted !/4 cup butter. Then I added some minced garlic, a bit of cayenne pepper, and some mustard dipping sauce and mixed it all together. I added the chicken to coat then placed the chicken on a rack on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. The parchment paper will catch the drips so they don't cook fast to your cookie sheet. Then I put the chicken in the oven at 425 degrees for about 7-8 minutes, then turn the chicken and let it cook for 5 more minutes. I may hurt my arm here patting myself on the back because I gotta tell ya, IT WAS DAMN GOOD!!!

It's Raining

 For the first time in 2 weeks it's raining, a nice gentle,soaking rain. For the last 2 weeks it's been hot and dry here. When it's 95 degrees here, it's hot. Then you add the humidity and stuff starts to bake. I know it gets hotter in other places and the humidity is worse, but dang-it-all, it's been hot.The lawns are all burned brown and if people don't water their garden, they won't have one. A vegetable farmer on the hill behind me has been watering his whole farm. He hasn't got line enough to reach his pumpkin patch so he hauls tanks of water there. Once in the field, he can then run lines to water the pumpkins. I've been watering my garden twice a day. If I don't, the plants wilt and look like they will die. Wilted or dead plants don't grow much for me to pick and eat. As it started to rain, I could almost hear my garden take a sigh as it soaked up the rain. This rain is coming just in time to give my cucumbers a boost. They just started blooming so it shouldn't be long now. Everything is coming along well. The only complaint that I could have is that I'm not fast enough to keep up to the garden. But all in all, I'm not doing to bad at keeping up. I've already got more beans and more squash in the freezer than I had last year. My garden is doing just fine and I'm doing the best I can to keep up. So far, so good.

Round 2 has begun

 I just finished picking the first round of peas on the week-end. Those crazy pea plants have already blossomed for the second time and are already forming pods. I've never seen the second blossoms before and I didn't even realize that they would blossom twice. I know that string beans will blossom twice but even beans I never seen blossom so soon after the first picking. I'm not complaining, I'm just astonished by what my garden is doing. Having time to work in the garden really makes a big difference. I can't wait for my tomatoes to ripen now that my romaine is starting to head. The iceberg is still leafy and hasn't started to head but it will soon enough. Maybe the iceberg, the cukes, and the tomatoes will all ripen together so I can just pick-a-salad when I want it. My herb garden is coming along, except for the rosemary. The basil smells so good. Soon it will be time to pick the garlic as the stems are starting to turn brown. The thyme and the green onions are also coming along well. If nothing else, I've had a good time growing my garden and hopefully we will get to enjoy it throughout the winter.

Happy, Happy, Happy

 Did I tell you I was HAPPY? My garden is making me a happy man. I've been busy picking and freezing beans and squash. Plus we have had something out of the garden for supper every night for the past 2 weeks. Let me say it again, I'm happy. The peas finished just in time for the wax beans to start and as the wax beans slow down, the pole beans are coming on. The squash are producing the first good crop of squash I've had since moving here 8 years ago. I also harvested some greens today for supper tonight. The tomatoes are just starting to blossom so they will be coming along in a couple of weeks. If I have some luck, the tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers will all ripen together. I can taste fresh salad already. Still picking strawberries as they ripen but Elaine and I eat these as fast as they ripen. We may be " Two Old Fat People", as we were once called, but we are really just two big kids when it comes to strawberries from the garden. It's time for me to get back to cooking and freezing. First I'll blanch and freeze the beans, then I'll start frying zucchini and freeze that also. Suppers this winter are going to be good. I'll have many more options than I've had in previous years.

Freezing vegetables from my garden

  The last thing I need to worry about is, do I have enough vegetables to freeze or not? The answer is almost always YES. I picked some string beans this morning, the first ones this year. There is only 3 cups of beans but they will go in the freezer nicely. When I freeze my beans, I blanch them and cool them immediately. After they have cooled and drained, I put the beans on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. After they have been in the freezer for about an hour, I take them off the cookie sheet and put them in a gallon size freezer bag and put them back in the freezer. The beans are frozen individually so I can take out as many as I need for a meal and as more ripen, I can add to the bag until it's full. I save morey on seperate bags and I have very little waste because I only have to take out what I need. I do this the same way when I'm freezing brocoli, brussel sprouts, fried eggplant, and fried squash. This system works on almost all vegetables that you are freezing and it cuts the use of salt and cuts waste. Now I have to get cooking beans.

Finding time for everything

  Maybe I bit off more than I can chew. I want to start building some new items for our Etsy shop, but I haven't been able to even get near my tools in a couple of months. I have stuff piled up on the porch that needs to be sorted and put away. We want to have a yard sale in August so all that has to be sorted. And my garden is starting to ripen so vegetables will need to be picked, processed, and stored. Jobs will need to be prioritized and I will have to keep going. Let's see, clear and warm today with rain tonight. If I work in the yard and garden today, then I can work on the porch tomorrow when things are wet. Sounds like a plan. Now the hard part, sticking to it. The worst part of all this is I can't even pass the blame on to anyone else. It's my mess on the porch in my shop area and it's my garden. It sounds insane but I asked for this and created this mayhem myself. Oh well. It's time for me to stop whining. Get of my fat butt and get to work. Time is wasting and time is money, don't I wish it were money. Time to be boss again and take control. Get things done. No complaints. Get it. Got It. Good. Now get going.

More trellis's from the curb

  I have said before that Elaine and I are pack-rats and curb pickers. Our garden is full of trellis's that we picked up somewhere. The white porch rail is now a trellis for my 2nd crop of peas to climb. We picked the railing up with the idea of just using the spindles. I never took it apart, so now it has a new use. The white wrought iron railing we picked up without any idea of what we might use it for, it might have even been destined for the junk yard. But being pack-rats, we kept it and now it's new job is to give the gourds something to climb on. And that brings us to the rose bush I found in the old garden in our yard. I shouldn't say I found the rose bush, because I knew it was there, we just hadn't seen it in a few years. This spring when I first started cleaning the old garden, I weeded around the rose and cut out all the grape vine that was choking the rest of the plants. After getting the area cleaned of the unwanted growth, the roses and the peonies took off growing and reclaimed their garden. The rose bush had been pushed to the ground by the grape vine so I used 2 pieces of an old gazebo to make a "tepee" style trellis for the roses to grow up.
  All these items I am using in my garden for either decoration or to support my vegetables came from the curb. Someone's  unwanted items in the trash became a useful treasure find for us