« July 2016 | Main | September 2016 »
I'm thankful for the flowers, thankful for the bees, thankful that the yellow pollen doesn't make me sneeze.
I'm thankful for the time to putter, thankful for the time to play, thankful for the beauty of a sunny summer day.
I'm thankful for my seeing eyes, thankful for my smelling nose, thankful for the garden where these pretty flowers grow.
What are you thankful for today?
So it turns out that despite repeated attacks by the groundhog, my little babe is going to have at least one orange pumpkin and there are several more in various stages of growth. We also have a mysterious squash vine that was a volunteer from the compost pile. From its shape and rapid growth, I believe it is a Pennsylvania Longneck Squash. Currently there are about 7 of them, but I spy another new one every day.
Their smooth texture and elongated shape remind me of pulled taffy. In the deep of Winter last year, my husband brought a huge specimen home from the farmers market and I was able to make several dishes out of one squash - muffins, fritters, soups. They can get huge, so as long as the frost doesn't come early, we could actually grow all of the squash that we'll need this year. We also have a butternut squash in the back garden that has taken off now that the rabbits have left it alone. It seems like every day I spot another tiny squash hidden under the big green leaves. While I am excited that the cattle panels are being put to the test and are now completely covered, I hate to think about removing all of those dead vines. There are a lot of coiled tendrils!
It is unbelievable how fast squash and pumpkins grow. Sometimes gardening is heartbreak and frustration, other times pure wonder and delight.
Today I am thankful for...
~a sunny day, bare feet in warm soil, little fingers excitedly grabbing homegrown potatoes.
~a little babe's interest in the natural world - nature finds for her table at home.
~for having plenty of time to read to a little babe who is now old enough to listen to chapter books. We completed Charlotte's Web by E.B. White in less than a week and we're now halfway through Little House in the Big Woods, the first book in the Little House on the Prairie series. When we encountered this spiderweb in the woods and she said that she was going to poke it, I reminded her about how hard Charlotte worked on her web.
What are you thankful for today?
Earlier this week, the little babe declared that we have not been in the woods for a while. So later that afternoon, keeping one eye on the sky (we have had thunderstorms every day for a week straight), we entered the woods, just she and I - no dogs, no camera. After finding a red Pilated woodpecker feather, she decided that we needed to pick up the pace and go "skiing", so she found sticks for ski poles and away we went. We jogged along the paths, stopping at each intersection so that she could decide which way to go. We were only in the woods for about half an hour, but we arrived back at the car sweaty and happy. She apparently had so much fun skiing, that she requested that we go again the next morning. So after walking the dogs, we headed back down the street, this time walking to the wood's entrance. We skiied some more and then walked home along the shaded bike path, about two miles total. Along the path we passed some wild grape vines that had a decent amount of ripe grapes. We had passed the grapes on previous walks, but didn't have any free hands to collect them. Since this time we didn't have any dog leashes to hold, I stopped and pick several bunches and said that we could make grape juice.
We do not buy juice of any kind and so the little babe has never even had grape juice. I do not even like it. But I think that some things are worth doing for the experience alone, and so I made grape juice. At least, I made a liquid from wild grapes. Since I only had the small amount shown above and because I know that most homemade grape juice recipes would call for a ton of white sugar, I just did my own thing. After rinsing them, I heated the grapes with some water until they softened and started to burst. Then I used a fork to squash out more juice. I then strained them and added a bit of honey. The resulting "juice" is pretty tart, but cut 50/50 with water, it is fine. I do not recommend anyone using this method, but it isn't really the taste of the juice that was important. The little babe learned that nature provides us with edible gifts that we can use to provide for ourselves. She learned to identify wild grape vines and to know what color they are when ripe. And she learned two rules of foraging - make sure you are not on private property (unless you have permission) and always leave some of the good stuff for wildlife. And since she has never had Welch's grape juice, she doesn't even have anything to compare it to - she just thinks it is pretty cool that we made our own juice!
If you make grape juice and have a favorite method, I'd love to hear about it for future reference.
My husband took time out of his busy day to surprise me with handpicked elderberries. That's love folks. He won't even be enjoying the fruits of his labor in something sweet because they're destined for elderberry cold syrup. (Which is pretty tasty, but not something that you're hoping to need!)
As I was cleaning the elderberries, I told the little babe what we were going to do with them, that we'll have the elderberry cold syrup in case we get sick this winter, that people tend to get sick during the colder months because they are cooped up inside, etc. She says, "Well, we get lots of fresh air in winter - sledding, skiing, walking the dogs." Yes, hon, we're not afraid of a little cold and hopefully we won't get sick. Well, guess who woke up sick this morning - the little babe. We were at a dinner party on Sunday and she played with another toddler who attends daycare. I guess some of those kid germs made their way to my little babe. So instead of freezing the elderberries for a couple of months, I made syrup this morning. Elderberries, honey, and a dash of cloves - good stuff. The little babe slurped up her tablespoon.
As she was lying in bed with a fever in the predawn hours, she asked if I would make her some tea in the morning. Of course my dear. We started the day at 5:30am, reading five Beatrix Potter books. When the sun came up, we got out of bed and I put some water on to boil. Then I grabbed my Medicinal Herbs book by Rosemary Gladstar to see what herbs are good for bringing down a fever. The Fever-Reducing Tea is elder flower, peppermint leaf, and yarrow flower. Because I built up my herb garden this year, I had the first two dried herbs on my new herb shelf. The yarrow I started later in the season from seed and it is taking its time - I have short plants with leaves, but no flowers yet. So I substituted echinacea instead. I swirled it with a small spoonful of honey and the flushed and sweaty little babe declared, "It's good Mom; I like it!" Happy words on a rough morning.
It has been one full year since I completed knitting the first sweater for myself - everything before that was toddler size! I made an Annabel Cardigan and while I like the simple construction of it, I didn't pay close enough attention to the sizing and it ended up being too small. I could only button the top button and I had to yank on the arms to stretch them out each time I wore it. It just wasn't comfortable and so it sat in my closet. About two months ago, I moved it to the office where I would see it frequently, waiting to decide what to do about it until I finished whatever project I was currently working on. I wasn't afraid of frogging it, I just didn't feel like taking the time. Undoing something seems like wasted time.
Finally I decided that I would make the same cardigan, but in the correct size. I love the feel of the yarn, Osprey, by Quince and Co, and the deep gray color. It is soft and squishy with a substantial weight, but not super thick like the Puffin yarn that is my favorite. However, after ripping it all apart, I changed my mind and decided that I would use the Annabel cardigan as a guide for sizing, but make a loose short sleeve sweater for wearing over long sleeve shirts. I started with the garter stitch neckline that the pattern calls for, but then switched to stockinette. The yarn was slightly bumpy from having been in garter stitch for a year and it gave some extra give to my knitting, which I actually liked. I decided that it needed some sort of design, so I did a modified moss stitch on the bottom half. When I got to the bottom edge, I couldn't decide what to do. I didn't like the idea of garter stitch next to the moss stitch, but I didn't want ribbing because I thought that would look silly - too many patterns. So I just ended it as is. It isn't meant to be a fancy sweater anyway. Then I had the same dilemma for the sleeves - how do I end the cuff? I tried a couple rows of garter but it bunched up. On my third try, I decided on just running out the stockinette and letting it curl up at the edges for a casual look. So there you have it. A bit boxy, but much more comfortable than the original cardigan.
And as for the beautiful wooden buttons that I removed from the cardigan, I used them to adorn the Dejeuner bag that was my next knitting project. The pattern called for using two strands of a linen yarn held together. I had two different colors - a brown and cream wool blend - that I bought for a striped sweater that I changed my mind about. I wasn't thrilled about the yarn, but I needed to do a project on the cheap, so I gave it a shot. After starting the sweater pattern, I did not like the feel, but I thought that it would work perfectly for this bag. I could not figure out the provisional cast-on, so I just did my own thing. The six row pattern was easy to follow as long as long as I kept track of what row I was on. The pattern required that the BOR changed every other row and so when I did mess up a couple of times, it was quite the process to get back on track. Several nap times were wasted in the process. For the straps, I had to make up my own design since I didn't do the provisional cast-on. I thought the buttons added a little polish to it. It is not the most practical bag - pens and chapstick will need to be put in another small bag, but it is cute and handmade, so it makes me happy. Plus, I put the cheap yarn to good use.
So your lessons for the day: Don't fear frogging. Good things can emerge from destruction. Don't keep things around that you're not going to use. Knit what makes you happy.
As the little babe and I were pushing through high grasses, knee deep for me, head height for her, I heard her mumbling, "Out of the underbrush, out of the wild, out of the underbrush, out of the wild..." She then went on to change the first part of the verse to suit where we were walking, but "out of the wild" stayed constant. This made me laugh for two reasons, one, because I thought she was clever for making up this catchy little tune, and two, because we definitely were not in "the wild". We were at the local nature center located at a marsh wetland area which is surrounded by neighborhoods and within sight and hearing distance of a major highway. Despite that, it is a fantastic area for spotting wildlife and we always see something interesting, plus some of the dark wooded spots with huge old Black Willows do have a wild feel to them. I always expect to meet a fat bristly muskrat along the stream path. Who determines what is wild anyway?
We were reading Margaret Wise Brown's Little Fur Family this morning and as I read the words, "Out of the windiness, out of the wild", I started to laugh out loud! We bought our dog eared copy of this vintage book on our recent vacation, in a book shed on a blueberry farm. We have only read it a couple of times, but apparently it made an impression on the little babe.
And while I'm talking about things in the wild, I thought I'd share some info about Poison Hemlock, which is wild AND very toxic. There are warning signs posted at this nature center, which is a good thing because it looks similar to Queen Anne's Lace, which is a favorite of the little babe. The stem of Poison Hemlock is smooth with purple blotches while Queen Anne's Lace is hairy and green.
Today I am thankful for...
~more berry picking time with the little babe. Now in season - blackberries. They are definitely not my favorite; I don't really like the taste or texture. But that is what our local organic u-pick farm has right now, so that is what we've got. The little babe actually said that she likes them straight up, but I'm going to be freezing most of them for berry milkshakes. (My latest treat - raw milk, frozen blueberries and two kinds of raspberries, a glug of maple syrup, and a tablespoon of cocoa all in the blender. And when the little babe asks me if it is healthy, I can honestly reply, "Yes!")
~my little garden helper. She has been waiting for several weeks now to pull the onions and I have been saying, "No, not yet." I finally got tired of looking at the sad limp stalks (for some reason only two of them ever stood up straight), so last night I gave the go ahead. While I watered, she proudly pulled up 20 onions. They are not the biggest, but they are our first home grown onions, so I'm happy about that. And seeing her happily tug them out of the ground made me pretty happy too. (I know that we pulled them up a bit prematurely; I should have let the tops totally brown, but we'll use these up before we have to worry too much about storage.)
~hummingbird sightings in the yard. They love our purple phlox and Obedient plant. What amazing little creatures they are!
~sunflowers! I was hoping to have at least one flower this year make it to maturity and I actually have more than one. Every time I pass by them, there is a bee on the bloom, covered in yellow pollen. I knew that birds love the seeds, but I did not know that they were such a great source of pollen for bees. Now I am even more thankful that some survived.
What are you thankful for today?
As much as I love vacationing in Maine, I am also pretty content with life here in Pennsylvania. And as much fun as the little babe was having in Maine, it made me feel good to hear her say that she missed our garden at home. Though I wasn't sure how much garden we would have when we returned. As I've mentioned numerous times before, our main problem is predators. Before vacation, we had five perfect little pumpkins forming and the little babe was so excited about them. When we returned home, they were all gone, totally gone, except one that was half eaten still hanging from the cattle panel. The groundhog had a lot of fiber while we were away! There were some tears shed, but since we have now trapped the little bastard thief, in less than a week we have new pumpkins forming, so all is not lost. The butternut squash vines have been taking one step forward, two steps back all season since they've been under attack from the rabbits. Beans? Nearly decimated. Cucumbers? Only the ones that were hidden under foliage were able to survive. What we do have is basil, plenty of basil, which is fantastic because we love pesto! We also have Sungold tomatoes, which was the personal tomato plant of the little babe (even though she decided she doesn't like them.) Our 32 Roma tomato plants are a bust, which I'm blaming on totally bad soil. They have what I call "black butt rot". I'll do some research before next year. However, we had a bunch of volunteer mystery tomatoes which I transplanted around the yard in various spots and they are thriving - several pear and small round varieties. We had enough of our own peppers, garlic, and onions to make salsa, which is exciting. So now we're back home and I've been weeding, watering, and doing damage control. The little babe is happy playing in her own yard, going on "garden tours" and picking marigolds. (Which is the only thing that we have in abundance! Baker Creek Gypsy Sunshine marigolds are amazing - they are pumping out flowers like crazy in hot dry conditions.) Spending time outside and teaching the little babe a bit about gardening and veggies is what I think is important, not high yields, and apparently the little babe finds enjoyment in the time that we spend working and puttering. Just yesterday while we were out back, we watched the local Red-tailed hawk soar low directly above our heads. Then when we turned our gazes back towards Earth, the little babe spotted a shiny green hummingbird hovering near the Obedient plant. During moments like that, there is nowhere else I'd rather be then right there in our little struggling garden with my little garden helper.
We arrived home on Saturday night after two weeks in Maine. We had a wonderful vacation, full of relaxing lake time, a beautiful sunny day by the ocean, and a quick trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I was computer free for two weeks and loved it! I'm now busy at home trying to fix the damage done to the garden both by the groundhog (which we managed to catch the day after we came home) and the high temperatures and lack of rain. Not many things actually died, but they definitely are not flourishing. However, I'm currently up to my elbows in Roma tomatoes (bought from a local CSA). Today I wanted to share some Maine photos. I have a fair amount, so feel free to leave early if it gets too boring!
Nature photos - Birch leaf after the rain, wild Maine blueberries (growing on an island in the lake), baby White Pine seedling, Button Willow (on the same island)
Gull feather on the lake. The lake where we stay is only an hour from the ocean, so we see seagulls, along with Black Ducks and Loons. Lying in bed at night, listening to the eerie laughing call of the loons on the lake filtering through the open skylight, is one of my favorite things about vacation in Maine.
We also saw this Bald Eagle numerous times. This dead tree was his lookout perch and we were able to canoe right under him. Amazing.
The house we stay in is on the eastern side of the lake, so we receive great afternoon sun and views of beautiful sunsets over the mountains.
There was plenty of time by the lake - reading, swimming, drawing, knitting, and sometimes just hanging out.
We were invited to participate in the surprise wedding proposal of a dear family friend at the top of Wildcat Mountain in New Hampshire. So despite my slight fear of heights and enclosed spaces - into the gondola I went! The view from the top was beautiful and we were honored to be present for the happy occasion.
And now back to reality!