Life With The Crew

End of August in the Garden

Our backyard isn't as lush as it normally is, since we haven't had rain for literally weeks (until yesterday!)  But we still have some good things going on.  We planted grapevines several years ago, not with any grand intentions, just because it seemed to be the "homesteading" thing to do.  Well, this year it paid off in the form of a much enjoyed cup of homemade grape juice for the little babe.  The grapevines are in "her" garden area.  Last year the grapes didn't do much, but this year we've noticed the chipmunks and catbirds going to town.  I though she probably had enough to make grape juice, so we gave it a try.  Picked, washed, mashed, simmered, strained, and enjoyed!

Last year I saved the seeds from my poppy flowers and we had enough for several different patches.  It looks like next year, we'll have even more!  I love the unique shape and texture of the seed pods.  Crushing them to get the seeds was such a tactile experience!

I have a couple of lovely pale orange squash.  The full name is Galeux D'Eysines.  They get brown warty spots on them (again, a tactile thing!) and are supposedly very yummy in soups or baking.  I just like how they look!  The little babe was worried about the spots, but I told her that's just how they're supposed to be.  

The gardening season is coming into full swing for some crops and winding down for others.  I have already planted my fall carrots and lettuce.  The tomatoes are continuing and peppers are just changing color.  My zucchini plant currently has 3 fruits about to pick - it really only started when I got back from vacation and hit the watering hard.  And I have sunflowers!!  A small patch, about 12 plants, but that is more than last year, so hip hip hooray!  I managed to outsmart the chipmunks.  I started the seeds in small pots in a "cold frame" - a large Tupperware bin covered by an old window, then just window screen.  Then when I transplanted them, I took plastic nursery pots, turned them upside down (so wide end was on the ground), and cut a hole in the bottom.  This collar apparently was too much work for the chipmunks.  I learn something new every year!

Backyard Lessons

I have always loved our backyard.  One of the main reasons why we bought our house was for the property - 1/2 an acre in the suburbs with mature landscaping, fruit trees, in a semi-private setting - it sounded like a place that we could experiment with and make our own.  Fifteen years later, we have now had chickens for over a decade (and ducks at several points of time), the fruit trees are dying and having to be replaced, there are definitely more flowers, and the pines, spruces, aspens, and cherries have only grown taller.  We have seen the following wildlife in our yard just in the past week:  Red-tailed hawks, a Pileated woodpecker, Downy woodpecker, and Hairy woodpecker, two Ruby-throated hummingbirds (can't tell if they are a pair), Robins, Goldfinches, Blue Jays, House Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Carolina Wrens, male and female Cardinals, Eastern Gray squirrels, Easter Cottontail, American toads, Monarchs, Yellow Easter Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, chipmunks, and numerous pollinators including Honeybees, Common Eastern bumblebees, and Bald Faced hornets.  

Our outdoor math lesson was put on hold when a toad was found in the garden.  We have been reading Jane Goodall's memoir, My Life With the Chimpanzees, and I figured that nature observation was definitely a worthy activity.  So for the next hour, my daughter sat on the ground, content as can be, to be hanging out with a toad.  Some might claim too much COVID isolation, but I see it as a parenting high point.  No screen stimulation was needed, no prompting by a parent, nothing but fascination and curiosity.  

This morning she found the first large spider web of the season - it is a sign of the approaching cooler weather.  I could title this image something like "Child of Wonder" or "Childhood Awe", but the real title should be "Seconds Before the Small Red Spider Menacingly Thrust Out His Front Legs and Young Child and the Mother-Photographer Jumped Back in Fright."

Keep your eyes open and notice the small wonders around you.  They are there even if we don't notice.

 

 

Hello August!

Hi, I am still here.  I am surrounded by dry brown grass, Pennsylvania being in the middle of a draught.  My garden survived over vacation and is now thriving, but only with copious amounts of water which I do feel extremely guilty about.  Those huge plump tomatoes and orange cinderella pumpkins wouldn't survive without my help and as I stand outside with the hose every evening, I think about the places in the world where so much clean water is not an option and I am thankful for this luxury.  However, as I watch the water soak into the soil around the tall Joe Pye Weed and penstemon, I tell myself that I have to provide them with water so that they can produce nectar so that the beautiful tiny little miracles of nature, Ruby Throated hummingbirds, and all of of the pollinators that buzz around me, have sustenance.

My daughter and I have been reading some really great books lately which I'd like to share.  I love books that teach us about history in an engaging way and there are so many fantastic woman empowerment books available today.

"Shaking Things Up:  14 Young Women Who Changed the World" is a fantastic, fun, introduction to amazing women in history and the preset.

https://www.amazon.com/Shaking-Things-Up-Young-Changed/dp/0062699458

"How Women Won the Vote:  Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea" is part picture book and history book, joined together with eye-catching illustrations.  My daughter really enjoyed it and I learned so many things that I never learned in school!

https://www.amazon.com/How-Women-Won-Vote-Alice/dp/0062841300

"The War That Saved My Life" is a captivating fictional chapter book about evacuated children in Britain during WWII.  My daughter declared it a "great book!" and we can't wait for the sequel to arrive.

https://www.amazon.com/War-That-Saved-My-Life/dp/0147510481

I hope you are having a good Summer, even though it is most likely different from Summers past.  Different doesn't necessarily mean bad.  You just might have to look harder to find the new good.