Gathering In, Hanging On

 

Afloat on a tinfoil rainbow

The first orange mint came into my life at least forty years ago....probably more. I had several herb gardens through several moves and major life changes. It was always a staple, brought along and loved on as a great ingredient in salads, stews, on meats, and in dried herb mixtures.

Then a few years ago chocolate mint joined the now small and restricted garden by the back door. Talk about aggressive! It about took over the place.

Despite rooting cuttings from the orange mint, potting off little side plants of it, and trying to stave off the invasive chocolate mint, by this spring it was entirely gone.

It is not easy to find, I gotta tell you. When we found several plants for sale on a wagon at Barber's down in Schoharie County we latched right on to a pair. They were planted out in one of the best spots in the backyard, surrounded by landscape fabric to stave off invaders, and clipped judiciously for cooking all summer long. Nothing I like better than one fat green leaf of orange mint and one leaf of lush purple sweet basil chopped up on a salad. Lovely flavor.

Anyhow, here comes winter again. Will it make it?  I am doing my best. One batch has already been dried and stashed in the cupboard. A second, larger haul is lying in state on a paper towel on the dining room table. One cutting is almost rooted and yesterday I cut off several runners that were making a break across the landscape fabric toward the driveway and put them in water too.

Guess I will keep clipping a little bit until frost and maybe encourage some of those runners to root in soil as well.

Will it make it? I sure hope so. Another forty years worth would be nice, although I don't expect to be around to count them all. Meanwhile, we will soon have enough stored for this year at least.

Sneaky

Ruby-throated Hummingbird enjoying a canna

 When we were kids and lived just down the road from here first frost often showed up fair week...last of August/first of September..... Thus there was a scramble to clean up the garden quickly, as long as it didn't interfere with that all important just-before-back-to-school celebration of agriculture, carnival rides, and food that would terrify me today.

Then over the past few decades it crept later and later until it usually fell the first week in October.

Thus it was with unpleasant surprise that I read the frost advisory last night.

Not ready for this....

I like plants. Perhaps not quite as much as I do dogs, cows, horses and birds, but a lot. Just for Ss&Gs the boss counted my houseplants last winter. It was a nearly impossible task, but he ended up somewhere around 75. 

Some of them are literal trees, a trio of Norfolk Island Pines taller than I am. Others include Sunrise cacti I grew from seed, geraniums ditto, the little pink Christmas cactus my mama gave me when I was still living home, and others of sentimental value. Some are just a challenge and I like those.

Anyhow, it is with utter glee that I put most of them outdoors in the spring. I can water willy nilly out there, the yard looks nice and they thrive.

My sentiments are not the same in the fall, especially when first frost sneaks up on me like this...I normally bring a couple in every day or so as the last weeks of the growing season wind down. Yesterday it was an all or nothing deal. The only ones I had brought in previously were a couple of variegated spider plants I was thinking about selling on Market Place.

Most favorites were in by late afternoon, but the two giant elephant ears, a few annuals I don't want to say goodbye to yet, and one last, large, foxtail fern got their own emergency greenhouse made of plastic we keep to cover doors and windows, and small blankets.

Dwarf zinnias and lobelia, also grown from seed.
The greenhouses had few bedding plants this year so....

Oh, and there are still a few geraniums on the front porch under another set of blankies. I don't know why I bother to winter them decade after decade, except that it is a real challenge to grow them from seed, so there's that, and also stores don't have the colors that I do. They look like scraggly messes all winter, but when they toss out big fat heads of blossoms....well, let's just say the hummingbirds sit up and take notice.

So, today I will try to figure out where to put the elephant ears....they are huge and we rearranged the dining room this summer so they can't go there.

After that, if it did freeze hard last night it will be time to dig the canna jungle and put all the corms in totes in the pantry. BTW, if you want to attract and please the hummers, those big, showy, bright red tubes of joy keep them buzzing the whole bloom season. I am going to have a lot more corms than I need....

Now, you will have to excuse me while I contemplate winter. Ugh.

Anyone know what this thing is?
It is attached to the end of the gas pipeline up on Logtown Rd.

September

 The nut brown scent of fallen leaves, scattered on the ground like nature's Legos, crunching every step you take

Blood-tipped spears of staghorn sumac dripping each dawn's daily dew, then rustling their cryptic warnings come the warmer afternoons.

Shortened sun strokes painted on the land, with ever lengthened shadows seeming way too close at hand.

Autumn is no respecter of personal space and crowds in all around.

If not for passing migrant birds and siding signs of color I might feel bereft.

However, thanks to being out as much as work and society will allow I am doing all right, if only barely. 

Hope you are too.

Photo captions, as Blogger seems to have removed that option:

1) Lincoln's Sparrow, a happy find in the barnyard yesterday

2) Staghorn Sumac

3) Corn harvest

4) Contrast

5) Flaunting

6) Suspended...leaves in a spider web.

Happy Birthday, Mama

 

Hope you will take a minute to wish my mama a very happy birthday today. Time are tough for everyone, but COVID isolation is especially hard on sociable folks and those who really can't get out much due to the threat of the disease. Phone calls are not hugs no matter what the government tells us....

Anyhow....

Love you, mama, hope your day is the best it can be....Happy Birthday from all of us.

Happy Birthday

 

Dear Ralph

Happy Birthday, Dear Ralph

Happy Birthday, dear Ralphie, Happy Birthday to you.

Thanks for calmly chauffeuring everyone anywhere, any time, any place....without complaint. In our current one car world that's quite a feat.

For eating whatever I cook...also without complaint...or making your own sammich if it isn't a good day for me.

For keeping the house warm and the hay made and hauled...

And for sitting patiently in the car, listening to talk radio or reading farm papers, while I wander the woods and swamps in search of warblers and Wood Ducks and all birdies great and small.

It's kinda nice to be married so many years and still be having fun...even in this year from Hell.

So Happy Birthday.

***Also happy birthday to one of our three cutest granddaughters, who shares your day. Hope this is a great one, Maddie.

Winding Down

 

Summer.....

Happy Anniversary

 

To the far Mountains

 

This guy was just creepy...

No elbows!

The kids had planned to stop down to see us on the weekend and then travel up to Lake Placid on Sunday to sneak in some Christmas shopping.

I made sad puppy eyes at Alan (over the phone, and not on video chat either...no mean feat..) and he invited me along.

(I am in the wrong line of work!)

Lake Placid

What a nice time. I love seeing them and getting to talk without miles between us and the shopping was interesting as well....although there is nothing in any store that can compare with the mighty mountains. The air alone will wake you up as if you were an ent and had been sleeping long and deep.

Thanks for a great day guys....it was a lot of fun.

Ninja Heron

 Huntie Boi Green Heron yesterday at Goldman Road Swamp. He is not afraid of me anymore and doesn't fly when I walk down by the water. Nice catch, huh?

Bam!

Fixing the "new" Facebook

 

Sometimes metamorphosis is not all it's cracked up to be

Like else everyone I hate the new format. Saw several articles on this and gave it a try.

Long story short, I love it.

Takes a few minutes to customize, but notifications are now in order with new ones highlighted in color. Timeline now STAYS on "most recent".

No ads.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is, goodbye to the update from Hell and hello to Facebook Purity.

Freezing Winter Squash the Lazy Way

 

There are many ways to put up winter squash, some of which involve peeling, cubing, boiling and all manner of pains in the neck.

However, many moons ago I stumbled upon an easier way to do it, which requires minutes of prep and very little final work.

First I give the squash a nice scrub. We like butternuts best and acorn second best so that is what we use. Then I place the squashes on a foil lined oven sheet and poke several holes in them with a fork so as to let the steam escape.

Next step is to stick them in the oven at either 325 or 350 and cook until tender.

Let them cool enough to handle comfortably, slice in half, scoop out and discard the innards (if we have pigs they get them and love them or else into the compost bin they go).

Then scoop out the good part with a spoon, mash, and freeze in plastic freezer bags or containers.

It's that easy. I used to dread doing squash. Now I do an oven full every few days and soon have enough for the whole winter.

Later, when the cold winter winds are howling and a hot, fragrant, nutty-sweet dish of squash is desired.... I just put it in an oven safe bowl, add butter and a little maple syrup, cuz we love it, and either bake or microwave. 

It is so good!

Sixty-nine Years!

 

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Love you!