A Bit of This - N - That

I don't have anything special to post today, so in going through the photos I've taken in the past couple of weeks, I decided to pick out a few favorites.


The purple waves have held up nicely throughout the summer


Last week's lunch on the deck was wonderful, very fresh and healthy

Looking back at the house from the top of the garden


Our favorite spot in the garden. The shade hits there during the hottest part of the day and the breezes coming through the trees makes this a truly delightful spot after working hard all day!

H wanted to know if he could have a "throne" like this one we saw at Kingsbrae Gardens. I don't think the scale would quite fit our little garden!

The Late Summer Garden

I took a stroll through the garden yesterday morning just as the sun was peeking above the trees behind the house. The light was so pretty and dappled, so I ran into the house for the camera. Here's what's blooming in late August:Head Gnome, Willy, welcomes everyone to the garden.

The Rudbeckia and Peach Dahlia light up the corner of the fence

The Casa Blanca Lily perfumes the whole garden

A dozen Monarchs flitted around and this guy sat still long enough for a "glamour shot"

The blooms on the Annabelle are so heavy that even with staking they have a hard time holding up their heads!

Looking from the corner of the fence. The Joe Pye Weed in the center planting bed is over 7 feet tall!

Spike was miffed because he couldn't go out with me.

The garage planters really filled out over the summer

We stopped in at Marden's on our way into town and found they were having a huge sale on yarn. Oh, joy! Do you think I have enough to keep me busy this winter?

Yes, life is very good!

Oh, Where to Begin?

First, I have to tell you about the great New Jersey peaches we bought this week! They were delicious and so juicy. I froze a bunch of them for a mid winter treat, but we really enjoyed eating as many as we could out of hand. To everything there is a season, and we take full advantage of all the fresh fruit summer has to offer!


I'm afraid I've neglected my blogging duties horribly in the past two weeks. But, alas, with working too much, the weather being so beautiful, the garden getting away from me with zukes and green beans, there just has not been much time to sit inside and ponder words. I have taken lots of photos, but just have not had time to sift through them and decide which ones to post.

Schoodic section of Acadia National Park


So, here goes - the saga of the past two weeks:

First of all, for those of you who requested it, I will post the "Zucchini Mess" recipe at the bottom of this post. Sandy asked if the pot next to the mess was brown rice, and yes, it was. I buy the brown basmati rice as I think it is infinitely more fragrant and flavorful than the plain stuff and here is how I prepare it:

I always prepare a double batch as it freezes wonderfully and since it takes 45 minutes to make a fresh batch, it's nice to always have some on hand at a moment's notice when we need some to go with another dish.

I use a large, shallow lidded pan, such as a 12 inch fry or sautee pan. The shallow size allows each grain to cook fully and I never end up with a sticky mess.

So, on to the recipe. Rinse 2 cups of brown basmati rice and drain thoroughly. In the mean time, sweat one large onion, finely diced in about 1 tbsp of olive oil. When onions are glassy, but not brown, add the drained rice and sautee for about 1 minute to coat the rice with the oil. Add 3 1/2 cups of canned chicken stock, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Turn off heat and uncover the rice to cool. When cool, fluff lightly with a fork. Simply reheat to eat or put in freezer containers in appropriate serving size and freeze.

This method has never failed to produce perfect brown rice for me.

With the weather being so nice, H and I have been hiking in Acadia, and this week, took a road trip to St. Andrews by the Sea in New Brunswick, Canada. We visited Kingsbrae Gardens, one of Canada's Top Ten gardens. It was beautiful and I look forward to visiting in each season. I got several ideas for my own garden, only on a much smaller scale! We had to drive through St. Stephen to get there and noticed that they had a large chocolate factory, but that's a trip for another time. We really enjoyed all the scenery along the way and look forward to going up there often. Pot sculptures in Kingsbrae Garden

On another note: H and I have been adopted!

When our sweet dog, Bailey, passed away two years ago, we said we were not going to go out and get another one. We said that our next pet would find us. Well, that's exactly what has happened.

About two weeks ago, I spied a little black cat running down our road, chasing squirrels or whatever happened to jump in the weeds. He disappeared and I wondered where in the world he came from as none of our neighbors had cats. I felt sorry for the little guy because I knew he was on borrowed time, what with the coyotes and foxes we had heard or seen.

Last Thursday, he came bouncing down the road again, meowing pathetically. I stepped out on to the porch and he came running over, rubbing on my legs and purring madly. I sent H for a can of salmon out of the pantry and fed the little beggar, as I could not stand the thought of this poor skinny thing being hungry.

We did our best to ignore him the rest of the evening, but he just mewed at the door, and since H was asleep in his life-sucking recliner, I thought I'd just let the little guy in for a few minutes since it was now very dark and I was afraid of the bigger critters getting him. He spent the rest of the evening snuggled up against me on the love seat, purring most contentedly. As I was getting ready to go to bed, I didn't have the heart to put him out, and besides, he was now on H's lap, purring and snuggling up to him. Boy was H ever surprised when he woke up to find this cat kissing him!!!

The next day, we had planned a road trip and would be away all day long, so I put the cat out (after feeding him the rest of the salmon), and while we were gone, we discussed our options about the cat. We could either leave him to his destiny outside (not an option), take him to the shelter, or take him in to live with us. We decided that, if he was still around when we got home, we would consider taking him in. We arrived back home and no cat was to be seen. Relieved, we sat down in the dooryard for our evening ritual feeding of the chipmunk, and within seconds, out from under the porch, comes "Midnight", which we had originally dubbed him. With much purring, rubbing on legs, and letting us scratch him behind the ears and on his belly, the little stinker weaseled his way into our hearts and home.

Spike, as he is now known, has been with us just a few days and, although we were never necessarily cat people, we have come to love this little ball of black fur, who simply loves to be with us. He follows us around the house all day, sitting when we sit and just wanting to be near us at all times. As I write this, he is sleeping contentedly behind me on the office chair. (Doing wonders for my posture, as I cannot sit back and slouch in the chair).

So, as you can see, it has been an exciting few days in our lives! Life is good on the farm!

As promised, here is the Zucchini Mess recipe: Sautee 1 large, diced onion in 3 TBSP olive oil, when they turn glassy, add 3 large cloves of finely diced garlic. When the garlic begins to get fragrant, add the zukes which you have halved lengthwise and chopped into bite size pieces and a large, green pepper, also chopped into bite sized pieces. Stir and sautee for a couple of minutes. Add one large 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, salt & pepper to taste, bay leaf, a few hot pepper flakes, about a tsp of chicken bullion and about a cup of red wine. Then add about a tbsp of dried oregano, fresh chopped parsley, if you have it, cover and simmer for about 1 hour. This is great served over the brown rice and topped with a bit of parmesan cheese. We sometimes also add a bit of smoked sausage for a heartier meal.

Gad Zukes!

I picked the first flush of zucchini yesterday and made an old family recipe. H's Mom is Italian (yes, from the old country) and every year she would make what she called "Zucchini Mess". It was really nothing more than a ratatouille without the eggplant, but it was delicious and a great way to use up all those zukes that tend to get away from you in the garden. Another benefit is that it freezes well, so you can have it all year long.




A couple of days ago, our friend whose house is surrounded by blueberry barrens, invited us over to pick all the blueberries we wanted. Never ones to turn down anything free, much less all we wanted of it, H and I hurried over to pick to our hearts content. Of course, it was the hottest, most humid day of the year and the sun beat down wickedly on the barrens. We lasted about 1/2 hour before our backs gave out from bending over and were blinded by the sweat pouring into our eyes. Nonetheless, we got about 5 quarts after all the berries were cleaned and picked over. The picking over took 10 times longer than the actual picking. We went from aching backs to aching feet from standing up to clean them.

H in the blueberry barrens (that's a remote weather station on the rock)


These little Maine blueberries have so much more flavor that the larger, highbush berries grown elsewhere. They are a lot of work to harvest, but boy are they ever worth the effort and we enjoy them all year long from the freezer.


Later on that evening, I gratefully got to sit down for a while and, because I cannot just sit and do nothing, I knitted another little guy for the orphans.

Well, that's the report from the farm today! Life is Good!

Goodby, July

Parting is such sweet sorrow! The garden is in a bit of a slack time with the colorful flush of late spring and early summer gone by. The rudbeckia, liatris, ligularia, monkshood, Joe Pye weed, et al, are just about to burst forth in late summer glory. In the interim, the daylilies are the stars of the garden.

If this year is anything like past Augusts, the first two weeks will be warm and sunny and then, by the middle of the month, we'll begin to notice the nights becoming cooler and by month's end, there will be days with a definite aroma of autumn. The leaves on the trees will still be green, but the hint of fall will be lurking among the goldenrod.
Apricot Ruffles

Ruby Spider - this blossom is bigger than my hand!

Xia Xhing - has the most delicate shade of pink

Buttercream Ruffles is the only one with a delicate scent

Foxy Fella

Yesterday's walk was once again fun. The day was warm after the fog burned off and the colorful sailboats were out catching the breeze in their sails. The really fun part though, was on our way back home we saw a fox on the side of the road. He must have been as curious about us as we were about him because he stood still, looking at us long enough for me to get out the camera, roll down the car window and get a really good photo of him. After his glamour shot, he trotted back into the woods.



As we were pulling into the driveway, I spied a butterfly on one of the Gloriosa Daisies and jumped out of the car to get a quick shot of it. This little guy was intent on his lunch and stayed long enough for me to get several shots so I could pick out a good one to post.

My knitting group is working on a charitable project our instructor was telling us about. Seems there is a group who sends needed items to African children who have been orphaned due to Aids. Instead of packing the boxes with styrofoam peanuts or other material that would have to be disposed of, they use little knitted dolls which are then given to the children to comfort them.

These little knitted, stuffed dolls are very simple to make and take no time at all and, they are a great way to use yarn left over from all the other projects. Here's one of mine -

More July Flowers

I was out in the garden weeding yesterday and noticed the dahlias had some really beautiful blooms and loads of new buds coming on so I indulged myself by cutting a few for a vase on the
deck. The pink ones are almost as big as my head!



I saved the tubers last year - just dug them up, threw them into some paper bags and stored them in an unheated part of the basement. In March, I potted them up and planted them outside in June. I think they'll bloom profusely til the first frost. Oh no, I just mentioned that "f" word again!

The rest of the flowers on the deck are really blooming their hearts out. I wonder if it has anything to do with my new organic, fertilizer? I gathered a bunch of dried seaweed on the shore last month and put it into a plastic tub, added water to cover and let it steep for a couple of weeks. I have a five gallon bucket in which I put 1 gallon of the "mixture" and fill the rest with water. I water my plants with this diluted mix and they seem to be thriving. A Google search on the internet says seaweed compost tea is high in phosphorus, which is good for lots of blooms. The only drawback is this stuff really stinks, but the odor fades away quickly.

The plants seem to like sitting around the fountain

It's rather difficult to see, but the tall plant in the corner is that little banana my son sent me from Florida two years ago. It's now taller than me. Wouldn't it be great if it actually bloomed and had fruit this year? I'm keeping my fingers crossed!



The cannas are just about to bloom and I'm sure the hummingbirds will love the red flowers.

July Garden Update

With all the rain and fog we've had recently, the garden is really looking lush these days. That and the weeds are running rampant! The flowers are brilliant this time of year and I so enjoy just sitting in the yard and enjoying them.

I took photos of some of the flowers today, but the bright sunlight just faded them out. Nonetheless, here is a pictorial update of some parts of the garden:



The daisies are in full bloom
and this little fella is enjoying every minute.

The lilies made it through the onslaught of those nasty red beetles. Seems like I was out there every other day spraying them with insecticidal soap. Oh, but they are so worth the effort!



The Annabelle hydrangea is just about to pop. The Purple Palace Heuchera is almost lost
beneath it.

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Astilbe and more lilies next to the Annabelle


Delphinium and Goatsbeard

Beach Glass

Yesterday was spectacular! We enjoyed a kayak paddle on calm seas as smooth as glass, our usual picnic on Hog Island and found several nice pieces of beach glass while beach combing.


Beached Moose

Brown glass is pretty common, as well as the green, but the blue is a rare find. H spotted this little gem!

My other love is driftwood, but unfortunately, most interesting pieces I find are much too large to put in the kayak. I'm still working on an idea to float them home!

Enough With the Fog, Already!

Ok, two days of fog is about all I can stand in one week. Especially when those are days I'm off work and could be spending my precious time in the garden.

However, one cannot change Mother Nature, nor coax her to be kind to restless gardeners and we must think of our gardens, who relish the cool dampness of the fog. I can already see the plants breathing a sigh of relief after several weeks of very little rainfall.

The veggie garden is jumping into high gear to get the tomatoes ripe before the first frost. Yikes! I can't believe I actually uttered the "F" word! Frost is about the furthest thing from my mind at the moment, but up here in Maine, it lurks in the dark reaches of a gardener's mind. With the season so short, we are anxious to spend every waking minute enjoying the summer days.



A good garden gnome is never lazy and on those days that I cannot venture into my green domain, I make good use of the time inside by knitting. My latest projects are felted handbags, and the occasional pot holder.

Knitting on H's sweater has been suspended for the summer as it's just too warm to have all that wool on my lap. I've also begun a pair of socks in a new pattern I've never attempted and using, gasp!, a set of #1 needles! These things are like trying to knit with sewing needles! That and the yarn I'm using is so incredibly thin that I had to upgrade my reading glasses to the next strength just so I could see the darned stitches.

Goatsbeard

I awoke early this morning (3 a.m. to be exact) and after tossing and turning and trying to get back to sleep, I finally got up and did a few internet chores til the sun came up. And what a pretty morning it was. As I looked out the window into the garden, the sun was just coming up over the trees and illuminating the almost blooming Aruncus, commonly called Goatsbeard. The feathery fronds sparkled in the early morning light. Unfortunately, my camera could not quite capture the beauty of the moment.



As I was walking through the garden, I noticed that the Delphinium had also begun blooming and the burgundy dahlia was just about to pop wide open.

Since we were up so bright and early, we decided to take a walk in Sorrento, one of our favorite places. This time of year, many of the summer people have returned for the season and their gardens are beginning to perk up. Most folks are happy to have you peek into their yards, but this friendly person actually invites you in!

Now, that's my kind of gardener. I hope one day I'll see them in the garden and be able to stop by for a chat.

Farther on down the road brought us to the harbor with all the brightly colored boats. My favorite red and white sailboat was moored in her usual spot with the mountains of Acadia in the background. I couldn't resist taking several pictures.