Spring Harvest & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Monday was a gloriously cool day, with low humidity.  I took advantage, and spent time in the gardens, weeded a number of things, squished squash bugs, and harvested lambs quarter and a couple of asparagus.  I will probably leave all the remaining asparagus, to put energy back into the plants.  The pea plants were pulled, as they were nearing their end, and added to the compost after the peas were pulled off.  J stuck a few more potatoes in those containers.  Quite a few of the potatoes in the ground have been looking poorly, with so much recent rain.  A batch of yogurt was made, and a load of laundry was hung on the line.  I'm picking some pretty small lambs quarter, but I'm happy to have some to harvest this year.  Enough for two meals was blanched and frozen.  With the likely last cool day for a while, I roasted our asparagus, made autumn succotash with our squash, and a salad.  Several mornings, I've enjoyed homemade yogurt and granola, topped with fruit.

Many of our cabbages were ready, so J harvested those that were.  I made asian slaw with part of the first one.  J recently bought netting to put over our peach trees, which was said to be bird-friendly.  As it happens, not so much.  Within the first 24 hours, a dove and what I believe was a Great Crested Flycatcher became stuck in it.  Happily, we were able to get them free.  The next day, a squirrel got stuck in it, so I decided to try a couple of things, to see if they would help.  I first put bright contractors tape around the netting, to make it more visible to flying birds.  Next, I gathered in all the excess netting at the bottom, and folded it up under to the inside, and any place that had a bunch together, I gathered and twist tied together.  I'm hoping that will cut down on the possibility of anyone being caught in it.  Time will tell.  We're just hoping to get some peaches this year, for a change.  As I'm finishing this post, it's been either 4 or 5 days since I worked on the netting, and nothing else has been caught in it.  Hooray!

Not pretty, but it's working

There have still been more than the usual critter sightings.  On a walk one morning, a fox came running across the road by the creek on the service road.  I'm guessing they were drinking or hunting, or both.  The dogs took off in pursuit, but came back in short order with their tongues hanging.  I also saw a small snake on that walk.  It occurred to me that a piece of land adjoining that of the back field is being timbered, so this is likely why I'm seeing so many animals.  It's always sad to think of habitat destroyed.  You know how pleased I was that I'd finally got around to washing the windows of the storm doors around the chicken coop?  Well, while doing my chicken chores Friday evening, I found a wood thrush on the ground underneath a storm door.  I guess they can be too clean....sigh.  I love the songs of the wood thrush, which seems to be one of the first I hear in the early mornings.  Seeing this bird and the flycatcher brought home to me the diversity that is here that is never seen at the feeders.

The little hats on the leeks make me smile

While shelling the last of our peas, I enjoyed watching the first episode of HomeMade.  With the peas, I made soup, and snipped dill and chives to top it.  A year with fresh pea soup twice is a banner year in my book.  I saved enough peas for seed for next year.  Besides the soup, I sauteed our first two zucchinis with onions, and made salads.  I gathered more lambs quarter, in between checking the squash for pests. One of our cabbages was used to start a batch of sauerkraut, and one was given to a friend.  I made a cauliflower salad for our dinner, and a broccoli salad and herb tea to bring when visiting J's family on Sunday, the first we've seen them this year.  A friend shared a slug bait recipe (1/4 tsp yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 2 c warm water), which have been pretty rampant this wet spring, eating a number of my seedlings and the cabbage.  I made some on Saturday.

I've typed different things here, and deleted them.  What I will say is I plan to further educate myself.  On my book list at the local library are A Testament of Hope, Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House, Dreams from My Father, and The Cooking Gene.  Alicia from Posie Gets Cozy shared a document she received.  Much of the information is specifically related to Portland, but pg. 3 has a list of things to read, watch and listen to, if you are so inclined.  My greatest hope is that these times bring about change, and that on the other side, the world will be a kinder and more peaceful place, where all people feel safe and valued.  Wishing you kindness and peace this week, friends.