Beans, Berries & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Last week, I saw the first ripening raspberry.  When I went to check and see if it had gotten ripe, it was gone.  Oh well, a bird probably has a happy tummy.  I did nab one another day.  I've frozen a few pans of blueberries and blackberries, whatever we weren't eating fresh, as I'm picking them most every day.  I listed two items on ebay, and sold one.  One of the containers of potatoes had mint growing in it, so I harvested it and made iced tea. Besides blueberries, I'm harvesting cucumbers, beets, lettuce, zucchini, tromboncino and yellow squash, purple pole beans and yard long beans.  Also, small amounts of lambs quarter when I see it.  I blanched and froze another meal's worth last week.

before scouring

after scouring... yuck!

I'm now a believer in scouring cloth I plan to dye.  I had read that some people don't think this step necessary, and I hadn't been doing it until now.  As you can tell from the before and after pics, the process is definitely removing something.  Cellulose fibers (such as cotton and linen) contain waxes and pectins.  If you don't remove them, you risk the dye bonding to the wax and pectin, instead of the fabric, which can make the dye less lasting or give uneven results.  I scoured a second time, which was also pretty brown.  It convinced me.  I transplanted all the remaining parsley seedlings into an assortment of pots, including two I made from large metal tins.  I could have used more soil, but I made do with mixing old and new.  Several of the parsley I had transplanted in the garden died, and I want to see if they'll be happier in dappled light on the porch.  A batch of yogurt was made, and more raisin zucchini bread.

A new pasta recipe was tried, with lemon, feta and basil.  Hummus was made.  Now that cucumbers have started coming in, I've made asian cucumbers three times.  It's definitely a favorite of ours. I pulled one of the purple cosmic carrots to try, and it was very good.  A neighbor came by, asking if I still did massage.  I ended up giving him a chair massage, the first one I've done since St. Patrick's Day.  In the shadiest portion of the garden, I prepared a bed for lettuce, adding in old chicken manure, then watched the sun to see which portion of the bed got the most shade.  It will get direct sun from about noon to 3, and dappled light at other times.  I'm hoping that will work to give me a nice crop of lettuce during the hottest part of summer.  It's been hot and dry.  I'm hoping one of the days forecast to have a good chance next week brings us some rain.

There are many lightning bugs this year, which brings me joy.  In past summers, there were many, but the last few years, there seemed less and less.  How wonderful they're returning.  I ended up having to compost the calendula I had harvested, as little caterpillars hatched out of it.  That was a first.  I read a tip to freeze the flower buds when you bring them in, to keep that from happening.  I picked a bouquet of soapwort, butterfly bush, pink and purple bee balm, and verbena for the house.  Not long ago, my husband expressed a wish for a home grown tomato on the 4th, which is early for our garden.  Well, his wish came true, and we shared our first cherry tomato of the year on the 4th.  Ha!  We also enjoyed our fresh picked corn and green beans, and made mint ice cream with our Kentucky Colonel mint.  I found sparklers I've had for some time, and we had fun with some of them at dark.

happy coreopsis in the dye bed

I've made some progress with the guitar, since a friend loaned me a left handed one.  I looked for one to buy, and found a good deal on fb marketplace.  The sound is not as nice as his, but it's a smaller guitar, and will be fine for now.  Our refrigerator has been limping along for a while.  Then, two or three months ago, one of the drawer supports broke into several pieces.   J said it was beyond fixing, and parts were no longer available.  I suggested he look for sales over the 4th holiday.  He found one with good reviews that was reduced $250, and he got an additional 10% off for being a veteran and for putting it on his card.  I was surprised to see dozens of kale volunteers, where one of the winter ones obviously seeded.  I haven't had much luck with lettuce this year, but at least I'll soon be able to have kale salads.  I did plant three varieties of heat-resistant lettuce on Sunday, with a prayer.

red noodle beans/yard long beans

The hay in the back field was baled a week ago.  I found lots of twine this time on the service road.  I believe once it's cut, it's no good to them, which is why they leave it laying.  There was quite a lot this time, in three long pieces, so I brought it home, and have been using some of it to tie tomatoes.  They also lost a hay bale on the road.  Sadly, we can't use it in the garden, as like most everyone around here, they spray the field with Grazon, which will kill garden plants in short order, and persists for a long time.  I considered using it in the chicken coop, but as I use the composted cleanings in the garden, I didn't want to risk trying to keep it separated.  It seems a shame to let so much hay lay there, but it's not worth the risk.  The wrens on the porch did hatch out a little one.  I found it in a precarious position, still featherless, and out of the nest.  I was afraid to move it, but J quickly got it back into the nest, and every day, I've seen the parents bringing food, which is a hopeful sign.  J looked in with his flashlight, and said there's only one in the nest, and it looks fine.

We had a fine crop of red onions this year, filling more than half a copper boiler.  We still have to harvest yellow onions and sweet onions, and have Egyptian walking onions as well.  The beans are becoming prolific.  Though I'd love to hold off a bit longer, it appears I'll need to can some this week.  I also plan to can pickled beets some time soon.  So far, I'm managing to somewhat keep up with cucumbers and squash, though I expect I'll be canning them before long too.  I was able to share some of both with a neighbor on Sunday.  We cut a watermelon for the 4th, and gave the chickens the rind and quite a bit of watermelon, as it was overripe.  Sad, as we had just bought it the day before.  Our melon plants are coming along, but it will be some time before we have melons to eat.  Last week, I finished reading Dreams From My Father, and began reading The Cooking Gene, both library books.  Have a good week, friends.