Wonkybusker

Back Home

We're back from Italy.  We had a great trip and saw Etruscan tombs, the ancient Roman city of Ostia Antica, the Capitoline Museum and much more.  Now, after travel and the holidays, it's time for life to get back to normal.  As usual, while we were traveling we took lots of pictures.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

We're good at recycling.  And we try to reuse as much as possible, although composting has been a failure.  What I want to do more of in 2012 is reducing.  If we don't buy it in the first place, that's the best of all options.  To that end, I've been trying to cut down on the number of things I buy that eventually need to be recycled.  We have a water filter and a SodaStream, which cuts down quite a bit on the need for bottles.  We've switched to bars for soap, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizing lotion, and shaving cream, which also cuts down on plastic.  And we've started canning, which uses reusable jars instead of the one-use metal cans from the store.  And I'm trying to rely on canned, frozen, or cool weather veggies this winter instead of buying fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers just because they're available all year in the grocery store.  Hopefully I'll keep it up, but I already miss fresh tomatoes and it's only January.  At least we're doing something.  It's a little progress.  We use much less electricity and water than average  according to our utility bills.  And yet there's still so much more we can do.  I want to try to buy more in bulk.  I want to compost successfully.  I want to not buy a single can of soda in 2012.  I want to get back in the habit of bringing and using silverware at work instead of the disposable plates and utensils in the lunchroom.  Every little bit helps.

Making Christmas

This year we made Christmas presents.  It was a fun project and I was amazed by the final products of what we gave and received.

Chris had an idea of building a Tardis (from Doctor Who) box.  So he tried his hand at woodworking.  And after many hours using hand tools to chisel door panels, we got some electronic tools that sped the job up a bit.  The result is a spectacular box and now I've requested that Chris make me one too.

For my part, I knit a purse and made a quilt.

And I tried my hand at glass etching.

It's really easy.  You just need to get a special glass etching solution.  Then you take contact paper, trace what you want to put on the glass (I used a stencil) and cut it out with an exacto knife.  Then carefully remove the backing and stick it on the glass, being careful to smooth out any bumps.  The glass etching stuff goes on the holes you made in the contact paper, and then you wash it off a few minutes later.  That's all there is to it.

With all these Christmas presents, Loki didn't help at all.  However, she was very happy when she got homemade dog biscuits on Christmas day.

Home Again

I just got back from vacation.  It was a much needed break and now I'm ready to head into the holiday season.  Some of the pictures are posted at http://jessicaek.typepad.com/photos/carribbean.

The next few weeks will be busy, so you may not hear from me much but stay tuned for pictures from our Italy trip in early 2012.  Also, this year my family is making Christmas presents to exchange and we've been hard at work on a number of interesting gifts, so I'll be posting those after Christmas.

Rainy Day

I love rainy days.  I love dreary, dark, cloudy rainy days.  I love the sound of rain tapping on the window or on an umbrella.  And it's nice to come inside somewhere cozy after being out in the rain.  It makes me miss London.  It makes me happy that the rain will make the garden that much better.  And there's something slightly guilty but lovely about being happy on a rainy day.

Nothing to See Here

First there was an earthquake and then the hurricane came through.  It was quite a week.  All is well here and despite a day without power, some fallen branches, and a bent tree or two we really don't have anything to complain about.  It could have been a whole lot worse. 

I can't believe August is almost over!  Post hurricane, the temperature is nice and the sun is shining.  Our fall vegetables survived the rough weather.  We continued the canning experiment by making pickles and relish last weekend.

Work is still very busy and will probably remain so for another 9-10 weeks, so I'm sorry if this blog is a little quiet this fall.  I'll come back.

Little Bits of Fall

I love those days in August that let you know Fall is around the corner.  The breeze picks up and a few leaves begin to fall (although I think those are from the recent drought).

The garden has been going pretty well and we have a bumper crop of tomatoes and basil, although the rest of the crops never fully recovered from the groundhog, who is still at large.  We also got supplemental tomatoes from the local farmer's market and canned.  Now we have salsa, bbq sauce, diced tomatoes, and all sorts of lovely jars in the basement that I'm sure we'll be happy to have this winter. 

The Wildwood beach tournament was lots of fun and lived up to expectations.  It promises to be a busy end of summer into early fall and then I'm looking forward to vacation time in late fall and early winter.

Tomatoes

The groundhog has done a number on just about everything else in our garden, but the tomatoes are still going strong.  So far we've harvested 15 tomatoes.  The roma and the early girls are our top performers, but there are green tomatoes on all the plants.  Yay! 

And mom and dad got me replacement cucumbers.  :)  I was so upset that I might not get cucumbers this year but now I think I will. 

Oh, and the squash plants are finally getting their first female flowers.  We may still have a garden this season afterall.  If only we could catch the groundhog.  The trap has been set.

First!

Yesterday, I picked the first red tomatoes from the garden.  We have never gotten them this early before. :)

Mystery Solved

There have been no bunnies in our garden.  Nor have there been deer.  We found our mysterious guest and he is a particularly fat groundhog.  So far he's eaten all of our bush beans, all of our melons, most of our cucumbers, most of our carrots, half of our peppers, some of our eggplants, and some of our summer and winter squashes.  We've been trying to deter him with reflective material, dog poop and dog fur, and wire strung around the edge of the garden.  So far nothing has worked.  Now I know how Bill Murray felt about the gopher.

The one bright spot left in the garden is that he hasn't touched the tomatoes.  Those tomatoes are gorgeous.  They're already taller than I am with at least a hundred green tomatoes on them and as of this morning two tomatoes were starting to turn red.

Another Garden Bites the Dust

A deer got into our garden yesterday.  Today I picked a cucumber, but it will be the first and last of the season since the cucumber plants are pretty much gone.  The peppers have been half eaten.  Some will recover, some won't.  A few squash leaves are missing.  The tomatoes were untouched, so at least we'll have those.  I hate these kinds of set backs.

Rabbit Attack

In a time honored garden cliche, the rabbit ate our carrots.  Strangely, he also ate another melon plant and two pepper plants.  It is a setback and I'm left hoping our bunny friend doesn't return.  In the meantime, I'm anxiously awaiting the tomatoes and cucumbers that are slowly growing on the vines.

It's Hot Out Already

Our garden is doing well, although we're waiting for our next harvest.  There are some green tomatoes and tiny cucumbers that make me hopefully that veggies are coming.  Here is our jungle of tomatoes:

 

And then here are some of the peppers, along with shallots and garlic on the right.

 

Our squash plants look healthy, but so far no female flowers.

 

Some of our eggplants are flowering.

 

And then this is a bit of a mystery plant.  We know it is a squash plant, but whether it's summer or winter squash is unclear.  It is much taller than all the other squash plants we have.

 

DC Restaurants

DC is getting a Shake Shack!  I wonder if the lines will be as long as the NYC one.  It sounds like this is opening soon, unlike the Wagamama restaurant we were promised back in 2008 and still have yet to see.

Strawberry Recipes

Two years ago, we planted 15 strawberry plants.  Last year, we were fortunate enough to have strawberries to enjoy fresh as well as some extra to use in strawberry margaritas when friends visited.  This year, we're pulling in over a pint a day.  Eating strawberries fresh is great, but you can only eat so many until the rest go bad.  What should you do with all of those other strawberries?  Here are some ideas that don't require any cooking at all:

Strawberry Lemonade - Put 1 cup of hulled strawberries, 1 cup of sugar or Splenda, and 2/3 cup of lemon juice in a blender.  Blend until smooth then let sit until foam dissipates.  Put in a pitcher and add 2 cups of water and 3 cups of club soda.  Serve over ice.  Alternatively, you can pour the mixture from the blender into a container and freeze it, so you can continue to enjoy the taste of fresh strawberries later in the summer.  Servies 10 or so

Frozen Strawberry Mousse - Separate an egg and whip the white for a minute to form a foam.  Add 1/2 cup of sugar or Splenda and mix it in.  Then add in 2 cups of strawberries.  Use a hand blender to mix for a full 15 minutes.  Make sure this is in a very large bowl because it will fluff up quite a bit.  Pour into a container and put in the freezer for at least an hour.  Scoop out and serve like ice cream.  Serves 8-10

Freezer Jam - Take 2 cups of mashed strawberries and add 3/4 cup of sugar or Splenda.  Then mix in half a package of pectin (they have some specifically for freezer jam) and pour into containers.  Let sit for about an hour and then put in the freezer.  We haven't tried this yet and we may try to make traditional jam instead, but this does seem like a nice option.

First Harvest 2011

Our garden is on its way!  So far we've picked 2 dozen strawberries (with many more on the way), 5 very tiny radishes, 1 1/2 cups of pea pods, and enough lettuce for about 9 side salads and around a dozen sandwiches.

Currently, we have small green roma tomatoes growing.  Last weekend I picked off all the suckers on the tomato plants and that was a sad task considering how healthy those suckers already looked.  We also have a couple of very, very small green peppers on the way.  Our squash and cucumber plants are flowering. 

The blackberry bushes are blooming and the raspberry bushes have buds.  There are about a dozen cherries forming and also about a dozen gala apples.  Our plum tree has lots of little plums but last year it dropped all of them so we're hoping this year some hang on.  The grape vine we planted is just about to leaf out and 3 of the 4 blueberry bushes we planted recently are doing well (1 died for no apparent reason).  A weedwacker from our neighbor's lawn service took out most of our new black currant bushes, but we're hoping 2 of the 6 may still recover. 

I know it's early in the season, but I'm already looking forward to when we start canning.  I'm convinced that this will be the year we'll have enough of something.  We planted 19 tomato plants and 21 pepper plants, so here's hoping they live up their potential.  I have less hope for the watermelon plants and I'm rather disappointed in the spinach.  Next year we might not plant it.

The herb garden is doing well.  Our chives and sage are flowering.  Our rosemary made an attempt at a rebound after a cold winter and did not survive, so we replaced it with a small arp rosemary plant that should be more cold tolerant.  The basil plants are doing well, but I need to pinch off the tops so they get bushier.

I have found new entertainment going to other garden blogs online and seeing how their gardens are coming along.  There are also some friends nearby that garden and I'd love to start our own garden club where we share advice, extra plants, and seeds.

Fruits and Vegetables

 We've been doing a lot of work in the garden and enjoying this beautiful spring.  I've taken one of the empty beds in the garden and filled it with some native flowers that used to be in taking over our herb garden.

And now the herbs have more room to spread and grow.  The sage and chives are doing particularly well.  I'm hoping for the rosemary to revive.

 

And here is the garden.  It is growing nicely.  I don't have a close up of the peas but they are doing the best.  We've already picked one batch and hope to get another soon.

 

The tomatoes are also doing well.  Some even have a few flowers.  I'm just so proud of these guys.  I've been working on growing them since January and it's nice to see them thriving in the garden.

 

The squash and cucumber plants are starting to flower as well, although it seems a bit early for them.

 

Loki is enjoying the backyard.  And there are lots of flowers this time of year.

 

Our fruit trees are also starting to do their thing.  These, hopefully, will become apples.  I'm hoping to get more than the two apples we got last year.

 

The cherries are also starting to form.  They should ripen right after the strawberries.

 

And here are the plums.  We haven't gotten plums yet, but this is by far the healthiest of the fruit trees so I'm hoping we'll get fruit this year.

 

And of course, I'm waiting for these strawberries to turn red.  I know it's earlier than usual, but it's been a warm spring.  France's strawberries are already ripe and are three weeks ahead of schedule.

 

I can't believe we planted these only a couple of years ago.  They are doing really well and I'm hoping for lots of berries.

 

That's our garden update for now.

Radish!

Today I picked my first radish!  I've never grown radishes before, so it was very exciting.  I know it's a bit small still, so I'll wait to pick the rest once they get bigger.

 

Loki Recovering

 

Last Friday Loki gave us a scare.  She was walking stiffly and her stomach was distended.  We rushed her to the animal hospital where they x-rayed her, prepped her, and then she went right into surgery.  We are very lucky we went straight to the hospital because her stomach had twisted and if left untreated the condition would very quickly have become fatal.  The vet untwisted her stomach and she spent the next two days at the hospital recovering. 

She is now home and starting to get back to being herself.  She is on a restricted diet and she will not be allowed to run, jump, or rough house for the next 3-4 weeks.  We're just so happy to have her back and see her tail wag again.  She's going to be alright.  The vet stapled the outer wall of her stomach to her ribs, so hopefully that will prevent this from happening again.

I mention all this because twisted stomach is a condition that sometimes happens to large dogs, so owners should be aware of it and on the lookout.  It happens very quickly, sometimes due to eating and then exercising and sometimes without apparent cause.  If this happens, get to the nearest available vet as soon as possible.  Also, it is worth considering pet insurance.  This emergency comes with a hefty bill for surgery, recovery, medication, and follow up visits.

Lesson Learned, Sort Of

Everything is planted and we've mulched it with grass clippings.  So far the bugs have been few and the rain has been plentiful.  As you may know if you have read previous posts, we started everything way too early.  Seeds were started in January and plants were put outside two weeks ago.  The peas were put outside as month old plants around St. Patrick's Day.  Veteran gardeners cautioned me to wait, but I was eager to push the season. 

So what was the result?  Well, nothing died.  The peas suffered from some frost burn and the tomatoes still aren't looking very happy.  Why would they?  They shouldn't be out yet.  Currently the things that look healthy and thriving are all the cool weather crops.  They are doing really, really well and the radishes are even bulbing.  The rest are merely enduring until the weather gets warmer. 

So what have I learned?  I should follow the gardening books more closely.  I may not have murdered my plants by starting so early, but I didn't gain anything by it either.  There is a lot of information out there about what plants do best when and I'm not doing the plants any favors getting them out there early.  They will grow when the time is right.

I'll probably still push the season a bit next year.  Maybe not by as much as I did this year, but I don't think I'll be able to resist starting spring as early as possible.