I made strawberry jam today. It is my husband's favorite and the berries at the market were gorgeous. I feel like a mad scientist when I make jelly and jam. I have special pots and jars, lids, collars, tools and sterile cloths lined up like little soldiers before I begin the process. The kitchen has to be spotless for me to do the whole canning show, not because I'm fastidious, but because I'm so easily distracted I need the visual space to think it all through.
Some people prefer to strain the jelly juice so there is no seeds and just a lovely jewel toned product at the end. I like the pieces of fruit and the seed. The seeds remind me of little stars hanging in a ruby sky. Now the whole house and my hair,even the poodle all smell of strawberries; sweet and summery and mouth wateringly delicious.
One of the most beautiful sounds to my ears is the sharp metallic ping of a jelly jar sealing after being lifted from the canner. That soft plink fills my whole soul with a feeling of well being and contentment. I am overly proud of my jellies and jams. I've tasted better and seen prettier, but because it is done by my hand I love it. There is a comfort and power in being able to capture Summer in a jar.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Trouble in Redneck Paradise
After unpacking and setting up the above ground pool I wondered how I would enjoy it because the water was freezing. That is no longer a problem. Day upon record breaking day of triple digit heat has kept the pool at a sweltering 100 degrees. No joke! Not the cool refreshing dip I envisioned but a wonderful extra large Jacuzzi.
The regular maintenance of the pool requires me to actually get in it to cover the pump vents in order to change out the filter every 2 weeks. I'll admit I had to stand there to get used to the heat for a few moments. Then I carefully dipped the rest of my body in like a bather trying to get in a too hot bath. I know for a fact it had hit 100 degrees in the pool because I had slipped the old Jacuzzi thermometer in there to monitor it.
Really the best time for a dip is in the early morning. It sucks that I'm not a morning person. The only other mishap with the pool remains a mystery. One morning we noticed that the pool was half empty. Somehow it had been tipped by a freak wind or collapsed by a random punk teen or molested by alien space ships and dumped out half the volume of water.
This was fantastic for the surrounding lawn but has left the pool with a strange lopsided lean in a Southerly direction. No matter I filled it back up as best I could with the wonky inflatable lip. I still swim in a circle despite the heat. In fact I think the hot water helps my sore back in the evenings. Bonus!
Ok, it isn't a waterfall tropical pool in the rain forest or a crisp mountain lake, it's a vinyl pool that feels more like a hot tub tucked in the midst of cedar trees in my back yard. Despite the record heat wave and drought conditions this is my self made paradise. Sure we got a few troubles but we make the best of it and squeeze out all the fun we can with what we got.
The regular maintenance of the pool requires me to actually get in it to cover the pump vents in order to change out the filter every 2 weeks. I'll admit I had to stand there to get used to the heat for a few moments. Then I carefully dipped the rest of my body in like a bather trying to get in a too hot bath. I know for a fact it had hit 100 degrees in the pool because I had slipped the old Jacuzzi thermometer in there to monitor it.
Really the best time for a dip is in the early morning. It sucks that I'm not a morning person. The only other mishap with the pool remains a mystery. One morning we noticed that the pool was half empty. Somehow it had been tipped by a freak wind or collapsed by a random punk teen or molested by alien space ships and dumped out half the volume of water.
This was fantastic for the surrounding lawn but has left the pool with a strange lopsided lean in a Southerly direction. No matter I filled it back up as best I could with the wonky inflatable lip. I still swim in a circle despite the heat. In fact I think the hot water helps my sore back in the evenings. Bonus!
Ok, it isn't a waterfall tropical pool in the rain forest or a crisp mountain lake, it's a vinyl pool that feels more like a hot tub tucked in the midst of cedar trees in my back yard. Despite the record heat wave and drought conditions this is my self made paradise. Sure we got a few troubles but we make the best of it and squeeze out all the fun we can with what we got.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Goodbye Stinkbugs, Hello Cucumber Beetles
The bane of my gardening existence has been the armies of stinkbugs that chew and suck the life out of my lovely garden plants. However, this year they have been a no show. (pause) Instead, I have been visited with a plague of Cucumber Beetles. They are actually very pretty as beetles go. A cheerful bright yellow with polka dots of black or shiny yellow with black racing stripes along their little bodies seems harmless enough. Harmless as an evil clown!
After hitting the Google and learning all I could about these insidious insects I have discovered that they live in the soil all Winter and come back year after year in greater numbers! Horrors! I must now choose some method of defense against them to try and salvage my glorious pumpkin vine and tender tomato plants.
It has been a tough year already for the garden with the record heat. 102 degrees day after day has caused my tomato flowers to refuse to drop pollen. Tomato production is down to a mere 8 tomatoes from 2 otherwise healthy plants. So I shade the tomato plants and mist them in an effort to cool them down, as well as, hand pollinate.
Did I mention that this year the bees have given up on my neighbor hood? Even the bee keeper next door is short on hives to take out to the fields. Then there is the drought, the scorching winds and the punk rabbits that like to eat anything that isn't caged up.
Really, this garden is a labor of love and or torture depending on how bad the odds are stacked against it. Then there are the Cucumber Beetles. The hellish evil clowns of the insect world. Here are my organic choices to keep them at bay.
1. Catch them with my hands and squish them. (gross)
2. Place tangle foot sticky traps around the plants to try and catch them. (difficult with the high winds here )
3. Spray with organic insecticides like Neem, 3in 1, and multi insect spray. (wow, expensive)
4. Dust with special powder. (can cause plant to die)
5. Rip out plants, burn them and scorch the earth, never to plant again. ( I can buy organic produce at the market...)
At this point I have one viable pumpkin growing on the vine. I inspect it and faun over it daily. I will have to plant with broccoli and radish, perhaps nasturtiums next year to remove and repel the Beetles and their yucky bacteria.
Who knows what battles I will have to fight next year. (shudders at the thought)
After hitting the Google and learning all I could about these insidious insects I have discovered that they live in the soil all Winter and come back year after year in greater numbers! Horrors! I must now choose some method of defense against them to try and salvage my glorious pumpkin vine and tender tomato plants.
It has been a tough year already for the garden with the record heat. 102 degrees day after day has caused my tomato flowers to refuse to drop pollen. Tomato production is down to a mere 8 tomatoes from 2 otherwise healthy plants. So I shade the tomato plants and mist them in an effort to cool them down, as well as, hand pollinate.
Did I mention that this year the bees have given up on my neighbor hood? Even the bee keeper next door is short on hives to take out to the fields. Then there is the drought, the scorching winds and the punk rabbits that like to eat anything that isn't caged up.
Really, this garden is a labor of love and or torture depending on how bad the odds are stacked against it. Then there are the Cucumber Beetles. The hellish evil clowns of the insect world. Here are my organic choices to keep them at bay.
1. Catch them with my hands and squish them. (gross)
2. Place tangle foot sticky traps around the plants to try and catch them. (difficult with the high winds here )
3. Spray with organic insecticides like Neem, 3in 1, and multi insect spray. (wow, expensive)
4. Dust with special powder. (can cause plant to die)
5. Rip out plants, burn them and scorch the earth, never to plant again. ( I can buy organic produce at the market...)
At this point I have one viable pumpkin growing on the vine. I inspect it and faun over it daily. I will have to plant with broccoli and radish, perhaps nasturtiums next year to remove and repel the Beetles and their yucky bacteria.
Who knows what battles I will have to fight next year. (shudders at the thought)
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