In the garden: the dark side

The Blogger Star is BACK!!!

I wrote the following post many months ago, soonafter my previous post about the garden. I guess I never finished it, or wasn't sure I liked it. Anyway, Daran found it and said I should post it. So, here it is:

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There's two sides to every story, right?

Sure, I mentioned a few garden failures in the previous post - nasty fuzzy cucumbers, non-blooming hydrangea paniculata. Life is rough. But here's what you really need to know about gardening here at my 'stead:

1. Mosquitoes prevent any fun from happening at all. Most of my gardening experiences involve mosquitoes assaulting me (and whomever dares join me) at just about any time of day, but mostly of course in the evening when the sun's gone down and you're most eager to get out and see what's what out there.

2. I grossly understated the deer problem. Especially after last year's drought, the deer have gotten smarter and cattier. Several crops of things (beans, peppers, 'maters) were severely delayed and some things (squash and zucchini) never made any headway at all due to the deer. Constant frustration. And they're now - in late OCTOBER for cryin' out loud - chomping up my non-blooming hydrangea. Talk about adding insult to injury.

3. Rabbits.

4. Peppers which I raised from seed and allowed to have 24/7 lamplight as seedlings, in accordance with the advice I read from some bozo I read on GardenWeb. Plants aren't mean to have 24/7 light, but I was feeling lazy and experimental. Those pepper plants (I think) were the ones that grew a bunch of quarter sized peppers. Really useful.

5. Raspberry bushes which, bless their hearts, produced about 14 raspberries per square hectare of bush. I know, it sounded all good in previous posts, and they were good - as in, tasty - but I neglected to mention the fact that they gobbled up tons of good garden space in order to produce no more than a cup total of fruit.

6. Things that flopped over way too much and either broke off or totally blocked the paths: Sungold cherry tomatoes.

7. Fennel that was supposed to be dill, according to Ace Hardware where I bought the plants. Sorry Italian cuisine lovers, but I don't know what to do with fennel.

8. Too many small carrots which I left in the ground all season then insisted to myself on harvesting, peeling, chopping and freezing, despite the fact that for about $0.78 worth of carrots which will only be frozen and then later added to soup, I spent about 3 hours of my time on, meaning those carrots per pound cost, labor-wise, about $500 dollars. Whoever comes over for soup, well, I'm gonna expect some appreciation.

In the garden

It's been a great year for the garden. We've had reasonable temperatures, regular rain and I finally invested in a bottle of "I Must Garden" (repels deer). We even did buy a chest freezer for all the surplus, and it's mighty stocked now. Still, there are areas of the garden that need attention and I'm sure I'll never be totally satisfied with it.

The tomatoes were incredible, and I loved growing yellow ones for a change (Lemon Boy and Golden Girl). I sure like hybrids. Someone will need to convince my to devote more than a tiny percentage of my garden to heirlooms - I just haven't had much luck or production from them.

The green beans (Blue Lake) were also outrageous. The same dang plants produced all summer long. Usually, I (at least intend to) stagger plantings throughout the summer (perhaps 3 different plantings?) so as to keep the production up. But this year my most productive plants were the very first ones that I planted. Every time we'd get a needed rain, the plants would burst forth again with new beans and I picked them up until a few weeks ago.

Cucumbers, not so hot. I planted a bum variety from some hippie outfit - some were good, some were awful - fuzzy, full of huge slimy seeds. I need some good cuke recs.

Other winners - green/sweet peppers, basil, jerusalem artichokes, okra, peaches and even a few raspberries (currently making a fall resurgence)!

Some nice flowers made an entry to the garden this year - pineapple sage, various purple salvias, a very happy light pink mum from Ruth (currently blooming) and of course the swamp sunflowers from mom, also blooming profusely right now. The little orange Mexican cosmos looked great, and my obedience plant bloomed for the first time. My hydrangea paniculata 'tardiva' did not bloom and I discovered that it blooms on new wood and so needs to be pruned. Noted.

So, at this late date, I'm not picking much from the garden. Lots of parsely is left, and so is basil but that won't last long (frost soon). A few hangers-on peppers and the enormous jerusalem artichoke stand needs to be chopped down and dug up (can't wait). It's time to hunker down, spread some compost (and chicken manure!!!) and start planning for next year...

R-U-B-Y

Ruby loves drawing on Daran's little coaching whiteboard but until now it's just been scribbles and drawings. Last week, though, I noticed her working hard on something, crouching over the board on the floor. Minutes later, she came running down the hall, proudly. And proud she should be. Proud, I was.

Milwaukee

Just a short post to say we made the scene at Milwaukee and I'm here to report Milwaukee is a fine town. It's much nicer than I imagined while growing up thinking about the Milwaukee Bucks, the Milwaukee Brewers and the "Miller Brewing Company Milwaukee Wisconsin." We ate lunch first then flitted around some of the downtown neighborhoods before heading over to Miller Vally, where all the company's buildings are. We were too late for a tour but they showed us the ten minute movie and gave a pass to the Miller Inn where they give you a couple beers on the house. We came home and had a quiet night in preparation for probably a wild weekend in Chicago. Mark, Matt and another guy rejoin us this weekend. Pictures!
On a bridge downtown.

Every team in the NBA will make at least one appearance in the Bradley Center (background) each year. This is right downtown where someone (hypothetically like me) could live a couple hundred feet away - pretty cool.

Chris and I collecting our free beers at the Miller Inn. A hostess reports each Miller employee receives 3 free cases per month, sometimes more. I'd like to know the percentage of alcoholics in the monthly application pool.

Finally, we toured some replica caves where they demonstrate the manufacturing process pre electricity. I'm helping with the ice making.

Chicago

Chris and I made it to Chicago today. It was only my second time in the city and I was much more favorably impressed than ten years ago. Maybe it's because ten years ago I'd recently been to Europe and hiked a bunch of really cool cities, and maybe it's because this is my first time back inside a healthy big city since that last time. We didn't even do much but we did hike a lot of it, mainly in and around Lincoln Park.

Walking around Chicago it was impossible not to feel the energy. People are everywhere doing all manner of things - going to work, going to school, moms pushing babies, people in the bars and restaurants, trains whirling above your head, bums working hard. And it's impossible not to feel the history. The buildings have wear and tear on them but they they've been standing for a decades or centuries and appear to be ready for more. I love how there are long rows of houses and families living in places you wouldn't think are houses - every nook and cranny put to practical use. Of course there are plenty of blighted places we didn't see but where we were it was alive and kicking and looking incredible.

Kirsten has a fantasy of living in New York (I've never been) for a few years and I can't fathom it. I have to say I could see myself living in Chicago and enjoying it. Seeing a well functioning city up close made me a little sad to think of what's happened to all the once healthy big cities our country used have. I really wish I could have experience my birthplace of Detroit - once the country's 4th largest city and referred to as the Paris of the West for its architecture - before it's tragic decline. But we'll always have Chicago.

Chris' mom gave us the shocking news that Milwaukee is only about an hour away from here. I had no idea it was so close. So while you poor saps are working tomorrow we are going to be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin! Eat your hearts out! I've actually heard good things about Milwaukee. And every bartender we talk with at these bars that serve numerous high quality beers speak longingly about all the beers you can only get in Wisconsin. It's all they can do to keep from breaking down about this beer and that beer...only in Wisconsin my friends. So we'll see.

Not to be outdone...

Here I am again!

Every now and then I get a notion to post an old photo of Ruby. Here are a couple from October, 3 years ago. I knew that because of the transitional clothing we're all wearing* and Ruby's pumpkin slippers, worn only once, for these exact photos.

*and not because we ever set the date properly on our camera


I think I mentioned in my previous post that I made the mistake of buying Ruby her first pairs of tights. This was a mistake of grand proportions which I made with the scattermindedness of a full-time working mother without temporary husbandly support, the kind of support which allows me to make reasoned decisions that come from a place of relative calm and peace, a calm and peace which is the result of not being responsible for Ruby round the clock which can put my mind in a frenzy and cause me to forget one of the fundamentals of my daughter's personality: obsessiveness of beloved new items. At the tights store, I was overcome with some weird desire for Ruby to have tights and forgot that she would want to wear them each day, every day, to school, to nap, to bed, to the chicken coop**, you name it. The awesome mother that I am, I convinced her not to wear them to sleep but I am not sure I'll be able to convince her to wear them to school only on days that are less than, say, 85 degrees. It's quite likely we'll have a few more of those before this summer is over. Ruby will be hot and miserable and she won't know why. And it will be my job to try to get her to understand. Good luck, me.

**yes, we have chickens now!

On The Road Again

We shoved off from Plymouth, MI yesterday and pointed the GPS machine towards Marshall, MI, where our (high school) friend Matt and his family lives. But first we stopped in to Ann Arbor one more time to eat lunch at nationally famous (it was on Oprah!) Zingerman's Deli. Amazing sandwiches there; I had the Reuben. The picture we took is still on Chris' camera phone but suffice to say it was about 5 inches tall and delicious. We also stopped in to Arbor Brewing Company where it happened to be happy hour all day Monday. They make good beer and we tried a couple (pictured).

In Marshall we went and checked out their own beer factory, Dark Horse Brewery (seems a necessary feature in Michigan towns). It's amazing how well beer can be made by your average local enthusiast when they put their mind to it. This morning we loaded up the rental car and pointed the GPS to Libertyville, IL, just outside Chicago. We will spend today on into Friday with Chris' mom and her husband while making side trips into Chicago. It should be fun but I'm really missing my wife and child right about now!

Dueling bloggers!

Just because Daran says he' s going to blog every day doesn't mean I have to stay quiet down here in NC.

Simple pleasures: Today I bought Ruby her first pair of tights (actually, 3 pairs). She'd described them to me a few weeks ago, wanting them, even though she didn't know what they were called. I figured, hey, she's a girl, she wants tights, why not? After we returned from the store, she wore them all day, quite pleased. At one point, she looked up at me and said "I'm really happy about my tights." And she really was. I know how she feels. I got some new socks.

Michigan Stadium

I watched a game in Michigan Stadium for the first time in 30 years and that is a win. Michigan lost by 25 points but the experience was pure win. Ann Arbor was a lot of fun . Chris' brother, Alex (in the M hat), is 18 years younger and a senior at UM this year. He picked us up in Plymouth and brought us to AA this morning. We bought some beer and grill food and "tailgated" with his friends next door, which is downtown Ann Arbor. It was a blast. The houses along the street were in full pre-game party mode and it genuinely reminded me of my prime college years in Greenville, NC. After three hours of grilling and drinking we marched to the stadium. All along the way was mayhem spilling out from most every house. Michigan is a football school and it really looked like it today. Our journey to the stadium with a sea of people felt like a genuin happening.

Once inside the stadium I was duly impressed. Michigan Stadium is the largest stadium in North America, and it's just a giant bowl dug into the ground - capacity is about 110, 000. It has a reputation for being populated by a not-so-loud crowd and my expectations were low. Much to my surprise it was very loud. I was also surprised by the intimacy of the place. The bowl - or the lack of tiers - gives the feel of everyone being massed together. And the sound was much more impressive than impression I get watching on TV. It's an amazing venue and it's 80 years old. Too bad Michigan was awful today. Nevertheless it was a great experience and I'm so glad I had it.

Countdown to 40

Hello from Michigan! I have embarked on a trip to celebrate the final throws of my youth, pretending my youth is actually still in existence. I'm on the march to 40!

My long-time friend (from high school) Mark organizes a road trip for a Michigan State football game every fall and I've never made the scene, though I've always wanted to. This year the MSU road game is Northwestern, which is basically in Chicago. The weekend coincides with my 40th birthday. Another friend from high school, Chris, who always makes the MSU trips, suggested we fly up a week early and go to the Illinois v. Michigan game in Ann Arbor this Saturday. We grew up huge Michigan fans and we are excited for the start of the Rich Rodriguez era and I haven't been to Michigan Stadium since the late 70's.

I'm commandeering the blog - intending to make a blog entry each day but not likely - in an attempt to maintain at least a small connection with Kirsten and Ruby while I'm gone. I don't imagine this will be interesting for anyone else (maybe my mom). It is very rare that our family is separated for more than a day (I think it's happened once) and we are normally loathe to venture out beyond our property line. Maybe that's an exaggeration but after purchasing my plane ticket I thought about canceling my plane ticket immediately, and on most days after. Nonetheless, I'm excited to be here with my friends and I intend to have a great time.

The schedule will be hang at Mark's house in Plymouth, MI, plus Michigan football this weekend. Monday hanging with another high school friend Matt and his family. Chris and I head to Chicago Tuesday and will stay with his mom while exploring that scene all week. Then another weekend of football and fun and...forty!

9 days to go.