Sun., Aug. 20, 2023

 I just have to ask… am I the only one who looks like Les Nessman at any given time? I am referring to a character from WKRP in Cincinnati who constantly had various bandaids in his fingers or hands. I loved that show, by the way, and lament the lack of fun, middle of the road comedies on tv now. 

But I digress. I have been known to say to my husband, “ I seem to be unaware of my extremities “. Tonight, for example, I was simply walking from the kitchen drawers to the table with a small can opener in my hand to open a fresh jar of chili sauce for supper and I swung my hand, grazed the back of my finger on the ( not sharp) corner of a wooden kitchen chair. I then realized I was bleeding, having shaved some skin off the back of my finger by making contact with a not sharp wooden chair!

I’ve grazed my knuckles by reaching into a cupboard space to throw away garbage, and by reaching into the crisper drawer in the fridge. I can’t even begin to talk about gardening hand and finger injuries or the scratches ensued on my arms from cutting back shrubs. I’ve only today removed the bandaid from my big toe ( not even going to explain). 

Is it my age? Am I walking like a gorilla now? I smack my elbow in doorways more often than I want to admit. The doorways haven’t become more narrow and I haven’t become ( much) wider. I have a bruise on the inside of my knee that I’ve been watching evolve through the colour wheel. I don’t even know how I got that bruise. 

So all those of you whose age would be rounded to 60 ( or more), can you relate, or am I just a clutz?

Peppers: Advice and Success

 I watched some videos on what to do to your young pepper plants to have a bountiful harvest. You are supposed to cut off the top of the plant after it has been growing for a bit, even if you are snipping off some blossoms. This forces the plant to branch out from the top and create more stems which will produce more blossoms and potentially more peppers. I did that this year (although it's hard to do, much like thinning carrots and beets - you feel like you are killing off growing baby plants). Here is the result! 

I'm impressed! I didn't do anything different in terms of fertilizer or watering. I'll be doing this every year from now on. 

Aug. 5, 2023

 Ahh August. The month of crickets, tomatoes, sweet corn, and cooler nights. Today I spent a bit of time in the vegetable garden picking for tonight’s supper. 

Green beans, beets, and my very first potatoes! Butter, salt and pepper, and diced raw onions!!

I tore out some overgrown arugula ( rocket) and gave it to the hens. By the time I’d taken this picture, most had lost interest since they had already been fed the beet greens.

Now, a question. After I took as much compost as I needed earlier in the season, I just let things grow out of it and called it my compost garden ( it gets regular feeding of chicken manure and shavings, too). A vine began growing and now this is the result. It is not yet mature but I have NO idea what these “ fruits” are. I can guarantee you that there were no hard squash seeds, pumpkin seeds or gourd seeds in my compost ( maybe some spaghetti squash from a one time meal). If you have any thoughts , let me know. My hand gives you an idea of size.

And to finish, here is what is blooming right now: day lilies, purple cone flowers ( echinacea), phlox, and a showy hydrangea that I forget the name of which will turn a gorgeous rosy shade later. Of course black eyed Susan, too, but I have a love hate relationship with those so didn’t bother photographing.

Have a beautiful weekend everyone and great long weekend fellow Canadians!