Independence days- week 16

What a week. Work has been crazy busy and we've had people on vacation so it means lots of covering for others. I worked on Saturday so that means I had a 6 day stretch of work with only one day off before Monday. But, that means that I have Friday off so I'll have a 3 day weekend. I'll most likely be canning tomatoes, if I've got them.

It's Monday again. That means the Independence Days Challenge update.

1. Plant something- Nope

2. Harvest something:

Wild plums

Lets see, I'm finally starting to get tomatoes. I also have harvested wild plums, peppers (both hot and bell), eggplant, chard, beans and tomatillos. With the peppers. I've got an overload of hot wax peppers and lots of anaheim chilis and jalapenos. I've had a few bell peppers finally and we tried our first paprika pepper (Alma Paprika- an heirloom variety) Man, it was HOT!! I guess I thought that paprika would be milder. I've got a few that are starting to turn red so I'm hoping to be able to dry some. It should be fun. I'm thinking homemade chicken paprika...

Oh, and have I mentioned that I HATE MICE? That has become my mantra while picking tomatoes. It seems that about every other tomato I pick has been nibbled upon. See?

Have I mentioned that I hate mice?

I've found that as soon as the tomatoes even barely begin to ripen they get snacked upon. I've noticed fewer nibbles in recent days though, I'm not sure if it is due to our feral momma cat hanging out in the garden or the tomatoes ripening faster than the mice can keep up with. And of course, they can't just eat an entire tomato- no, they have to nibble on lots of them. And also, they can't seem to eat the cherry tomatoes, of which I have about fifteen thousand- no, they have to nibble on the really big, nice ones. They seem to like my paste tomatoes and the Mortgage lifters best. GRRR. So, I've started picking the tomatoes when they just start to turn and have been letting them ripen in the house. Definitely not ideal, but at least I was able to get 5 quarts of sauce cooked up yesterday.

3. Preserve something- tomato sauce, that's about it. I need to do something with my plums but I don't have enough to really make jam. Either that or I need to climb the fence and get further into the thicket.

4. Reduce waste- Hmm, just the usual. We need to make a run to the recyclers again but J15 helped clear off my old table in the kitchen that had been stacked with plastic recyclables and returnable bottles. I can't say that I reduced waste on back to school shopping, although we did try to go through the stuff the kids had left over from last year. But it still seems that we spent a fortune. Of course, we had to get J15 a graphing calculator and that definitely wasn't cheap. The one she used last year was one that V had pulled out of a dumpster a few years ago and was so old that the design was different than her teacher had so she had lots of trouble following along in class. (sigh)

5. Prep and storage- picked up some flour that was on sale. Also got extra spiral notebooks for the kids- they had a really good deal and I know they'll need them next year as well.

We really, really need to get the framing done in the basement, we've discovered that mice have been getting into a few boxes in the shop (pole barn). Of course, the mice have been everywhere. I even discovered a mouse nest in the garden- a nest of dead weeds and mulch, perched in a tomato plant (GRRR!). I saw momma mouse dart out of it. V disposed of the nest for me- he said I just didn't want to know about the contents.... He's dispatched at least 3 other nests of baby mice that he has found in the shop and barn. I'm counting this in the prep/storage category because it definitely impacts my ability to safely store anything. V is finishing the framing on my canning/food storage room this evening- YEAH!!! We had to move the freezer (still loaded!) so he could frame the wall behind it. But at least it now has an outlet that is set in a wall, not just a temporary one.

6. Community food systems- We've been eating quite local lately- well, except for the shrimp the other night. J15 and I stopped at a roadside stand and purchased a few cucumbers and a cantaloupe. We didn't really need the melon but it smelled SO good!

7. Eat the food- Oh, yeah! This has been the easiest category. We've had several almost all home produced meals this week. This evening we had pasta with a sauce made of sauteed onions, peppers, polish sausage and very lightly cooked, roughly chopped tomatoes with some fresh basil tossed in. A bit of shredded parmesan on top = YUM!

I12 has been cooking again. Last night he made a quiche- ham and cheese- and we had salads entirely from our garden (well, except for the farmer's stand cucumbers). A few bread sticks, a bottle of wine and it felt like we were in southern France.

Tomorrow night is the before school ice cream social. It's a community tradition. A few days before the start of school, every elementary school has an ice cream social on the school lawn where the class lists are posted, the children can meet their teachers and the parents can turn in forms, sign up for things and put money in the lunch accounts. I think K9 is excited about a new school, as well as a little worried. But we think that the younger brother of one of I11's friends from preschool may be in K9's class since he would be about that age and they go to that elementary school. We'll find out tomorrow.

Kids in the kitchen

I'm posting today over at Homemakers Who Work about the importance of teaching our children to cook.

Getting from here to there

I had a rough day at work today. It has been busy for a few weeks but today I was swamped! Fortunately, my co-workers came to my rescue and helped me out.

V and the children were 'swamped' in a different way. They were doing waterway management today. Well, actually, landscape management.

The lowlands of our property are quite marshy, in fact, we have lots of wetlands species growing there and with all the rain we've had this year, it is pretty squishy down there in the bottomlands. But this afternoon, they built a bridge over the main stream!

Twaddle-Bottom Bridge!

They even named it. I'm not sure why.... But V is excited that he can now drive the garden tractor across the stream to mow some of the areas that we haven't been able to get to before now.

Running water under the bridge.

V, victorious mowing at the property line between the hills!

At least he didn't mow down all the wildflowers. He has more mowed paths for ease of walking. He even managed to get up to the top of the big hill, that we have dubbed 'gazebo hill' since we have a long term plan to build a large gazebo up there (maybe even consider renting it out for small weddings since the setting is lovely). It is our largest hill, except for the one the house is on, and it has a wonderful flat top that just cries out for something on it. I briefly considered putting my garden up there but it's too far away from the house and there is no water supply if it were to get dry.

I12 discovered a hornet's nest the hard way this afternoon when V had him pulling weeds (as a punishment for getting caught in a lie!) Fortunately he was only stung once and now we know where the nest is and can take care of it. It's quite near the house in the iris bed by the south porch. Definitely too close to leave it alone. I12 has recovered well but is now worried about going out on the south deck for fear he will be stung again. He doesn't really believe us when we tell him that if he doesn't bother them, they won't bother him. Of course, I've found that the ones that nest in the ground tend to be a more aggressive species than those that build nests above ground. But they haven't bothered us before now.

Work on the house is progressing slowly, we have a fully functional bathroom upstairs although we still aren't using the shower as we haven't painted yet. J15 has a room- with a door even! We've been taking a bit more time cleaning up things outside. V made his first real trip to the garden with me this afternoon. Oh, he's seen it and mowed around it but really hasn't taken time to explore it. He helped me search for tomatoes, picked a few peppers and even did a little weeding around the peppers. He was amazed by how many tomatoes there were- even though I've been telling him that the vines are loaded with green tomatoes.

My friend Jim brought me a treat this afternoon. He made a ginger/chile/lime relish that really packs a punch. I'm thinking about marinading some (definitely not local) shrimp in it and serving it over rice for dinner tomorrow night. I12 is planning another meal that he wants to make this weekend. I've got to work on Saturday and we still need to get school supplies for the children. So much to do, so little time.

Independence days- week 15- a few days late.

I'm behind on the times. It's been a busy week and I was so excited about finding plums on Monday that I 'plum forgot' my Independence Days post! Ha!Ha!

J15 and I12 both had school registration today. They're both happy with their schedules and had their pictures taken already so they can get their school IDs. We got the bus schedules for them, finally. 3 busses, three different pick up and drop off times. School starts next Thursday. EEK, where did the summer go! Oh yeah, we moved....

But on to the business at hand, my weekly check in.

1. Plant something- Nope. I know I should be thinking about fall crops but, honestly, I don't know if I can do it this year. I've about reached my limit of what I'm capable of right now, this whole move, renovations, garden, getting the kids set for school, working mess has about done me in. I'm so tired most of the time I can barely function. I just about fell asleep at my computer at work this afternoon. So, I'm thinking about letting the fall garden go this year.

2. Harvest something- Peppers, onions, tomatoes, beets, green beans, eggplant. I still don't have enough tomatoes to can which is quite vexing. Since I have to work this Saturday, they will all probably decide to ripen and need canned this weekend.

3. Preserve something- Pickled beets. Frozen beans (I decided against canning since freezing was a bit quicker and time has been short this week.

4. Reduce waste- Have tried to get back in the habit of putting the cloth bags back into the car. Made the recycling run to clear out the stacks that had accumulated around the house.

5. Prep and storage- Stocked up on flour. Also took advantage of a sale at the local store where they had ground turkey for $1/lb. We stocked up with 10 1 lb packages. I know it's factory farmed, but we like turkey and it was a great deal. I haven't found a good local source of turkey. Beef, chicken and pork yes but no turkey.

6. Community food systems- While not really community food system, I did make beignets for the 'presentation' on Sunday by the kids who went to New Orleans. They did the entire church service and met with congregation members between services to talk about their experiences. So I fried up about 10 dozen beignets to go with the chickory coffee they brought back.

7. Eat the food- No problem here. This category is easy this time of year. We've been getting enough tomatoes to satisfy my cravings. Yesterday was V's birthday. The kids and I baked and decorated a cake and for dinner we thawed some of our grass fed Tbone steaks for the grill and had fresh garden veggies. Then there was I12's meal and J15 has mastered making stuffed chilis.

I do need to get some more sleep than I have been. Of course, we were up late last night. We took the children down to the riding arena and lay on blankets late last night to watch the meteor shower. We were a bit early to see very many but the ones we saw were spectacular and it was a beautiful clear night. I'd really love to be able to go out again since the peak is tonight, but I know I need the sleep. There are times I really resent having to go to work, it interferes with my life, but the bills need paid....

Finding food

Wow! Two posts in one day. What is the world coming to! V called me outside to look at the clouds (tonight's storm approaching- sigh) and had me bring my camera. While outside I discovered several other things.

Our tree has apples!

They're rather the worse for wear but they're there, not a lot but I'm hoping that if I can plant another tree for pollination that it may produce better in the future. I've got no idea what kind of tree it is. It looks like someone, at some point, cut it down the the ground and it came up from the roots. So, if it was ever grafted- it isn't at this point. It looks for all the world like a huge shrub. Maybe I'll try to clean it up some year... if the apples are at all good.

The other find, I knew would be there since I saw them blooming this spring but I had kind of forgotten about them:

Wild plums!

They're only about an inch across each but the trees are loaded. We found one that was nearly ripe and sampled it- WOW! It was fantastic. I'm thinking maybe some wild plum jam is in my future when more of them ripen. Now if I can only keep the wildlife out of them....

Wildcat

and other wild life.

We've got a wild cat roaming around. We've seen her off and on for the past few weeks. She is a white/calico cat with at least one kitten (black and white). But they are WILD! This evening she was sitting in the barnyard by the garden, staring at the house but as soon as I opened the door she bolted into the weeds. We're going to try to encourage her to stick around, having a barn cat isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Last night after the storm we found two tiny tree frogs clinging to the outside of the back door.

Tiny tree frog

The beetle for comparison, the frog is only about an inch from tip to tail. I would have loved to get a closer shot but I had my little camera which doesn't to close ups very well.

Tomatoes and a storm

We have been getting a few tomatoes. I've had lots of cherry romas, a few bloody butchers and the Jetsonic and Morgtage Lifters are just starting. I'm having issues with critters gnawing on them as soon as they begin to ripen, though. I'm not sure if it's mice or bunnies or snails. I seem to have an inordinate amount of snails in the garden but I think they're more opportunists when something else starts nibbling. I haven't had enough to can yet but I made some salsa with the tomatillos that are also starting. But for dinner tonight:

Fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil vinagrette. YUM!

We also had a huge storm move through about sunset. There were the weirdest cloud formations moving through. It was eerily beautiful.

Storm front moving through.

I"m probably going to can beans tomorrow after work, we'll see how many I have. I'm worried that the tomatoes will all ripen at the same time- they've been green for so long. Although I'm hoping that they start ripening fast enough that they can outpace the critters that have been dining on them.

This is the start of 'eat local' week and I believe national Farmer's week, or something like that. I'l have to check. We're going to continue to eat as we have been recently, mostly local, and hopefully home grown.

And as a side note- there was NO water in the basement apart from that that leaked under the back door since the sill needs replaced. HURRAY!!!