Quiet month

There is something about writing a blog that leaves a person thinking that they should have something important to say with some degree of frequency.  At least that's how I feel.  Not sure what the protocol is but especially when the rest of my biological blogging family members crank out deathless (truly) prose as if they had a direct pipeline to the information of the universe I feel somewhat lacking when days go by and I have nothing I think is worth sharing.

That being said, lately I seem to be too scattered to be able to focus on any one thought long enough to get it written down anyway.

The gardens are winding down - more tomatoes into jars - either as salsa or just plain tomatoes.  Relishes of various kinds all socked away in the cellar with an eye to Christmas presents or, at least as importantly, my consumption throughout the winter.  And enough pickled beets to charm even the most voracious pickled beet aficionado.

Strawberries in the freezer in jam sized packages are starting to haunt me.  I should be making that jam.  Once upon a time a friendly shrink of mine told me that sentences that start with "I should" refer to things that (a) you probably don't want to do and (b) might not even "should" do!  I cherish that thought whenever I'm putting things off that I "should" be doing.

Babying the well has taken up a good part of my time these past several weeks.  Not knowing exactly how much water is in there or how fast it's going to be replenished means that I have to treat it as if it is going to momentarily run dry.  Don't run the water while you are doing the dishes - just enough to rinse.  And save the rinse water for the gardens!  Don't squander it while you are brushing your teeth - don't do laundry just because you want a particular item of clothing.  Find something else to wear and wait until you have a full load.  And showers?  Fastest.  Ever.

Never ever water the gardens with the hose - only use the soaker hoses and do it early in the morning and run the timer so you don't accidentally run the water too long

My well water is never deep so there's no sense in taking the cover off and peering down there.  The real question is the replenishment one.  I'm on top of an old river or creek bed full of sand so as long as the creek runs, I'm good.  But all the water restrictions in the area, never mind the official "severe drought" warnings, make for a very uneasy time.

Been experimenting with essential oils in various ways.  Some of them seem to actually be of benefit while on others the jury is still out.  But there is no doubt that historically there is a lot to be said for a gentler way to manage life than throwing more chemicals at a given situation.  Besides, most of them smell really good.

Along with everything else I have been finding out some fascinating (yes, that is sarcasm) facts about a variety of weird things that can happen to a person's health.  No details to follow but I can tell you I do not recommend prednisone as a way of life!  I'm sure it could be held accountable for a number of otherwise unexplained actions committed by those formerly considered fairly rational!

On a brighter note, here is a picture of probably my last canning effort - unless I do end up pickling those hot and sweet peppers.  It's my green tomato relish with just a hint of jalapeno pepper.  Every year I swear I'm not going to do it but those otherwise going to waste green beautiful tomatoes seduce me every time!

So let's do the proverbial girding up of loins and get ready to head into fall.  It's my favorite time of year and I look forward to riding my motorcycle, getting up to camp for some final fishing and being able to walk outside and actually breath the air without feeling as if I have to chew it first!

The third basket

When I wrote about my grandmother's baskets and how much they meant to me in the context of family and history, it seemed to me that something was missing - almost like I was a basket short.

It's a truism that you can walk by something every day and never see it.  Or look for something in the same place 100 times and not find it.  From time to time I actually prove that to myself.

Yesterday when I was picking up my dog's toys and putting them away - it became very clear to me where the other basket was!

It's now officially the toy basket & has been for so long it had "disappeared".

It might seem to some (hopefully not my family members) that this is desecrating a family heirloom.  I prefer to think of it as finding a loving ongoing use for something I cherish.  Nothing damages it - Joey is very careful when he takes items out of it and he clearly knows that this is where "his" things belong.  I have yet to see him take any interest in replacing them IN the basket but he loves choosing a toy to take out and play with.

This basket, like one of the others, is pretty old - no nails involved in the making of it.  Just the material that it was constructed with.

So at any rate, now I feel that the circle is complete and this is the "rest of the story".  Being a practical woman my Aunt Emily would no doubt approve of my using it - for some unknown reason she actually approved of almost everything I did!  One of the many reasons I loved her and miss her to this day.

My grandmother's baskets

There are many things that bind generation to generation. Sometimes it is the seemingly insignificant items that forge the strongest links.

My mother grew up from the age of two in a big old farmhouse dating from the 1800's that is located about 2 miles from where I live now.  It came complete with the shed between the house and garage and then a big old barn attached on the end of everything.  The barn was where my grandfather, who was a doctor, kept the horse and buggy that he used to do his rounds back in the "old days".  In bad weather no one had to go outside to get from house to barn - it was all connected. The shed even still had the privy back in the corner - left over from the no plumbing era.  Unused by the time I was a child except to store old canning jars and the like.

In the shed that connected the garage and the kitchen end of the house there were lots of interesting things hanging from the beams over head.  Among them were the baskets that my grandmother and then my Aunt Emily in later years used to gather vegetables from the garden.  They were there handy when you came out the kitchen door on the way to the gardens and out of the way up above your head when you didn't need them.

When my aunt passed away and the household goods were spread around though the family, those baskets were close to the only things I really wanted.  They spoke to me of tradition and daily life through the years and into the bargain they were useful!

Easy to see that they have some age on them because there aren't any nails at all in the lower one pictured and only tiny brads holding the edge band on the top one.  Considering how long I personally know they've been around they are in amazing shape.  They weren't for decoration, but to be used.

So now when I head out to my garden it's one of these baskets that I commonly grab to bring with me.

Even if I'm heading down cellar to get canning jars they come in handy.

It gives me a feeling of connection to the people in my family who are no longer physically here with me to use items that were dear to them.  It's important not to lose the sense of continuity that comes from cherishing and using things that come from your past.

At the risk of sounding trite, in this day and age of disposable and replaceable and "Made in China" I want to be able to put my hands on the same handles that my grandparents did and use these baskets daily as they did.  Sometimes I stumble trying to explain how this makes me feel but in some ways it's as if I am holding their hands down through the years and not just a basket handle.

Not really a mystery

I suspect that when I mention "canning" and "making pickles" or "zucchini relish" a lot of eyes glaze over.  Thoughts of "all that special equipment" or "how would I even know where to start" are, I suspect, the first things that cross your minds.

There are some specialized pieces of equipment you really do need to have but surprisingly not all that much.  With that in mind I took some pictures that I hope will help dispel the notion that canning is outside your area of expertise.  And, by the way, if you have a friend with any of the "special stuff", perhaps they would be happy to share some of it with you so you get a running start without having to buy much of anything but the jars & whatever you want to can.

So here we go - the picture quality might not be great but if you squint it helps:

Only special equipment here is the jar holder (has the yellow ends to grab the jars), the magnet on the green plastic stick and a wide mouth funnel - and , of course, the jars and lids

Nothing special here except the jar rings in the bowl and that funnel

If you take a good look at the above two pictures you will see that aside from the jars, the jar holder (to take the jars out of the boiling water bath), the magnet to get the hot lids out of the hot water without burning your fingers and that funnel, most of the equipment is utensils that you probably already have!

The other two items you really do need to have access to are the big kettle (ok, it doesn't have to be that exact kettle) and the racks to hold the jars during processing.  The one on the left is the really old rusty one that I prefer - it has dividers to keep the jars from touching each other.  I haven't been able to find another one quite like it - most of them are similar to the one on the right and I guess you just have to hope they stay in place while processing.

Let's say you choose to pickle beets, first you need the beets...

That was easy!  Next you need to wash them and cut off the tops (leaving a couple inches of the stems) and cook them just until they are barely tender.   I have found that a kettle the size of the next one pictured makes about 5 or 6 pints of finished beets.

Still not a special piece of equipment!

Cover them with water and when they are done cooking, dump them carefully into a cold water bath to stop the cooking and make it easier to get the skins off.

A dishpan full of water is definitely not special equipment

The skin will actually slip right off - cut off the tops and the roots and cut them into whatever sized pieces you want the finished product to have.

Follow the recipe (I will do a separate post of the recipe if requested) and pop them into jars, cover with the liquid, wipe the rims off and put on the covers.  They are now ready to be processed!

See how nicely that rack keeps itself stable and above the water - especially good when taking the jars out of  the water.

Once the jars have boiled for the correct processing time, take them carefully out of the water (that jar holder is really indispensable - it holds the jars securely and as hot as they are that's important).  Put them on a covered surface (wood if possible) and cover them with a towel until they have cooled.

Draft and peeking free!

Once they are cool leave them overnight - check the seals and label the contents - you only think you will remember when you made them and what they are.  Beets are pretty easy to identify but wait until you graduate to relishes and salsas!  And, by the way, if you put the label on the lid you won't have to scrape it off the jar when it is returned for a refill.  Everything but the lids is reusable but they are a one time thing.

So all in all that's all!  Part of the trick to angst free canning is to have all your materials laid out ahead of time - nothing is more anxiety producing than juggling a hot container of product while you try to figure out where that funnel is!

Too early to think about winter?

I can hear the groans from way over here!

You don't have to think about winter weather or gassing up the snow blower but if you followed any of my advice (not to be mistaken for nagging) last winter about stocking up on a few essentials in the food and water departments, now might be a time to check them over.

The theory on buying some extra "grocery store" types of foods is to get things that you will eat. Sounds pretty basic but surprisingly enough many people (and, yes, people DO prepare) put in supplies of things that only an emergency would force them to eat!  The idea is to eat up your "preps" as you go along and replace them so they never get too old to use.  This way you have your emergency supplies always fresh and current.

But here some of us are several months later with a wonderful supply of brown rice and un-ground wheat and other rather less than appetizing sorts of foods.  Not to mention the 50 cans of kidney beans that are now nearing their expiration dates!

Before these things expire how about take a few minutes (depending on how many cans of those beans you actually laid in) and check for expiration dates.  Local food pantries and shelters could use them all up before they were officially not good (which really isn't real but that's another discussion).

So why not check through your stash (you DID put in a stash, right?) and take the almost obsolete items to a place that will be more than grateful to get them.  And on your way home perhaps buy a few things to replace them.  Face it, you never needed 50 cans of kidney beans but if you got 10 cans of the beans along with some canned tomatoes and tomato sauce all you would need is the meat and you'd be all set to make several batches of chili.

I am not going to go into whether chili should or should not contain meat - or for that matter, beans. That also is a discussion for later...or never!

I'll keep this short and sweet - my point is (here it comes) that the time to think about what you will have for supper when you are housebound and that damn nor 'easter actually arrived isn't just after you have shoveled off the porch for the third time in 2 hours.  It's now.  Take a look at what you have, donate the things that are nearing their expiration date or, in some cases, that you know you would truly rather starve to death than eat.

The whole process will give you a warm feeling of doing something for someone else along with giving your family a running start on the food storage for the winter!

Just sayin!

Nothing to do with gardening

Once upon a time we went on a road trip to nowhere in particular.  Probably took the dogs, I don't remember really.  At one point somewhere in southern Maine we came across this house.  Obviously fallen into total disrepair - even the mailbox was sad looking.

When I see abandoned homes I always wonder about the lives that were lived there - what were the hopes and dreams that didn't come true and what caused the families that lived there to walk away. Did they leave for a better place or did they just give up in frustration and grief?

Below is what the house said to me  -  actually it nagged at me until I put in down on paper (or a screen).  It's a snapshot of a day in the life and probably wildly inaccurate - but this is what the house told me to say:

This old house -

Pushing aside the faded curtain she looked out over the field towards the river.  Bending forward she leaned her forehead on the window pane - briefly enjoying the cool feel of the glass against her skin.  “If I just knew what happened to him”, she mused silently – “if I only knew”. 

The field had no answer for her – no more than the river ever did.  She remembered how in the beginning they’d chosen their building site together because of that river.  You could look down across the field in the morning and see it glistening in the sun – walk down in the evening and watch the fish jump or, if it was a hot summer, jump in.  She half smiled as she recollected how scandalized the neighbors had been at the idea of a woman actually swimming!  He hadn’t cared a bit what they thought – just told her to at least keep her shift on!

Turning, she looked around the kitchen – it looked shabby even in the dim light that filtered through the grimy window.  Time was everything was spic and span but, then, it was a lot easier when the boys were still home.  Gives you something to go forward for when someone needs you.  They were sad when it happened but young appetites still had to be fed, clothes had to be washed, chores had to be done and somehow you put on a good face just so they wouldn’t know how bad it really was.

Now, of course, one was in the Army and the other was God knows where.  An occasional letter with a smudged postmark arrived saying that all was well but to really know how he was –impossible.  At least with the Army you knew where a body was - even if there never seemed time to come home. 

She remembered how she had felt at first. Looking back through the lens of years it hardly seemed more than yesterday.  Grief had moved with her through the days and grief lay down by her side through the white nights of sleeplessness.  It was like a macabre dance that could never end – a healing step attempted, sorrow pulling her back.  There was no escape from the cycle.  Unable to sleep she had fantasized that she would eventually be consumed and all that remained would be a fragile envelope of pain with nothing human remaining within.

It had amazed her that a loss could trigger such actual physically blinding pain.  You think of crying and you think “tears” – but you should be thinking “scalding” or “burning” or “bitter” because that is the way the acid tears of grief feel on your face.  You think “loss” and you imagine emptiness in your life.  You do not imagine an abyss that has swallowed up everything meaningful while threatening your very existence.  Grief was a void that opened under her feet until the very act of walking seemed to endanger her. 

A bit of then and now

Sometimes early in the season it's hard to visualize how things are going to progress.  It's part of the reason that I sometimes end up with plants too close together.  As long as I've been doing this I just can't imagine they are ever going to fill in that whole space.

So how about we check that out:

Started out looking pretty sparse - cucumbers and peppers

Hiding behind cucumbers now

Cucumbers overtaking 

So my thought at this point is if the cucumbers come to fruition I can cover the world! Cause they are growing out front too!

Started out looking pretty controllable:

Now they are exploding like the ones out back!

No telling if every blossom will produce a cucumber but I tend to plan as if they will.  My highly regarded and extremely sought after Bread and Butter Pickles look to be a good bet for this Christmas - and well into the new year!

The tomatoes appear to be following the same pattern although I see signs of the leaf yellowing that sometimes can overtake an entire plant and destroy it:

Freshly planted tomato plants and hot peppers - looks like a lot of room for not much!

And now my biggest worries are finding the actual tomatoes 

And for a last look - how about those spindly little onions lurking next to the peas?

It was an experiment and I really didn't expect much at all

 They are actually onion-ing!

If it appears that I am bragging it's that I sort of am.  Things can still go south on me - there are a lot of factors involved in gardening.  But so far the combination of the water cannon and the Epsom Salt watering have produced some amazing results.  Last year the bed where the beets are growing got eaten to the dirt by the woodchuck (I do wish I lived farther from the police station and my 22 had a silencer) but this year:

Just look at them suckers!  Three meals of greens with beets so far and hopes of a lot more

I may even have enough home grown beets for pickled beets to can - pretty cool, I'm thinking!

So if you are still traveling along this trip with me now we just have to wait and see how things go.  Judicious watering and the addition of a lot of compost from my bins have carried me so far -  hopefully the plants will continue to play on the winning side of this game!

In a world where the bad news and confusion and angst sometimes seems to be all there is - cruelty to man and animals alike - some days you just need to go weed the garden.