First Figs

 

Brown Turkey Fig

When I went out to throw something in the trash can, I scared a bird out of the  near end of the fig tree.  So I investigated and found half a dozen ripe, or nearly ripe, figs.  This is the ripest and was delicious.  I need to check the rest of the tree and hope I will find more before the birds get them.

This “tree” is espaliered along the fence on the east side of our property.  So it extends for maybe 20 feet but is only 8-10 feet high. This makes it easier to pick the fruit plus it doesn’t cast shade the way a regular tree would.

Time Marches On

What happened to January and February?

Well, January started out with a big mess.  Day after day the front yard and most of the block would be littered with fallen leaves from the larger Liquidambar tree. 

On New Years’ Day granddaughters 1 and 2 spent some time raking the front lawn for us.  They filled two trash cans which we then emptied into the compost bins. 

After that I was on my own, so every few days I would rake the leaves from the lawn and the street into the gutter, then bag them up. 

The compost bins couldn’t handle them fast enough and now the bags are piled by the side of the house waiting until they are needed.

January also meant the start of orange season.  We have two trees:  a Washington Navel and a Valencia.  The Washington Navel is ready first and is supposed to be for eating but I use most of the crop for juice because I don’t want to wait for the Valencia which isn’t ripe for another month or so.

We always have way more than we can use but every year I vow to try.  This year has been a real challenge because most of the WN oranges are too high for me to reach without a ladder.  I think I need to get Mr. B out there to pick what he can reach and, when the danger of frost is over, we should prune the tree quite a bit lower.

Later in January Safeway had a good price on Foster Farms whole chickens so I decided to make Chicken and Noodles.  Daughter’s family was coming for dinner so I prepared the noodle dough and the granddaughters helped me roll it out and cut it. 

I learned to love Chicken and Noodles from my Midwestern husband.  Mr. B’s mother, grandmother and aunts all made it for family get-togethers.  Each one had a slightly different take on it.  The only recipe I have is from his Aunt Georgia and I had to stand next to her and try to estimate the amounts of flour etc. she was using for the noodles because nobody used a written recipe.  I was never any good at rolling out such stiff dough so I long ago bought this Italian pasta machine and it rolls out the dough as thin as I want it.  Unfortunately, the noodles just don’t have the same texture as the old family recipe.  But they are still good served over mashed potatoes on a cold winter’s day. 

Mr. B is coming along well with his recovery.  Every day he spends some time walking up and down the block using the rolling walker lent to him by our neighbor.  Then he rides the exercise bicycle we bought over 30 years ago.  Every time we moved there was much discussion about whether to get rid of it since we hardly ever used it.  Sure glad we still have it!

In February the almond tree bloomed, for all the good it will do us.  We planted it almost 20 years ago and we have yet to get any almonds.  They all get harvested by the doggoned squirrels before we realize it.

Every year we try another squirrel deterrent but so far nothing has worked.  One year it was human hair from the beauty shop, another year it was moth balls (which are surprisingly hard to find these days).  I suggested trapping and releasing him out in the country but Mr. B thinks it would be cruel to separate Mr. Squirrel from his family.  What are you gonna do?

Where Has the Time Gone?

Summer is almost half over and I don’t feel as if I’ve accomplished even a tenth of what I had planned. I don’t know where the hours go.

This sunflower is one of at least a dozen that popped up as volunteers this spring. I don’t remember ever planting sunflowers in the backyard, so they must have come from birdseed. I hate to pull up volunteers if I know what they are, but next year I’m going to have to get ruthless and yank them out as soon as I see them. Most of the plants are single but this one just keeps putting out the blossoms.

The tomatoes are finally starting to produce. Not enough to make Gazpacho yet but I haven’t had to buy tomatoes for over two weeks now. I’m thinking about Panzanella for dinner tomorrow. We have some leftover Pugliese bread from Costco that should be perfect for it. The amazing zucchini plant has now given us at least 5 dozen fruits, ranging from 4-5 inches to “too big for stuffing even.” I haven’t let many get big because this is the absolutely best zucchini I’ve ever grown. The plant came from a nursery in San Carlos and was part of the batch of plants our son gave me for Mother’s Day. The label said it was an heirloom variety called “Romanesco” but it doesn’t look much like the photos I’ve found online.

I planted a six-pack each of lemon cucumbers and Armenian cucumbers. However, the Armenian must have been mislabeled because we now have twelve lemon cucumber plants, each producing what seems like several fruits a day. I swear, you lift up a branch and the cucumbers are growing in clusters, like grapes only a lot bigger. Thank goodness they are so good – we are eating two or three a day and have been able to find takers for the rest.

I didn’t get any beans planted this year although we do have some volunteers that sprouted from last year’s crop. I think I might try to get a small batch in next week if I can find the space. The moon is waxing which means it’s a good time to plant beans. I’ve never tried planting by the phases of the moon but I’ve always wanted to experiment with it.

The Husband picked our first apple this evening – no photo because he ate it too quickly. It was an Early Summer Red according to the label. There are several more that look ready, so I’ll probably try one tomorrow.

The Blenheim apricots were very small this year. I think we should have thinned them. Also probably should have pruned them last winter. I checked a book on pruning fruit trees out of the library this week. It appears to have a lot of information on the kinds of trees we are growing, so maybe we can improve our harvests.

Our friends brought us a box of their wonderful Blenheim apricots a couple of weeks ago, so I tried making jam for the first time in many years. This is the first batch. A few days later I found a recipe for Apricot Riesling Jam and decided to try it. I didn’t have any Riesling but I did have 1/2 cup of Grand Marnier so I used that. I got 2 small jars and a bit extra from that batch. We had a little of the extra over some vanilla ice cream the other night and it was pure heaven.

I’ve rearranged my sewing room again and now have room for a cutting table. It’s so nice not to have to use the dining room table when I want to cut something. All this is so that I can make GD1 and GD2 summer nightgowns. I’ve been planning this for weeks and was just about to put it off until next year. But when I asked one of them if that was okay, she said she would really like to have it this year and it didn’t matter that summer is half over, she could wear summer pjs all year, no problem. After that, I couldn’t not make them.

Some quilting has been going on this summer. Big Busted and the twin-size POM are ready to baste. I pieced the back of the POM quilt, so that took longer. I’m going to try the Sharon Schamber method of basting. I’ve read some good reviews on my Yahoo quilting groups. I’ll probably try it on a catnapper first.

Closing Days

This is the larger of the two liquidambar trees in our front yard. When we moved here, there were two of the same age but, several years ago we lost the western tree during a bad windstorm. The tree we replaced it with is also a liquidambar but always loses its leaves in November. This one hangs on into January or February and even then doesn't lose all its leaves until the new spring leaves push them off.





The Lisbon lemon also in the front yard was picked clean about a month ago by an elderly couple with a shopping bag. This is the second year that they have been around here. Last winter I first saw them picking oranges from our next-door neighbor's tree; I didn't say anything because he never picks them anyway. Then we noticed that we no longer had any ripe lemons less than six feet from the ground. Now it was a different story because we do use ours. We've been trying to keep any eye out for them this season, but have not been able to catch them in the act. Actually, I'm not sure what I would say if I did catch them. These lemons are almost ready, so there may be another raid soon.

We had a good bit of rain right around Christmas but since the weekend, it's been cool and clear. The baby tomatoes in the greenhouse haven't started ripening yet.

We still have to paint the hallway but have decided to leave it until after New Year's. Meanwhile, I've started my sewing project for the grandchildren: old-fashioned nightgowns for the girls and a pair of pajamas for OJB. I bought the flannel for the girls a few months ago but the knit for the pajamas came from my stash. Two yards busted! I also cut out a kitchen smock for myself - another 3 yards busted. I haven't done a count of how many yards are in my non-quilt fabric stash, but this doesn't even make a dent.

Today is the start of my second year of retirement. I haven't accomplished much of what I had planned to do but hope to do better in 2009.

The Streets are Paved with Gold.....

We have the loveliest Ginkgo trees in our town. They are usually fairly unobtrusive (except for this one!) and you don't notice them until sometime in November or early December when they turn a vivid yellow for a couple of weeks. Then they start to drop their leaves and there is a carpet of gold underneath each tree. Often they will be bare within a week. The drop on this one was accelerated by a small winter storm Thursday night.