Garden bounty

Steve took this photo of Katherine and I after a we cleaned up from a muddy session in the garden. At this point we are pretty much ignoring most of the weeds, because there is no way to keep up with them.

Weeds apparently don't mind too much rain and not enough sun. They are thriving. Earlier in the summer I was going out and spending a couple of hours every weekend trying to keep the garden mostly weed free, but I've decided I'd rather spend the summer with my family than with the weeds.

So, Katherine and I go out and pull a few weeds and gather in the week's harvest. I am still hilling potatoes, and hoping the few beetles I've found and picked off are not ruining the potato crop. It will be interesting to find out what's under the hills in the fall. Could be a big crop of Yukon Gold potatoes, or could be a mess. We'll have to wait and see.

Turns out that once the garden is established, you can go every few days to pick and that's enough. If I had nothing else to do, I would probably enjoy going more often, but it's not hurting anything to just go once or twice a week. Maybe in a few weeks when the tomatoes start really coming in we'll need to go more often. Katherine isn't a big fan of weeding such a large patch, but she loves harvesting.

And why wouldn't she -- it's a treasure hunt, pulling back cucumber vines, reaching into tomato cages, peeking under huge squash leaves, poking beneath feathery carrot tops, looking down into enormous cauliflower plants to find the hidden goodies within. When it poured on us in the garden yesterday, Katherine washed off her muddy hands in a cauliflower "sink" -- the leaves are big and cupped, and catch the rain.

Since she has been helping since the layout and planting in early May, she knows how incredible it is to see a tiny plant develop into something so big it reminds you of a sink, and how miraculous it is to eat heartily from a plant that you started from a little brown seed so tiny you could barely pick one up. One eggplant was bitten back to the stem twice by unknown insect assailants, then dwarfed by a nearby cucumber, and survived both the attacks and being moved to a more hospitable spot -- where it is now surrounded by encroaching pumpkin vines.

Undaunted, it is resurrected, leafing out, and I hope, will produce some eggplant by my birthday in September. What an amazing thing to watch this kind of resilience in something so fragile as a little plant that was small enough to be in a yogurt cup when we transplanted it, with thin little stem and leaves, standing firm and flourishing, come what may.

We are still getting lettuce in early August, as well as carrots and kohlrabi, plus warmer season things like tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers. The zucchini plants seem to be unhappy with the very wet weather; one has died altogether and some of the others don't look good anymore. We only had one arm-sized zucchini a week or so ago, which we sliced and grilled, and several smaller ones, and I don't have to go around town with excess zucchini stashed in my purse to foist on people I meet.

I did share one of the smaller zucchini, some cukes, lettuce, and beans with my next door neighbor, who was delighted to have fresh produce delivered to her door. Another big zucchini went into squash spice cake, one of the kids' favorite summer treats, from a recipe I adapted from a Victory Garden cookbook and make with grated squash, applesauce, lots of spices, and a mix of whole grain and white flour, flaxseed meal, wheat germ, and other goodies. In short, they see cake, I see a snack packed with nutrition that uses up excess squash.

I spotted one baby pumpkin yesterday on an enormous pumpkin vine, and so far haven't seen any cantaloupes or butternut squash developing, even though those vines are also large and there are lots of flowers. Next year I'll order short season cantaloupe seeds. We planted both orange and white pumpkins in hopes of a good crop for both eating and decorating. Maybe there are more under the enormous leaves that I didn't see yet.

A couple of our cherry tomato plants are so heavy with fruit that they pulled over their cage, and I knocked off some tomatoes as I wrestled it back upright. The green ones will ripen in a bowl on the counter. We have both golden and red cherry tomatoes as well as some larger fruited varieties which are loaded with tomatoes that haven't ripened in the last couple of weeks, probably because there hasn't been enough sun.

The beans are a burgundy variety I learned about in Washington. They are a short season bush variety, and do well in New England summers as well as in the Northwest. They taste great right off the bush, and are just as good cooked. One cool thing that the kids got a big kick out of when they were younger is that they turn from this nice deep purple to the usual green when you cook them. They're crisp tender when they turn, so it's kind of like growing beans with a built in timer.

This was a harvest supper we had a couple of weeks ago. We made macaroni and cheese and popovers, and served them with mixed lettuce, radishes, sugar snap peas, a couple kinds of tomatoes (those are Brandywine, cut up in the blue bowl), and kohlrabi as well as cooked broccoli and cauliflower.

I've blanched and frozen a couple of pounds of cauliflower and broccoli. I'll put some beans in the freezer, too. I'm not a huge frozen vegetable fan, but it will be a treat next winter to cook with some of summer's bounty, especially as we pore over seed catalogs and plan next year's plot.

I missed getting a photo of the veggie tray we fixed for Gregory's "fake" birthday (we celebrated almost two weeks early at home, and will celebrate again on the actual day in Maine). It was very pretty, and the veggies were great with Katherine's "from scratch" ranch dressing for dipping. Gregory's birthday meal included chicken satay and a veggie stir fry, and other than garlic and ginger, the stir fry was all home grown as well. Pretty rewarding to see a table full of birthday revelers well fed by the work of our hands.

Post-snow fun

What have we been doing for fun since the snow melted?

Katherine has taken up horse back riding. This photo shows her at her lesson on June 2 -- cool enough to wear a light jacket. The stable is in Pembroke, and there are beautiful views. Katherine seems very comfortable on the various horses she's getting to know at Gelinas Farm, and she makes riding look really fun.


Just to show you that he has more interests than soccer, here is Gregory with his new bike. He'd outgrown the old one and was looking forward to this new hybrid, so we can tool around town or perhaps on some paths (smooth ones, I hope). I took his old bike out to ride around the block with him. I'm inspired to look into my own wheels -- it was the first time I'd been on a bike since I was a teenager, I believe, and I'd forgotten how fun it is, and how nice to create a little wind on a hot day. It was in the 90's this weekend, which is way too hot for here, and way too hot for June. We've noticed one effect of global warming: more public places seem to be air conditioned. In fact, I heard a rumor that the library now has a/c -- I still remember how surprised I was when we lived here before and I took the kids there seeking some cool air, only to be foiled.


Katherine took this photo at the Saint Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish. We recently watched a program about Saint Gaudens on NHPTV, and wanted to visit. We decided to make a day of it, when we looked at a map and saw we'd be only about 20 minutes from here for Gregory's soccer game. Like many sites in New England, this place is only open to the public from the end of May until the end of October. It's good to be out and about in our state again.

The weekend before last we went to Squam Lakes Natural Science Center with Christopher and Cheri and family. That's another wonderful seasonal treat. Christopher noted that there are lots of ice cream stands around here. I theorized that New Englanders are so pleased when winter and mud season are behind them, they can't help but celebrate. The best part is that come fall, they'll celebrate the return of cool weather and gorgeous foliage, and then first snow and winter's cold beauty, and yes, even mud season will bring it's joys -- the first bulbs, the return of perennials like lily of the valley and bleeding heart, and later, when spring's really taken hold, the lilacs that burst with fragrance and color.

Our life learning is seasonal too; right now the kids are learning about growing food as our garden gets going. I went out last week in the drizzle to weed and set out some canteloupe and butternut squash seedlings, and Katherine planted 4 hills of pumpkins. Gregory's row of potatoes are all sprouting. When I was a child, my family had a large garden in our yard, and my grandmother always planted one too. I have fond memories of fresh picked suppers. In fact, growing up, summer meant long days with lots of swimming, endless supplies of fruits and vegetables, and lots and lots of books. Still does . . .

Gregory recently read Life of Pi and reports it's a terrific book, and Katherine read Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles today -- yes, the entire 279 page book, which she started when Gregory went off to warm up with his soccer team about 40 minutes before game time and finished as we pulled into Concord, a few hours later. I'm reading a wonderful book of essays by Anne Fadiman called Ex Libris, and I also have a fresh pile on my nightstand, because I hit the Pembroke town library book and bake sale early Saturday morning.

Lying in bed reading with a booklight, with fireflies outside the window and a cool breeze coming in after a warm day -- that's summertime!

The city pools open next weekend, and summer starts in earnest. I can't wait for our first lakeside picnic of the year, fireflies, our own garden produce, lobster on the screened porch, and all the other pleasures a New England summer brings.

February happenings

Not to many photos this time -- I haven't taken my hands out of the warmth of my gloves and/or coat pockets much this February. But it's been awhile since my last update, so I thought I'd share what the kids have been up to. We have been ice skating about once a week. The kids had new skates for Christmas, and I got a great pair of used skates at Concord's annual Ski & Skate sale in December. We go during the weekday public skate either here or in Laconia near their friends' house. It's never crowded, which is nice. You can see that today's skates are pretty cool -- both kids have thinsulate lining, they are styled more like athletic shoes/boots so no pinched toes, and Katherine's are actually adjustable so she can wear them as her feet grow.

None of us are doing jumps, but we can all stay on our feet and the kids are getting pretty speedy. He enjoys the cross training. He is continuing to play lots of soccer, but it's almost impossible to get a photo through glass at the indoor facility, and the action on the field is so fast I am not sure we could film it. I'll try to get a photo of him before or after his next game.




We also recently wrapped up our exploration of Indonesia. We had beef curry, coconut rice, and fried baby bananas for our meal. Everyone enjoyed learning about the interesting ecology, geology, culture, history, and archaeology of this fascinating country. I got interested in Indonesian literature. Next up? Pakistan.

What else have we been doing? Katherine is taking a quilting class and has been enjoying time with friends. Gregory is drumming and got his friend Billy into drums, too. We've been to some great local concerts (jazz and classical). I'm singing with a community chorus. Oh, and we've all been clearing the driveway . . . Concord's total snowfall this year is over 7 feet so far.

Steve meets Donald Hall

Steve meets Donald Hall at St. Paul's School. I am at Audubon where the kids are taking a 6 week forest habitats class. I wish I'd gone with Steve!



Steve told Mr. Hall about me as he asked him to sign a book. St. Paul's photographer happened to catch all this and emailed the photos to Steve. I'm hoping the book will appear under the Christmas tree.


Steve also mentioned that we'd attended a reading the last time we lived in NH. Mr. Hall asked, "Did I read the same poems?"Steve reports that he did read some old favorites today, but also some new poems. I hope to hear Hall, Maxine Kumin, who I recently met at her reading in Warner, and Charles Simic, the current U.S. poet laureate, in Concord on Jan. 22. Hall and Kumin are past poet laureates. Kumin joked in the newspaper not long ago that there is something in the water here . . . I am drinking lots of water.

Have I mentioned that Concord, NH, is the best place on earth?

First snow of the season

About 9 am, first flakes. The moment the kids have been waiting for, the thing they pined for during our adventures in the deep South. Truly, no matter how you feel about snow as an adult, if you think back to childhood, you can't help but remember the way it felt -- like your insides were skipping with joy -- when you looked out and saw -- IT'S SNOWING!





About 10 minutes later, a tasty dusting. Will it stick? Will it stay cold enough to remain a crystalline delight, or will it switch to the dreaded (and forecast) rain/snow mix?







Victory, it is still coming down hard two hours later. The thermometer is steady at 30 degrees. Katherine has added snowpants and boots to her ensemble. She has rolled in the snow, thrown snowballs, made a snow serpent on the deck, and dragged her saucer sled out. Gregory pokes his head out and then retreats to the garage to kick the soccer ball against the wall. The streets are covered, my car wears a white blanket, the bare trees and evergreens are frosted with beautiful, wonderful first snow!

A bulletin from amidst the boxes

Height check -- Pete asked for visual aids to the children's current heights, so he won't be totally shocked when he sees them in December. Here are Katherine and I on her 10th birthday. She's wearing a scarf I've knitted on and off (mostly off) for the entire 5 years we've lived in the Deep South. I took a break from packing up the house to complete it. She said that she understands she once liked that color . . .




Tall, dark, and handsome -- here's Gregory. I'm dressed to paint (don't ask), and he's looking snazzy on his sister's birthday. And yes, he is almost a head taller than I am. Sorry Pete, he could be your height by Christmas. You'll experience New England cold and the shock of having a nearly grown nephew.





Making a wish. Yes, she's double digits. She was an incredibly good sport about having the house in utter chaos on her birthday.

Autodidacts even in the midst of massive life change, the kids did some serious hands-on learning these past two days as we painted a couple of rooms. They've done a lot of spatial reasoning lately while packing up their belongings.

Gregory has developed an admirable life philosophy -- don't hang on to stuff. His new room will be spare and minimalist. Katherine cherishes everything and finds potential good and usefulness in what may appear to you or I to be a mere scrap. Then she turns around and creates art from said scraps, humbling all doubters. We are lucky to be their parents, and we are learning all the time from both of these wise souls.

Baby delusions

I lose my mind over new babies and get the crazy idea that I can sew. Really I can't, as I've learned the hard way in the past (I once tried to sew a new outfit to wear when Steve came home from a deployment -- the carcass of that skirt is still in my scrap bag).

But as I say, something about babies makes me believe I can do the impossible. On July 20, our new niece and nephew were born, and I raced right out to get fabric to make them each a quilt like the one I made their big sister two years ago. While the kids were reading Harry Potter, I waited out my turn by cutting, pinning, and sewing. This one is Madeline's.


And this is Nathan's. Gregory and my friend YeVette helped me choose the fabric for the squares (Katherine was canoeing) and then both kids helped choose the backing and coordinating thread and embroidery floss.

Gregory wants to go on record as being opposed to the jungle fabric in Nathan's quilt because it depicts animals in nonstandard colors (such as pink elephants) and he wants no part of misleading impressionable young cousins.