Summertime, and the living is easy nutso

Summer 2010 started off with a bang weak fizzle here in western Washington. The weather has been el poo 90% of the time, making for a sad, weird little garden this year and a lot of moping by even the most seasoned Washingtonians. Weather-wise, it has been a lot more like mid-April than early July. At least my pea plants are enjoying the gloom. They're kicking out the goods like never before. Lately, we're getting almost a pound of peas per day!



The cylindrical beets are also looking pretty good, though I don't have the photographic evidence yet to back that up.

The strawberries are plugging along, slowly but surely, and the grape vines are all chock full of wee baby grapes. And so I find myself still rather torn about whether or not I really do want this house to sell right away. I'd love to see this little garden through, since there is no time to plant another at the (hopefully) new house. But at the same time, holy God, do I want this drama over with!

In addition to the unfortunately slow and low production in the garden this year, I can't yet can what we do have, because, in an uncommon fit of reckless optimism, I packed up all of my canning jars and water bath canner when it looked like we were going to be moving right away. And now I have no choice but to send poor Bill spelunking in the storage unit for it all, because the strawberries and cherries, few though they are, wait for no man.

A Fathers Day Limerick

My muse in his purest form, watching the Sounders and drinking beer.

Sent my fella,
to Cabela's,
to buy himself a gift.
But he should note,
that if he brings home a boat,
that he and it,
will be set,
adrift.

Belated Photos of Rapidly Aging Chickens

Life has been completely nuts lately, and I have failed to provide you with the promised pics of my growing chicky babies. As a small token of atonement, I now offer you some rather outdated pics of my babies and my other babies.


Livy with Daisy~Scarlet with Scout, Day 1


Charlotte, Wilbur, Snowflake, Ruthie, Rocky, Scout & Sky, at about 1 week old (Apparently, Sunny & Daisy were hiding)

Scout, playing King of the Mountain on the waterer. The others soon followed suit and it quickly became the most coveted spot inside the brooder.

When I get my booty in gear and take AND actually upload some newer pics of the chicks, you'll be stunned by how much these little porkers have grown in a month. They're even starting to show some cranky tween-age behavior like squaring off on each other, and constantly tussling for the coveted top spot on the waterer or edge of the brooder. I have my suspicions about 2 or 3 of the more feisty chicks being roosters, but until we know for sure, they'll all continue to share living quarters.

More pics soon - pinky promise.

Pondering Karma & Stuff

Ok. This might be a little off topic for my blog, but since when has that ever stopped me? ;)

Lately I've been trying to sort out my feelings about philanthropy, volunteerism and the whole random-acts-of-kindness thing. The thing that I am wrestling with boils down to this - Is an act of kindness diminished if you take away a sense of fulfillment or pride from it?

My daughter's school has a volunteer luncheon every year, and every year I am invited, but I never go. I feel like going would be like basking in my own glory, which is not how I feel about volunteering at all. I feel like it is my duty as a parent and a citizen to help when and where I can and expect no celebration for it. I know that the girls' teachers are thankful for the help that I give them and the students, so why would I need some big to-do?

The same goes for bringing food to the food bank, donating money to charity, being a "parking meter fairy", etc. I do it because it needs to be done, and because it makes me feel like I'm injecting a secret little pinch of happiness or relief into someone's day. But, in feeling that sense of giddiness over my act or gift, am I actually negating the intended selflessness of the act of giving? Am I doing it for me or for them?

Can All You Can

I came upon these old war-era posters from Good Potato via (not so) Urban Hennery.

I sure wish that more people felt the same way about farming and conservation these days. Why does it seem to take times of great need or strife to get people to do what they ought to do every day anyway?

Enjoy the images, and check out www.good-potato.com for more neat old posters.

The house...

...she is listed. AT LAST. Can I get an amen?

Wine with a side of Whine

I'm still in the grip of real estate insanity, and have been seeking out small diversions here and there - napping, unnecessary trips to Starbucks, reading and re-reading my only remaining unpacked Diana Gabaldon novel, etc. And even though this is a much less than ideal time to start a new batch of wine, I'm hung up on the idea of making a batch of Hawthorne Blossom Mead.

According to my hasty research, hawthorn flowers & berries are thought to be one of the first fruits ever used to make wine. Archaeologists believe that some of the first wine ever made in China, over 9000 years ago, may have been made with hawthorn berries, rather than or possibly in addition to wild grapes. In addition to that fascinating little historical tidbit, I happen to live just a block away from a meadow where TONS of hawthorn bushes grow wild. Surely this is fate?

Now, if only we could have one nice, dry day or - God forbid - two dry days in a row, my homegirl and personal wine guru, Kristin, and I could walk on down there and shake those trees for all their worth and score us a load of petals. But Mr. Weatherman, he has no good news for me today. Rain, rain and more rain this week with ten glorious minutes of sun between downpours and drizzles. Uhg.

But just because I might not get a chance to make this wine this year, doesn't mean that you shouldn't give it a try. Here is the recipe that I plan on using, if and when the weather and other universal forces, good and bad, come together to allow me the time and space to make some mead. This recipe and other very unique and ancient wine recipes can be found at Celtnet Recipes.

So go forth and make wine, my good people! And bring me some, because good gravy, do I need it. Oh, and if you happen to stumble into a Godiva chocolatier on your way... ;)