Still hanging on

I planted the garden this past weekend. It always feels good to get it "in" and check on it daily to see if 1) it's still there, and 2) it needs any TLC.

I have a little ritual for planting the tomato seedlings. The ritual starts in January when I begin saving banana peels. I use my kitchen scissors to cut them into small pieces, then I put them into large plastic bags and store them in the freezer.

When it's time to plant the tomatoes, I dig a deep  hole, drop in a handful of banana peel, then add some compost from my compost bin (see brown pail), add some soil, then add the tomato plant.

I became a believer in the banana peel/tomato plant "marriage" and few years ago and haven't looked back. My plants produce lots o' tomatoes, and I give the banana peels (and compost) the credit.

I don't worry about getting my hands dirty when I garden. Hands are washable, after all.

Ken says an abundance of earthworms is an indication of good, healthy soil. That must mean my garden's soil is in top condition, because the place is crawling, literally, with earthworms.

This little fella at 5 o'clock to the pepper plant is probably the only earthworm for miles around to have his picture taken.

 I plant the lettuce on the back side of each tomato stake. This works well, because the lettuce has outlived its usefulness by the time the tomato plants take off and demand more space.

I also planted summer squash, cucumbers, zucchini, and beets. I'll add radishes and Swiss chard as soon as I remember to buy seeds.








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Meanwhile, this is the current state of my kitchen. The sink used to be under the window; cupboards used to rest comfortably on either side of the window and under the now non-existent counters, and the fridge used to NOT reside in the dining room.

It's all coming together well, though, and I'm remaining optimistic. Ken says the kitchen will be done within two weeks. We shall see.

This little bird family (four in all) resides under the floor in a corner of our back deck. Last year their parents built a nest in another corner, a back corner, of the deck, so Ken destroyed the nest this spring, thinking the birds would take the hint and move elsewhere.

They did: to a front corner. They're darned cute though, aren't they?

Hanging on

I'm trying to think only pleasant thoughts while my kitchen looks like a train wreck during this remodeling project. The refrigerator is in the dining room, along with the old kitchen island, the dinnerware and cooking pots, the eating and cooking utensils. The worst is yet to come, because the stove top and oven and also the microwave are still intact and usable. Oh, mercy.

Anyway, to keep myself from doing something drastic, I'm focusing on pleasant thoughts, like our drive up to Wiscasset on Sunday. We went to Montsweag Flea Market, which is a favorite haunt of ours each summer, then drove up to Wiscasset village for lunch at Sarah's.

We sat on the restaurant's deck overlooking the Sheepscot River to enjoy our meal. Lobster rolls and a cup of haddock chowder were the special of the day, for $16.99, and that's what we both ordered. Delicious, and plenty of it.

Meanwhile, back home, the lady slippers are in bloom. The little patch I keep an eye on each years has its usual seven flowers in bloom. A new home has been built next to this patch, so I've taken it upon myself to announce to the new home owners, "LADY SLIPPERS ARE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES IN MAINE. IT'S AGAINST THE LAW TO PICK THEM." Not very subtle, perhaps, but I'd hate to see those lady slippers die out.

 I spotted this Lady's Mantle in my flower garden a few minutes ago. Last night's showers left tiny raindrop jewels along the edge of each leaf. You can double-click the photo to enlarge it, if you'd like.

My irises are beginning to come into bloom. I love the beauty of the irises.

As you can see from my header photo, the Jack-in-the-pulpits are also in bloom. We have a large patch of them in the field on the left edge of our property.

So that's the beauty along the Maine coast and in my own neighborhood. Inside my home I'm serenaded by the sound of hammers, saws, power staplers, and the like. I try to focus on the finished product, but right now that seems very far away.

What's on my mind

One thing on my mind is this deer (and his companion, not in the photo). The two of them cruised around the wood's edge of our back yard last evening, causing me to worry.

I fear they were checking to see if my vegetable garden is planted (it isn't), and to see if any tasty little shoots are sprouting yet (they aren't, obviously).

The deer's appearance last night, the first sighting in our back yard since last summer, officially launches my Summer of Worrying, worrying that I'll get up some morning to find my garden gone. I go through this every summer and sometimes wonder if the vegetables we enjoy from the garden are really worth the amount of worrying required.

In an attempt to thwart the deer from entering the garden, I mixed up a batch of deer repellent this morning and sprayed it along the wood's edge, on the tree stump in the photo, on large rocks, wherever.

Deer repellent recipe:

In blender mix 2 cups water and 1/2 cup dry milk powder. Add 1-2 eggs and blend well. Now stir in 1 T. dish soap. DO NOT TURN ON THE BLENDER once the liquid soap has been added, or you'll be sorry. I know this for a fact. I tried it once.

I'll also sprinkle blood meal around the garden's perimeter once it's planted. We have a friend whose garden is in prime deer territory, but he swears by the blood meal to keep the deer away.

Another thing on my mind is how to survive our imminent kitchen remodeling. It officially begins on Monday. Here you see my dining room table loaded with most of the contents of my kitchen cupboards. I emptied the cupboards this morning, the top ones, that is. Still have the pots and pans cupboards to do, but I'll get to that tomorrow. So far I've survived the mess created by Ken's ripping up the old flooring so the new hardwood floor can replace it. I tell myself that if I can survive that step, I just might survive the rest of them.

Meanwhile, I've grown a little addicted to crocheting wool granny squares and felting them for coasters. If I can focus on the crochet, maybe I can forget about the deer and the remodeling.

Maybe.

Sunday jaunt

Ken had been getting ready for Sunday's jaunt for weeks. We were headed for York to attend the Maine Obsolete Auto League show. Not only was the "A" washed and polished, it also had had various minor surgeries to make sure the engine purred like a kitten...or coughed like a cat with a hairball, more likely.

The day dawned sunny but it never did warm up as much as the weather man had promised.

We wore layers of clothes so we could peel them off if the temperature got into the 60's. It never did.

The car has no windows and no heater, but the ride wasn't uncomfortable. The heat from the engine kept my feet warm, and if my feet are warm, the rest of me tends to be happy.

Each time I ride in this car, I think of the Joads in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. They rode from Oklahoma to California on Route 66 (unpaved) in a newer vehicle, but I doubt the front seat was much more spacious than this one. Jammed into their front seat were Tom Joad, his sister Rose of Sharon, and his mother. If they could be crammed into a small space for several days, then surely I can tolerate a drive of an hour or more.

We stopped for the Amtrak passenger train in North Berwick. The train was making its morning Portland-to-Boston run.

The car rattled and hummed along. It makes many strange noises, which I don't understand, but I suspect Ken knows the source of each one of them. He didn't appear worried, so I decided not to worry either.

Before we knew it, we'd arrived.

We were surprised by the hundreds of autos on display. Many of them, from the 50's and 60's, aren't what I'd call "obsolete," but I guess it all depends upon one's perspective (and age).

 I can't say I'm an antique auto enthusiast. Give me a new car that rides comfortably, has heating and air conditioning, power steering and brakes, and I'm happy.

But Ken's passion is antique autos, so I try to be supportive.

He always tells me to bring my knitting on these jaunts. He knows I'm not one to stand around and listen to guys discuss their old cars.

This time I took along some crochet supplies, too, because I wanted to learn to knit a granny square.
That proved to be quick and easy.

I also finished sock #1 of a pair to be donated to afghans for Afghans. I used a different color yarn on the heel, a wool/nylon combo, to give it additional durability.

So that was Sunday. We were back home by mid-afternoon.