My New Best Friend

We've had various hummingbird feeders over the years, some cheap, others expensive and none of them perfect.  The ants always figure out how to climb in and drown, or they are hard to clean or something breaks. You know. 

This  year there were fewer hummers than usual, but we were diligent with the nectar and the ant removal and of course provided lots of cool flowers as well as nectar, with an abundance of red blooms this year, everything from geraniums and petunias to begonias and verbena. 

The past few weeks I've noticed that whenever I work in the garden I get "buzzed."  The tiny bird, wings beating, hovers nearby as if to say, "Hi!  Thanks for the delicious nectar."  They are pugnatious little things and guard their territory well.  I alwys  offer a greeting in return, if only, "Hi!  Birdie."  Lately they have been coming to the deck and saying "Hi!"  and this morning, for the first time ever, I saw two birds in parallel flight, not squabbling or dive bombing each other but flying together.  This was so cool.

I think they like me.  They do like the nectar and they seem to know who brings it and fills the feeder regularly.    Can a woman have a relationship with a hummingbird?  I don't know, butI think we are definitely friends.

The Joe Pye Weed in the garden has finished blooming,(alas, butterflies)  but we have morning glories galore and  the cleomes which reseeded themselves from last year are great.  I had a tiny coleus grow from a seed dropped last year. I have to say I love my little garden, from the leggy somewhat drab phlox I rescued from the old state hospital grounds to the heath that blooms all winter to the  chipmunk-chewed tomatoes to the coleus that I grew from cuttings that have been fruitful and multiplied.  We have a bumper crop of cukes this year.  The soup made with buttermilk and avocado was superb, as was the gazpacho from a 1964 (no typo) Gourmet.

Here's a photo taken of my little friend.  Isn't he/she sweet?        We have another feeder in the meantime.  They always come, no matter the feeder.  I shudder to think of their long perilous journey in hurricane season.  Yet they always return.  Seems like a miracle to me, just like our weird little friendsip.


Grapeshot           

Summer at our House

"Low key" describes our summer routines. Gardening, reading and drinking (everything from lemonade to margaritas) on the deck. Bird feeding, bird watching (see photo) grilling, informal cooking (see photo), swimming (eventually), writing, entertaining, houseguests, trips to New England sights. Lately, we have had soccer, golf, hockey, basketball, baseball on television.  Sports overload.

I watched the season finale of Treme last night. Very moving. What a great show. The actors are so fine.

At last I'm getting into I-Bank, which I have bought to replace Money 2002, after a not-so-good experience with an Intuit product which did not have the functionality I have come to expect. You wouldn't think home finances would be so difficult. Why Microsoft didn't just sell Money continues to mystify me.

My soul loves working in the garden, but my back and knees don't. What to do? Leftovers from grilling tonight: chicken breast, zucchini, peppers. We have a salad of tomatoes and avocado with lettuces from the garden. Black beans (cooked with onion and garlic) are garnished with Mexican cheese and cilantro and basil from the garden. I love those three little words "from the garden."

We grilled corn in its husks yesterday, a first for me, and it came out with an excellent smokey taste.  Now back to writing and associated tasks.  There are a lot of "associated tasks" that go with writing.  Who knew?

Grapeshot

After the rain

After the rain of the past few weeks, the garden looked downright jungly.  Tomatoes needed feeding, and sundry tasks, like pruning the forsythia and the wiegelia (spelling?) loomed large. For some dumb reason, I thought I could take care of everything in an hour.

Two hours later, I am sweating (changed shirts once), thirsty and tired.  And more work remains.   Found lots of string beans ready to eat, and harvested some dill.  Cut back the sage and the oregano, which is going nutso.   Garlic is HUGE and looks like it may bloom.  The garlic rose? 

I have to feed the flowers and some of the plants in the wild flower border.  Changed the hummingbird water.  Ant City.  Cheeky little guys were back within the hour.

We are spending like a dollar a day on suet for the birds, and they are insatiable.  Saw tiny frog the size of my thumb nail.  Incredibly cute.  Plenty of vitamin D had for the week.

Tonight we cooked swordfish is an incredible  3 peppercorn/parsley/garlic/butter sauce.   Salad with lettuces and beans from the garden.  Broccoli because we always eat our veggies.  Tiny potatoes steamed to go with the swordfish.

Shrimp salad tomorrow night.  We do eat well.  Onward.

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Spring in the Garden

I noticed some of the colors are washed out.  Must be the glare of the midday sun.  Finished my work on everything except the wildflower garden which needs much attention--weeding, removal of grass, removal of raspberries, feeding, etc.  Usual garden chores.  I had a wild iris bloom this year, and the heuchera is doing well.  The heath didn't bloom, but looks very healthy.  Finally had the creeping phlox bloom this year.  The weigelia (no clue as to spelling) bright red.  Hummingbirds not pleased that I am out there working so much. 

Chill, birds, because the main body of work is done.  Gardening is hard work, but it is also soooo relaxing.   Especially is one is hunched over a keyboard all day.   Thisbe, who has been ultra-brave in the yard of late, exploring beyond the porch and the deck, almost encountered the Whippet today.  A cat can never be too careful.  Here is what the plantings looked like on Memorial Day.  I have a lot of purple sage and the herb Sage is blooming, too.  Nice bouquet for indoors. 

Blindspot

Last night I finished the novel, Blindspot, which was a real treat, with a great plot, a murder, good guys, bad guys and a setting in colonial Boston in the year of the Stamp Act.  It was a big meaty book, written in the style of the age in which it was set.  Maybe only an English major or an historian can appreciate the lush vocabulary and the felicitous descriptions, but I liked it ever so much and hated to see it end.

Not my usual reading matter.  I heard Kamensky and Lepore discuss how the novel came into being at a PEN meeting in Cambridge, and naturally we bought the book and have been devouring it.  Both authors are historians of the colonial period, a fact that greatly informs their writing, and the details certainly make the story special. A fabulous collaboration and the writing was not terribly "academic" as one might expect of such illustrious scholars.

I don't recommend a lot of books, but this I do unreservedly.  I had the misfortune/good fortune to be laid up with a bad cold this week, and was able to read more than usual.   I have taken to reading during the Red Sox commercials, and it's amazing how much one can do.  And on the deck in the nice weather.

Now I  must hie myself (gee, was the olde language catching?) up the stairs to my garret to don Japanese gardening pants and set forth into the garden, well-doused with mosquito spray and sunscreen, to plant yesterday's purchases.  We'll have 6 tomatoes and 12 garlics.  2 green beans and only 1 musk melon, as my grandma called them.  Lots of flowers.  The wild iris are blooming for the first time.  I love summer and my garden.  The chipmunks are playing tag, and the hummingbird comes often.  The male goldfinches constantly have dogfights in the air.   Lovely.

Grapeshot

Putting the Garden to Bed for the Winter

By Sept-Oct, the passion for gardening has been subsumed. Just take what's left of the harvest and get on with it. Parsley? Sure. Mint? You betcha. Sage? Perfect for the holidays. Oregano? Still going strong. Tomatoes? Pick for the windowsill.

All well and good. But there's all the "stuff" in pots that must be dealt with, because to leave a nice pot outside in a New England winter is asking for trouble. Freeze, expand, break. Can't do it. Have to take the thyme out of the pot and put in the ground. Planted 24 bulbs of garlic for next summer. Starts to seem like, well, work.

Today I pulled up the rest of the tomato vines, but I don't know what to do with the dirt, because they everything is suspect after the great tomato blight of 2009. Have to figure that out. Also ripped up the nasturtiums and African daisy and other assorted dead annuals. Still some stuff blooming and even budding in one of the pots, and I can't bring myself to rip it out until it's frozen solid.

Already brought in the geraniums and the rosemary. Scrubbed out some pots. The chores are boring and endless. Spring is better with choosing and planting and optimism. Fall?

Homer wrote: As is the generation of leaves, so is that of men. Kind of a downer, as I watch the leaves fall. We have a bumper crop of acorns. Ye gods, you can't walk a step outside without them crunching underfoot. Also lots of pine cones, which make great firestarters if you are old-fashioned enough to have a wood-burning fireplace. Long live real logs!

Yesterday I made a pot of chili. We had an unexpected guest, and everyone ate two (small) bowls, and now there is enough left for tonight but not Monday. No big deal. The recipe is from the New York Times, and I've been making it since I was a young bride. Once we fed hordes of people after an art show, and a man named Joe Witek ate five bowls. Joe sure could eat. A hostess' dream and a hostess' nightmare.

We had a lot of trick and treaters and ran out of candy early, shame on me for getting in there and decimating the Reese's Peanut Butter cups. I have no control about peanut butter. My heroin. Yup. That bad.

Below is the chili recipe. I chopped up a roast and soaked my own pinto beans. Tasted good. I use Penzeys (www.penzeys.com) hot chili powder, and only used 1 and 1/2 T. Otherwise you have to eat it with a box of tissues on the table.

Made the cheddar biscuits again, and something is the matter with the recipe, but they do taste good, so what the hell? They spread all over the baking sheet and the batter is too moist. I had a hell of a time kneading them. WTF?


Chili Con Carne


SERVES: 4

3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 large onion, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin seed, crushed
1 pound chopped beef
1 small bay leaf
3 cups water
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/3 cups canned tomatoes
1/8 teaspoon basil
1 green pepper, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1.
Heat the butter in a skillet, add the onion and garlic and sauté until golden brown. Add the meat and brown.
2.
Transfer the meat mixture to a large saucepan and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is as thick as desired, or about three hours. If desired, add one can of kidney beans just before serving.


Source: THE NEW YORK TIMES COOKBOOK © 1961 by Craig Claiborne

I made half again as much. This recipe will never win a contest, but it is a good hearty chili.

Finding The Lost Symbol at Walmart

So! Big display as you turn the corner with your cart after entering the Walpole Walmart today. Dan Brown's book for $16.88! Such a deal. Looked like some of the copies had already been plucked off the display.

Be glad that at least one book is selling like hotcakes. It's good for the book store owners and they have been dropping like flies. Let's see if I can round up a few more cliches. Speaking of hotcakes, what are they and where are they sold? Is it a pancake? Swear I don't know, but the phrase is persistent.

We never shopped at Walmart until we retired, but of course there aren't any Walmarts in the vicinity of Wellesley or Swellesley as it is sometimes known locally.

Walmart isn't bad. They have great cat litter, and there is none cheaper. We buy Fancy Feast there, too, and it's like getting the sale price every week. Familiary has led to buying vitamins, cleaning supplies, charcoal and we are branching into groceries, too.

Once I bought a Walmart brand "Faded Glory" tee shirt to wear as pajama tops. $5.00, what a buy! Guess what? I liked it so much I took it out of the PJ drawer and put it into the tee shirt drawer.

When the recession is over, I'll probably hang onto some of my newly frugal spending habits. I've found a shampoo I really like, not the $ 12.00 bottle from the hairdresser. I've let my hair grow to eliminate so many hair cuts. We ate our own vegetables this summer. Tomatoes are still ripening. Yum! Picked a few more green beans today.

The bag 'o impatiens is still blooming mightily. Hummingbirds headed south. I worry about my sweet birds having to fly so far. It's always such a relief to see them again in the spring.

The slough turns fall colors and the temperature in the house was 66 degrees this morning. Fall is here and winter is coming.

We have a cord of firewood, so bring it on!

More Dogfights in Hummingbird Land

This afternoon we had four humming birds in the garden at once time. Bear in mind that the flower garden part of the garden is a planter box about 6 x 6. Crazy aerial dive bombing and then everyone takes off.

I have discovered that what I called "butterfly bush" or butterfly weed" in my garden is actually something call "Joe Pye Weed." It's a perennial with purple blossoms and the little hummers can't get enough of its nectar. They were also seen today on the red geraniums, the red impatiens, the fuschia, and one of them loves to sit on a wee branch of the pole bean plant. It must fit his tiny feet.

The Joe Pye Weed also attracts butterflies and of course, bees. I have lots of flowers the bees like, esp. the oregano blossoms and the sage. Most of my bees seem to be bumblebees. As a kid I was afraid of them, but they seem mostly benign.

My garden makes me happy. We tossed a handful of our own cherry tomatoes into our salad and garnished it with cilantro, croutons and feta. Yum! The tomatoes and the herbs along with the beans are so tasty now. I planted spinach and more cilantro.

The orange yogurt bread I baked yesterday looked spectacular. Must have been the fancy Greek yogurt. I wrapped it in foil and froze, thereby forgetting to take a photo. How dumb can you be? Just imagine it perfect!!!

We're going to the Berkshires this weekend. The cats have their sitter/nurse and we'll fill all the bird feeders in the morning. Have to nuture our feathered friends.

Grapeshot

Dogfight Above the Petunias

Two ruby-throats got into it this afternoon above the petunia planter. They are very territorial and soooo feisty. Took off in different directions.

In the garden, the "butterfly bush," now blooming, is very popular with the hummers as well as the butterflies, and the bees are also attracted.

Significant Other took the photo late this afternoon after the dogfight. A bird has got to get some energy for the next confrontation.

It takes a lot of time and effort to maintain a garden, but the payback is wonderful, don't you think?

Nature Notes from All Over the Yard

We have a young red squirrel who can leap from the front porch railing to the bird feeder, an unbelievable feat for such a little guy. He joins house finches, chicadees, sparrows (many varieties) baby cardinals, baby bluejays, mourning doves and other assorted birds who hang out at the feeder.

In the backyard, we have the not-seen-lately hummingbird, blackbirds, woodpeckers (3 kinds) and many of the same birds from the front yard as well as the suet robbing squirrels and chipmunks and the odd hawk on the lookout for prey (small birds and mammals). A visit to the yard by the hawk results in the birds going into hiding for as much as a week.

In the slough, the bullfrogs croak and there may be ducks, but we don't see or hear them. No otters, alas, this year.

The local deer have spared us, as has the bad rabbit who has perhaps fallen victim to the local fox or the occasional coyote. I have never seen the coyote, but the man around the corner swears that the neighbor keeping chickens leaves them out deliberately so the coyote will come into his yard and eat his grandchildren. Well, I don't think so, but into the wildlife mix you always have to throw a nutty neighbor. My mother used to say, "nutty as a peach orchard boar." Cool expression, yes?

What I love is to sit on the deck overlooking the slough and the wetlands with a drink of premium rum on ice and enjoy a late summer afternoon. Listen to the birds and the frog and the occasional drone of an airplane. The sunlight is just so, and the neighbor comes out to multitask: smoke, drink, talk on the phone and check his garden. We exchange waves and all is well with the world.

Grapeshot

Rain

Sodden tuberous begonias on the deck, weary of rain.

I never read Somerset Maugham's short story titled, Rain, but wherever it was raining, the South Pacific no doubt, could not have held a candle to Boston last month. My poor tomatoes, that just want some nice water and also some SUN. Remember sunshine?

The nasturtiums I am growing from seed aren't very happy either. We had a few days of sun (today is dreary again), and the astilbe decided to bloom. Beets are growing. Lettuce is gone except for the really weird lettuce. Herbs need a new start, (dill and cilantro) but my others are strong and healthy.

Gardens are a labor of love. I am cross posting a link from my Proust blog.

http://travelinagarden.blogspot.com/2009/07/du-cote-de-chez-swann-combray-marcel.html

Let there be color. Let there be (sun) light. Another dreary day. On the bright side (!) dreary days are good for writing.

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My Lovely Garden In Mid-July

Love the flowers and some big-assed tomatoes are on their way. This year the sun and rain and climate has been ideal for growing here in New England. We've already eaten some of the heirloom beets.