No matter the language, my garden is my paradise. To watch the lovely birds that nest in the trees and bushes. The bees, butterflies are such a joy to see.
Too quickly October is ending. Halloween approaching and so is the start of my Ecological Landscaping! This I am looking forward to. And, thankful that I will not have to hand out chocolate bars (and sampling them over and over from those gigantic bags!).
Today the weather was overcast and rainy … a perfect fall day. No photos from today. Although I did have my camera with me, just in case I saw something interesting in my travels.
What travels .. well .. I made my way to one of the local Canadian Tire stores .. and had fun wandering around. Picked up some oversize, heavy duty ziplock bags to store my dried seaweed in.
Then for a greater part of the afternoon, back at home, I tried to find sources of luffa’s!! A few years ago, these dried gourds were just absolutely everywhere. Now, it’s a struggle to find a source for them, at a reasonable price.
That does it, next year I will plant them again in the garden. They are really easy to grow and produce quite a good supply of seeds for the next year’s crop. Except, the last time that I grew them, a few years ago, some savage insect cut down each huge flower when they bloomed.
But .. next year .. armed with my EM and seaweed .. and vigilance, I don’t think that this will happen again.
Anyway … I looked through my files of photos taken in October and realized that I hadn’t posted photos of my lovely early morning flight in the PW5 at Port Alberni .. so I’ll share those with you.
The day started with a sky full of clouds and I was fortunate enough to be able to go as a passenger .. way up in the skies .. above the clouds.
Such a peaceful place to be .. .magical and mysterious!
Now .. I love the skies .. I love being up there, far above the earth .. and since I’m not a pilot, I am in massive appreciation for my DH, who has introduced me to so many varieties of flying up in the skies! He is part bird and I think I must be also .. to love the skies so very much.
And it is so much nicer to be way “up there” looking around at the clouds, blue skies and earth formations down below … and this gives me the impetus to gaze up at the skies when I’m gardening, or walking … sweet memories.
So I’ll end this little blog for this day .. and hope that you enjoy the photos that I have posted from this early October flight!
I’ve done a lot of this and a little of that, during the past few days. You know the kind of days that these are. A little bit of housework. Some reading. Some walking. A few exercise sessions (Callanetics by Callnan Pinckney) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callan_Pinckney
I have the book and had the video, but gave that to my sister, as I know all of the exercises. I loved her first video, but subsequent videos/dvd’s were just to spacey and new age for me. The first time I saw her demonstrate her specific types of exercises was on a Johnny Carson show, many years ago.
She was very straightforward in her approach and the exercises were simple, no machines were needed. You could exercise anywhere. So I’ve started doing them again and can feel those muscles in my legs and tummy shouting … yea .. at last … so am slowly marching down the road to getting back into shape. Already my posture is better, I carry myself taller, shoulders back. Feels great.
Baby steps.
Anyway, yesterday and part of today was spent bundling up my containers of dried seaweed, to store them over the winter so I can use them from time to time.
And a few days ago I think that I called upon my Inner Chef because I found myself cooking up a storm! Using recently purchased bags of eggplant and some special long green peppers! I scoured the internet for recipes and soon was making a variety of foods. Which included: eggplant hamburgers, which called for peeling & cutting up the eggplant into cubes, steaming, mixing with eggs, shaping into little patties, light dusting of flour and fry in the pan.
Next time I’ll mash the eggplant into more of a mush. Good tasting.
Then there was the eggplant au gratin. This recipe simply said to peel & slice the vegetable, cook in water till tender, then mash (which is the way I will prepare the e/burgers if I make them again). Next, simply place layers of the eggplant and grated cheese into a greased casserole. This looks and tastes delicious!
Finally, I prepared the stuffed special green peppers. I say special, cause I’ve not seen these type before, they are not hot, and they are longer than the regular green bell pepper. I have saved some seeds and will try and grow them next year.
So I mixed up quinoa/organic beef/garlic/rosemary and a few spices from the cupboard. Then I cut the tops off of the peppers, ran a knife down one side and popped them all in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. Removed them from the pot, placed, cut side up in a casserole dish. Spooned the meat filling in each one. Poured salsa sauce over it all and baked in the oven. When done, after about 30 minutes, I sprinkled a liberal dose of crumbled mozzarella cheese on top.
Didn’t think I’d like these, but they remind me of lasagna, without the pasta calories. Delish!
Finally, came the soup. Why soup? Well, I guess I had the freezer part of the fridge kinda overstuffed with my zealous supply of frozen fruits from the garden. DH opened the freezer door and out onto the floor fell frozen bags of tomatoes, packets of meat, etc. So I decided, instead of trying to make everything fit into that small space again, it was time to make soup!
And also, this is when the idea formulated inside my head .. to make the stuffed peppers!!
So I thawed out the tomatoes, put them in some chicken soup base in a pot. Cooked it all. Tried to remove the skin on the tomatoes, finally whipped out the hand blender and soon the soup was looking nice and rosy. Next I grated one of those lovely potatoes from the garden, to try to thicken it up. Added a little bit of garlic and rosemary. Whipped in some sour cream .. and yum, delicious soup!
Lots of food at a very low price and our fridge is full!
Today I went for a drive in the country and obtained some lovely large plant pots … for potting up my recent sale purchases! So happy am I!
I love driving through the local countryside .. such a beautiful time of the year .. lovely fall colours. Beautiful farms … lots of work, though, I’ll bet.
Next I went to visit my friend D! I was invited to try some of her borscht soup. Now, I’ve never tried borscht soup .. somehow the idea of having beets in soup has never appealed to me. However, today I ventured forth and realized what I’ve been missing. Now I want to try to make some. Absolutely delicious. And I understand the beets are full of good things too! Oh, I’m learning so much now.
The borscht was served in lovely blue Period Pyrex bowls … so pretty! And these were placed on delicately painted dishes! Did I mention the dollop of sour cream on top! And D also make these terrific rice cake sandwiches! She spread some grainy mustard & organic mayonnaise on the top. Next there was large, flat nasturtium leaf! Ok, I’ve never eaten a nasturtium leaf (or a flower) before, so this was another tasty treat! On top of this was a lovely layer of baked salmon.
Now this was a gourmet lunch and very delicious. Dessert was a decadent square of chocolate!
She is such a magnificent cook, and is always preparing lovely ingenious meals for her family! I’m learning a lot from her and trying out some of the things I’ve learned at home! Food is fun, especially this type of food.
After a lovely visit, spent talking non-stop about creative things for several hours, it was time for me to head home and go outside to play around in the garden.
Which I did!
Cause we are supposed to get lots of rain in the next few days!
Basking in the warmth of the sun, I find myself out in the garden again. Only this time, for the past few days, I’ve been busy, busy, busy.
Pruning the buddleia’s that have been taking over the sidegarden.
Pulling out the annuals that reseed themselves year after year, claiming nearly every inch of the garden beds.
Clipping, bagging and transporting the superfluous garden branches etc.
Joy at finding garlic bulbs that were growing, hidden away among the plants. These I will dry and replant in the fall.
Taking lots of time to just look up at the sky. Feeling much happiness at the ever-changing vistas .. cheering me up constantly.
Listening to the tiny chirps of the chickadees, nuthatches and bushtits as they cavort around the yard.
Cavort .. not a word I would usually associate with these tiny birds, but they do seem to be to be such little sprites of cheerfulness. They really brighten up my world and I am so glad they visit.
The bushtits seem like little whorls of energy, filling the trees with their twittering sounds as they gather together on the branches before flitting away to visit another yard.
And the chickadees .. the yard will be quiet, until, suddenly, I hear the little nasal chirps .. seeming to say “I’m here .. I’m here”. They are so sweet. And smart. When the bird feeder is empty, they will tap their tiny beaks against the sides of the feeder as if to say .. “hey up .. this needs refilling”!
I’ve been noticing the variety of leaf shapes in the garden also. Tomorrow I’ll post the pics I took yesterday. There are reasons why nature has chosen the shapes she has for the many food plants. I don’t know the why’s and wherefores, but, perhaps, something else to study up on.
Yesterday, being so hot .. I spread out some containers of dried seaweed … to dry them out further so I could crumble them up and thus take up less space in the downstairs area.
Then, finally, time for the 5 yards of Miracle Mulch to arrive … and so for a few hours last night, I spent the time filling up wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow .. taking each load to the side yard, to topdress the bare garden soil. This lovely mixture can also be used in the veggie garden .. which is lovely. I know that the 5 years will quickly disappear ….as I carefully spread it around on all of the sidegardens. Lovely to look at and perfect for retaining the moisture in the soil. And .. no tree bark .. just fine branches, leaves and twigs.
So .. that will be my day today .. all day . .shovelling and moving the mulch.
My Garden – Mon Jardin – Mi Jardin – Mein Garten - Daily Adventures & Thoughts 