What is going on at Heart's Ease Cottage

This summer has been an unusual one. We have been deluged with rain. We had rain every day for almost 30 days. Not just a little rain... constant rain, heavy rain, more rain than we usually see in a a whole year! One of my four 25 foot beds of tomatoes drowned, many other crops fared poorly as well. We lost the cabbages to an onslaught of slugs that used the rain to cloak their activities, the kale and chard rotted from all the moisture... sigh. But the constant rain seems to have passed, and the ground has dried out a bit, so there is hope for what is left in the garden.

I am harvesting blueberries and tomatoes regularly. As I sit here writing I can smell the tomatoes in the dehydrator, they smell wonderful!  I dehydrate all of our veggies at 115 degrees, so that they remain "raw", with all their enzymes and nutrients intact. I will vacuum seal them as soon as they come out of the dehydrator to protect them from moisture. These tomatoes will be used in many of our meals during the colder months when fresh tomatoes are not available.

The blueberries have been plentiful on the bush but sadly, we lost a lot of them during all the rain. Many of the ripe berries were knocked to the ground by the rains before I could get them picked. Even though we lost a lot of the berries, I still have picked 25 lbs. of berries and have probably that many more still ripening on the bushes. We should have plenty for the table, some for the freezer and some for sharing with friends and neighbors. Even if it is not as many as we usually have it will be enough.

The flowers and herbs have survived the wet conditions and I have been making lovely bouquets for us to enjoy, (yes, I used herbs in my flower bouquets!). I have been cutting the parsley every couple of days for adding to our juicing and as soon as the Sabbath is over I will pick basil to make pesto. The tarragon has pretty much taken over one end of the bed it is planted in, while waiting for it's permanent home to be available, (we are doing some long needed foundation work on the east side of the house where the herb garden resides, so some of the plants had to be temporarily relocated, more on that project later in this post).

The kitchen herb garden is in full bloom with the Rudbekia taking center stage. This garden has been a little hard to access since we have dug out a fair chunk of the walkway access and have supports and plastic sheeting up to protect our 3 foot deep trench from filling with water from all the rain. But I have still managed to keep it weeded, and snip and pick herbs for eating, even with all the construction mess in the way. The comfrey that I planted this year seems to be happy and I have harvested our first batch of stevia. It is in tincture and will be ready for use in a couple of weeks.

The butterflies have shown up in force this year. They spend their days sailing over the gardens, snacking on nectar from the zinnias and buddleia. They look like floating flowers from my vantage point on the deck.

As I was cutting parsley the other day to be juiced with the carrots and other veggies, I noticed this little fella munching away on my parsley. It is a Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar. They show up every year to help keep my parsley and dill well pruned. With their voracious appetite they can make quick work of a patch of parsley, so I always try to plant double the amount I will use, to make sure that we both have all the parsley we can eat!

 If you gently stroke the caterpillar on the back while he is munching, it will give off the scent of chamomile and little orange antlers will appear out of the top of its head and wave a warning at you. I am not sure what the scent and antlers do to deter predators, but I think they are adorable! I love to provoke them, (just a little....) so that they will "threaten" me!

We have been trying to get some foundation work done since January. Actually we have been trying to get it done since the reconstruction after Hugo in 1989, but there was so much to do back then and afterwards life took over and there was no time for such a project until recently. So Da began digging out the area in January, got the footer form built to pour the cement and shortly after was hit with a huge project at work. This project waylaid his efforts until yesterday. Yesterday there was no rain in the forecast so we jumped at the chance to mix, pour and level out sixteen 80 lb. bags of cement.

 Da calculated that he lifted about a ton and a half  yesterday, between the toting bags in and out of the car and to the work area. I wore the skin off both knees and elbows crawling around in tight spaces, moving , tamping and leveling cement. It was hot, hard work, but it is finally done and so the project can move forward.

  Sunday we will knock the wooden footer form apart and back fill with dirt. After that comes the easy part... paying someone to lay the block and finish off that section of the foundation! That will bring to conclusion a major repair that has needed to be done for a long time. As I am writing I hear thunder, so we must be going to get some more rain. I am very glad we seized the opportunity yesterday and got the cement work done. Who knows when we will have another dry day!

I have a special indoor project that I have been working on, as well as the regular "projects" that take up my days during the summer... weeding, harvesting and preserving goodies from our garden. This is a project I am very excited about, but I will save that story for a blog post of its own!

I hope that you are all well and enjoying a beautiful day! Until next time, Shalom!

About Our Blackberries

It has been uncharacteristically cool and wet this year. Usually at this time of year we are drowning in humidity, but get no rain so that we have to water regularly to keep our gardens from succumbing to the heat. But this year we have had a lot of rain, and the gardens have been drinking it up with relish. Our blackberries are starting to ripen and they are so juicy and sweet! We picked almost 10 pounds of berries the other day and I need to get out there and pick again if it will stop raining long enough that I can!

We planted several varieties of blackberries that we paid a pretty penny for, but the only cultivar that has thrived in our microcosm is one that we dug up from an old an abandoned homestead years ago. We would go there every year to pick the sumptuous, juicy berries that covered an embankment next to the road. One day we saw a sign that advertised that the land was being turned into a subdivision. We saw a bleak future for our summer berry picking and hated the idea of this wonderful, vintage variety of blackberry falling prey to land development. So when the bramble patch started putting up next years canes we took several buckets and dug some of them up, took them home and began the many year long process of multiplying what we saved from the bulldozer. Normally I would hesitate to dig since we didn't have permission, but they were going to bull doze them anyway, so we were pretty sure no one would care. Now when you drive by our favorite picking spot there is a nicely landscaped berm to a subdivision of McMansions... and  the only berry canes that remain from that particular hearty, disease free heirloom variety are in our berry patch.  We will be eating our weight in berries, freezing and sharing for a few weeks and then it will be time for our blueberries to come in. As I eat my fill of blackberries and have plenty to spread around, I recall the sunny days long ago when our family would go out picking, I will think about the homesteaders who lived off the land where the berries grew, and I will smile with satisfaction knowing that we did our part to save an heirloom variety from being wiped out.

These berries are from a heirloom variety  that thrives in our local weather conditions and produces the largest sweetest berries I have ever eaten!

A Trip To Wilmington, NC

Recently My husband and I made a trip to visit friends in Wilmington, NC. Friends we met while we were living in Costa Rica, were in Wilmington for the wedding of their granddaughter. Since Wilmington is only a 3 hour drive we jumped at the chance to get to see them while they were Stateside. We also really enjoyed getting to visit with the rest of the family, that we haven't seen since 2009, when they left Costa Rica with their 5 children and sailed to the Mediterranean.

Wilmington is my favorite North Carolina city. It has a beautiful historic section, lots of good restaurants, Flaming Amy's Burritos is a family favorite, and Indochine is another. Both offer an interesting variety of vegan friendly selections. The WWII battleship North Carolina, is moored across the river from downtown Wilmington. It has been turned into a museum and is open to the public. The New Hanover County Arboretum is a lovely place, it is not large, only 7 acres in total, but it well worth the time to visit. Our time this trip was limited. There was too much going on at home to make it a "beach trip", and spend some time enjoying the lovely light sand beaches that are just minutes away from downtown Wilmington. But we did go for a brisk walk at Wrightsville Beach, between rain storms, just so we could enjoy the ocean view for a few minutes while we walked. Once things settle down at home we will make a trip back, specifically to spend some time at the beach.

Inside the Bottle Chapel

On this particular trip we spent what free time we had walking the extensive grounds at Airlie Gardens. Airlie Gardens is  67 acres of gardens, with live Oaks, ponds, thousands of azaleas and camellias, as well as fountains, statuary, art and other features. On a green not far from the entrance to the gardens stands a 467 years old Live Oak. Just past the Airlie Oak stands the Bottle Chapel, constructed by local artists in honor of Minnie Evans, a long time employee of the gardens and resident artist. The chapel's sunny location brings the color of the bottles to life. What a wonderfully unique way to recycle bottles!

The Bottle Chapel

While we were strolling the grounds we spotted a pair of swans on the lake. Upon closer inspection we also saw that the swans were proud parents of a single fuzzy gray signet. I was totally enchanted and spent the remainder of our available time photographing the swan as they fed.

I was really surprised that the swans let me get so close. Swans are notoriously protective of their young.

 It was a great day and I can't wait to go back to Wilmington, but next time I will actually spend some time on the beach!

Just in Case You Would Like to know...

If you are interested in avoiding Monsanto "Food" here is a link to a list of the companies that are owned by Monsanto: http://www.realfarmacy.com/printable-list-of-monsanto-owned-food-producers/

Breakfast in Costa Rica

Good morning everyone! I found some very pretty "Champagne" mangoes at Sam's the other day and they made me homesick for Costa Rica. I made all kinds of wonderful beverages with the mangoes on the farm there. Of course we also had loads of other fruits to add to our juices, star fruit, mandarines, mora (a Costa Rican blackberry), bananas as sweet and creamy as vanilla ice cream, several varieties of oranges and water apples, (which we seldom got any of since the birds and small Tico children usually got to them first!) Today I think  I am going to share one of my favorites, made with mango, pineapple, apples, carrots and oranges. The ones I made in Costa Rica actually used mandarines instead of oranges from the huge grove of trees on the farm, but since we are here in the States, I will have to substitute oranges for the mandarines and added carrots to give it more body.  It is a meal in itself!

There were several varieties of mangoes on the farm, but predominantly Tommy Atkins mango, which is the large mango usually found in the grocery stores in the USA starting in late April or early May, and the Ataulfo mango, which is known stateside as the "Champagne" mango. The mango trees lined the lane from the farm house to the cabina for 1000 feet (about 1/5 of a mile). Where the lane terminated and the pastures began there was a huge Ataulfo mango tree that towered 100 feet into the rain forest canopy. The spread of it's branches shaded the area for 50 feet in any direction. Many beautiful tropical plants found shelter there from the pounding rains and heat of equatorial sun. In a hole in the trunk well off the ground, a pair of Keel Billed Toucans raised their young. It was one of my favorite spots on  farm and in good weather in April/May, you would find me "hiding" from the toucans, trying to get some shots of them as they flew in and out of the nest to take turns sitting on the eggs, and later to feed their young ones. The tree was the source of food and shelter for so many plants and animals it would be hard to count, but I know for a fact that we were well fed from it's bounty!

 Mango Tango
This drink is rich and flavorful, sweet but not over the top, with a nice warm after zing from the cayenne. This is a breakfast all by itself and will hold me until lunch with no problem!

2 mangoes skin and seeds removed (see Much Adieu About Mangoes for an easy way to prepare a mango)
2 oranges, peeled and broken into small sections ( for Juicer) or if using a blender juice 2-3 oranges with handheld citrus juicer, or 3/4 to 1 cup orange juice from the store.
1 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, or 1 cup pineapple juice
1 apple, cored and cut into 6-8 pieces, (for Juicer), or if using blender 1 cup apple juice.
4 large carrots , tops removed, or if using blender 1 cup bottled fresh carrot juice
Juice of 1 lemon
1/8 tsp. cayenne, or less according to preferences.

 This is best done in a juicer since it is hard to get apples and carrots smooth enough in a blender. If you don't have a juicer, it can be done in a blender, I would just suggest that you use bottled juice for the apple and carrots and possibly the pineapple.

For Juicer:
Put all the fruit through the juicer and add cayenne to the catch pitcher and stir. Chill if desired.
For Blender:
Blend mango and pineapple, adding juices and cayenne as you blend. (If you don't enjoy as much zing as I do, you can cut down on the cayenne or leave it out, but if you can, try to leave some of the cayenne in for the health benefits.)

This also makes great refreshing pop sickles, but if you're making them for the kids you might want to leave out the cayenne!

I thought it might be fun to have breakfast in Costa Rica, so I am including a video of the toucans on the farm where we lived in Costa Rica! So make your Mango Tango and take a trip with me to see the Toucans! Many thanks to my dear husband who spent many hours sifting through all the video I shot to compile this video clip for me! Unfortunately size restrictions prevent me from posting the video at a good resolution, so some of the detail in the birds is lost, but you will get the idea anyway! I hope you enjoy!

Blog Hops this post is linked to:
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #73

Shavuot

Today is Shavuot, the forth of seven Biblical Feasts. It is the celebration of the Giving of Torah, when God met with His people at Sinai. Normally Sunday is the first day of our work week and we are busy outside in the garden, but since today is a Holy Day, there will be no work done today.

It has been a rainy day,  in fits and spurts, so I took the opportunity between rain showers to get some photos of the rose trellis that is in full bloom. As I stroll through the wet grass, the profusion of blooms on the rose trellis is a feast for my eyes and is complimented by the scent of honeysuckle that is blooming in the nearby woods... pure bliss.... Both the roses and the honeysuckle are fleeting; the rose on this trellis blooms for only a few weeks and then is done for the season, unless we are fortunate enough to be blessed with a second flush of roses in the fall as we were last year. The honeysuckle will only bloom for a few weeks as well. I try to spend as much time outside in the evenings as possible, enjoying both the combination of the perfume of the honeysuckle wafting up from the woods and the glow that the roses take on at the gloaming of the evening. It is enchanting, like something from a fairytale.

This rose trellis was part of a Father's Day gift that I gave my husband in 2001. He was away for a weekend camping trip in the mountains with one of our sons, so I had the trellis, privacy fence and a deck built for his hot tub while he was gone. It was quite a surprise for him when he returned home from that trip!

 

 Of course it was a year or so before the rose covered the trellis completely, but it did make its way to the top by the end of the summer. By the next Father's Day the trellis was full of roses and was lovely to look at in the evenings from the hot tub since pale-colored roses make a wonderful show on moonlit nights.

Over the years the other plants we had planted in that area had to give way to this rose's robust habit. There isn't time to fuss with plants that can't hold their own...we are survival of the fittest gardeners, so I didn't grieve much when the Lady Banks Rose lost her place on the privacy fence.

It is necessary to use a little discipline on the other side of the trellis, as we have espalier fruit trees growing along the pathway that appreciate a little more light than the rose was willing to offer so, after it blooms, we prune the rose back pretty hard on that side of the pathway to allow the pear and apple trees their day in the sun.

Well day is done and the rain has stopped, the sun is down and the feast day is over. Tomorrow will be a full day with much to do in the garden, there is kombucha to bottle and menus to plan...but for tonight I think I will take a glass of wine out on the deck and enjoy the evening. I hope that you all have a blessed and restful evening!

Update

Hi! I have been outside working on garden projects from dawn till dusk for almost two weeks. The house is sadly neglected and will remain so until I can get caught up outside. I have not had time to blog, but I have been composing my next several blog entries in my head, so as soon as the late spring garden crush has passed, I will have plenty to write about!  Here is a photo of some of the foxgloves that I will be adding to the herb garden this year. I  just staged them with the bunny planter for the photo, but decided that they looked so good there that I will get some more to plant around the bunny!  What are you doing to stay busy this time of year? I will be back blogging as soon as I can get all my plants in the ground. I hope this finds you all well and enjoying the warmer weather!