We love peaceful Sundays; no matter how bad the rest of the day is, Sunday morning should be calm, and peaceful. Yet, whenever I sit under my modest carport, with my shabby-not-chic plastic lawn furniture to eat something and to write, the peace is shattered by someone's lawn mower or trimmer The same thing happens at dusk. I'm sure I've come home late and banged a door, and I can't control with my Dad's cleaning lady comes, or when the lawn folks show up to help. I'm terribly grateful to both because I can't that kind of heavy work any more. Yet, we do what we can, and I'm happy for even a tiny moment of tranquility. Here are some photos from this week's work.
This was not the year again for planting or
experimenting. I was lucky to get a gift
of Blackout pansies from my neighbor and friend, LJK, and I bought variations
of flox. They work in fairy gardens and
are colorful in my pots. The cold weather
and torrential rains we had more or less wiped out the flox, so I’ve gone to
begonias. The rains pelted down
everything, even my prairie grass. The
aftermath reminded me of an essay in The
Norton Anthology of Nature Writing about carnage in a garden after a hard
rain.
This year, we hope our black Holly Hock will finally
bloom. I’ve set up tiny fairy gardens,
and the simple gnome village in back. I have my tables out, and one large silk
plant that I use as a seasonal tree. It
is decorated for the seasons, and sits under my carport. I love my lawn ornaments, and they are out,
though I’ve bought nothing new this year.
Summer is nearly upon us, but it still gets cool. The trees are beautiful, all green shade.
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| My Thorny Rose
Our violets came and went in all their wild and hybrid varieties, and I have one rose that is holding its own after being rerooted, and one glorious poinsettia indoors that is rising like the Phoenix, thanks to the care of my friend, KLN. My avocado seed experiment is not going so well, even under the fluorescent lights of my office.
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| There are Angels Among us, Everywhere |
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| Memorial Day on The Yellow Brick Road |
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| Sharing the Harvest, Vintage Painted Wood Lawn Art |
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| When Bacchus Rests |
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| Rock a bye Baby Ducks with Vintage Doll Buggy |
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| Morning has Broken |
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| This Week's Begonia
I was also given to Cana Lilies, and these are growing very well. I hope my Belladonna vine grows; it is wild, and can’t hurt the birds. Animals know better. My holly is still blasted, but it is coming back. It’s only one bush, but I refuse to give up. We have black Irises, and purple one’s,, and we will soon have lots of daisies, and maybe bee balm and some of the wild flowers I’ve planted. My Hibiscus is coming up, and all the wild, thorny little roses and strawberry plants of past years are flowering. We’ll see. I am trying to replant a “volunteer” pumpkin I’ve managed to save as well. There were successful pumpkin years where I could make pumpkin soup from scratch, and give my own gourds as gifts. I was even able to experiment with growing gourds in soda bottles to get the shape.
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| Purple Iris |
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| Black Iris
Domestic Matters
This part of the post is more about not wasting food and convenience than green living. I must say that the books and magazines out, some free, on eating local are mind boggling. It’s very hard to keep up, though very interesting.
For me, I have found little ways to get around things. Of course, if I buy take out chicken, I take the skin off the leftovers and make chicken salad. My recipe is simple, real mayonnaise, or paleo mayonnaise, a little salt, pepper, chopped green olives, and if I have them, green grapes, or dried cranberries. Walnuts or almonds are great, so is a little celery.
A fun variation is to add chopped Kalamata olives and Feta cheese crumbles.
This recipe can be used for tuna salad, or shrimp salad, or salmon salad. I like to poach salmon filets, I just use a
A variation of these salads can make a great sandwich loaf as well. There are great recipes in all kinds of 50s and 60s cookbooks, or look online. Basically, slice a loaf of bred in three, and in between, spread three different salads. “Frost” with whipped cream cheese. Decorate with green or black olives and maybe springs of mint. Refrigerate, and slice.
I use cooking sauces premade times; I found a nice wine and mushroom gravy, great with sautéed skirt steak or thin breakfast steak sliced, and served over rice or linguini. There is a great curry sauce, awesome with shrimp over egg noodles. Use the store brand; sometimes they are half the price of other name brands.
To use up the zucchini and eggplant in your garden make a quick moussaka or eggplant parmesan. These can be vegetarian, or even vegan if you shop for the right ingredients. I take a large glass pan, oil it with olive oil or with cooking spray. Alternate sliced potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, or other vegetables. For moussaka, add one can of tomato sauce, tomato soup, V-8, juice, or home made tomato sauce. Pour it over the vegetables, add herbs like basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Sliced onions are good, too. You can add browned ground beef, or tofu crumbles, or ground turkey, etc. Sprinkle with about a cup of mdzithra, parmesan, or Romano cheese. Bake at around 375 degree and watch the oven, about 25 minutes. Check the vegetables. If tender, you can take out and enjoy. Or, melt more shredded cheese on top.
If not cooked, put in another 20 minutes and keep checking. If you like, make a Béchamel sauce to pour on top the last 10 mins or so that the dish is baking.
For the parmesan dish, you can limit to eggplant, tomatoes, and onions, or include the other vegetables. Cover with the tomato sauce and seasonings. Bake as above, but top with a cup of grated parmesan. About five minutes before it is done, slice fresh mozzarella and lay on top. Let it melt. Serve with pasta, if desired, or polenta.
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