Archive for ‘July, 2012’

different drummers

A warmish afternoon at 84F.

In the bedroom, it was 71F which is warmish for a beardog.

“These percale sheets are cooler than the flannel for these hot days, but maybe we should consider a higher thread count next time???”

Why did I wait so long???

I don’t know why I waited so long to do container herbs…

These pots…on the front porch…so pretty and they make such a huge difference in how the front porch feels.

I added peppermint and spearmint this weekend. Pay attention to that spearmint!

Oy-vay!!! Crushed spearmint…and ice cubes!!!…in my wine.

I know that if I was a food stylist, I would have plucked a beautiful sprig of spearmint for this photo, but the truth is, that any herb…including spearmint…”leaks” its best flavor when it is crushed.

I.E. – crushed spearmint leaves, a few ice cubes, some Chardonnay = summertime bliss….to me!

And inside??? A sprig of basil, several sprigs of lavendar, a crackle vase from my Grandma Ruthie = heaven on my desk.

The sight, the smell, the taste….why did I wait so long???

Thistle saga

I have spent a fair amount of time whacking thistles this summer. They are extremely prolific!! And the St. John’s Wort. And most of the other weeds classified by the State of Montana as noxious weeds…weeds that by law must be eradicated. For me, it is not just the law, it is thoughtfulness for my cattle ranching neighbors as well as for the health of my woods.

So, I’ve been pulling weeds and whacking thistles. But, this year…the thistles, especially, are out of hand!

Thistles, like most of the noxious weeds have their beauty. They attract butterflies and bumble bees. My first practice shots at getting bokeh were in a small patch of thistles in my woods. As a side note…bokeh and/or depth of field – it is that part of photography that I love most. Depth of field is the one thing that I set my camera for with intent. For me, it is the way to tell a story with a photo. I highly recommend reading, practicing, learning…how to use depth of field. Thus ends today’s sermon :)!

Albino thistle??? I don’t know, but pretty!

Back to the out of hand thing. The thistles…they are out of hand…and they are impossible to pull by hand unless you have steel gloves. Hence my whacking approach.

But…I googled….and I bing-ed and I discovered that whacking them off did little to control them. Thistles have a strong and deep root system. Rats. Now, what???

I hated the thought of a chemical solution, but after some discussion and reading, I decided on RoundUp applied low on the thistles to avoid the seeds that birds, bees and butterflies eat.

I bought a new sprayer.

It has a 3 gallon tank and is mounted on a wheeled frame.

As I was looking up information on the ratio of the RoundUp Pro concentrate to water, I happened on a tidbit of info that sent me away from RoundUp. The original patent was held by Monsanto. I will not knowingly use a Monsanto product.

A week or so earlier, I had read about using vinegar on weeds. I had even dumped the end of a bottle on some driveway weeds and was astonished to see them turn brown overnight. I use a vinegar mix – half distilled white vinegar and half water – as my household cleaner. I spritz it on the floor before damp-dusting with a cloth mop. I clean counters and appliances with it. A spritzer sits in my shower and I spray the shower walls, doors and fixtures as a daily cleaner. I even spritz my head once a week to get rid of hair product build up. I use the same kind of vinegar full strength to clean my coffee and tea pot.

And then I found this article: Vinegar as an Herbicide

So…

The thistles drank Heinz Distilled White Vinegar – straight up – this morning.

So did some of the driveway weeds:

Above was taken mid-afternoon after a morning spray with straight vinegar.

It is hard to tell from this photo, but the thistle leaves have started to brown and curl also.

I have yet to find anything that suggests there is a downside to using vinegar on weeds. Time will tell if this really works, but I’m far happier spraying vinegar than any chemical.

Twenty pounds of cherries

This morning, I bought 20 pounds of sweet cherries.

I have plans for these cherries.

I will freeze some, I will freeze cherry-basil syrup, I will make some cherry-basil frozen yogurt.

I will eat some of them fresh on this chocolate mousse.

This is just not any old chocolate mousse. This is Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse. This is so simple to make. The only “trick” to this chocolate mousse is that the cashews…YES, cashews!!! – need to be soaked for 6 hours. Other than, that…put all in the food processor and process until emulsified into mousse. For the record, I have not a thing against the heavy cream that is typically used to make a mousse. I LOVE heavy cream. But this version??? – it hits a bit higher on the nutrition chart and sacrifices NOT A THING, i.e. NOTHING… flavor-wise.

Top with fresh cherries, or rapsberries or whatever your chocolate-loving heart desires.

YUM.

*** I used Hershey’s Dark Cocoa in place of the raw cocoa….thus losing my place in the “raw vegan” society. Oh, well.

Eating from the garden: week 11

Raspberries!!! So good right off the bush and into my mouth!

There was a pint of raspberries in week 11’s garden bounty. I ate a few or so as I was washing them. I had a few in my before bedtime cereal and in my “get some food in my stomach” first thing in the morning cereal. And I grabbed a few every time I opened the frig.

And then there were none.

Sad, but true.

Elsewise, I continued as I have been: chard and kale and mushrooms sauteed on pizza, in scrambled eggs, over rice. Carrots and peas in pasta salad. Cilantro whizzed with tomatoes and green onions into pico de gallo. Basil whizzed with a bit of olive oil and frozen for winter pesto or ???. I shared some greens and carrots with my good neighbors and that was week 11 from the garden.

Other than food…a very full week which included motorhome maintenance (A/C and install of a new on board surge guard), dental surgery (canine tooth is gone and titanium implant in place awaiting healing and a brand new toof :)! ) and preparation for an assault on thistles, St. John’s Wort and a few other noxious weeds that have sprouted in unusual abundance in the woods :( …. AND a VERY full work schedule. All in all, a good and busy week. Bear, Bob and I are very much looking forward to a bit of relaxing this weekend after some necessary chores tomorrow (Saturday) – hopefully concluded by early afternoon.

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend to all of you from all of us.

But, what to me my love, what to me???

Yea, yea…the herbs go with my eyes…but…I notice there’s no catnip in there???

***Bob is not actually interested in catnip. My tuxedo cat, Gus (departed 8/14/2005) LOVED catnip…or more acurately, he went berserk over it and I think for him, it was a hallucinogen. Bob…no interest or reaction :)!