Around The House and Gardens

Feeling so much better. Although not completely well. There's been a terrible virus going around. My daughter Talia caught it first. Me next. Now my daughter Seleste is lying listless on the sofa. Sooo...I haven't done much lately, and I've just lately felt like venturing outside to check on my crops. Nice surprise! Boy they've grown.

I've also been thinking alot about those who have endured Hurricane Sandy.  Another awesome category one hurricane.  Storm surges are amazing, powerful and unstoppable.  Humans are just another piece of debris in the wake of a storm surge.  You cannot, cannot, cannot, stand up to a storm surge.  If caught in one you can just find some sort of shelter and hope it holds up and you survive. 

During Katrina there were stories of people who stayed who heard the sound of popping and explosions.   They looked out there windows to see the surge coming in.  The sounds were houses exploding as the storm surge hit.  These are houses of fishermen that were built many feet off of the ground.  One fisherman friend of mine only had three pilings left of his home.

This is one more reminder that you must, must, must, prepare for these things and be responsible for your own safety and future as much as you can.  The government can not and should not be your mother and father.  Everyone must learn to look out for themselves, their neighbors and those not capable.

While inside I put some Christmas cactus cuttings in rooting medium.  I hope plenty of them take so I can share.

I also made some tiny soil cubes and planted cabbage, broccoli, kale, onions, leeks, lettuce, and boc choy.  They sprouted right away.

The beds are looking beautiful again.

Look how large the cabbages are getting.  There's something snacking a little on them.  They are also forming heads now.

See!

This is self blanching cauliflower.  It's leaves gather around the center hiding the forming curds from the sun.

My green beans love the weather and are producing prolifically.

I've collected enough recently to cook for the family and put up three full quart size bags in the freezer.  Nice.

The purple cabbages are just lovely.  With the sun shining behind it's outer leaves they look like purple angel wings.

Carrots are about 5 inches tall now.  Remember you can eat the tops to!  Throw them in your green recipes.

This is Thai Roselle.  It's the hibiscus you find in Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea.  It makes a very red health drink that is popular in Asia.  Supposedly it's extremely high in vitamin C.  I'm anxious to try this.

 My puny banana tree now is a beautiful clump of six trees of various heights.  The leaves were shredded in Hurricane Isaac.  The nice unshredded large ones were grown since.

Finally the Asian Winged Beans are blooming.  It takes a long growing season to get these babies to bloom.  I'm not sure it could be done further north without protection.  I'm very excited about this crop.  Lightly steamed and eaten with salt when young they are very delicious.

Around The House and Gardens

It looks like spring here. All the leaves that were blown off during Issac have been replaced by light green new baby leaves....this all happened surprisingly quick!   Amazing, Amazing and Amazing...I'm amazed in case you didn't know.

I've removed all the bushes that were uprooted and I'm working on cutting back the abundant summer growth.  Look at the bark peeling on the river birch...oh I love that!

I'm also clearing up my large garden one bed at a time and planting my fall crops.  Here is a bed of red and green cabbage.  They are growing so fast!  When I was pulling weeds and preparing the beds, the soil was teeming with earthworms.  I'm attributing my soils fertility to these little debris munchers.

The green beans already have flowers.  There shouldn't be any frosts until December.  Even then it may not really freeze until January...if at all.  Two years ago if you remember the temps went all the way into the teens.  Um...very cold for here....and last year...no freeze at all.  So who knows how long these beans will produce.

These are the Camilla red beans I planted.  The vine in the bed next to it is Asian winged beans.  They came back like a perennial plant.  Since it didn't freeze...I wonder.  I'm excited none the less.  Asian winged beans are delicious steamed when they are small.

The peanuts are just about ready to harvest!  Looking forward to seeing what's underneath.

Fig cutting update!!!!!  Byron put these cuttings directly in the dirt this spring after trimming his favorite tree.  All, yep everyone, of them took.  We're going to dig them when they lose their leaves and put them in individual pots and plant some here and some on the property in Mississippi.  Byron's success has gone to his head.  When pruning the trees recently, he stuck a ten foot mulberry branch in the ground to see if would "take".  Ummm....Byron?

Curly mustard getting big enough to gobble.  This is my fav mustard.

View of the front garden.  The Monarchs and Fritillaries are everywhere!

Front porch pumpkin.   I'm in the season!  That's my fav garden tool ever.  It allows me to get into tight spots to weed and it's great for breaking up the soil as well.

The baby chickies are getting big!

Things to plant now:

parsley
dill
coriander
fennel
leeks
cabbage
collards
turnips
mustard
broccoli
cauliflower
Brussels sprouts
beets
carrots
onions
garlic
Swiss chard
kale
lettuce
radish
bachelor buttons
cosmos
sweet peas (flowers and peas)
calendula
nasturtiums

Ummmmm.....I think that's most everything.  Yep...It's the best time to plant ever!

Observations on Hurricane Isaac

First thing: The storm was waaaaaay underestimated.

Categorizing hurricanes...well maybe not such a good idea.  They each have their own personality, and just because it's winds aren't as fast as another hurricane's winds doesn't mean it can't reek havoc of it's own sort.

Although Isaac was a category one it packed a large storm surge, and some coastal and riverside communities experienced catastrophic flooding.  Katrina like in every way.  The truth be told communities along Louisiana's coast are being sacrificed for the protection of "the larger community" ie...Metairie and New Orleans.  These smaller communities are referred to as "trade-offs" to achieve "the most efficient use of funds to achieve the greatest benefits". (Louisiana's 2012 Coastal Master Plan - May 22)

One more reason why you must be responsible for yourself.  These same type governing bodies approved the building of neighborhoods in these vulnerable places.  Leading people to feel secure in their home purchase.  These areas were once included in flood protection and flood protection planning, and now are not.  (By the way...not having government flood protection doesn't equal lower property taxes. Yet, anyway)

If you blindly trust your future and security to government.  Then....you are foolish.  Government equals people....people are victim to their limited ability to see all sides of an issue.  Mostly they see the side that benefits them.  Since the majority live on the other side of the wall they feel smug and secure and support the actions of government.

That's fine.  I'll be responsible for myself.  Since I live in an area where occasionally a hurricane is inevitable, I make plans to deal with the issue of hurricanes.  I'm not complaining.

But those that feel secure on their "right" side of the wall, be aware that unless coastal restoration is successful the Gulf will creep closer and closer and more and more money will be needed to further strengthen and build higher those walls that protect your precious but small (and literally sinking) and mostly inconsequential investment.  .

With our country trending toward staggering debt, who will have the money to continue this?  When will the money be deemed "more efficient" to be used elsewhere.  Just asking and wondering.

On a very practical note...THE PLAN

Isaac stalled right over our home for hours and hours...dropping torrential rain, endless 90 mile hour wind and pushing a major storm surge.  No my house didn't flood.  I'm far enough up on the toe of the boot that juts into the Gulf, but just below me the flood waters did start.

We evacuated.  We followed our plans exactly.  I must admit...when looking at the daunting task of following our plan I was tempted to skip some steps.  You know... "it's just a category one hurricane".  I didn't though (pat pat pat on my back).  Some may say it's useless work since my area has never flooded.  NOTE:  A large area that had never flooded...(due to the new "walls" to protect more populated and valuable areas)...flooded.  The water must go somewhere people!

During the storm our neighbors who did stay were finally issued a mandatory evacuation order and had to leave with nothing but themselves, a few things and pets.  The authorities were worried that one of the stressed levees would break.

After the storm we didn't have power for about a week, and we were some of the last ones to get the power back on. There was a lot of major whining and political grandstanding on the local talk shows.....this actually made me smirk...how long have most areas had electricity?  Sixty?  Seventy years?  People get really testy when they don't have electricity.  They're hot, cranky and have no idea how to entertain themselves as they wait for Entergy to fix their power lines and FEMA to deliver water and MRE'S.

So I was very thank full that we followed our plan!  Maybe I'll explain our plan in detail on another post.  For those who may want to make their own plan.

This is my front garden.  The shrubs and trees were all stripped of leaves.  The shrubs bearing the brunt of the wind were uprooted.

The top of my tall cypress tree in the back yard dog run snapped off.  See the chicken coop in the left hand corner?  For practical reasons we couldn't bring our chickens.  We loaded them up with food and water before leaving.  One grown chicken was killed in the wind.  Two young chickens also perished.  We also found a dead squirrel in the yard.

Food that survived in the garden...The medium and small sized citrus managed to maintain about 2/3rds of their fruit in 90 mile winds.  The grapefruits were all blown off.

The satsumas are actually getting ripe and were pretty good!

The plants in the veggie garden were stripped of most of their leaves and blown to the side.  The veggies that did best in the garden were those that were underground of course!  Sweet potatoes, ginger and peanuts!  The bean plants still look alive but are blown to the ground.

The figs held on tight as well as some of their leaves.  They still look pretty stressed.

My pears, persimmons and pecans.  Kiss them goodbye.  They are all on the ground.  ALL....sigh

My tropical plants were in tatters.  My bamboo stood but looked pretty much like this after as well.

Some sweet potatoes I dug while cleaning the garden.  We won't starve anyway!  Smile.

I Want One

I want one of these houses, and a hat like that...and a move to the edge of a deep enchanted forest.......

A Walk In The Swamp - Jean Lafitte Preserve - Barataria

I just need to take a walk through the swamp occasionally....beautiful...mysterious...magical....

Planting in August...and my Granny Square Afghan

July is done with.

Vacation is done with.

August is here and it is time to plant.....To me this is the very best time to plant in our area.  It's been extremely humid.  The rest of the country is in drought and we're slogging around the yard.  The driveway is sopping and I almost got stuck today when I drove slightly off the rocks.

One worry is the lack of water coming down the Mississippi.  Plaquemines has actually declared a "state of emergency".  Whatever that means...because salt water is intruding up the river and has came further than the drinking water intake.   They're now barging in fresh water.

Maybe there isn't enough water up river...but here there's too much.  On vacation we felt as if we were dragging around a rain cloud.  Everywhere we went it rained...these aren't places known for their rain.  When we were at the Chaco Culture World Heritage Site in New Mexico...It rained!  It was an amazing sight to see.  The water cascaded over the edge of the mesa in multiple water falls.  They only receive 8 to 10 inches of water a year and it rained while we were there!  Here we've received eight inches of rain in one hour before.  Yet thousands of people once lived in Chaco.  Amazing.

I've started pulling out the seeds I am going to plant.  Here is a list of what to plant now if you are in the New Orleans area.

Irish Potatoes - Plant whole small potatoes.

Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants - Plant transplants.  (You're eggplants may look good still.  Mine do.)

Plant the following in small pots or soil squares:  Broccoli, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower.

Plant the following straight in the garden:  Swiss chard, collards, cucumbers squash, beans, mustard, green beans, southern peas, turnips.

This year in the spring my neighbor planted Camellia Red beans in her garden as a cover crop.  They produced well and she gave me a bag.   Fresh red beans are awesome!  I never really thought much of red beans and rice.  It was nice occasionally, but nothing I craved.  Fresh red beans are totally different!  They are so much better than the dried ones.  Soooo I bought a bag today and I am going to plant some in my fall garden.  I certainly will plant some in February as well.  I'm impressed.

Here is what I have done with the granny squares I recently started making with remnants of bright cotton yarn.  I did most of these while traveling in the car on vacation.  Umm that's a moon and stars melon in the bowl (my centerpiece).  Love my little piece of the 70's.

It was so much fun to make and easy...and the colors are a lot more fun than the mauve and blue ones all matchy I remember hating as a child.....it's still drafty....I remember hating that as a child to....but if I ever get that VW van...I'll have the perfect cover for the loft bed.....

If you wanna learn here is a link to a cool tutorial...

Good tutorial on how to make a basic granny square. Lots of pics...

Around The House and Gardens

What a wonderful mess of yarn and color... the pumpkin is from my garden.  I've picked four so far.

I've just bought a really neat book on Granny Squares...I'm rediscovering them and they're so much fun.

It's a great way to use up all the little balls of left over yarn and end up with a really groovy blanket.

The little ones are by Tera.  She's pretty good at it.

Close up.

I went to Red, White and Blue (a local thrift store), and found all kinds of treasures.  I loved this paint by number!  The colors are great, pale greens, pale aquas, and beiges.  I painted the frame a shade of green I created using aqua and camel.  Nice.

Yep, painting the frame gives it a completely different look...instead of hunter or hunting cabin....enchanted forest in a Grimm's fairy tale!

I also found a complete set of pink Boontonware!!!  I'm going to use these!  They were pretty dirty and stained up.  Magic erasers work wonders.  I got the whole set for $7.95.  Hopefully they won't break as easily as glass when they inevitably hit my slate tile floor.

Chickens in the mist...and boots.

Baby chicks are growing!

So is the summer garden...a bit overgrown!  July is always the worst month for my garden.  At least in the weed department, but most plants are growing their hearts out during this time.  Veggies don't produce much.  They just can't take the heat.....except okra of course.

Waiting This Out

Good things have been happening lately around here.  Really good things and bad things.  Like four baby chicks hatching and three surviving.  The third one to hatch had a herniated yolk.  It was such a bad case there was really nothing I could do.  For once I didn't really feel anything.  The baby chick suffered then finally died.  No tears ...no nothing.  Not like me at all.

A baby chick with a herniated yolk just seemed sad.  Sad....flat sad.  No tears sad.  Lately life has seemed flat.  It's not flat.  It's not flat at all....it just seems that way  Sometimes life seems flat.   At the very same time my baby chick struggled for breath my Father-In-Law was doing the same thing.

We got the call on the morning of my 40th birthday.  Paw Paw wasn't responding.  He never did revive to any great degree.  Although his eyes and his mouth tried to move to tell us something.  Maybe that he heard us?  Maybe he wanted to tell us what was wrong.  He died eight days later.  He lived 83 years.  83 years.  Not long, but long.  I knew him 20 years.  Long, but not long.

I have shaken the flat feeling....somewhat....shake, shake, shake.  My brain will over rule the emotions that I feel soon.  I just have to sit, be quiet, and wait this out.