At its feet are rows of garlic. To the left of the gate is Granny’s Heliopsis. Through the gate is the outer garden, full of vegetables, and protected by a homemade fence constructed with t-bars, reinforcing mesh, and chicken wire. The fence has so far been effective keeping the rabbits out, but Fredrick the garden shrew, squirrels, snakes, chipmunks, mice, birds, and insects do enter freely.
This past week Attila and I have been enjoying the lights of an evening. The fireflies flickered about the back yard, providing us with a wonderful show. Eventually though, the mosquitoes caught on to our presence on the back porch, arrived in force, and drove us back indoors. It was lovely while it lasted.
There have been quite a few days mild enough to have the windows open. Ginger loves this. He sits at the window watching pedestrians and vehicles pass, and birds and squirrels dart about. It seems to have awakened an element of adventure for him.
Today, as we were eating our lunch, we did not notice that he had disappeared. Attila returned to the kitchen to find him coming up the basement stairs. The door to the basement is kept closed, as it isn’t a cat friendly environment down there. However, he does know how to open it, unless we secure it, which we are not in the habit of doing. Ginger has been on a great adventure to the depths today. Tired out from his big journey, he is sitting beside me, getting ready for a nap.
Lunches have been wonderful for the last week or so. Noodles are cooked beforehand and stored in the refrigerator. A portion is placed in a bowl, sprinkled with olive oil and a garlic herb mixture, then warmed in the microwave. While that is going on garden cabbage, beet greens, carrots, and edible pod peas are diced. Onions and mushrooms (on sale this week} from the grocery store a diced. The vegetables are sautéed in olive oil, then arranged over the noodles. Lunch!
Our Nappa Cabbage crop was almost completely destroyed by earwigs this year. The cabbage for lunches these past weeks has been what could be salvaged. All are harvested now, and today the first Golden Acre cabbage was harvested. The earwigs have had little effect on them.
Yesterday another batch of Kombucha was ready, bottled in mason jars, and refrigerated. A new batch was started. Attila drinks it “straight”, while I prefer mine with a small amount of cranberry juice. We are really enjoying the Kombucha, and I am thankful to have found a type of fermented food that has no added sodium, and is not milk based. There are lactose free yogurts, and I have made some as well, but I truly do not like yogurt unless it has sweetener in it, sugar is undesirable. The sugar in Kombucha is consumed by the bacteria and yeast, which produces acids, so that homemade Kombucha is not particularly high in sugar (at least in theory, it certainly does not taste sweet).
Today is Canada Day. Attila and I are not ones to attend public celebrations, so we will enjoy the day quietly at home. It is a day to reflect on how lucky we are to live such a peaceful life.
Worldl
Weather
Updated on Mon, Jul 1 at 1:17 PM
23 °C
FEELS LIKE 25
Clear
Wind 15 N km/h
Humidity 43 %
Visibility 23 km
Sunrise 5:27 AM
Wind gust 22 km/h
Pressure 102.1 kPa
Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 8:55 PM
Quote
“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousand of miles and all the years you have lived.”
Helen Keller
1880 – 1968
Happy Canada Day! Lovely rose!
Thank you Joan! It has been a lovely day here, we have enjoyed it very much.
Hi Maggie…I love your garden flowers! Ginger is such a handsome fellow! 🙂 When I get a Chewy order I have to leave the empty box in the livingroom for my two cats as it is like getting a new toy! Happy Canada Day to you and Attila and Ginger!
Thanks Eileen! Empty boxes are toys to cats and kids! I still have a love of boxes, the nicer the box the more tempted I am to keep it, which drives Attila a bit nuts, but there you are. I hope all is well with you 🙂