First Peas!

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Yesterday Attila picked the first Peas out of the garden. They are one of the three varieties that were planted, and were not edible pod Peas. Oh the flavour of those little round, green peas, sweet, crunchy, just wow. And then I bit into the pod, just to see what an inedible pod tasted like. Wow again, it was sweet and crunchy and oh so good. I will be eating the pods on these peas. When Attila picked my breakfast greens this morning, he included Swiss Chard, a Beet with greens, and five pods of Peas. Lucky me!

We are well into a heat wave, which is predicted to last at least several weeks. I feel so very blessed to have the air source heat pump, which heats and cools. To conserve energy, by lessening the load on the cooling system, light cotton clothing is worn, and the thermostat has been turned 23C (73.4F), and will be increased slowly as comfort allows. Body movement is limited, cooking is minimized, and any electrical device that isn’t being used is disconnected.

Luckily one of our rain tanks was almost full when the heat wave began. The other has about 200 liters of water in it. With any luck it will rain today, topping up one rain tank, and increasing the volume in the other, as well as lessening the need to water the garden. Most of the plants in the garden will welcome the heat, but they will need lots of water to thrive.

Friday, July 3, 2020

It was almost a year ago when Attila had an eye exam, and discussed a small abnormality on his eye with the opthamologist. Today, almost a year later, the referral specialist’s office called to book an appointment for him. Really!?! I don’t think so, Pandemic appointments for those of us at high-risk-for-compications need to be urgent… if it was urgent, it wouldn’t have taken almost a year for them to follow up with Attila. His condition is the same, waiting until the Pandemic runs its course is the way to go, in my opinion. Hot and humid outside, the heat wave continues, so I sat on the back porch for an hour or so until the thermometer read 30C, then I headed into the cool of the house for the rest of the day.

Saturday, July 4, 2020

I hope US readers have a wonderful day today, 4th of July, a day of celebration for US citizens. I hope the people in the US stay safe, today and every day of the Pandemic.

For weeks now I have been enjoying one meal a day of fresh sauteed Spinach and/or Swiss Chard greens, with various additions such as garlic, onion, fresh peas with pods, an egg, chopped fresh beet, and beet greens. Today I am adding our first Zucchini, only three inches long. The tiny Zucchini are surprising, because the plants they are growing on are as tall as my arm.

Today harvest season begins in earnest here at Mist Cottage! Attila brought in fresh organic Beets with greens, and a bunch of organic Rhubarb stalks. Everything from our garden is organic, but I frequently mention it because it is a different product than commercially raised produce, and would be exorbitantly expensive to purchase, if you could get it. We know our yard is organic because we have owned the property for ten years now, and since we have owned it, not one chemical has been used in the yard, with the exception this spring when I sprayed the new shrubs, which came from the nursery heavily infested with two kinds of aphids. Those aphids could not be controlled by organic methods, and we were going to loose our new shrubs, so I broke down and sprayed them with a weak mixture of permethrin, which solved the problem.

The Beet greens were blanched, then drained, cooled and frozen to accompany three winter meals. The Beets and stems were washed, and placed in a recycled plastic bag in the refrigerator. On Monday, if we get our Potatoes in our online grocery order, I will make a big pot of Borscht. If the Potatoes do not arrive, the Beets and stems will be either canned, fermented, or frozen for winter meals.

Baked goods will be needed for lunches next week, and although baking in a heat wave is undesirable, it must be done. Luckily the portable oven (Nesco) can be placed on the porch outside, and the baking can be done out of doors, to help keep the house cool, and not overuse the cooling system. Rhubarb Squares, made with today’s freshly picked organic Rhubarb, are on the menu!

And so the days goes pleasantly along.

Worldly

Weather

28°C
Date: 11:00 AM EDT Saturday 4 July 2020
Condition: Mainly Sunny
Pressure: 101.5 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 27.7°C
Dew point: 11.3°C
Humidity: 35%
Wind: ENE 21 km/h
Humidex: 30
Visibility: 24 km

Heat Warning in effect:
A prolonged period of hot weather is expected through the weekend into next week.
Daytime high temperatures in excess of 30 degrees Celsius, with humidex values in the high thirties to low forties, are expected for the foreseeable future. Overnight lows near 20 degrees Celsius are also expected through this period, providing little relief from the heat.
Please refer to your public forecast for further details on expected temperatures.
Hot and humid air can also bring deteriorating air quality and can result in the Air Quality Health Index approaching the high risk category.
Extreme heat affects everyone.
The risks are greater for young children, pregnant women, older adults, people with chronic illnesses and people working or exercising outdoors.
Watch for the effects of heat illness: swelling, rash, cramps, fainting, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and the worsening of some health conditions.

Quote

“Never grow a wishbone where your backbone ought to be.”
Clementine Paddleford
1898 – 1967