3 days Expedition

                                                                       

Yes, I was invited to a stay in East Village, Manhattan. On my first evening, I was impressed by the quality of the tap water; it is excellent. For a city of this size it is a great achievement. Good planning went into that. Likewise my trip.
 A memorable supper in a Korean restaurant to launch the 2 mums into the extravaganza - 3 days of well guided and active experiencing of some of New York's iconic offerings. We flowed in rivers of walkers along avenues and streets. We lined to buy tickets at Broadway, transported in subway trains and even the tramway to Roosevelt Island. The planners shepherded us in a very enriching way. On the second day we saw "Pippin" at The Music Box and, in the evening,the 2 mums went to the Met for "Hansel and Grethel" at the Lincoln Center.                               

The third day we took in Central Park which, of course, is another civic achievement.Hence the first photo, Angels in America. At Flushing we were treated to a very appreciated body massage. And then we were ready for supper at a Malaysian restaurant.         

Thanks are also due to Sarah and Jason who saw me take off with care, and Ian who waited for my landing. Besides, days before my trip we were playing "New York Morning" from the album "The Take off and Landing of Everything." Thanks folks and a happy new year.

                                           

Hunkering down in December

Yep short days and long grey evenings. Chores galore; I am pleased to know that the firewood is handled within an orderly system: split wood is stacked and covered to dry further and now it is moved into the basement.
I did provide the father and daughter team with appropriate sustenance, leek and potato soup.

From the 2014 growing season, I have become quite enamoured with the cultivation of leeks. It is a most tolerant plant, stick the seedlings in early June and harvest in November. At harvest cut off the roots and store in a very cool corner to use in December. Ho Ho Ho.

Another peasant dish today; Chocolate Zucchini Cake to celebrate the Solstice. A postscript added on December 21.

      

Lucy and the Pie

Another episode of 3-4 lovely days in Nova Scotia. Today, October 9, is the third day with bright sun, bluish sky and an average temperature of 17 degrees C. On October 7 we took a ride to Port Hawksbury to fetch wheel bearings for the woods trailer; a very near and accessible outing and, forgetting that practical and familiar aspect, the scenery is equal to that at the holiday spots I have been. I remember what the poet said, "the lesser sun At this time to the Goat is run To fetch new lust and give it you, Enjoy your summer all.'                                                 

Yesterday was a flexible agenda day to allow for lolling in the lesser sun. Harvesting consisted of pulling out some carrots and leeks. The main gardener did bury the the tomatoes and the plants affected by late blight brought in by Hurricane Arthur. In the evening we watched the movie "Lucy" and at intermission Sarah served upside down Pear cake.

Brother Grasshopper and Sister Bee

Ah yes, a moment in the sun; naked skin in a sunbeam on September 4 at about 20 degrees C. Mr Grasshopper has worked hard to be so big.                           

Ms Bee is still working and brushing pollen onto her hind legs to take back to the hive.

Fresh Turnips

In the photo there is a turnip lurking at the edge of the basket. I put in 6 seeds and 4 sprouted; 2 pairs growing very close together, so each pair has one big turnip and one small. I picked the 2 big ones leaving the others to fatten.               

Living in the moment, I decided to boil a turnip and found it delicious. It does not take, unlike stored ones, long to cook. Very happy with my turnip.

Happiness is not the goal. Happiness is the journey by Thich Nhat Hahn.
A turn I found while digging in the internet.

Approaching the Blue Hubbard on August 29

Last night the temperature was 6-10 degrees C. That in itself was no big deal but it signifies, ever so heartlessly, that Summer is a timed event. Duh, of course it is. Still I get, what I now call August anxiety which prompts me to look at garden produce that need harvesting. This season the new intruder is the winter squash,
                                            The Blue Hubbard                                                    

I did delve into various gardening sites to get more information on when to cut these blue -gray fruits off the vine. The experts claim that the squash can suffer chilling injury at temperatures below 10 degrees C and so we will have to watch. No anxiety is induced by the potted begonia which can be brought in.           

There the Begonia will into September.

One garden surprise

Richard gave Sarah 3 winter squash transplants and I put them into the marginal edge of the garden. That was the tilled ground I was alloted for unusual forays. The plants send out tentacles in all directions; creeping fast during my sleeping hours. I did lop off the tentacles which covered the garden proper so as not to raise the ire of the semi Englishman. There are many fruits from this alien ( for this season).

                                                      Winter Squash                                                      Meanwhile there are the staples to be harvested. We have collected some broccoli, kale and one lot of scarlet runner beans. The bean wall is attracting the humming birds.                                                                                                            

  

July 31 Up the garden path

Whew, can't wax in the manner of no brain , no pain. CBC, with its present news of the downing of MH17, the Middle East and Ukraine and, to increase the discomfort, its presentation of reflections on WWI and WWII, does not insulate our summer. Hope CBC will not suffer further shrinkage. With that thought I am going to visit and listen to the garden.

I have a good weeder and by now the plants have grown much more than as shown in the photo. The weeder's work from another angle in the photo below.

We planted garlic and, as novices, we follow the plants' development with interest. We knew that garlic bulbs develop under ground but were charmed by the plants' aerial display.

To name these garlic necks we google and somehow were led up the garden path to Voltaire's real name.

Berry Busy

There like garnet red gems, winking among the green leaves, are the strawberries.                                                                                       

                                                       July 12 treat

Time Bandits

              Small flowers with a big name; Chionodoxas or Glory of Snow.            
These blue flowers have attracted bumble bees, wasps and other insects and are
past their glory. This speaks of incoming warm temperatures. Glory be! I am partial to them because they bloom early and usually through the snow. Their tiny seeds germinate in new nearby spots and this habit prompts me to try and connect the "spots" into a carpet. A foolish task which keeps me from Bingo.

Where will Scrabble lead me?

To the garden of multiple vowels where fellow pedants stroll? A womb is a room I am willing to stretch to uterus but uteri. I don't have latin roots; not even mandarin. Just scratching on the surface, when I was aghast to encounter the word "arenose", on the scrabble board. Compulsive as ever, I had to look it up and it is not in the dictionary. Well ancient learning came to my aid and I remember a sugar, mannose, and became more disposed to it. No not right, the thicker dictionary gave the meaning of "arenose" as sandy. That's the Romans for you.
Another Anglo-saxon word "whore" is pegged as "hetaira" in my Scrabble world, for when I am given too many vowels. Hetaira sounds elegant and is not run of the mill. Into this, could be addictive, online scrabbling I was able to put in "anaconda" which earned me an extra 50 points. A snake always up the ante.    

Hyperbole

On April 15 the temperature was up to 14 degrees C. The tundra is gone, at least around my place. April 22, Earth Day and there are noticeable attempts at dressing up:

Emerging Daffodils recall Wordsworth's lines, a little dated, the lines not the daffodils.

 On the low hills, the leafless branches of the hardwoods look like grey hairs among the tufts of green
from the conifers. Grey and Green and temperate sunshine do not make April a cruel month.       

Post Winter

These two photos were taken on April 2, 2014. And they speak volume. We are limping into Spring.
Today, April 6, the cleared driveway and dirt paths are sucking wet but chickadees are flitting around. Robins are hopping on the ground, though it is too early for earthworms to appear. The resident partridge showed her flock, in a flutter, of 6 young adults. They came through the winter. No, Roald Dahl we do not bait them with raisins. Dahl's books entertained the kids through winters such as this one. This March I was introduced to David Mitchell"s "Cloud Atlas"and am grateful to have read it and will visit it again. Another most compelling book is Chang-Rae Lee's "On such a Full Sea." Both  books carry a musicality; that's what I felt.  In the latter the plot is narrated on a symphony of words. " Cloud Atlas" feels more akin to modern and contemporary music. Both books are such treats. I do have a house to clean.

Pathetic

I was sick. There was rebellion, in my open ended central tube, which was a rare occurrence. After the violent commotions were over, I had to lay down. In this shaken state I was pleased to get an email from my brother, who said that he was doing all right at 20 degrees F. We were then at -7degrees C. Who was colder?
Degrees in Fahrenheit and Celsius, unlike oranges and apples, can be converted as they are different markings within two fixed facts; the freezing point (FP) and the boiling (BP) of water. In the Fahrenheit scale the FP is 32 and marked in a total units of 180 to reach a boiling point of 212. In the Celsius we go from 0 to 100. A unit in one scale is not equivalent to that in the other but 180 units in degrees F is to 100 degrees C. 180:100 or 9:5                                              
So what is 20 degrees F in Celsius. It is below the freezing point by ( 20-32) 12 units F.   9 units F : 5 units C                                                                   
               1 unit F   : 5/9 unit C                                                               
            (-) 12 units : 5/9x-12= -6.6 degrees C                                            
There is an app in my ipod touch but I needed the time to heal; by counting degrees. Pathetic but I was entertained.  

Raring to go.

These are the bulbils of the garlic plants from the last season. These, unlike the cloves we eat, are formed above ground and each will grow into a new plant. They are ready, but I am not, and so to slow down the enthusiasm, I better put them in the dark. There is a northeaster coming for February 12.                                                                                                                                      
The cats are pacing restlessly. Are they speaking for us?

Tea, fruit cake and more for the Lunar New Year

A clear and bright morning this January 30, 2014. Grateful acceptance after such  rough winter days, from Christmas onwards. And this evening, if it is not cloudy, I shall look out for the crescent new moon; the first of the year. Then a slice of cake, made by Jane. Ian has been looking forward to a piece. In addition we shall enjoy looking at photos of our Blond daughter, as presented in Idiot's Delight, a play directed by Albert Schultz. 

 Idiot's Delight, a play by Robert E. Sherwood and staged by SoulPepper. A quote from the Toronto Star:

“Poor lonely old soul. Sitting up in heaven with nothing to do but play solitaire. Poor dear God. Playing ‘Idiot’s Delight.’ The game that never means anything and never ends.”

The card game may be meaningless, but Idiot’s Delight the play has a great deal to teach us. It’s at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts until March. 1.

The weather has no malice

Just ice and snow. This is the twelfth day of Christmas and we are still in the thick of it.

    No we don't have this lovely house, instead we have a 200ft plus iced driveway. And lots of snow neatly arranged on its sides.                                                                                        

 Today, we went out at about 2pm to get cat food for the 2 elderly felines. It was a lovely winter day with the icy snow melting on the dirt road. Exchange of new year wishes with a few people was extremely pleasant. At 4.30 pm we realized that the temperature was, and is, dropping fast. Of course, we couldn't get up the driveway.  The weather has no malice. Just ice, snow and liquid H2O.
 These 3 phases have been whirled to give many parts of Canada a sucker punch. Weather science is calling this system the "Polar Vortex." We are less affected than others but are still caught in the weary-go-round of snow, rain and ice for more than a fortnight. A periodic thaw is forecast before we get into another dance.                                                                                                            

 Yeah, it is a respectful and unequal relationship with Mother nature. Yet when you get to work with her in one's little patch, such as throwing grit in her face, you develop a fondness for " a few acres of snow near Canada...."