roses & other flowers

the so called rosebed at the shack has been neglected for years. i do remember cutting it one spring but that must easily be 5 years ago. yesterday i decided to do something about it, finally.

there are 2 different kind of roses on the bed, rosa rugosa and rosa pimpinellifolia. the white pimpinellafolia i don't mind, it's actually very pretty in bloom, although the blooming is very brief. it's the pinkish rugosa i don't like, it's gone wild and too tall, and it's blocking the view from the deck to rest of the garden. besides there is, somewhere under all those rose roots and weeds, a nice stone wall that would look even nicer exposed with a few low growing perennials







i managed 3 hours and 2 meters of the bed. that resulted in 3 full wheelbarrows of rose choppings (i did cut the stems smaller to save space in the compost). i had to get the iron bar to help with the roots, some of which were 4 cm thick! then the heat got to me, i just plain wore out, and i did have 2 huge blisters on my fingers... i only have about 15 more meters to clear, wonder if that happens this summer?







a lovely, now destroyed, rugosa with exceptionally beautiful flower, they usually only have 5 petals







the flowers, leaves and seeds of digitalis purpurea are fatally dangerous, if consumed, to humans and some animals. the digitalis has been showing up in the back yard at the shack







lovely pink, almost as nice as in the peonies...







varjolilja in finnish, lilium martagon to the rest of you. this has also been showing up on the back yard







can you tell i'm excited about the peonies?! this was taken last night







same bud this morning. oh, i did ask martha about the ants and she replied to me! no worries here, ants are normal and drawn to the sticky substance in the peonies. now i have that from an authority







this was my late night snack yesterday, strawberries and creme fraiche (mixed with a little sugar and vanilla)







this is the souvenir i got from certain someone when he returned from way back east, i do like the unusual collar. the shirt itself is also quite unusual, there are no shoulder seams. the collar has been embroidered around a hole in the fabric

bbq, peonies

summer leave just started and we decided to grill for the first time (?!?) this summer. pork was on order, just plain with some oil before placing them on the grill, glazing it only towards the end of cooking time. button mushrooms with lemon and parsley as a side. granma mami's cast iron pan is beautifully seasoned but since i have a ceramic stove i got get much use out of it. the pan was perfect for this







simple summer lunch, green salad with just iceberg lettuce and arugula








certain someone built this deck at the shack last year. today we spent most of the day on it, early afternoon it got too warm (another ?!?) and we added a "shade" made out of a sheet... not very martha stewart but got us thru the afternoon. however, there are plans to make a more permanent and prettier solution. some of the potted plants were put on the sill of deck







one example







another, i should have paid more attention to the names of the plants i got. i think i need to revisit the garden center just to get the names...







aah, don't you just love the hint of pink waiting to burst out!







in case i've forgot to tell, i love peonies







there are many ants in the budding blooms, i need to ask martha if i should do something about them








these here are the carrots i planted in big ikea "bucket", looks like we might actually get a dozen or so carrots. that is if the rabbits don't figure out how to get to them first. last year they got my malgolds...







breakfast today, sorry kids, i will make some for you as well at the cottage






ps. happy birthday, older niece!

profiteroles

profiteroles? you ask. yes, or cream puffs, or choux. the older niece's confirmation will be in few weeks and my mom made a test batch to try different fillings. but then i came and the kids and suddenly there weren't any to be filled. have you ever tried them slightly cooled, just as they are? yam, just don't eat too many, you'll start feeling queasy. anyways, because we ate what mom was supposed to try and fill, i made another batch







cream puffs have been on my to do list for a while. don't know why i've put them off for so long, they aren't that hard to make. i just won't be making more anytime soon, not that they aren't good but because i will eat them all myself. and i can't let that happen to my already suffering waistline







the campaign "empty the freezer" has been going on also at the cottage. i've tried a few pie dough recipes, this time i tried one from the modern baker







there is no food processor at the cottage so i used a potato masher to mix butter and flour, why haven't i thought of this before?!







there were some minor difficulties in the process of getting this baked, but it tasted great. mom likes a rye crust better. the filling is chantarelles, onion and chives, sour cream and eggs







fried aubergine and grav whitefish on rye, you really ought to try this!







we didn't stay cooped up indoors the whole time, mom took the kids row boating. or should i say my nephew took my mom and niece for a boatride?







certain someone has been far away and is coming back sometime today. i'm anxious to see what i'll get as a souvenir...

is summer finally here?

i spent a few days at the cottage during the week with the kids. the weather finally turned warmer, the lake is still only +13C which is way too cold to swim in. but it's never (well, almost never) too cold for sauna, which you can see here







mom has a vegetable garden, not a big one, but she has. not like me, i'm still waiting for mine, snif. these here are potatoes, ways to go before they can be enjoyed. the lake seems to hinder growth in spring and early summer, on the other hand, it keeps frost away longer in autumn







tiny potato







regular salad







mom likes to thrust the stubbs of store bought salads into the soil to see if anything comes up... this romaine thought that it might be a good idea to grow some more







lingonberry seems to grow in curious plases







i thought the water was too cold, despite the sunshine!







the girls didn't seem to think so...







she so likes watermelon







the older niece is very handy with her, well, hands. she made this for the little one after sauna. she had such nice curls the next day







the older niece will be 15 in just a few days. she had some of her friends over, theme for the party was the 70s. this dress was my mom's. mom now thinks that it is way too short and thight, and does not understand how she could ever wear it in public

fish, fish, fish

this is how the fishing is done, on a relatively nice day. mom rows and dad tackles the nets. this past week has been super good, there's been almost too much fish







these here are whitefish







zander







perch







another whitefish







filees of perch, fried in butter, seasoned with just salt







grav whitefish, delicious!







i'm not done with the fish, yet. this is another version of zander in salt crust, this time there were 2 whitefish under as well







ready to be served, you'll only need nice rye bread or new potatoes to go with







there was so much whitefish that dad decided to smoke some, before going into the smoker







all fired up







all done, still in the smoke







close-up







my dad salts the fish only after smoking. there are differences in opinions as to how one should smoke fish. i know that dad uses alder shavings and sugar on the bottom of the smoker. some salt the fish before smoking, some smoke the fish right after cleaning, some let the "cure" for a few hours in the fridge.






i got to take some of the smoked fish with me. however, there is a limit on how much i can eat fish, no matter how good it is. guys at work were happy to get some change in the canteen food that they usually eat...