the moon & garden this morning

there it was, huge, sort of yellowish. more importantly, i remembered it was supermoon and went out to capture it.

it was miraculously light for a while, before the clouds came and ruined my view of the moon. i did go out later in the evening but only got glimpses of the moon behind the clouds passing by...

 there's been a lot of commotion at the shack lately (the county is digging for water mains) and you could see that this poor deer was rather confused of the changed scenery. i'm glad she didn't make a stop at my veggie patch!

this lilium martagon isn't doing so great. first, this spot used to be more shady but because of the digging for the water mains they had to cut down huge trees that cast a shadow to this spot. second and i don't know where they came but there's been a few uninvited guests in my lilies, namely scarlet lily beetles. nasty little buggers.

these blue babies are doing great, they pop up every summer, and are pretty as can be, campanula rotundifolia, the bluebell.

potatoes are doing great, no bugs (so far). will be interesting to see what the crop will be this year.

earlier in the summer i noticed that something is eating the leaves of my beets. wasn't sure whether it was rabbits or deer or maybe snails, but i figured a net of some sort (this is the same kind we use for berry bushes) would provide some protection. so far the nibbling has stopped. this year i'm growing carrots, parsnips, parsley root, yellow and red beets, and possibly a surprise because i yet again was too lazy to make notes on what i planted and where...

the corn isn't doing so great this year, hopefully they start growing soon or they won't be done when autumn comes. 

the shack sits partly on bedrock and they had to blast some of the rock in order to bury the water mains deep enough so that they don't freeze in the winter. certain someone had the crew bring the rubble to be used to extend the upper part of yard. the idea is to form a ledge of the blocks of rock, the crew will bring machines to do that. i'm already thinking what to plant on the ledge...

sigh. i'll just be quiet now.

the peony just is the most beautiful of flowers, especially the pink one. the pink ones have been in the garden for 20 odd years, their location isn't the most convenient but i don't dare move them. i planted the white one (actually 4 of them) about 5 yrs ago and this is the first time i get a blossom on any of them...

little foraging

hmpr, i knew all along that my computer problems were caused by a tiny tack someplace, a wrong place. and what do you know, it ended up being stupidly simple, frustrating!

anyways, spent the weekend before last at the cottage, little niece came along. first order was to go and admire the scenery...although very autumnal and stormy.

when the rain halted, mom, little niece and i headed into the forest to look for some mushrooms, which are abundant from all the rain we've been getting.

i've always wondered what kind of gremlins and goblins live under the fallen trees...little niece wondered the exact same thing!

love the shade of green in the moss.

mushroom! hmm, a chanterelle (cantharellus cibarius) past its prime. a very nice mushroom, but we were after something else...

...these! cantharellus tubaeformis, oops, it's now called craterellus tubaeformis, also known as yellowfoot, winter mushroom, or funnel chanterelle.

we were out for half an hour and got all this. there's plenty left...

wood being the major form of heating, piles and piles of firewood are needed during the winter.

the fall colors of aronia mitschurinii at my brother's house are blinding. the berries make great cordial packed with vitamins.

the crab apple is shedding leaves and the apples.

back at the shack we decided to dry the mushrooms for longer "shelf life". spread them an even layer on newspaper / paper towel in a dry place, covered loosely with a single layer of news paper and left to dry for a week. there are plenty other methods, we do this 'cause it's easy, and i'm all about easy...

...after a week the mushroom were all crackly and wrinkled.

they ended up in a jar and will be used in stews, sauces and risottos.

and for you fans of the dog. here's one instagrammed pic of him chilling with his smelly rat...

delicate to disaster

how is it that this can turn into...

...this...

...into this...

into this? we were away for a week and came home to find that a huge branch of the biggest of the apple trees had fallen off in a storm. not exactly a welcome you'd need after a week in the sun...

nevertheless, certain someone got the chain saw out and got to work. sad, sad job.

hard hat needed.

my method to the madness, crates for still good apples, wheel barrow for the not-good ones, another for bigger sticks (to be dried, chipped and used later in grilling or smoking) and a huge bag for leafy small branches.

one of the elder neighbors said this has been the stormiest and rainiest september in 50 yrs. it certainly was gloomy yesterday...

one of six (yes, 6!) barrow fulls going to the compost heap. no pigs around to feed, taking some to a colleague for her chicken, though.

found these curious formations when hauling the smaller branches to where they'll be burned.

most of the mess cleared out...

...but at least a half day's work ahead...to be done some day, when it's not raining...

certain someone thinks the big tree will still be ok after loosing the huge branch, i'm thinking maybe it's time to replace it. the trees must have been planted sometime in the early 1940s, because certain someone tells that they were big enough to climb on in late 1950s and early 1960s. if it comes to cutting it down, i know there will be a happy carpenter somewhere after the tree is properly dried and ready to be worked on...

monster beet and miracle potatoes

way back when i was busy planting everything, i did hide some potatoes in the dirt with hopes that we might get some new ones later in the summer. it was just days after i had planted the potatoes that i read one should not plant potatoes in soil that used to be grass. well, that's just what i had done, turned over the huge pieces of grass that i dug out while digging for the raised beds onto a patch...the soil under the grass seemed so good, full of fat worms...the reason for not planting was this tiny bugger/parasite that would end up eating and/or rotting the potatoes. as the seedling potatoes weren't a huge investment i decided not to worry. certain someone had been sure for days (if not weeks) that we wouldn't get a single potato...but low and behold! today we decided to take a look and maybe have for lunch...can you tell how happy i was to see these!

gloves would be advisable, but i find them a nuisance, unfortunately my hands are starting to show the wear...we only dug out 2 plants, plenty to boil for lunch.

i wish i had marked which kind of beet seeds i planted here, all of them got to be monsters like this one! there is no way to pickle these, no jar big enough...

i almost felt sad to dig it out.

on to the carrots...they've grown nicely, too.

got enough for lunch, they just need...

...a little wash, garden hose comes in handy...

...no scrubbing required!

what an amazing color! however, the picture really doesn't make justice to it, somehow reds don't turn out well in pics.

i got the recipe from elizabeth over instagram (don't you just love instagram!), it's very simple, just chick peas, onion, beets, vinegar and oil...

i decided to grate the beet by hand, not a very bright idea, the kitchen looked like someone was butchered there...

but how sweet the beet was! i ended up using red wine vinegar and one of my better olive oils in the salad. certain someone has had some issues with chick peas (how can anyone have issues with peas?) and has not gladly eaten them before. i loved this salad, thanks E!

i did not do a single thing to the carrots, the chicken i browned in rapeseed oil, the potatoes had to have some butter on them. very simple and easy lunch in 20 mins, from the garden to table...being able to eat veggies that i grew myself is curiously satisfying!