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“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” - Abraham Lincoln

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garden notes 2007/2008 comparisons

I have canned 40 quarts of tomatoes since Sept 1st. I am done (hallelujah!) basically other than whatever Amish paste tomatoes remain. Having taken a good look at the garden this morning it was clear that the Brandywine and Cherokee Purple are done producing as is the zucchini. Our peppers that appeared to fail early on and give us little to nothing in the way of edible fruit have suddenly decided to grow and produce! So, I will get a few peppers before the season is over.

The weather has been weird this year. Yeah I know we say that every year, but this year I mean exceptionally weird. August has been crazier than any August I can remember. All month the weather has jumped from high to low, with say two days of high heat and humidity followed by a week of fall weather with highs in the 60's. That's the trouble with gardening, you never know what the weather will bring or what you're going to reap in the end.

I decided to do a quick 2007/2008 garden comparison. I've highlighted a few things we've tried or learned.

• In 2007 all my plants were homegrown from seed and pretty small when they were planted. Plant time in 07 was the first week of June. I was canning tomatoes in July. The 2008 garden was planted the weekend prior to Labor day so we got it in a week to a week and a half sooner this year plus all my plants were commercially grown and much bigger and more established so you'd think they would have produced sooner, wouldn't you? They actually produced 2 weeks later and this year, even with the timely planting it was August before I had enough of anything to can. I think things started out slowly because the cool spring weather kept the ground colder longer than normal. Later things slowed down again a time or two due to unseasonably cool spells.
  
• 2007 peppers went crazy, both hot and sweet. This year all my beautiful pepper plants lost their blossoms and withered up...until now that is. We are wondering now if they just didn't get pollinated so the blossoms died rather than bearing fruit. Just a thought since the honey bees are scarce these days. Maybe it was the cooler weather, can't say for sure.
  
• Last year we planted San Marzano paste tomatoes and had a problem with blossom end rot on just this bunch. This year we planted Amish paste in the same location and had no problems. BUT, when we planted we added a scoop full of crushed egg shells to the holes before setting the plants in. So, was it the calcium in the egg shells that prevented blossom end rot or were the Amish Paste less susceptible? I'll be darned if I know, but I'm going to do the egg shell thing again next year just to be on the safe side.
• In 2007 we were bombarded with horn worms in our tomatoes. This year we planted a patch of dill just beyond the garden to attract beneficial brachonid wasps (which it did very nicely) and had little to any problem with horn worms. Coop found one large horn worm but it was covered in wasp larvae so we left it alone. That's what you want to see!
• Cucumbers and winter squash started out well both years and then dwindled out before they could produce a real good crop. Vine borers are the culprit. Considering injectable nematodes next year.
• We had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year, far more than last with fewer plants. But this year we mulched the tomatoes and were sure glad we did especially with the number of dry spells we had. Also last year we turned the garden soil then tilled it again just prior to planting. This year we chose to turn the soil by tilling much more shallowly to lessen the disturbance of the ecosystem and doing so early, giving nature time to re-establish its natural eco-system before we planted. We then then did a shallow hand cultivation just prior to planting so as not to destroy it. With less disturbance it was natural that we saw a lot more earth worms inhabiting the soil when planting. Despite the wacky weather and blossom loss on the peppers we actually had a better garden than last year with overall higher production.
• Beans....last year we planted Blue Lake green beans in the main garden and they did beautifully, producing nearly all summer. This year we planted Contender and they did well but not as prolific as the Blue Lake. Later in the year we planted Blue Lake in our secondary garden next to cukes. Bad idea!! Now we know that the cucumber bugs like green beans as well and never to plant the beans so close to cukes or squash.

In addition to repeating the procedures that seemed to be beneficial and not repeating those things that were detrimental, next year we'll add flowers directly to the garden to attract pollinators.

Also, before I end this let me recommend one book that helped us identify some problems and should be in every gardeners library, "The Organic Gardeners Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control" from Rodale Press. It's an invaluable reference.

all in one day home improvements

Just the other day I was a bitchin about not having any bathroom cabinets and then...

my dear husband remedied that situation by repurposing two kitchen cabinets that were taking up room in the barn. Then he decided to put in a cupboard and counter space where none had ever been before.

It's not an exact match to our pre-existing cupboards but it works for me! Is he a great guy or what?

the nature of things

nature's pentagram...btw Paula Red apples are great pie making apples.

nature's oddity...or maybe this Marglobe tomato was just happy to see me.

HSBC - the bank that giveth, the bank that taketh away

Coop and I have two credit cards. One is from a warehouse type store where, when necessary we purchase major items at a significant savings, things such as tires for the car. The other is your basic all purpose major credit card we keep in case of emergencies. We use it occasionally to keep it active and then pay the bill in full immediately upon arrival. Let me rephrase that...we used to use it occasionally. Today when I tried to use it, my credit card was denied. I assumed it was just a glitch in the system and thought nothing more about...that is until the mail came. That is when I received the following notice telling me that I "no longer have access to any of my card benefits" and to "please discard any cards associated with this account". At least they said "please".

It seems the account has been closed because of inactivity. That more correctly should have read "inadequate activity according to our preconceived idea of what determines a credit worthy account holder." Obviously when they kept raising my limit and I didn't raise my spending level, they decided my account was not worth more than the paper this cancellation notice was written on.

We'll manage without the credit, we do a fine job of it already. It was just nice to have that shiny little card in my purse in the event of an emergency situation. I would even have been willing to pay an annual fee to keep it active since they weren't making much off my purchases and nothing off interest or finance charges. I get that. I wasn't given the option of an annual fee. In fact I wasn't given any option. Sorry Mrs. Cooper, you're just too darn responsible to have access to that kind of credit so we're just going to take it all away. How do you like those apples? They've left a somewhat sour taste in my mouth.

August 2008 Independence Summery

Well here it is, my August summery, but first things first. I have to share this somewhat fuzzy photo of my largest Brandywine to date.

If you recall the last one I showed you weighed 1 pound 11 ounces. Well this baby came in at 2 pounds 2 ounces! It was darn tasty, too!

Planting, Harvesting & Preserving –

Planted fall crop of romaine lettuce.

Still harvesting garden produce on regular basis for fresh eating and preserving. Harvesting winter squash. Harvested elderberries.

Canned 31 quarts of tomatoes, 15 quarts spaghetti sauce, 5 pints ketchup, 7 pints pickles, 11 pints sweet relish, 12 quarts tomato juice, 21 half pints hot sauce.

spaghetti sauce simmering

Froze 11 very full quarts elderberries, 15 bags squash (some zucchini, some summer squash), green peppers, hot peppers, 19 bags of green beans. I really wanted to can the beans but never had enough at one time to warrant doing that. Baked and froze 4 loaves zucchini bread, excess tomatoes.

Dried 3 pints Amish Paste tomatoes, 1 quart mixed hot [peppers, 1 pint sweet peppers.

Preparedness & Planning – Added purchased canned goods to reserves.

Managing household & reserves – Coop put together a much needed set of shelves in the cellar to store the canned good on in an orderly fashion. He also repaired cellar stairway with new concrete.

Keeping it Local – Eating from our garden daily, purchasing dairy products, fresh sweet corn from local Amish, purchased apples, sweet peppers and melon from local farmers market, sharing garden produce with neighbors and family.

Learned New Skill or Tried Something New – infusing elderberries for tincture as I write this, concocted a recipe for chutney using ground cherries.

Misc. & Handcrafting – yeah right. : ) Working occasionally on that afghan while planning a few projects for fall.

Ohio's Great Serpent Mound

Located east of Cincinnati in Adams County Ohio, the Great Serpent Mound is one of the finest effigy mounds and the largest of its kind in the world. It is located atop a ridge that over looks the Ohio Brush Creek. Serpent Mound averages about 1330 feet in length and 3 feet in height. Representing an unwinding serpent, the mound is sheathed in mystery and controversy. The serpent is thought by most to be about to swallow an egg. There is still controversy over the origins and dating of this historical site but evidence now suggests it dates back to the Hopewell culture from around 100 b.c.-500 a.d.

Our trip to Serpent Mound was taken on August 23rd. Intrigued by the mystery surrounding Serpent Mound, I was glad for the opportunity to visit it despite the 95 degree heat of the day. I have to say I am still surprised by the number of Ohioans unaware of its existence.

Our day started early, leaving the house by 6:30 Am to meet with the kids at their place, an hour and a half southwest of us. From there we traveled about another three hours taking the winding state routes until we arrived at Serpent Mound. Once there we began with a picnic lunch under the pavilion.

had brought along a few of my crystals and stones (as did Kandice) to lay out and charge near the mound while having lunch.

Coop & I in front of one of the conical mounds on the site.

After lunch we headed up to the lookout tower to get an overview of the Serpent.


From there, we decided to take the hike into the valley below, the site of the meteorite impact that occurred 250 to 300 million years ago.

A fraction of the way down I was sure I had better turn around and head back. Despite looking wide and welcoming in the photo above, the path narrowed significantly and I was losing my equilibrium making me quite wary of proceeding, especially since there was no guard rail along the edge of the path to prevent a tumble down the side into the depths of the valley below. Yikes! But not wanting to be a wussy as well as not wanting to miss the opportunity, I trudged on. I mean really, how often does one get the opportunity to walk through a meteorite impact site? Unfortunately I was unable to enjoy the view much at all because every time I looked down into the valley below I again lost my equilibrium. So I focused on the path ahead of me and ventured on and made it out alive and well. : ) Despite not seeing as much of the landscape as I would have liked, I was very proud of myself personally for making the hike. I could have easily turned back and chickened out but instead, moved on past my fear of falling. I also didn’t die of a heart attack or heat stroke either, which I thought quite fortunate and impressive in my heat exhausted, wobbly condition.

Looking up at the bedrock walls of the impact site.

Cave beneath the serpent

Cliff below the serpent's tail

On our way out at the end of the hike. The path widens again, there is a fence, I feel safe. Safe enough in fact to turn around and snap this photo, lol! (Call me a cissy, I don't care.)

Once out of the valley and off the trail we made our way around the Great Serpent. My pictures don't capture the serpent well. Aside from the mound having eroded over the years, the terrain was so dry and brown the photos just don't show good definition.

The Great Serpents tail.

The egg at the serpents mouth

The serpents mouth (left) swallowing the egg to the right

Near the serpent's mouth was this sign

and just beyond was this observation deck high above the impact site where we'd hiked prior.
That's my grandaughter Destiny.

Coop at the observation deck . I took this photo of Coop against the tree tops for perspective.

Afterwords we rested at a picnic table. That was when we noticed a fellow at the front of the museum, displaying geometrical drawings and chatting with visitors. Once rested, we ventured in that direction as the drawings showing geometric layouts and correlation to the stars and constellation Dracos were intriguing to say the least.

I would love to go into a detailed account of the science, astronomy and geometry associated with Serpent Mound, much of what was shared by Ross Hamilton on our visit that Saturday. However, some of the it is far better summed up by Ross, so I highly suggest reading some of the PDFs available on his website. Ross has researched Serpent Mound for a number of years and authored several projects on Serpent Mound and ancient North American culture.

The information shared by Ross Hamilton was primarily in regard to astrological alignments and geometric patterns coinciding with the Great Serpent. This fascinated me because of my interest in Sacred Geometry and the Golden Ratio.

Other interesting facts pertaining to the geographic location of Serpent Mound as well as its apparent connection to the Hopewell culture and sacred astronomy and geometry can be found here and here.

All in all it was an interesting day and I’m glad I got to take part in it despite the heat and the long and winding drive into southern Ohio.