Future Fruits of Our Labors

Well i hope there will be some fruits. Namely Peaches. Some of you may remember last year our posting about the peaches we (finally) got from our lone Georgia Bell Peach tree and the delicious Peach Pies. You may also remember my search for more Georgia Bells and how futile it was. WELL this year our local Rose’s (like a Wally World but cheaper) got a whole shipment of them so we bought two and a Wine Sap Apple. For the last few weeks they have been hanging out in the green house with the spinach, but yesterday it finally was warm enough to set them out. Tomorrow we are scheduled to get 1.5-2.0 inches of rain so they will be well watered in.

 

Here they are getting a ride from JD to their new home in the orchard.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the first location before and after removing the Chick Weed which covers the plot in the winter.

 

 

 

 

The hole and the tree in the hole. It may look dry here but, our ground is extremely wet this time of the year. In fact our water table (ground water) right now is is about two feet. Dig down two feet and you are in water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is one of our Peach trees all set in and staked and banded. This area is at the end of the property and is shielded from all but East winds. Of course that is what we’ve been having lately to 35 mph so they got extra banding for support.This brings the orchard up to three apples, three peaches, and one pear (which hasn’t done much in the last three years). With luck we will have another good year from Peach #1. Peach #2 & #3 will not be allowed to set fruit this year so it will direct more energy to good root development. Next is peach pie (i hope).

A House is Not a Home . . .

The lyrics written by composer Burt Bacharach kept going through my head while I was preparing this post. You may recall some lyrics to the song popularized by vocalist Dionne Warwick in the 1960s:

A chair is still a chair
Even when there's no one sitting there
But a chair is not a house
And a house is not a home . . . 

A room is still a room
Even when there's nothing there but gloom;
But a room is not a house,
And a house is not a home . . . 

For several years, Grenville and I would take long drives along the back roads of the VA eastern shore, especially when we first relocated here from NJ. It always amazed us – and still does – when we would come across homes abandoned by their former owners. Grenville would comment that “a good paint job and some windows were all that were needed.” Sadly, most of these homes would need a lot more attention and work – and love as well.

Abandoned farmhouses are a common sight along back roads.

Some would be lone sentries left standing in the fields, which years ago could have been family homesteads on productive farms.

Other homes would be well hidden by years of overgrowth, so that you really have to search for to see them.

Some come with a view – from all sides – claimed either by the passage of time or ravaged by fire and left standing to slowly disintegrate.

Many are left standing in open fields as if the former residents simply walked away.

This abandoned house provided a glimpse into the lives of former owners who left behind their belongings.

This house showed unfinished construction on the left side.

All the photographs shown in this post were taken either from the street or using a zoom lens. No private property was trespassed on and many of these houses can still be seen today – several years AFTER these photos were taken.

House Finches

In late December, there was a gathering of House Finches around the backyard feeders. The numbers thinned in January and February, but last week they were seen again at the feeders, although not yet in the numbers seen earlier. These photos were taken last December. More detailed information on House Finches can be found here.

During the winter, House Finches form medium to large flocks, often mixing with other small birds including American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins and House Sparrows.
House Finches are aggressive enough to drive other birds away from the feeders.
Like all  other finches in its family, the House Finch is dichromatic by gender, which means that males and females are distinguishable by differences in color. And like many songbirds, the male house finch is the one that sports the colorful plumage.

Adult males vary in color from orange yellow to bright red. The color is derived from carotenoid pigments obtained from their diet of seeds, flowers, and fruits and added to the feathers during normal periods of feather replacement.

Studies have shown that brightly colored males are more successful at attracting mates than duller males (so what else is new?)

Brightly colored males also survive the winter better – wonder why.
During courtship, the male will touch bills with the female and may then present the female with choice bits of food and, if she imitates the posture of a hungry chick, actually feed her. The male also feeds the female during the breeding and incubation of both eggs and young,and the male is the primary feeder of the fledglings.House finches are monogamous. The female will incubate a brood of 3-6 eggs for 12-14 days, and both parents feed the altricial (birds that hatch naked and blind, lacking any feathers) young for 12-19 days. A pair may raise 1-3 broods per year, with multiple broods more common in southern populations. (Altricial birds include most songbirds, including American robins, northern cardinals and blue jays.)

Female House Finches have blurrier streaks and grayer undersides than their male counterparts.
Originally residents of Mexico and the southwestern U.S., House Finches were introduced to eastern North America in the 1940s.
The eastern population is descended from cage birds released near NYC in the 1940s. The birds were sold illegally and marketed as “Hollywood Finches.”  To avoid prosecution under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, vendors and owners released the birds.

They quickly started breeding and spread across almost all of the eastern U.S. and southern Canada within the next 50 years.

Rainy Day – Perfect for Reading and Soup

As Grenville said in an earlier post, today is a rainy Sunday, perfect for sitting down with a good read. Minding Frankie, is the latest and highly enjoyable book by Irish writer Maeve Binchey. She is one of my favorite authors; reading her books is like spending time with familiar friends “met” in her earlier books. In a previous post, I mentioned how much Grenville and I printed books. Curling up with an electronic reader  just isn’t something to do on a rainy day – or any other day, at least for us.

Did I mention it was raining a LOT?

Great day to try a new soup recipe to enjoy for dinner with salad and homemade wheat bread. Scratched that last item, because the South Beach recipe is NOT worth posting. This loaf is going to the feeders for unwelcome visitors – starlings and grackles.

This Bean and Chicken Soup recipe was in a free magazine, Nature’s Place, available monthly in our local supermarket and published by Taste forLife. The website has recipes and healthy eating tips.

In the freezer this week, I found a package of pre-cooked chicken, leftover from a recent dinner. I read the recipe through and opted not to use pesto, since it’s not one of Grenville’s favorites and rarely on hand. Instead, I substituted a package of frozen chopped spinach. NO need to defrost it first. Also, I used a tbsp of jarred, minced garlic, no cloves available.

White Bean, Chicken and Pesto Spinach Soup
Prep time – 40 minutes; serves 8 or fewer with leftovers

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (this gives it a kick – omit if you prefer)
• 6 C low-sodium chicken broth (stock if you have it)
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
• 2 cans (14-19 oz) cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 C shredded cooked chicken
• ¼ C store-bought pesto (optional)
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar (see Note)

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add onion and sauté until softened.
2. Add celery, carrot, garlic, oregano and cayenne, sauté for about 2 minutes.
3. Stir in stock, salt and black pepper and simmer until vegetables are softened, about 20 minutes.
4. Add beans, chicken, 2 TBSPS of pesto (if using) and all of the vinegar OR add in frozen spinach.
5. Heat until steaming. Taste and adjust seasonings, as needed.
6. Serve in bowls and garnish with remaining pesto (if using).

NOTE: seasoning with a little vinegar at the end of cooking heightens the soup’s flavor. While most cooks only season with salt and pepper, a little acid can make the soup taste “just right.”

Happy Mardis Gras Weekend to ALL!!!!

And what a weekend it has been here at the F&P. Yesterday was a fun filled day of ‘patio pulling up and re-laying’ for me and some serious weeding for Beatrice along with regular yard chores. The patio we laid last year in the wild flowers was over taken by the wild flowers so i decided that it needed to be realigned and made a little bigger. The first attempt made a month ago was a dismal failure due to rushing the project and a lack of sand for the base. This time i had 21 bags of sand (and used it all). AND now the pavers are facing the correct direction and the high spots have been removed. AND the audio connections were completed so the shop radio now goes all the way to the ’Wild Patio’. The rock in the upper right corner is one of the speakers.
Of course lets not forget what spring in the country is famous for…. ‘Manure Season’ or as we fondly term it for the tourists ‘Ode De Spring’. We only got 240 lbs this trip since the poor truck was loaded with 1000 lbs of sand. Wednesday we will pick up the rest and hopefully get it spread and tilled in next week. 
Being Mardis Gras weekend we went to our favorite restaurant



 
“Annie’s, where butter is a food group” for their Mardis Gras special buffet. There’s not many places here on the  shore (none to be exact) where you  can get fresh home made CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE. Now i am not a big CRAWDADDY fan, at least not when i have to suck them out of the shell, BUT Chef Matt’s Etouffee was great. And lets not forget the blackened Catfish, Jambalaya, Gumbo, and Fried Gator. All topped off with some King Kake (neither of us got the baby). As always, i over ate and on leaving told Chef Matt he had to stop cooking as good as we do or i would never loose weight. He said NO!!!!!
Breakfast this morning was our usual Sunday Treat  (as if we really needed another after last night) of pancakes. Today’s were Cranberry  Pancakes. Almost as good as ones right out of the Bogs at Double Trouble NJ.
 
So what is up for today?????? Some serious digesting, reading, relaxing (raining here today) then off to the ‘Y’ and a long soak in the Hot Tub after yesterdays fun, and a quick stop at Wally-World on the way home. Tonight is Chicken Bean Soup, Fresh Spinach Salad, and fresh Wheat Bread. Watch for Beatrice’s post. Hope that your Sunday is a great Sunday.
Grenville

The Answer – Fiber Rush

This challenge proved not so much a dilemma for several folks. The answer is fiber rush.

CONGRATS to Possum, Kjell and Marty for knowing that this stuff is used for the webbing on chairs or footstools. Double kudos to Possum for knowing its name – at least half of it.

We watched a local artists using it for this footstool at last weekend’s Heritage Festival.

Fiber rush is a twisted cord man-made from top-quality and chemically treated kraft paper, twisted and used mostly to weave chair/stool seats. (Sandra you were very close too.)

Note: An on-line search showed 2 spellings: fiber and fibre. It’s also called “creative twist” or “paper wicker.”

NOTE: The information below is from the website The Wicker Woman by Cathryn Peters. Ms. Peters is an expert on  wicker furniture restoration, chair seat weaving and antler basket artistry. More photos and information can be viewed on her website.

Fiber rush was invented in the U.S. in 1904, and emulated Victorian wicker furniture made from imported rattan reed.

In the early 1900s to the late 1930s, it was used primarily in the construction and manufacturing of wicker furniture from the early 1900s to the late 1930s. At the turn of the 20th century, an embargo was placed on the importation into the U.S. of rattan reed coming from the Orient. Since rattan reed was in such short supply, manufacturers of wicker furniture using reed or rattan had to come up with an alternative material.

This new paper material was attractive to wooden chair manufacturers who had woven chair seats with natural cattail leaf rush or bulrush. Both of these products were labor intensive in processing and weaving. When paper fiber rush became available, it was used as a replacement for the natural rush seats on ladder-back Colonial style chairs, mule-ear style chairs, Hitchcock and similar chairs.

What is This? #6 of 2011

The last challenge, a building what is this? was a change of pace. Now, it’s time to get back to the usual challenge of (sometimes) unusual things or objects.

Can you figure out what this is ?

Hints: this was something seen at an event that we recently attended. It’s a man-made item used to make (or repair) other items that come in very handy.

And, it has nothing to do with Grenville’s projects, planting or otherwise. In fact, it’s not even something either of us have used or know how to use.

Maybe this challenge will stump past “winners” Sandra, Rusty, Possum, Ginnie, Technogran.

Check back tomorrow for the answer.

PRIZES ? Glad you asked (or not) since Grenville mentioned needing help with spreading manure and moving some pavers.

Mourning Doves

Mourning Doves are beautiful, gentle birds that often visit our backyard feeders. They usually perch on the utility wires or the back patio. Most times, they forage for dropped seeds on the ground below the feeders.

This couple was hanging out around the feeders today. They had been freshly filled with a mix that included safflower and sunflower seed, two of their favorite food groups.

The Mourning Dove is monogamous and forms strong pair bonds and often remain together. More information can be found at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

More Fun on the Fen

Yes, today was another fun day on Mutton Hunk Fen. The project today was to finish planting 160 Oak trees. Of the 100 we planted today most were Water Oaks Quercus nigra.  The rest were one of my favorites from a wood turning point of view, Southern Red Oak Quercus falcata.

 

 

About half of my day was on a tractor moving the trees from a pile onto a trailer. Then we took them out to the fields you saw last time and planted them in pre drilled holes. There was a lot of ‘healing’ them in since the wind up there is non stop this time of year. On the up side i picked up 50 discarded tomato stakes made from cedar. They will be great in the garden this year.

On the way home i had stopped and picked up 21 bags of sand (it was 3 for $10 so i was going for a nice even number so the girls at the register didn’t have to hurt themselves figuring what 2 bags would cost) plus 6 bags of cow manure. The sand will be used to enlarge and finish a patio out in the wild flower meadow. The manure will go into the veggie beds to balance them out a little. After loading all that i got home and just parked the truck out near where i will be using all of this.

Next week we get to build a parking lot just to the left of the building near the road. What fun!!!!!

Grenville (looking for the Tylenol)

Hospital - The Answer

It’s the local hospital - Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital in Nassawadox, VA.
Cheers to Rusty for getting it right, even though he was doubtful about his first thought – always go with your first impressions!
Tied in second place were Dogsmom and Christer, although they also were doubtful about their first answer – and who can blame them. This is definitely not the nicest looking hospital facility.

Several folks guessed this was a library, or courthouse, perhaps due to the unusual window design. A friend explained that this was to keep people inside.
This hospital is about 20 years old and plans are underway to build a replacement within the next few years. Good news is it will be closer to the Frog & PenguINN.

Thanks, everyone for having some fun with this and Congrats again, Rusty.