Whew! Just when I should have been posting more pictures of beautiful produce & waxing poetic about all my "green" advances, I got outta dodge. Plenty of fun, vacation photos & silly memories but my garden was a little disappointed with my behavior & acted out. Green & wax beans took over the joint. As did some seriously, mammoth, white marigolds. This left my one, lonely eggplant woefully sun-deprived. One, measly eggplant does not a baba ganoush make. And don't even get me started on the biggest trouble maker of the bunch...my tomatoes. In the end, I planted 5 different varieties. My Rampapo gave me a handful of early summer beauties. Now, however, it mocks me with a few pieces of green fruit. Last summer I threw some pots on the patio with tomatoes & we couldn't eat them fast enough. So, did my absenteeism cause this revolt or the relentless, sweltering heat? To ease my troubled mind, I am choosing the latter.
In the meantime, I have plans. There are the "BIG PLANS", prohibited by time, energy & a baseball diamond in my backyard. These are the stuff of my daydreams. Greenhouses, brambles, garden paths...all set for a fluid time in the future. And then, the little plans. Step by step, lesson by lesson. Planning for the height of each plant a bit better. Moving a sprinkler a hair to the right. More carrots (they were absolutely fabulous!).
One thing is for certain, I will not give up that easily.

show off

While everyone is talking about the crazy housewives, new jersey or new york...does it matter? (yes, I've indulged!) I am currently obsessed with The Fabulous Beekman Boys on planet green. It's a new docu-series which just sprouted in June. Want a little drama? Follow a former Martha Stewart V.P. & a drag queen turned ad man on their adventure from new york city slickers to organic farmers.

Josh & Brent are just like most married couples I know. Opposites. Josh seems to prefer life a little more loose & carefree (could be the drag queen in him), while Brent has a list a mile long always at the ready (martha, martha, martha). He even cleans the pigs off before a party. And, of course, they bicker. About money, chores, & their "kids", just to name the basics. Add into the mix a crazy llama, herd of goats, escaping piglets & a real life farmer and you get a very funny look at some pretty cool subjects. Sustainability, eating organic & local, raising animals humanely, connecting to the earth & your neighbors. What more could you want? "Skinny girl" margaritas? Ok, I get that. Have one while you watch.

I look forward to seeing what these boys do next...Think they will adopt me? Probably not. I"ll just have to settle on shaking their hands at Terrain on July 10th. Curious? It's a reading, book signing & conversation about their book...The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentleman Farmers

Oh, I almost forgot, for more drama you can visit the website...

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/the-fabulous-beekman-boys/the-fabulous-beekman-boys-leave-the-city-behind-in-a-new-reality-show.html

One of their friends is James Frey. Remember the author that Oprah made cry? Yup, that's the one. He writes a little bit about his dynamic duo buddies after each episode. Fact or fiction, you decide.

stops & starts

My garden is in the anticipation stage. And, oh, boy are we ever!

Just back from a waterlogged camping trip, I ducked out the back door to check on my green babies. Some didn't fair well. RIP my lovely strawberry plant. You will be missed. But this loss was off-set by all the promising green. The Rampapo tomato is taking over the far end of the plot giving the string beans a run for their money.
Peppers are prospering! And lots of leafy lush-ness is spilling out & over the sides of my raised bed. Carrot & beet greens continue to climb skyward. We have even harvested some bush beans. And hidden under all the promised bounty a little purple gem...eggplant. It's so cute. I am a proud momma.

Now back to work!

not so green

My poor strawberry plant didn't have as much fun while I was away as I did. Stating the obvious here. It was a good little plant too. Plenty of plump, ripe berries eaten right off the vine with plenty of red-stained fingers to prove it. This plant was to be the grandfather to all our future generations of berries. Big plans were hatched in my head for a strawberry patch, bushel of blueberries & bramble of raspberries. Dream big or go home, I say. Piece of advice...when dreaming don't forget to insert a back-up watering plan in with the visions of grandeur!

Well, I guess it's all part of my learning curve. Next year strawberries are going right in the ground. And Tom will (fingers crossed) be busy building me another beautiful raised bed to start everything early. And I have my mind set on a watering wizard...real, not imagined. In the meantime, we are taking better care of his younger sibling!

friend or foe

Well, if you ask me foe! The current state of my garden is a bit sad. With the warm weather & lettuce bolting. But the worst of it... I lost 4 plants to a little covert operator. He started out so tiny, it seemed impossible for the polka dot holes all over my broccoli & brussel sprout plants to have been created by him. But he had family stop by for the feast! I picked about 4 isty-bitsy green caterpillars off & carefully brushed all the little black dots, which I had learned from one of my garden gurus were eggs, yuck! Not pleasant business, I tell ya. But necessary for the survival of my brassica oleracea (ha, I looked it up!) plants. And I was done with that or so I thought.

Still more holes appeared & more black specks so my hunting expedition continued. I had to pull plants for fear of widespread damage. And when I thought all were vacated into the vegetative waste barrel, a rogue was spotted. He tried to make his escape by rolling down into the soil but I wasn't having it!! My fingers were poised for proper squashing when a reprieve came.

My sweet William felt such reverence for the fat-off-my-garden caterpillar he created quite a bug oasis in a not so old sidewalk chalk container. The container was quite new actually, but had been upended in haste on our basement floor to accommodate the leaf munching maven. It was a Greenpeace moment in my very backyard. I apparently played the part of big corporation, that's irony for ya.

Not sure the life expectancy of these invasive pests but our little buddy hung around in captivity for a few days until Will decided to set him free. I told him he could only be released far away from my little cultivated plot. Will & his shadow of a sister made their way to the end of the block to accommodate my wishes. I worried about someone else's broccoli but needlessly. Poor guy was already dead for his march :( Will saved this information only for me, as he knew his sister would have been truly upset. Like I said sweet.

stop the mail chatter

A friend & I were talking about the whole excess catalog issue today (other topics were discussed. But what happens at the coffee shop, stays at the coffee shop!) Not only am I drawn to spend more money when these glossy marketing mavins grace my mailbox but the recycle bin becomes too heavy to get to the curb. Yes, I have not been to the gym lately but come on.

You may remember my inital efforts to stop the multiple catalog madness. And now all but a trickle of catalogs remain in the post. For full discolure though, I admit to have a stash of the old ones in case of emergency. And frankly, with the internet, they haven't really been missed.

Currently I am working on expelling the last of the tenacious little buggers. Feel free to join me in a little precycling by visiting the above sites. (if I did the whole techno-link thingy right)

cup o joe

Synergy. That's all I can say. I am the lucky recipient of a collaboration between weather, illness & a chance encounter. Does this sound intriguing or just downright depressing? Well, while you think about it let me explain.

My little one, Elise, has been running a fever for a full 24 hours. Never fun, right? But behold the power of Motrin (the cvs brand, folks. I do stay informed about recalls)) & on demand movies. So that is under control. At least for the moment.

The weather happens to generate an inner dialogue (global warming anyone?) with all it's blustery frigidness & now the rain. But again coupled with a "under the weather" kid, I get a pass to stay in pjs all day, do laundry & catch up on my dvr-ed shows.

Now for the key ingredient. The reason for finding myself delighted in the face of a not so ideal situation. Coffee. Not just the random bag stuffed at the back of my freezer in case of brain fog or general malaise. This elixir came from a fragrant brown bag of glossy whole beans on offer at the headhouse farmer's market.

I was lucky enough to visit the market this past sunday, mom's day. My stop at the coffee stand was really by gravitation pull. I was in line to acquire a couple of loaves of bread from Wild Flour Bakery. The asiago cheese & sundried tomato polenta loaf is amazing! It went perfect with our free range london broil & local asparagus. Oh & the salad greens from our garden (let's hope everything in my garden grows as beautifully!) Bonus my husband cooked it all!!

But back on subject. The recycled brown bags of Joe's coffee stood shoulder to shoulder waiting to be deployed into service. Not only did I walk away with a cup of freshly roasted deliciousness but also a bag of El Salvador & even Market Day canele. It just kept getting better. Joe's coffee is organic, fair trade and sustainable with minimal compost-able packaging. And the taste. mmmmmm, mmmm. The simple pack states "floral, chocolate frangrance & honey". I say heaven!

So even though I miss the cast of characters & lively conversation in my local coffee shop, I am just fine. Sitting here warming my hands on my favorite mug of joe.