Saturday, June 12, 2021

Growing And Gritching


Yesterday evening after the rain stopped, the light was so beautiful and I went on a little picture-taking expedition. This one was really just right outside my back porch where the chickens had gathered in their pre-roost walk-around. Those are the same steps that I fell down last summer resulting in the broken ribs. You can see that Mr. Moon put skid-resistant strips on them but I am still very, very cautious when I go down them, no longer flying down them as if I was an indestructible dancer. 

From the garden:

Banana peppers hanging like Christmas ornaments. 


There's a part of the garden. You can see tomatoes, peppers, Delicata squash (I have big hopes for that), and more tomatoes. All of those to the right are the cherry tomatoes. On the back fence there are some cucumbers. 


To the left are field peas of some sort, then two different types of basil and more peas. 



One of the first baby cucumbers. If we only get an actual cucumber from every fifth blossom, there still won't be enough canning jars in all of northwest Florida to hold the pickles I am going to theoretically make. This may be one of those years I attempt a batch of Glen's mother's sweet pickles which I always describe as having every molecule of cucumber replaced with sugar. Their preparation requires a vat and two weeks worth of alchemic magic. 
As one would only imagine. 

Today I've felt as if I've flopped onto the bed of despair and can't get up. I have no idea what's wrong with me. I've felt as unenergetic and old and sore as I did the other day after my hot walk. I slept late and then later laid down to read a New Yorker magazine and fell asleep. The bread I'd made up the dough for last night was in the oven and thank god I had set my phone timer for just that situation. If I had not, I would have overcooked it even more than I did. 


It is more a monolith of bread than it is a loaf and I would hate for it to be inedible. I made it with some leftover mashed potatoes and parmesan cheese and by this morning, my sourdough starter from the wild yeast of Lloyd had risen it prodigiously in the bowl. 
We shall call it artisan once again, which insinuates that I meant to do that as dear Peewee Herman used to say. He may still say it but I haven't spoken with him lately. 

Remember when I vowed to mop my kitchen floor today? Well, I did it. I swept twice and mopped twice. So there is that. It honestly does not look much different but it smells so nicely of white vinegar and Fabuloso. A few months ago I read something on Facebook about scrubbing the kitchen floor on hands and knees with a brush and I could not believe the number of women who responded that that was the only way to truly get your floor clean. I added my two cents to the conversation by saying, "Who needs their kitchen floor to be that clean? You're only going to walk on it."
I don't know. Perhaps some people (i.e. women, mostly) have taken kitchen floor surgery on friends and animals as a hobby. 
Well, not me, baby. But for a few moments in time, my kitchen floor (and the floor of the adjoining bathroom and pantry) are relatively dirt free. 

Mr. Moon was going to grill us some fish tonight but it has been raining again and everything is quite wet outside so I think I'll make some spaghetti to go with the bread. The rain was beautiful. I was picking beans and cherry tomatoes and banana peppers in the garden when the wind came up and began to whip the magnolia leaves into a rusty-sounding frenzy and I got into the house just before the skies let loose. Although the rain is always a joy to me, perhaps it is the weather change that has me feeling this old and sore and tired. 
Who knows? 
Not me. 

Love...Ms. Moon

24 comments:

  1. Some days are better than others. I feel achy and tired today with a headache but it's not from the vaccination the other day. Or is it? Who knows?

    We have the little guy all weekend. In addition to the pool, he has three water guns, one is a like a pump action shotgun and he has amazingly good aim for a two year old. Got me and poppa. He chased me around the yard shooting at me little bugger. There was a lot of screaming and laughing. I was screaming and he was laughing:)

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    1. What wouldn't it be from the vaccination, when that's the most commonly reported side effect?

      Take care of yourself for the next few days.

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    2. Why do little children get so hysterically happy when they're chasing the Bigs with water guns? It's just a fact of life, I guess. I'm sorry you're not feeling well. I hope you're better today.
      And Jo- it could be a vaccination reaction but from what I've seen, read and experienced, that usually happens in like the second day after the shot. But who knows?

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  2. that is a beautiful garden. I was at another beautiful garden last evening at Hesed House. the woman has magic fingers is all I can say. a post is planned on it.

    all I've done today is the dishes and this time the accumulated foil and ziplock bags. it only took me three sessions to get it all done. and I'm with you on the kitchen floor. when I mop (hahahaha) it's with a wet dish towel and my foot.

    and I did some watering outside. you wouldn't think that after nearly two weeks of rain almost every day that I would already have to be watering out there.

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    1. Glen has worked his butt off in that garden this year. And it's never looked this good.
      I do that wet dish cloth with the foot mopping too but eventually, I get so disgusted at what the dish cloth looks like when I'm done that I just have to mop. My floor is probably already filthy again though.
      Watering just never ends, does it?

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  3. I'm having days like that. Even thinking about doing stuff makes me tired. I'm blaming the pandemic. Abs the isolation. And the weather. Everything but me.

    My kitchen floor gets a swipe in front of the oven with the kitchen towel before I toss it, the towel, in the laundry.

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    1. I always blame myself for how I feel. I generally suspect that I may be dying. So far, though, I haven't.
      My dish towels always get used that way too.

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  4. I feel old and sore today as well as disappointed that a planned visit from an old friend (who lives 5 hours away) got cancelled due to her elderly Dad falling......confusion ensued........ he takes priority. But on top of being tired from cleaning and prepping the past 3 days.. it's hot (95 today) and I've just run out of emotional energy. Your garden is a thing of beauty..as is your bread, which I doubt will be monolithic!
    Susan M

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    1. Maybe it's the moon. We all seem to feel under the weather. Sorry about your friend's dad. I hope he's okay. And hey- at least you got your house tidied up!
      It's hot here too. Ugh.
      The bread was good.

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  5. That garden is truly a work of art. You say on occasion that it is Mr. Moon's garden work, so please pass on the compliment. It is lovely.
    Is the grey hen what is called a barred hen? I like her markings (but not enough to keep chickens).

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    1. Yep. That's Glen's baby this year. I'll tell him what you said.
      That chicken is called a barred rock. We do like the two of those we have. They are curious and spunky.

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  6. Wow...that garden is impressive!

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  7. So, I actually have a hard time with birthday season, even when it lasts a single day, much less a stretch of weeks (October for us), as I always feel I should be doing more than I am to make the birthday perfect, but I have no clue as to what I should be doing, and so I feel like I'm failing. Your family does well with birthdays. Happily, just a gathering of the Moons is a wonderful celebration. But I suspect the gatherings have you missing the ones who are away for the summer. It seems to me sometimes that life is a series of intermittent emotional rapids to navigate. I'm glad you have your garden to walk in, with all that celestial light. Hugs.

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    1. Yes. There is no doubt that we are the same person. That's exactly how I feel at birthdays AND Christmas.
      And you're right- the gatherings are wonderful but we always miss the ones who aren't there. It was really fun having Owen and Gibson and Maggie there yesterday though. School is out so there will be more fun with them. You're also right about the emotional rapids. You'd think we would be better at negotiating them by now, wouldn't you?

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  8. I have a small pot of chives and I see some strawberries growing in the front of the house along with the ground cover. I don't know how they got there so I am thinking a bird must have pooped some strawberry seeds there. Anyway, those are the only edible things I have growing. Your garden can feed a whole lot of people! Amazing!

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    1. We do have a lot of vegetables right now. I almost feel like I should explain when I check out at the grocery store about why I'm not buying many vegetables. "Uh, we have a garden." Like they really care, right?

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  9. I'm so so envious of your garden (and your growing weather). I used to get excited about fashion but now - it's mulch and home grown tomatoes for me! Looks beautiful!

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    1. Our priorities do shift, don't they? I can vaguely remember loving fashion too.

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  10. Wow, your garden is HUGE. The plants, I mean. Bigger than I was envisioning! I've felt all day like I could take a nap and I just haven't allowed it to happen.

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    1. You wouldn't expect Glen to grow tiny vegetables, would you? Haha! He's out there now, staking more tomatoes. They keep outgrowing their supports!
      I try not to nap but sometimes I just succumb.

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  11. Your Garden is a thing of Beauty and Bounty!

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.