Don't give up....

First, let me say, I've been Berry, Berry bad.

Just about 2 months have passed since the last post. We have a trellis. We have a trellis. Refresh button. We have a trellis. Still a trellis. 

So I ask you Chive me no more . . .

And Lettuce be friends . . .

. . . and put the Chard times behind us . . .

. . . and Peas

peas, 
PEAS! Forgive me for my inattention.

Believe me, it's bugged me too.

It's no excuse, but I've been Romaine around the globe pursing other adventures.

Specifically, I went to Kenya for a couple weeks to direct a documentary on people stretching.  (And I know that's not Romaine.)

Also, my work life has been tumultuous (New York Times want to shut us down? What?) to say the least, and my Papa had to get surgery (he's A-OK now).

In short, I've Bean busy.

The good news is that our gardens haven't suffered, only the garden of www.citylovescountry.com. And the garden of your curiosity about this patch of Medford, MA dirt. And the garden of my really bad puns hath become overgrown like the garlic,

 -- nay, it hath blossomed into this ridiculous apology post.

There is much to write about and show now that spring has spring with such force.  Consider this a preview postcard of things to come. I won't abandon you again. Until I do.

Feline any better?

Obama-Nation indeed!

Yesterday, I produced a video with colleague Ann Silvio about Boston's take on Obama's inauguration. I thought I would share. Hope you enjoy!

A few things have happened since the last post. For brevity's sake, I'll make the review short (and full of pictures) and go back only as far as last Tuesday . . . November 4.

Bright and early, we did this:
Then I worked like a crazy person taking pictures and doing a video about other people doing exactly that same thing.

And then this happened:

And then I stayed up all night shooting and editing this:


And then I did this for about 20 hours:
And then today, I went outside to find this:(Oh, yeah. . . I have a garden!)

So that's what I've been up to, and that's why I haven't written. Seeing that I work for a news organization, I cannot mention my feelings about the outcome of the election, except to state several facts. This is history, and whatever your feelings about the promised "change," -- well, change has already occurred. Both of those things are incredibly positive developments, and that's all I'll say about that.

Back to the garden, my little squares of non-partisan dirt that at the same time speak volumes about my politics.

Last weekend, I painted the inside of the coldframes white (using non-toxic, no-VOC paint) so they can make the most of the limited winter sunlight. That paint, by the way, is massively expensive! $26 for a small can!Then, Erik and I sealed the joints and screw holes with clear silicone so they'll cold up for several seasons in the rain. They are also stained and sealed on the outside to protect the wood.

Each night, if it looks like the temperatures will dip near freezing, we place the windows on top and close them. But if the weather is balmy and wet (as it's been for about 4 days here now), I just take the tops off entirely. Unless it's really cold, I leave the windows open so air can circulate. As the days get colder, I'll adjust this, and perhaps only leave the windows ajar during the sunniest hours. Again, learning as I go here -- advice is welcome, if you've got some!

It's been several weeks now with the cold frames, and the plants seem to love them. The lettuce has gone nuts:So is the Swiss chard:And we're getting little baby turnips (? - forgot to remember what I planted there - could be radishes, but I don't think so)Speaking of radishes, I went to check on them, and !#&@^#*#*@(@!!!!!!This little jerk is responsible:And this is how I feel:So I dusted off the ravished radish -and ate it.

Good news about the brussels sprouts! Remember this plant that would not, could not, mature so I chopped off its head?Well, now the sprouts have filled out. I think we're going to make then into dinner soon.There were two cantaloupes that hung on late in the season, though they remained tiny. I've left them on the vine in the hope that they'd get a little bigger, but to no avail. So today I plucked them from their home and introduced them to my kitchen knife.They weren't very good.

The composter in the front is just about ready.
And the back composter is full of the tomato, bean and pepper plants I tore up in the rear garden.Speaking of the rear garden, I decided that next year, it's going to be the dedicated vine and tomato spot. The tomatoes did great there this year (especially the Brandywines) and the purple pole beans - oh my. However, the one thing that all the vining plants needed was more support, so we (actually, Erik will) are going to build a trellis that stretches from the fence to the roof of the adjacent garage.
(like my illustration?)

And while I'm sharing my plans for next season, here's the area where we're (actually, Erik will - again) going to build the chicken run:I'm about out of updates, and both the cat and the husband are snoring, so I think I'll wrap up with some pretty pictures of rose hips, which I may harvest tomorrow to make jam.Th-th-that's all folks!!

Overdue autumn garden update

Wowee. Is anyone else ready for this election to be over? When that happens, maybe I can go back to Massachusetts and remind myself what my husband, cat and garden all look like. Until then, it's pretty much all work and travel, all the time. At least it's been fun.

So I have Erik to thank for this update that he lovingly wrote for me to keep me connected to my, ahem, roots. Here 'tis:


I went out this morning in my role as surrogate gardener and I'm here to report that your garden is happy but it misses you.

As for the front garden. Your peppers are happiest of anyone out there. As you will see, you are continuing to get color on a couple but the majority seem to be pretty certain they're just going to be green. I had to stake up a few as they had been loosing the battle with gravity in our absence. None appear to be over ripening so I'm leaving them up for now.

Parsley and radishes all look great. Basil and chives are continuing their reliable presence. Lettuce is coming along nicely although at a seemingly slower rate than in the spring. The squash plant is still trying to pump out fruit despite the fact that it's support system is withering up.
And I've come to the conclusion that our brussell sprouts are just going to be small. The biggest ones at the base of the plant are all starting to bush out a little bit rather than staying in their compact little head of leaves. Maybe I should try to cook up a few? They're still no bigger than a quarter.
And finally, the sad news, the remaining cantaloupe won't be waiting for your return. Its stem somehow got disconnected and the fruit has turned a ripe-looking whitish orange. I don't know what order that happened in but I'm guessing it was somehow prematurely disconnected from the vine. It is currently the size of a softball. A little rot had set in and it had become home to a number of fruit flies but i took it inside anyway and cut it open. As you'll see it looked quite nice. In it's honor i did try some but to be honest the flavor was so so and it was pretty over ripe and soft.
To the back garden now. Turning the corner of the garage, I found the back garden awash in red. Lots of tomatoes are getting close to ripe and a number had ripened and returned to the ground while we were away. I assume you took down all the squash vines in the back corner because they are now gone. Carrots all look happy (at least the their little green head tips). Purple bean plant is still spitting out purple beans (see the picture of the husky little bean I found) and it has currently got the neighboring tomato plant in a convincing sleeper hold. It is hard to tell where the bean plant ends and the tomato plant begins. And there are some new pink flowers in the bed by the driveway. Compost has been added to and turned. The back compost looks great. Not smelly and I could only identify the most recent additions. The front has a ways to go though and is still very full.

I think that is it.


(Thank you, Erik! - This is what I've been up to here in Ohio.)

Political Aspira-gus

(on airplane back from Minneapolis)

Something is wrong with my brain. Two weeks of force-fed political dogma and I’m bleeding a bit at the ears, but I just can’t stop. Can’t stop thinking about it, seeking out the latest news, reading commentary – classic trainwreck syndrome. Again and again, I keep wondering, ‘what would I do in elected office?’

And then I think, ‘hmmmn.’

I get an F- in small talk. Definitely don’t suffer fools with charmed patience. I cringe at the thought of shaking an endless sea of sweaty palms. Smiling for too long gives me a migraine. Babies all cry when I touch them, and I’m no Obama when it comes to speechifying. In short, I would be a terrible politician.

But that’s not true. I’ve thought about it. My motives are true, and though my ideas are strong, but I’m not so hubristic as to think they’re all correct. There’s a lot of geography between bleeding-heart liberal and soulless conservative, and I’m all over that map.

With a few exceptions, that is. The environment. Energy policy. Healthcare. Not so flexible on those. So it looks like I could be president of a city block in the middle of Berkeley, California, if I’m lucky.

Back to my apolitical drawing board (which looks a lot like my garden).

I've got the red white and blues.

Enough of the political conventions, already.

Enthusiasm for life on the road is seriously flagging at this point. My husband has issued a formal protest, and what's perhaps worse, I've missed the harvest of our most spectacular tomato.

It's time to go home already, but not before I do this freaky show all over again tonight. Maybe it's worse because the tone of this convention is, well, different to say the least.

It's time to trade this:
for this.

T minus 36 hours.