Leaves, leaves and more leaves

So another lesson learned - this one is regarding falling leaves.

I remember hearing motors when the first leaf fell from the trees. I also thought the motors were a bit over done and I love to see colorful falling leaves. The view is beautiful but when the rain came and not only a few drops of rain but in central New York,  rain comes in torrential rain for a week off and on. Plus before the snow comes, friends wanted to visit and of course we had a beautiful time - being a tourist at home and showing places to our friends and also finding new places to visit. It was beautiful! Rather think of why my neighbors are doing something different, I should just follow along.

When reality hit, I had lots of wet and dry leaves to remove from our lawn. I thought no problems, we have the riding lawn mower with the attachment on the back to dump in the compost pile - HA! One sweep and the dry leaves filled our attachment for collecting mowed leaves, then the 'tube' got clogged constantly, always wearing hearing equipment. Please, always wear safety equipment, especially hearing plugs and/or muffs. My husband has hearing loss from using machinery in his shop, so he figures since he is a bit deaf on machinery frequency that he will not use hearing protection.... another blog. He is a Wonderful Person, my soul mate.

So back to the leaves, I just decided to rake the leaves in various piles and then haul the leaves in the back to compost later. I use an old king size sheet to rake the leaves in and tie as a bundle for easy carting to the compost pile. Needless to say I got a great workout for my arms. My husband wanted to help so he got the riding lawn mower and was riding through my piles to pick up the leaves, um, could you not do that, since the piles were already in piles. Then he went to the work shop and devised the lawn mower with the tube going back to the small trailer. We tried the new contraption,and got leaves everywhere, we then clipped a bed sheet, with binder clips from our paper clip drawer to the back of the trailer to contain the leaves. However, since the leaves were in piles, we decided to haul the leaves 'the old fashion way' with rakes and cart the leaves to the compost pile. That was last week and I am still carting the leaves 'the old fashion way' to the compost pile. Of course there are a few leaves on the ground where I will use the mower without any attachments to 'fertilize' the ground with mulch leaves. The layer of mulched leaves should not be very thick.

While raking I always give thanks to the day of warm weather and seeing the beautiful colors in the leaves. We did get a snow fence that needs to be installed because drifting is a usual occurrence a neighbor told me

I interrupted my leaf raking to pick quince from our tree. I have made quince jam that came out relatively fine that I found on the internet with star anise. Since quince has lots of pectin to thicken the jam, none needs to be added. I tried and quince and apple pie, but it was too tart for my taste. The quince just in its fruit form sitting on my counter in the kitchen has a sweet smell, but if you bite into the quince, think of extreme tartness. A very unique fruit, smell of apple and pear but very tart. My favorite has been poached quince - 4 cups water, 2 cups sugar, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean and mulling spice. Cook until sugar is dissolved, place peeled and cored 4 quince until quince turns red/pink about one hour. A fork should pierce the fruit easily. Delicious - store in container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Quince are able to be stored in freezer for later use - peeled and cored I read for up to one year.

Manure

I have access to aged manure, so I put a layer of manure on all of my beds to tuck them in for the winter. Of course, first I weed the beds then layer the manure around the plants.

I also have cut our long grass and placed the cuttings around my tomatoes plants to get a few more weeks of the season. Actually I have greens tomatoes that I thought I would pick some and the others try to extend the season a bit longer. The radishes seems to be taking off and the radish is a bit drier but still has a nice flavor for salad.

I love seeing the pumpkin stands along side of the road. There's a can or jar for the fees of the pumpkins near the home - festive displays for Halloween or autumn.

I have been researching snow fences that reduces the winds, so the snow does not drift. Since the west is where the lake is located, we will place the snow fence along the west side so the drifting of snow is removed from our driveway.

People are telling me that we should have a first snow fall in November, with a possibility of a dusting in October - wow.

Our barn with the two horses needs a bit of work before the winter sets in, like the door needs to be able to close and anchoring the overhead doors - one door is very light and the other door is an original. Obviously the barn is not air tight, but it is standing.

Wait a second - BREATH AND BE THANKFUL

Sometimes our/my mind/s get in the way of what we have right in front of us. My husband and I took a walk from a freshly mowed path at sunset and the beauty was intense. The rich colors of the sun setting was wonderful and the reason why we are where we are now. Whatever path we take, we needed to take that path to get to our point right now. I am very thankful for the bats, for the mice, for the beautiful horses that are here. The animals were here first, I need to adapt...

So I am harvesting all of our basil today, after a luncheon I made for my husband's office, since several temporary workers will be leaving soon.

I found a recipe on the internet of white bean and basil, cholesterol free, quick protein - it is delicious. The recipe was copies from the website "oh she glows".

"High Protein & Oil-Free Basil Pesto

This is far from a traditional tasting pesto, but it’s so delicious I couldn’t stop eating it! The navy beans replace the typical cup of oil in this pesto recipe, making it not only oil-free, but high in protein as well. Nutritional yeast adds a cheezy taste while packing protein and B12. Enjoy this pesto spread on sandwiches, pasta, or even use for a dip for vegetables or chips. Spoon feeding encouraged.

Yield: 1.5 cups (see below for nutritional info)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves (don’t be shy- really pack it in!)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 15-oz can navy/cannellini beans (1.5 cups)
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon) I used 3 tbsp
• 1/2-3/4 tsp kosher salt (I used 3/4 tsp)
• You can add olive oil to taste if you prefer!

Directions: Add garlic clove to processor and process until finely chopped. Now add in the rest of the ingredients to taste and process until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Nutritional Info: (per 2 tbsp): 41 kcals, 0 grams fat, 3 grams protein, 3 grams fibre, 0 grams sugar, 7 grams carbs.

Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/08/04/high-protein-oil-free-basil-pesto/#ixzz3F5CS00bt"


My basil, I started from seed in the apartment and lugged the seed trays to our old house and planted the seedlings in the ground along with tomatoes, (way too late; however, we did harvest two tomatoes) and cucumbers from Monticello in Virginia. The cucumbers were from Asia I think,  Cucumis anguiria. The cucumbers are really good, lots of seeds and small, but the flavor is crisp and strong, along with swiss chard and arugula.

Walk in Beauty!

The Best Exercise!

Forever thankful....

The property came with two elderly horses, age 30 and 26, who are the most beautiful creatures. I have been feeding the horses a few apples and now they come running when they see me. That is a beautiful picture when the horses start running. The horses have been here for 20 years and their Owners told me that if we moved them they would not be so happy. So we have a couple of pastures and I am learning about taking care of horses which I must say is rather a happy time for me. Another happy time is riding an old Schwinn bicycle around the farm that we found in the back of the barn - it is simple joy.

Our home insurance agent emailed me a said that she drove by and noticed the horses, so I need to have additional insurance. I explained to her that the horses are friends and wanted to keep them on the farm. Now we are in the process of our agent looking to find additional insurance for the horses. If we are said to have 'boarders' then it is an additional $700.00 to $1,000.00. If we purchase horses, we will find out how much it will cost. Naivety is not the best characteristic. I'm not really sure how the insurance agent found out about the horses, because the horses have been in the back pasture and we live off a state route that the speed limit is 55 mph. I'm not so paranoid, but it does seem suspicious that the agent saw the horses from the road.

The BEST EXERCISE is mowing grass with a walk behind mower which is the only mower we have now. Although, we did find a Jari and got it running. A Jari is a sickle mower and was built in 1950s/1960s. So, I have been using the Jari to mow the back pasture which has taken me about 4 days and I probably have 4 more days. Again the best exercise and better than any gym that I have been a participant. Although sit-ups and toning the triceps is an additional exercise for the full body work out. I start mowing in late morning or early afternoon due to so much moisture we have in this area. I am thinking it is the 'lake effect' that we have so much moisture. I am also preparing the beds that have been here - removing the weeds and placing a layer of aged manure for a top dressing. I have been reading "A Northeast Gardener's Year" by Lee Reich which I am finding to be a real comfort in my gardening practices. Eventually we will have a greenhouse from old metal cased windows that we have acquired along with a bread oven. So we were thinking of the greenhouse with an attached bread oven. We would keep the bread oven filled with wood to heat the greenhouse during the winter months. I read some place of heating the greenhouse two ways or keeping it from freezing:

1. Place 15-day old manure in a trough about 4 feet deep and 3 feet wide and 8 feet length, covering the manure with wood shavings to keep the ammonia from leaching out. This would 'warm' the greenhouse so the winter seeds would not freeze. The decomposing would warm the greenhouse. I am not sure how long this would last - surely not the entire winter. More research is needed. on my part.

2. Then I read filling black barrels with water and stacking the barrels along one wall of the greenhouse. I read this from a University paper and I am sorry I do not remember of the University that was researching this practice. Sun is required, of course. And more research on my part.

I would really like to research solar, hydro and wind energy to 'get off the grid' so to speak. I have seen these great youtube videos creating hydro energy. Although our stream is about 100 meters or I think it is about 350 feet.

Our Old House

OMG...

We have arrived.... Now I understand that you should have money before you purchase an old house. Buyers' regret totally for right now but very Thankful for what we have accomplished.

After the second bat encounter in our house, calling for my husband to assist me. Think of a matador in the ring, but the ring was our house. My husband had a towel and since bats I believe have sonar and will not bump into the wall, hence the towel. My Husband would raise the towel to direct the bat to downstairs and out the door. At one point, I was in the bathroom freaking out and my husband came in and also the bat and was flying and I felt the flutter of the wings on my leg, which after the fact was kind of cool, maybe. So my hero husband took care of the bat. Then, of course we have mice because we are in a rural area. My husband sleeps through everything and I hear the most faintest of sounds...

The house has fireplaces, none of which have been used for the past 20 years, plus they're huge chimneys that have no covers, hence the bats arrive inside. Quick fix and not a designer fashion, but with all of the boxes we have from unpacking, I cut into a flat shape and covered the fireplace using heavy duty packing tape and duct tape. I hope nothing else comes through.

So we have this great wood stove, hopefully to save on our heating bill, we thought we would get that started with clearing the chimney and purchasing a chimney liner. My husband and I cleared the one chimney and found that one of the fireplaces had a chimney fire many years ago. We were cleaning out the old liner, then my husband found the remains of a duck. How did that happen?

Although my dear husband who is part carpenter, thank goodness, made two cap covers for the chimneys, one with a vent because the furnace is vented out. We placed the cap on the chimneys because we found $2,500 later we could have a working wood stove/heater for this winter. Well, we will put this on the 'back burner' to save the future winters.

Finding Our Old House

After three months, I found a house that was interesting to me. Then I had my husband look at the house and he loved it. We were looking for a house large enough where we may have several adult children return home from college and/or parents to come live with us. Previously, we lived in a 900 square foot apartment and a 1200 square foot adorable cape cod house with a half acre. I loved planning the gardens in the Virginia house. We had a sitting area that we called the moon garden. It was the shape of a moon gate, similar to the omega symbol, but that was the plan view of our garden. Let me see if I can upload a picture...

So this was our moon garden, kind of looks like pac-man with Cornus florida, Dogwood off to the left. The small flags are where I planted potatoes, then I planted tomatoes and various flowers. Our sitting area was hid when the garden was in full glory and the produce was excellent. Then I designed a sun garden in the front with the picture below. We had Thanksgivings outside with a group of people, family and friends with the table set with all the foods - it was glorious.

The trailer above was filled with horse manure which I utilize with all my beds. That was Virginia's house and we have fond memories.

But I digress, we are in New York and I found this house. I was cautious and my husband loved it. I continued to look at houses, but the Old House kept creeping into my mind. The house was built in 1826 and has 10.3 acres, to be exact. In my mind, I was always thinking what I could grow, what vegetables, an orchard, what designs I could create. My Eden. We had to be out of our apartment by July 31st, we also had planned the year before a family vacation, including 20 people at the end of July. Our children, all four, plus significant others, would be arriving the weekend of July 22, 2014. We had a real estate agent and we were finding our way to purchase a house in New York which is very different. Lawyers are involved and the minimum time to close, as we found was two months, ours was closer to three months because of the original historical papers are required. We went for it and my husband who is the negotiator went back and forth with the pricing - thank you husband! So we got the house, and my husband and I moved with renting a truck because the timing, of course, was an exact science. Our children had scheduled flights a day late and a dollar short. Although, we did have assistance when they arrived. Two of the children missed their flights and were coming to a close airport, but then they were re-routed to a two hour away airport - this was in the evening. Physically and mentally tired, we purchased coffee and drove, luckily to where our household goods were stored, so we stopped in picked up our push mower and continued home to complete our move. What I have heard - while you move into a new place, you set-up the beds immediately so when you are completed and totally exhausted after your move you can just fall into bed. Definitely words of a wise person. We moved and had our first guests/family arriving to drive with us to the vacation spot. Actually a great little vacation spot is called Pyramid Lake, totally no frills, very rustic, in the Catholic Diocese. There's life jackets, kayaks, canoes and two sailboats that we use at our own risk and many hikes throughout. No motors on the lake located in Paradox, NY - very serene, although we cooked our meals as a group - a different type of vacation, but with younger children it was great.

We returned from the family vacation and enjoyed our children at our home - stream, camp fire, eating - friends came to visit - we had a household. Then our children had to return to college - sad. When our children left, it takes several days to not be sad or to adjust to the lack of noise. And then the noise we heard were mice.

What were we thinking.....

We decided to move to upstate New York to be closer to my husband's parents rather driving eight to nine hours every four months. We made the move in February 2014 with my husband driving a 26' rent a truck with a tow for our honda and myself driving a jeep. Mind you I was born and raise in Prince Georges' County, Oxon Hill, Maryland where I remember there was snow when I was very young in the 1970s and then snowmageddon in 2010(?). So driving in snow is a 'white knuckle' event for me.

We started out about 10 am with pretty skies and of course the further north we drove the colder it became. Unfortunately, we started hitting rain and a few flurries and our truck's window washer tubing started to freeze, so we had to stop every once in awhile to heat up the tubing for the window washer to continue through with a bic lighter - I always thought the window washer fluid was flammable but with all the sleet coming down I guess it wasn't an issue although I thought about it.

Following my husband behind the truck and tow, I was gripping the steering wheel and then with the tension my back started aching I needed to come to 'grips with driving in the snow'. And so we stopped, I cried, I laughed and just thought this is symbolism at its finest. Upstate New York is cold and will have more snow - what was I thinking. Also I am a Gardener and enjoy being outside in all weather, because that's what I do. I thought a greenhouse would make the time in New York accommodating for me.

My husband did have a job, thank goodness, and we were renting an apartment for five months so that we could scope the area out and find a house to purchase. My job was to scope the area, create a temporary house, find a house to purchase and get to know New York.

So, we were able to get to our destination - the destination to store household goods in my In-laws basement, because that's the type of people they are - We love them very much. After a thirteen hour drive we arrived safely. I have to say New York does a better job in keeping the roads clear; however, Pennsylvania I think has a very different climate to deal with on a day to day basis. I was thankful to be indoors. Driving in snow is an every day event in New York in the winter time and I guess I will become accustom to the driving, at least I hope I will.

So, we finally arrived at the apartment and unloaded. I walked outside every day and tried to drive every day in the rain and snow. Then we had four 'relo-cubes' or pods (depending on what company you rent) to unload. We rented a three bedroom apartment and it was quick to find out that we have too much stuff and needed to make another trip to the In-Laws to store more stuff.