Aerie Report, August 1, 2009

A glorious day here at the Aerie!

After yesterday's rains (1.07 inches ending around 4 PM), last night was cool and comfortable that we turned the window fan off and opened the window wide. That was good and bad. Today dawned at just 58 degrees but it did so damn early. The heavy dew acted just like rain in the downspout of the gutter and one drip leaking around a joint just outside the window beat a tattoo upon the pipe further down. If the fan had been running we probably would not have heard it but with the fan out of the window it was torture. At 5 AM. And once we started stirring, Chester and Shadow let it be known that they wanted to be fed. NOW!

Back to the rest of the day. As I said just 58 degrees this morning and it stayed cool with light breezes and puffy cumulus clouds casting shadows making it even more comfortable. The temperature reached a high of 80 degrees at around 4:30 PM. Much nicer temperature-wise than you might expect for the first day of August.

I took the stepladder out to see if I could fix the dang drain pipe by applying some silicone sealant in the joint. I guess I'll find out next time it rains.

Hunting hasn't started yet but gathering continues. I got another pint-plus of raspberries and blackberries off the hillside today. Turned them into a pint-and-a-half of syrup by mashing the berries in a sauce pan and adding a 1/4 cup of water, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon of corn starch (thickener). I heated the whole thing to a rolling boil and then poured it into pint canning jars. Once cooled it went into the fridge since I didn't seal the jars in a water bath. Besides, it's only going over ice cream, pancakes, and pound cake in the next couple of weeks. Once the blackberries really start producing, I may make some more but that will get the water bath treatment for longer storage.

Gardening hasn't done too badly either. Terry and I had another quart of string beans for the freezer as well as a cup or so for dinner. There's a dozen cucumbers in the fridge waiting to be processed into something besides salad. And on the counter there are three small zucchinis of the 9-10 inch size that are just right for grilling. Last year we put in a dozen each of everbearing and June bearing strawberries. Right now the June bearers are looking lush and sending out runners all over their side of the patch. The everbearing strawberries are also sending out runners but they are also loaded with berries and flowers. I don't get many berries at a time but for the past week or so it's been five or six every other day. I pulled six onions the other day that are as round as a softball but flattened a bit. I braided their tops together and hung them on the covered porch to dry out a bit. After the rain yesterday, I knocked the tops over on the rest of the onions and I'll pull them on Monday or Tuesday. I've never grown onions before but these look to have done well.

About the zucchini...The neighbor down the hill finally put out some free squash on Thursday and Terry and I stopped to get a couple of yellow summer squash and two zucchini on our way back from wine tasting. They were to be just enough for a couple of loaves of bread. Then I get an email from Joe in NJ offering me all the zucchini I will take. (He says he's not allowed on the neighbor's properties any more and there's no one who will stand still long enough for him to give a few to.) But, just like last year, our zuke plants got the hint and starting to produce. I don't know that they will be as prolific as last year but then again, I don't have as many plants in the ground.