Will There Be An Early Autumn This Year?

For the past few weeks, whenever the wind has blown, dried up leaves from the shade trees have been blown down. They’re scattered all over the lawn. The stress of the drought has overcome the amount of watering of the yard I’ve been able to do.

I’ve concentrated more on the garden, for my edibles. It’s so sad to see all the devastation from the lack of rain.

Because of the drought, and at Dennis’s suggestion, I’d removed the grass catcher attachment from the mower, figuring the lawn needed the extra mulching to help hold in what water it got.

So mowing, the few times it’s been necessary, is only chopping those leaves into smaller pieces. They tend to blow up into the doorway and come in with us, which necessitates more sweeping or vacuuming. Yuck. Housework isn't in my top ten favorite things to do.not even in the top fifty.

The raspberries are finally slowing their production such that I’m not spending the entire morning or evening picking them.

The evening pickings, which are acceptable as I’m shaded by the shelter belt then, are accompanied by a racket of birds fussing at me. I guess they think evening pickings are their forte and I’m intruding.

The green beans, though, are really just ramping up their production. I have Roma beans, which are wide and flat (and I think more tender), regular green beans, and yellow wax beans, as well as a type you can consume while still young and green or let go to seed for dried beans.

Those I’m letting go to seed. I still don’t want to can any beans, so I’m making another bean salad.

Herbed Green Bean Salad — Serves 8

• 1 1/2 pound green beans, stem ends snapped

• 1 1/2 pound tender wax beans, stem ends snapped

• 2 Tbl shallots, finely minced

• 1/4 C EVOO

• Salt & pepper, to taste

• 2 Tbl red wine vinegar

• 1/2 C torn fresh basil leaves

Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add beans and cook until just tender, 4-5 minutes.

Drain, then run under cold water to stop the cooking.

Drain and pat dry. Place in a large bowl. Toss shallots with the oil, season with salt & pepper.

Toss with the beans. Just before serving, toss again with the vinegar and the basil.

Good Eats

I’m making this for my supper, but in half measure.

It will go nicely with the cold remains of the rotisserie chicken I picked up earlier this week when I had a morning appointment in town and no time to cook lunch.

Dennis won’t help me eat the beans, so he’s getting fresh potatoes I snitched from under the vines, zapped in the microwave and drenched in melted butter with a liberal sprinkling of Italian herbs. He’ll probably want his chicken warmed.

We’ll both enjoy fresh raspberries for dessert.

We’ve had a young fox visiting lately. It’s been on the front deck, both peeking in the dining room windows at us, and also at the front door.

Our screen is glass, such that half pulls down to mesh screen for fresh air. So it stands there looking in, trying to figure out what this place is. (I don’t know it it’s male or female, so it remains an it.)

It’s the cutest peeper ever.

Last week, it toppled my birdbath while standing up against it trying to get a drink. I really should glue the resin top to the post. I haven’t seen the gophers that live out by our road lately, so the fox is a welcome visitor.

This week we had a large stray dog visit. I shared his photo to Facebook, mainly to find out if he was an escapee or was dumped.

I hate when people tire of a pet and think it will be fine if left out in the country. It still had a choke collar on, so odds were he was an escapee.

Turns out he belongs to a neighbor, so definitely an escapee. We’d never seen the dog before. I filled the low-to-the-ground bird baths so he could have fresh water. He’d come through the yard, but wouldn’t come to me. I think he was wandering home again.

The deer are still making trips through the yard early in the mornings. I haven’t seen signs they’ve been in the garden since I added the fishing line to and hung the shiny cds above the electric fence.

I’m not sure if it was the line or the cds that did the trick. Probably it was the combination.

I did have to redo the lowest fishing line. I think the fawns (they’re twins), which greatly outweighs a fish, got tangled up in that lower line, breaking it as they escaped.

I hope the trap I set in the corn for the raccoons isn’t needed this year, meaning

I hope those masked bandits stay away.