Marathon Days

We took some time off last week. Dennis and I celebrated his birthday by going to Billings. There was some shopping, a nice supper, and the next day he had his Vette serviced. And there was a bit more shopping. The "change oil soon" light came on shortly before we arrived. That trip took care of two days I could have been getting some "put the garden to bed" chores done.

I knew we were doing that trip, so I had a couple marathon days earlier in the week. I repotted so many houseplants my hands got really dry. And of course, I planned to put several onto windowsills, so the ACs had to go and the windows washed. At least, the insides got cleaned. Eventually I'll be able to remove the screens to store and then the outsides will also get washed. (Enough flies and box elder bugs are getting inside, and they get swatted on those formerly clean inside windows. I'll have to do them all again.)

Of course, I also needed to vacuum the areas the pots would go before hauling them in. I didn't want to have so many houseplants, but I just can't bring myself to let them die. There are lots of duplicates, for which I hope to find new homes.

The day after we returned from our Billings trip, Dennis had an early morning medical consultation. Just as that finished, he got a phone call that he could see another medical provider that afternoon. So, we hit the golf course between appointments. (I had to go along as I have the calendar of appointments in my phone.) I did pick both tomatoes and husk cherries (prairie gooseberries - or "golden berries" in the grocers) when we got home that afternoon.

I had a medical procedure set for early Monday morning, which forced me into another marathon day. The forecast was for much cooler temps, with the possibility of a freeze Monday night into Tuesday morning. You'd be proud of me for how much I got done Saturday. I'm proud of me.

All the dahlias are dug and resting in a huge cardboard box. The dirt surrounding the tubers should dry up so I can knock most of it off. The green tops will put their goodness into those tubers, and then will be trimmed short for long term storage. The gladioli bulbs are also dug and in another cardboard box. Again, after a few days those green tops will get trimmed off. There were other delicate bulbs that needed digging (Persian daffodils), and they're in a shoebox. It would have to freeze hard before damaging all of those in our unheated garage.

After taking care of those, I tackled my few remaining cukes. The vines were pulled and the trellises are stored. I pulled all the remaining ears of corn. I'm amazed that no raccoons visited this summer. The stalks were dug out, but they're still in piles to be hauled out later. The green peppers were also picked and the plants discarded. Their supporting cages are also stored. I plan to slice and freeze the ones I didn't foist off on our local daughter.

There are still crookneck squashes and zucchini out there, as well as a few winter squash. And I have lots of tomatoes still on the vines. I'll have Dennis help me drag out my old truck tarps to cover those after I get home Monday afternoon. Alas for Gwendolyne, there's not enough tarps or blankets in my shed to cover all the husk cherries. Those are scattered all over the garden as I weeded around lots where they volunteered to grow.

Today, after church, I cut all my parsley and microwave dehydrated most of it. I did make a batch of pesto with some of it, adding basil, which was trying to flower so needed to be used. Remember I planted that plus rosemary and two types of thyme in large clay pots sunk into the garden? Those pots are now in the kitchen where they'll have southern exposure to natural light.

Pesto is so good on pasta as well as potatoes and salads. I will also dip cukes and carrots in it.

Almond/Basil/Parsley Pesto

1/2 C parsley, packed

1/2 C basil, packed

1/2 C whole almonds, toasted

2 cloves garlic

1/3 C almond OR olive oil

1/4 C grated Parmesan

2Tbl feta

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Process first four ingredients until finely chopped. Gradually add in oil until fairly smooth. Mix in cheeses and seasonings. Makes 3/4 cup.