Late Summer Life

Here on the Cape we do not want to see summer end, although the end of summer does mean the end of the massive influx of Summer People. The days of light traffic and easy access to everything are coming into view. Because of the buffering effects of the surrounding ocean we do enjoy pleasant temperatures a little longer, but the ordinary and common effects of astronomical fall are inescapable. Shorter days are here, and cooler temperatures with them. Long bike rides are easier, but they must take place earlier to avoid riding at dusk. Our early sunrises are offset by early sunsets.

Yesterday we packed up early and went to the Cape Cod National Seashore. Even leaving here early in the morning did not get us a parking place at my favorite beach, but since they are all wonderful I was happy to settle for Marconi Beach. I actually went into the water, which is a big deal for me. In general my standards for sea bathing are set by the Gulf of Mexico. If the water is cooler than 84° I will not be going in there. Yesterday the water temperature was around 62°. This is about as warm as it gets on the Atlantic side, so I sucked it up and went in. Extra "refreshing", but big fun. Shana and Dea saw a couple of seals, but no sharks were spotted yesterday.




In the garden life moves on. Spring flowers bloom and the plants turn their energies to producing the seed and roots needed for next year. Some disappear underground, leaving empty spaces. Some remain visible in the garden with ratty foliage that needs a haircut to present the minimum of decent appearance. The first plantings of peas and lettuce gives way to the succession plantings, while carrots grow and sweeten. I turn away from new planting and into planning for next year. What do I need to add here to keep blooms all summer? Should I overplant the spring ephemerals with annuals next year? What needs to be moved to accommodate a bigger plant than expected? Should the forsythia be cut back hard next year or do I need to move everything under it to a spot with less competition? The existing beds are full, and the planning moves to the beds which will be the focus next year. How many yards of mulch will be needed? Will the path me mulch or will we leave it in grass for another year? With a long winter ahead to plan for my garden I pore over catalogs and websites. Early planning invites my plant greediness; as the time gets closer I will make more realistic choices. Over the winter I will have time to evaluate how much clear area I need for piling up snow and how far into the yard ice treatment chemicals intrude.


I will have house guests in September, so there are some little cosmetic projects that will have to be completed before they arrive. The timing calls attention to how little will be in bloom in the garden when they are here, but I don't think it will be a problem this year. The first visitors are coming for a memorial service for my father in law; family will be the main interest then. My second group will be friends from Oklahoma City - I can't wait to see them and show them around my new home. We will surely spend some of our time beaching it and some valuable cocktail time.


Gift knitting is in full swing, and my inventory grows in a satisfying way. I am thinking more often of family as I create gifts made of equal parts of yarn and love. Every stitch holds a loving thought.

Watching the Mayflower II

One of the prime features of Plimoth Plantation is the Mayflower II, a 1957 full scale reconstruction of the original ship that brought the Pilgrims to America. It might be worthwhile to mention here that the original landing was at Provincetown Massachusetts on beautiful Cape Cod, and not Plymouth, rock or no rock.

Like any ship, and most especially any wooden ship, periodic maintenance and repairs are needed. This took a bit longer than expected, as the needed repairs were extensive, and required large timbers which are no longer readily available. Repairs were done in drydock in Fairhaven, so transporting the Mayflower II was through the Cape Cod Canal.

This morning the Mayflower II returned to Plymouth, and many people were present to see it being towed through the Cape Cod Canal. Those who live on the Cape are very aware of our maritime history, and anything related to both history and the sea draws a crowd. We were surprised to see how quickly it was towed. I was also surprised to see how small it is, and more particularly how narrow. A tour of the ship is still in my future, but it was exciting to see it as it passed by. Coming quickly through the canal in the company of its escort and other modern boats, it passed by like a shadow of the past.

Count de Money

Life goes on. I am busy every day and yet nothing that happens seems to be blog fodder. News and politics compel my attention, yet are so discouraging and infuriating that I am (temporarily) speechless. With that in mind I share something I have not seen for a while but that has current relevance:

Back to Reality

Last week was the week of our much-anticipated camping trip to New Hampshire. I had a vague idea what to expect, but never having been to New Hampshire I was eager to see it for myself. We had reservations at Terrace Pines, in the Lakes District of New Hampshire. I would recommend the campground, with reservations. It is on two lovely large ponds, with kayak and canoe rental available. The campground has electricity and water at each site, with sewer hookups for RV campers. As a tent camper, I would have liked our site to be a little bigger, secluded, and more wooded. Still, the campground is spotlessly maintained and in spite of the large number of children around during the day it quiets down early and is very restful at night. It is not one of those campgrounds that attracts a large number of loud party people. Our campsite was at a little remove from the neighbors on one side, with the site on the other side empty until the night before we left, so we were able to feel cozy and private.

All the same, I don't think we will stay at Terrace Pines next time we camp in New Hampshire. As it happens, most of the attractions we ended up visiting and the ones we want to make time for on our next trip were in the southern part of the White Mountains and points north. I think we will choose a campground more in that direction when we return. And we will return. New Hampshire is beautiful, and the skiing operations have really bought into making the state a year round draw. I don't ski or snowmobile, but the areas devoted to those winter sports have really invested in drawing tourists in the summer as well. There were a lot of family attractions with outdoor activities and tours for a full range of abilities. New Hampshire weather being what it is (Mount Washington is shrouded with fog 60% of the time), you do need to be a little flexible in your plans, but there are plenty of options.  If you are easily bored you will not run out of things to do.

The Kancamagus Highway is a beautiful attraction. You could easily spend an entire vacation on this 34.5 stretch  of road. There are campgrounds, hiking trails, scenic overlooks, waterfalls, rapids, and swimming holes a-plenty. I doubt you would run out of things to do if you never left the area. We were overcome with its beauty and variety. One day we went back to the campground early as we had seen as much natural beauty as we could absorb.

We also visited Woodstock and Conway to shop and look around. Woodstock is very pretty, and the Woodstock Inn would be a wonderful place to stay. We had lunch at the Woodstock Inn and found the food and the house made beers exceptional. Conway has an outlet mall of remarkable diversity if you are a vacation shopper. We confined ourselves to shopping at the L.L. Bean and Eastern Mountain Sports outlets, as we needed a few bits of equipment (you may read that as "we went shopping for toys"). I got a nice pair of hiking shoes at a reasonable price at L.L. Bean. My old standby boots are 30 years old, and it was nice to have a lighter and cooler pair of hikers for summer. I'll also be wearing these at work; I have worn out a pair of cross trainers on the job. Although both towns have plenty of attractions and shopping we found the prices very high and did little other shopping. If you go to Conway you should go to Zeb's Country Store. It's a lot of fun, and a good place to get some non-foolish souvenirs and gifts like candy and handmade soap.

We had our share of vacation misadventures, which I will note on a later post. For now I will just say that we found New Hampshire stunningly beautiful, delightfully cool, and worthy of a second and third look.  As with any road trip, I also got most of a gift sock completed - it's the holiday knitting part of the year, after all!

Mid July Weather Mayhem

Before, May 2 2013

Well, not actual mayhem, but pretty far from what I am used to. This week and last we have had rain and rain and rain. Mainland Massachusetts has received crazy amounts of rain and severe storms. Here on Cape Cod we have not had that much, but enough so that I have only watered once for just a little while. I had planted some kale seed and wanted to improve the chances of germination, otherwise I would have let well enough alone. The Oklahoma July I was used to consisted of heat, and more heat, sometimes with no measurable rain at all. It's not nearly so hot here, but the humidity is off the charts. It actually makes my rather straight hair bushy and wavy.

After, July 11, 2013

We have as much lettuce as we and our friends can eat. I have a nice snack of snap peas everyday and plenty still make it into the house. Carrots are making, but we are still a good month out from harvest. Haricots Verts are nearly ready, and purple  bush beans will hit the menu before the weekend is over. So far our herbs are keeping up with our requirements. This is saying a lot because I love parsley.  No tomatoes yet. I am getting some blossom drop on my Beefsteak, so will try a little fertilizer, although there is plenty of compost and cow manure in Tomato Land. It may be the damp conditions and warmish nights are working against me. Lemon Girl has set a few, but they are smallish still, and the cherry tomato plant has one spray of fruit and one of flowers. I know my garden is generally a little behind some others I have seen

around here, so I am being patient. Cucumbers are setting fruit well. All things being equal we should be overrun with cukes in a few weeks. My basil still sucks. I am going to move some from the patio to the garden as soon as we have the second set of leaves to see if they will do better there.  The before and after pictures are May 2 and July 11 of this year. Quite a difference, I'd say!

 We are doing great for pollinators, which I was a little concerned about. I don't see many of Jill's honey bees, but we have loads of bumble bees, solitary bees, and tiny wasps. I think having so many flowers surrounding the bed has helped attract our insects. Oddly enough, the only flower that seems not to be attracting bees like crazy is Monarda (bee balm).

Bumble bee on cucumber blossom waiting for its wings to dry

Tonight we are going to see Melissa Etheridge at the Cape Cod Melody Tent. It's a terrific venue - rotating stage in a tent: a nice smaller venue. I don't care for big concerts at all. The acoustics are seldom good enough to enjoy the music or even make out the lyrics, and I find big crowds tiring. A smaller venue is exponentially better for me. The Melody Tent gets a lot of great acts, but we are limiting ourselves to one per season. We'll be camping in Ossipee New Hampshire the last week of this month, so I think our summer is shaping up to have plenty of entertainment, if not fine weather and beach days.

They are always looking at me hoping for treats

This week I have four dogs.  Mitzi has moved here from my father-in-law's house, as his condition is deteriorating. We still have the Amazing Roxanne, of course, and two dogs visiting for a few days. Peyton Manning the Chihuahua is mixing it up with the rest of the pack, and Sparky is staying in the basement out of the traffic pattern, as befits his elderly (23yrs) state and poor state of health. We call Sparky Keith Richards after his advanced state of decrepitude and the sad state of his hair. I think having the extra dogs here is helping Mitzi settle in, as all the other dogs have stayed here before and know the routine. The best dog teacher is another dog. She is a barker, and coming from a pretty isolated house set far back from a quiet road to one on a rather busy street she needs to adjust to the activity level outside. The other dogs let her know when something is worth barking about. I take the three younger dogs out for a daily walk to get Mitzi used to the neighborhood and prevent squabbling. It's the high point in their day. Little Peyton does not know how to walk on a leash, which is a common failing with tiny dogs, but he is learning to stay on the left and not wrap himself around my legs. His leash is one of the retractable kind, which I find to be less than useless.

A Crafter's Bucket List

Matched set of Fish Hats

As a girl I learned the basics of knitting, crochet, embroidery, cooking (including jam!) and sewing. I also learned to lay asphalt tile (does anyone use it anymore?), "cut-in" paint, and float concrete. I learned some of the basics of gardening, at least the flowery kind. Although both of my grandfathers had big veggie gardens at various times I never learned anything about growing veggies. My paternal grandmother tried to teach me to tat, but I didn't get the hang of it. I learned these things in the 50's and 60's and thought I had a good overview of crafts. My Irish grandmother crocheted with pearl cotton and did needlepoint and I was pretty sure I did not want to do either of those.

Mailbox Garden Year Two Early Spring

Then came the Internet. I started out small. There was a time before Knitty when you could sail around the knitters' webring in one sitting. Bonne Marie Burns and Wendy Johnson were my heros. Now you really have to pick and choose. I don't get around to every crafty blog I like very often, but the inspiration to be found there is astonishing.

Crafts I have not yet tried but want to:

Tatting - maybe I could do it now.
Spinning - probably drop spindle, as a wheel is an investment
Fimo Clay - Buttons are my particular interest
Needle felting - I will try this on a holiday gift this year
Quilting - God help me, I'd like to try a crazy quilt

Laurel Closeup

Things I have done before but want to take up again:

Sewing is starting to look appealing again
Sourdough baking
Embroidery

Things I will never do but love to look at:

Quilling
Furniture building


There are a few little projects that I can't categorize. I made a little sign for my garden, and will be stenciling a line of poetry on a sheet of plywood as a piece of garden art. I have my plywood painted, but have to see if I have any stencils.  I want to make a little fairy door to tuck into the bottom of a tree for whimsey. I am on the lookout for a louvre door or shutter that I can turn into a magazine rack.

Too many possibilities!

No Idle Hands

Bird life at Bournes Pond

This week marks my yearly change from knitting for myself to knitting for gifts. I hate deadline knitting - the only way to avoid the rush is to start early. Last week I finished a baby gift for a member of my knitting group. This week I will finish the last of the "selfish" projects, a nice pair of plain socks for myself. I will not have these socks on my feet until fall, but by the time it is cool enough to wear them I will be deep into holiday knitting. I actually have yarn purchased and patterns chosen for most of my gift knitting. For the ones not yet queued up I will select from stash and my library of books and patterns. In a way, my christmas shopping is largely finished already!

This week I have a few days off in a row, with a couple of non-knitting projects planned. They will be garden decor items for the new veggie and sunny flower garden, and I think maybe Shana will enjoy doing them with me. I had thought to do them outside, but since paint and wood are involved I think maybe the forecast of all rain all the time all week is not going to suit us. We have had thunderstorms every day for a week. The temperatures have been cool, which has made the humidity less oppressive and the lettuce willing to last a little longer (although the basil is less happy about it and may have to be started over once the weather dries up a bit). This will not last. Temperatures are rising.  I am resorting to wearing shorts to work like the men. Jeans are out of the question for the duration, and some days even my khakis are just too hot to be thought of.

Today's project is a simple rhubarb syrup to add to lemonade (about even parts rhubarb, sugar and water, boiled down to a light syrup). I want to plant some rhubarb, but since it is a large and long lived plant I want to be sure we will enjoy using it before I devote a lot of space to it. I know I like rhubarb, having grown up with it, but Shana is not familiar with it. I want to ease her into the rhubarb love gently. I picked up a few stalks at Coonamessett Farm yesterday, just enough for my experiment. I did pop the remaining leaves with a bit of stem into the ground - we are having thunderstorms every day, so it is just possible it will grow for me. I'd love to have some around to add to an apple or pear pie, or to make some rhubarb applesauce.

Swan family life

Canning is in the near future at The Little House. If we get a decent yield from our cucumber plants Shana wants to make some pickles. She made her first batch a few years ago and they were very good. After my last jar of marmalade I think I will be making my own soon. I had not purchased any for many years. The most recent jar surprised me with how little peel and little flavor it had. It was not a bargain brand, and it just was not good enough. I don't think it would be too difficult to freeze up citrus peels until I have enough for a batch of good marmalade. I am also feeling a nostalgic craving for watermelon pickle, which is very easy to make. I am lucky enough to have been exposed to a fair amount of home canning and jam making when I was young. I know it is something we will be able to do, and do well.