Coffee

[digitS']

Good Morning Bay' and everyone.

Up way to early. Left over cream of rice from the fridge. Thinking of how I could improve on the bland taste. Should be different than yesterday's raisins and honey. Out of dried apricots. Peanut butter!

Did an @flowerbug , put about half a T of peanut butter in it. Choke. Needed to drink more than the cup of oolong! Started on the herb tea, way too early ...

It has occurred to me that I should be able to cut the steep steeping time on this stuff if I put it through the coffee grinder. Don't know if that would work with the cranberries. Put the cranberries in the dehydrator and take them down to crispy? Nah ... Better to just continue getting up early. Sleepy ...

d

 

[Phaedra]

Just made a one-person portion of milk tea for me, so good!

 

[flowerbug]

Did an @flowerbug , put about half a T of peanut butter in it. Choke. Needed to drink more than the cup of oolong! Started on the herb tea, way too early ...

haha! half a T is barely a hint to me. but it would also depend upon how much i would be adding it to. for my morning oatmeal of dried cherries (about a quarter cup) and a bit over a quarter cup of dried oats (both then completely well cooked) i'd be adding about 2-3T of peanut butter. it has to last all day!

 

[digitS']

From the Seedsaver's thread, a comment on @Zeedman 's concerns about losing his rural garden:

About the time I joined TEG, my rural garden was on a bench above the river. I'd been there for a few seasons and enjoyed being there after finding the place through an acquaintance. However, I could see the writing on the wall with the declining health of one owner. She entered a nursing home shortly after I left and her husband sold the property.

By that time, I was gardening elsewhere. It was sad to leave because it was such a pleasant location. A couple of years later, I was taking a walk on the river and climbed the path to my former garden. There were small pine trees and wild roses beginning to grow there!

Before I arrived, and years before that, the only use for that piece of ground was as a bike track for the owners' kids. They grew up and left home.

The rural garden that I have now was in 2 parts. Recently, the owners sold part of their property and I was invited to move to part B and use as much of that former little hayfield as I wanted. Part A is just across an access road and I have seen that nothing has been done with it other than it was tilled up once in the last 3 years. Weeds. Could I talk with the new owners and move my gardening back? It would surprise me if they turned me down. Even if irrigation would now be more difficult, they pay the water district for the water whether it is used or not. I'd be "just beyond the 'raspberry jungle'" again.

I may have made mistakes leaving both of these locations. They weren't very serious mistakes if they were. Even now, I get along well with 2 neighbors at the rural garden. One has only a garage on the property. The other mows about 3 acres twice a year and does nothing else with it.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

... Even now, I get along well with 2 neighbors at the rural garden. One has only a garage on the property. The other mows about 3 acres twice a year and does nothing else with it.

the idea of having so much land and just mowing it turns my stomach. such a waste. the big attraction to me now is "open land" that doesn't have so many complications like what i have to deal with here. it takes time to work around things all the time and it isn't easy to take care of all of these edges and decorations (they're all wind traps for blown seeds - we have tumble weeds this year from the south field that was poorly maintained by the farmers this past season - it's a mess all over).

i've simplified in recent years but there is such a long ways to go IMO that it may be better for me to start over some place else. that also would be a lot of work.

once a garden has been cleared and kept well for a few seasons the weeds do get a lot easier to manage, by year 10 you are mostly dealing with what blows in on the wind or gets transplanted on shoes, machines, tools, or by animals. though i think that morning glory seeds and a few other garden plants seem to keep viable seeds in the soil seed bank for that long. arg...

 

[meadow]

haha! half a T is barely a hint to me. but it would also depend upon how much i would be adding it too. for my morning oatmeal of dried cherries (about a quarter cup) and a bit over a quarter cup of dried oats (both then completely well cooked) i'd be adding about 2-3T of peanut butter. it has to last all day!

About once a week I diverge from the usual oatmeal with frozen blueberries to have it with peanut butter and chocolate chips. YUM!

 

[flowerbug]

About once a week I diverge from the usual oatmeal with frozen blueberries to have it with peanut butter and chocolate chips. YUM!

that sounds good too, of course as a chocoholic i've done that and many other things, but i'm trying to cut back so i try to keep sweets as a once in a while treat and not a constant conveyor belt to my gob...

once a week sounds ok.

 

[Zeedman]

About once a week I diverge from the usual oatmeal with frozen blueberries to have it with peanut butter and chocolate chips. YUM!

Now I know what to do with the remaining frozen blueberries (5 pints) other than smoothies.

 

[flowerbug]

Now I know what to do with the remaining frozen blueberries (5 pints) other than smoothies.

we often make muffins with them. we start with the corn muffin mix and then Mom adds some flour to it so it isn't quite so gritty for her.

 

[Zeedman]

From the Seedsaver's thread, a comment on @Zeedman 's concerns about losing his rural garden:

About the time I joined TEG, my rural garden was on a bench above the river. I'd been there for a few seasons and enjoyed being there after finding the place through an acquaintance. However, I could see the writing on the wall with the declining health of one owner. She entered a nursing home shortly after I left and her husband sold the property.

By that time, I was gardening elsewhere. It was sad to leave because it was such a pleasant location. A couple of years later, I was taking a walk on the river and climbed the path to my former garden. There were small pine trees and wild roses beginning to grow there!

Before I arrived, and years before that, the only use for that piece of ground was as a bike track for the owners' kids. They grew up and left home.

The rural garden that I have now was in 2 parts. Recently, the owners sold part of their property and I was invited to move to part B and use as much of that former little hayfield as I wanted. Part A is just across an access road and I have seen that nothing has been done with it other than it was tilled up once in the last 3 years. Weeds. Could I talk with the new owners and move my gardening back? It would surprise me if they turned me down. Even if irrigation would now be more difficult, they pay the water district for the water whether it is used or not. I'd be "just beyond the 'raspberry jungle'" again.

I may have made mistakes leaving both of these locations. They weren't very serious mistakes if they were. Even now, I get along well with 2 neighbors at the rural garden. One has only a garage on the property. The other mows about 3 acres twice a year and does nothing else with it.

Steve

It appears we have had similar garden experiences, @digitS' . I have always been a big advocate of gardening on unused spaces (O.P.P.) and have had 6 such gardens over the years. Sadly, all but the current rural garden have since reverted to their wild state or been paved over... as will happen to that garden when I abandon it.

For all but the most heavily urbanized areas (and sometimes even there) you can find vacant spaces; and if offered a creative win-win proposition, many property owners will allow the land to be cultivated. Some of those I've worked with were actually happy to have someone watching & maintaining the property. Since my area is mostly rural & suburban, I have no doubt that I can find another garden site - if I still feel up to a second garden at that point.

And I am happy to have found a collaborator this year close to me (also in SSE) who might be able to help maintain parts of my collection.