The Secret Garden

Since moving into this house, I've attempted to turn the front area into something of a hidden treasure.  A few years back I made a patio from reclaimed bricks. I planted and killed a large amount of plants but finally I've had success in a few of the rogue plants returning.  My thought for that area is that I want it to look like a treasure that someone stumbles upon..... a secret patio in the woods somewhere.  Yesterday, I finally took another step in achieving this.

Connected to this area is a war zone of about 5 foot by 12 foot.  It had some remaining ivy and the left over bricks from the patio and a few weeds.  I pulled out the ivy, moved the bricks and hit the nursery center.  Too much money later, I returned with the goods. 

At this point, I'm hoping that my secret garden grows in to what I envision in my head.  The husband is having heart failure at the amount of money I spent and truthfully I am feeling a bit bad myself.... only because of my track record.   I love the way the plants look and once they take over and fill the space, I'm going to be very happy.  Especially because everything I bought is a perennial.  My musings include not only the secret garden but a low maintenance garden too.  One I can just enjoy but not be tied to every waking moment. 

HAPPY FOURTH!

This morning as we were preparing to go to all of the picnics we were invited to this weekend, we got an awesome symbol of this land that we love.  My hubby started calling the kids to "COME LOOK".  There in our yard was a momma wild turkey and her 5 babies.  They were so cute and adorable.  My kids wanted to run out and pet them.  I used this time as a teachable moment concerning wild animals and especially wild animal mommas and their babies. 

We stepped out for a few hours and on our way home we had to stop for about 5 minutes a street over.  This time three mommas and about 10 babies made their way across the street.  Again, no words can explain how adorable and fuzzy the babies looked. 

I thought it was kind of ironic that our national mascot was going to be the wild turkey and here, on the weekend celebrating our freedom, is a momma turkey and baby turkeys in my yard.  Then a friend sent me a note saying that turkeys are a symbol of sacrifice to a cause or a symbol of a gift.  Both appropriate as I celebrate all those who have died for our freedom and those who still live with the battle scars internal and external.  Thank you to both of my brothers, Norb and Dennis, for their sacrifices and losses.  We are forever greatful to you.      

MINTY, MINT MINT MINT!!!!!

I started out wanting a mint garden.  I wanted it in an area of lawn where I didn't care if the mint took over, which I know it will.  My friend, when she bought her house, had stepped out the door on a cold March evening and smelled mint.  There growing outside of her door was a ton of mint.  I remember her being so excited about it and since then, I wanted a patch too.  I thought I found that place but quickly realized I didn't think it got enough sun.  So I put the mint I had purchased aside (all seven kinds) until I could figure out a new spot.

 

The mint sat there for several weeks, until I gave up sometime last week and put them in a container garden out in the front of my house.  Although they look good, I was hoping for mint everywhere!  I LOVE mint (if you couldn't tell).  Hopefully soon, I'll find that perfect spot.  Until then, I'll have to enjoy them in their containers.  I do think I am going to fertilize and then hopefully get them into the ground so, sometime in March I can step outside and smell the mint.

Strawberry Picking

One morning this week, my kids and I drove up to a local farm to pick our own strawberries.  The knowledge of where our food comes from is important to me for my kids to know.  I don't want them thinking the grocery store is where food is made but rather I want them to experience the farm and all of it's quirky goodness.

We decided to ask my mom to join us.  She was having a "good" day (she has MS) and was excited to go berry picking.  My kids love every moment they spend with her.  They were so excited to have this experience with my mom.

We drove the 15 minutes to "the farm", gathered our strawberry boxes and waited for the next shuttle.  I think my kids favorite part was riding the shuttle.  This consisted of two park benches, back to back, on a flatbed being pulled by a camoflaged golf cart.  They thought it was AWESOME!  And the farm lives up to "quirky goodness". 

The shuttle dropped us off at the patch and we started the hunt.  I was hoping to fill both my boxes and have my kids fill their boxes.  You know where this is going?  Well I started gleefully picking my strawberries.  It was kind of hot out there, but the intermittent light rain was really perfect.  There was a slight breeze to accompany the light rain.  I looked over to where my kids were crowding my mom to see my mom laughing so hard I thought she was going to fall over.  My daughter kept picking the strawberries and then she'd say, "Grammy!  Here's a good one.  I think I'll eat it."  And so this ensued the entire picking time.  Needless to say, her basket ended up with about 3 strawberries while her belly probably had a good quart of them. 

By the end of the picking session, I walked away with about two and a half baskets full of strawberries.  With those, I made strawberry preserves.  My kids and husband go through a ton of jelly.  I figured I'd make it cheaper on us.  The entire lot of strawberries came to about $25.  The pectin, which I didn't have, came to about $12, but I got coupons in the boxes.  I had the canning jars and lids and everything else needed.  So for about $40, I was able to make 16 and a 1/2 pints of preserves/jam.  Not bad for a day of work.

The thing that struck me most about "the farm" is that it used to be in the middle of the country.  But as always, suburbia keeps growing.  Kudos to the farm for keeping it's land and continuing to function as a farm.  But also for growing into the role that it now plays, which is a farm but also market, tea party hostess, gift shop, garden center, wine shop and bakery all in one.

From high atop the hillside I looked down past all of the buildings to see the farms other fields full of bounty and bordered by a shopping plaza.  Behind me I heard the roar of the trucks and cars on one of the busiest highways in all of Pittsburgh.  I thought about this small piece of heaven in the middle of all the commotion.  Life stops for no one and yet this farm knows how to stop time amid the hustle and bustle of modern day life.  Again, kudos to them.

Poison Ivy

I've never known what poison ivy looks like. I mean I know the rule, "leaves of three, let it be", however, there are other less problematic plants that have leaves of three. I have asked several of my friends who are "outdoorsy", but no one could ever point it out.

Last week, my husband and I went on a "Venture Outdoors" hike (http://www.ventureoutdoors.org/). It was really awesome. The lovely guide pointed out poison ivy along the trail. Hubby bared his forearm, which is totally covered in the itchy rash. The crowd oohed and ahhed at the sight of this little plant and it's wrath.

I'm so thankful the guide pointed out what it looks like, because the very next day, as I was getting out of my car, I saw some. It is along the driveway in what I refer to as "my woods". My Woods is a small (maybe 6-8 feet) area between my driveway and my neighbors yard where we let the plants do what they do naturally. It provides a nice barrier between yards and we attract quite a bit of birds (what ever the cats don't get), squirrels and other critters. It makes us feel a little more secluded in our suburban neighborhood and we like it.

Yesterday, my brothers came to pick some things up I was storing for them. My one brother, Dennis is super "outdoorsy". He was standing in my driveway and pointed out how the poison ivy has taken the liberty of starting to climb our oak tree in "my woods". I challenged him because there is also another vine on it. Calmly he showed me the difference in the two. By George, there is a difference.

At this point I am looking for "green" ways to get rid of it. I've read boiling water.... but not sure that will do anything. In the mean time, I am now wise to it's appearance. I am hoping I excape this season WITHOUT any of it. This is more than I can say for hubby.

Foraging

Last year I found a place in Brookville PA that hosts really cool looking "outdoorsy" type excursions. When I was reading the website, I thought it was a B&B that hosted classes in yoga and relaxation as well as how to make soap, cheese and a variety of other classes. I kept thinking, "THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!", but let me back up a bit.

When my best friend and I were teenagers, we used to do sleep overs several times per week. I can't tell you how many nights I spent at her mom's house watching movies and then getting up the next morning to drag our butts to school. "The Breakfast Club" was always on the list, but so was a movie called, "Casual Sex". It isn't exactly what the title implys. It is about two single girl friends who are tired of working non stop, so they book a trip to a spa resort. Andrew Dice Clay is in it and there breeds the title, "Casual Sex". Anyway, she and I have always made a pact that someday, we would do what these gals did.... go to a spa and relax!

Here we are almost 17 years later and we still have yet to do the spa thing. So when I saw this place that is close to home, should something arise with our kids, yet far enough away that we feel like we are AWAY, I thought it a win-win. Last summer came and went without us even calling to get details. I decided I wouldn't wait so long this year and I called. It seems this isn't an inclusive thing, unless you get 5 or more people together. Also, you aren't staying on the actual farm.... it would be about a half mile down the road at another farm. I think it is still looks like a wonderful place, but it just isn't what I was hoping for when thinking of our "girls trip".

What I did find on their list of schedules is a foraging class. This is something they offer regardless if there is a group staying. My husband and I are very interested in the idea of picking our own food in our own backyard/woods. I called to get some details and the EXTREMELY nice woman explained they do not put up just one family, rather we would need to stay somewhere else close by. This opened up the door for a camping excursion.

My son has been asking us to take him camping for at least 6 months. I like camping, but seem to smell like a last supper to mosquitos.... so I end up being miserable. My husband doesn't care for camping unless he has a working toilet and some water. He's more of a cabin type of guy. Cook Forest is not far from this place so I am hoping to get a cabin there for the weekend.

In preparation for the "class" on foraging, I went into my own backyard to pick mulberries from my GIGANTIC mulberry tree, only to realize that the ladder I needed to pick the currently ripe berries is buried in the back of my garage. It is nicely tucked between all the crap from the basement and my gardening stuff. Determined NOT to let it get me down, I walked back over to the tree and realized the wind had knocked a lot of ripe berries off the tree onto the ground. I began to forage. I picked a nice bunch of berries and washed them. I am putting them into a baggie and into the freezer until I've picked enough to make some jelly. Hopefully, there will be enough left over to freeze to use as a filling for pie come winter.

As I was squatting to pick up the berries, my mind went to the animals that eat these berries and then to the Native Americans who used to forage in this same manor. I also began to think about areas in the world where this is still the method for finding your food. One phrase rang out over and over again in my mind, "Do you know where your food comes from?" I answered my own thoughts with, "YES! YES I DO!". Pride beamed from my inner self.

I also thought of some of my friends and acquaintances who like the idea of local produce but would not be able to get over the fact that these berries were found on the ground. They would be thinking how "unsterile" it is to eat a berry off the ground. I had a nice chuckle and then got gloomy. It is truly sad how disconnected we've become. My mind raced to the movie "WALL-E" and also the movie "Food Inc". How have we let ourselves become so far removed from the idea of REAL FOOD?

I enjoyed my short adventure in my own backyard, however so did the mosquitos. In the 15-20 minutes I was out there, I've already found at least 3 bites. I'm sure there are more that will expose themselves, as always. I guess those little buggers were just foraging too.

My Big Score!

Since building my patio retreat, I've been wanting a metal table and chairs. But I didn't want a new one, I wanted an older looking one. I wanted a cast iron or something similar. I've read about cast iron and how it rusts.... they say aluminum is better. I've been on the look out for two years..... and I found one the other day. To say I'm overjoyed is an understatement. I just keep looking at the set and it makes me smile every time. I paid $50 at the thrift store and it is cast aluminum.

SCORE!!!!!