All Work and No Play …

 

Last week was busy. There was a lot going on every day. We worked. We played. I think we had a nice balance that kept Jack from being a dull boy. From sunup to sundown and beyond, there was always something happening. So much so, that I can hardly remember what happened when.

I spent a lot of time in the garden. You might wonder how I can spend so much time there day after day, week after week. I can because a garden is never finished. It is in a state of continual change, which means there is always something that needs to be done. There are the changes that come with each season, the changes that nature is in charge of more or less. And then there are the changes that I work as I try to impose my imagination and will on it. The gardens here have undergone great changes over the years. From the simple, weedy, 3'x8' flowerbed I inherited when we moved here, has evolved the 8'x80' long border that runs across the back yard plus four other flowerbeds and various vegetable gardens that have appeared and disappeared over the years. What grows in these gardens changes from year to year based on my whims. In the flowerbeds, there are perennials that form a sort of permanent backbone around which I plant annuals. Sometimes those perennials run amok and spread beyond their allotted space and I must rein them in. If they misbehave too much, I sometimes remove them completely. Radical changes in the garden are exciting and also sometimes a bit tragic.

I began some radical changes last week. There are places where quackgrass (Elymus repens) has invaded and intertwined with plants so completely that the only way to get rid of it is to dig everything up. That's what happened on Monday. I picked a spot in the long border to weed, the section where the oriental poppies grow, and quickly realized that there was no way to get the quackgrass out without digging up the whole bed. The poppies are dormant right now, so I couldn't tell where their roots were to avoid them and I think I might have dug all of them out as well. The quackgrass has long rhizomes that spread under the soil. The longest one I pulled up on Monday was five feet long. I had to dig down deep to get them out, and I doubt I got them all. By the time I finished, that section of the bed was bare except for a little rose bush I planted this spring. I hope the oriental poppies are still there sleeping under the soil, but I won't know until spring.

Quackgrass. Multiply this by several hundred, all tangled together, and that's what I had to deal with.

Cleaning out the poppy bed.

The finished bed.

Some of my perennials have also overspread themselves, phlox, obedient plant, and ornamental silk grass in particular. They are in bloom right now so I won't disturb them, but in the fall when they are done, I will remove clumps of them to reduce their size and allow other things to be planted.

My guinea fowl adventure is not going as smoothly as I hoped. I have the six of them sequestered in the middle pen in the coop, along with two chicks that have been with them from the start. I thought by keeping chicks with them, the big flock would eventually let them integrate, but I don't think that's going to happen. Some teenage chicks got into the middle pen one day while I was in there filling the feeder and they immediately attacked the guineas. I think if I let the guineas out into the main flock, the chickens will attack them and hurt them or drive them away. Guineas are prone to wander anyway and if the flock is brutal to them, I think they'll just disappear. Miriam came up with an idea to put the youngest chicks, one at a time, in the pen with the guineas to see if, bit by bit, they can reach some sort of harmonious coexistence. In the meantime, I'm working on a Plan B. I have a friend who knows someone who will sell me some guinea eggs, $10 for a dozen. I have three hens that are broody right now. If I can get eggs to put under those hens and let them hatch and raise them, I think they will blend better into the flock. We'll see what happens, if it happens.

My welcome committee waiting for breakfast. I need to clip some wings.

Rachel and Hazel arrived on Monday afternoon. June, Mabel, Florence, and especially Russell were very happy to see them. With their arrival, plus the Shillig's daughter Kohl and her three children on Monday and our niece Missy and two of her children on Wednesday, the party atmosphere here skyrocketed.

My war against quackgrass continued on Tuesday. I selected a new section of the flowerbed and went on attack. There wasn't really anything growing there that I wanted to keep except some lupine. I managed to save them and rip out the quackgrass. Then I couldn't stop myself. I went on to the next section, and the next. It was cathartic ripping out weeds, bringing tidiness to what was an overgrown mess. At the end of the day, I stood back and admired my handiwork, ignoring the portions of the weedy bed that remained. I didn't have time to tackle them for a few days.

My progress as of Tuesday.

I had three doctor's appointments last week. The first one was on Wednesday in Buffalo. I went for another MRI. Stacey went with me. I don't like to drive where there is actual traffic and I was also very anxious because of the MRI. I'd had one before, so I knew what to expect this time, but being slightly claustrophobic, getting inserted into a narrow tube is pretty stressful for me. I did okay. Now we have to wait for the results – also a bit stressful. After my appointment, we went to the Buffalo Airport and picked up Missy and her children. Then on the way home, we stopped to do some shopping. All of that took up most of the day.

My second appointment was on Thursday in Olean with my acupuncturist. That meant more time in the car, but this time I drove myself because I can handle the traffic between here and Olean. Rather than feeling stress, my visits to the acupuncturist are calm and relaxing. Sometimes, after she has inserted the needles, I lay there and doze off. On my way home from that, I stopped at the feed store to buy chicken and pig feed. I'm buying my feed from a new place, a family run business in Coudersport. I'd rather buy from them than from a big chain store. When I got home, I resumed weeding the long border. I also pulled up the onions in the big onion patch and set them to dry a little.

Onions drying.

We've had an outbreak of Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillars (Lophocampa caryae). Suddenly they are everywhere. I tolerate most caterpillars except the super destructive ones like Gypsy Moths and Eastern Tent Moths. I don't tolerate Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillars. They are covered with fuzzy black and white hairs that, if touched, break off and embed in the skin and cause dermatitis. Being so fuzzy, they are a temptation for the unknowing to touch them. In the mornings, Russell and Florence go with me on a hunting excursion to find them and squish them (without touching them). We find them all over the place – on the lawn, on the porches, on the sidewalk. Just one more battle with nature we undertake.

Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillar on the back porch.

On Thursday we celebrated a double birthday. Sarah turned 37 and Roman (Kurt and Julie's son-in-law, their daughter Kale's husband) turned 43. We celebrated on the Shillig's back porch. The Shilligs made meatball sandwiches and mosquito salad. For dessert we had cookies that Rachel made and brownies that Miriam made. We sang happy birthday. They opened gifts. We ended the day with a bonfire.

The birthday celebrants.

Party animals.

The bonfire.

My third appointment wasn't really a doctor's appointment, but a teeth cleaning at the dentist. For some reason, back when I scheduled it, I thought 7:30 a.m. was a suitable time. Maybe I thought I'd just get it over with early so as not to ruin an entire morning. I don't like going to the dentist, even for just a cleaning, a dislike that stretches all the way back to early childhood. More stress, but I survived.

A bouquet of China asters.

On Friday we had a big garden project. With the onions ready, we wanted to freeze dry most of them. Sarah set up a workstation out under the trees by the farmhouse with tables, cutting boards, food processors, and trays. We gathered the onions that I pulled up the day before and cut off their tops. Then we processed them and prepared them to go into the freeze dryer. Some we chopped. Some we pureed. Sarah set up a camp stove and caramelized some of them. Then we put them in bags and trays and froze them. We processed about 300 onions. The old proverb "Many hands make light work" is very true. We will be freeze drying them in batches in the days ahead. We have another onion bed with another 300 still to be processed. And then there are potatoes. And tomatoes. And peppers. And beans, broccoli, squash, and corn. And last of all, pears and apples. Harvest time keeps us busy.

June cutting off tops.

Tabor, Rachel, and Missy cleaning off onion roots.

Sarah, Missy, and me chopping and bagging.

June caramelizing onions.

The pigs were very interested in the process. The onion patch is right by their pen and they took a keen interest in what was going on, hoping every second that it involved food for them. It didn't. We threw a few tops to them, but they didn't like them. They were disappointed.

Hoping for more food, but not onion tops.

Friday afternoon Stacey arranged for a private screening of this week's movie at the Coudersport Theater. The movie was Smurfs, which everyone, even the children, said was a dumb movie, but they had fun. That evening we had Pizza-à la-Hannah over on the Shillig's back porch. It was a beautiful evening with perfect weather. The food was great and the company was superb.

At the movies.

I continued my extreme weeding binge on Saturday. This time, I tackled the flowerbed in the side yard that runs parallel to the road. It has always been weedy and somewhat neglected, which is odd because it is the garden most visible to those who drive by, so you'd think I'd make sure it looks good. Somehow I never did that. I spent a couple of hours ripping out weeds and then decided that in the fall, when everything there is finished blooming, I'm going to till the whole thing up and start fresh.

Ripping out weeds.

We haven't had rain in ten days and it is very dry. Except for where it's shady under the trees, the front lawn has gone brown. We are watering the vegetable gardens every day. One day we even managed to run the well dry next door. The rain barrel down at the barn is almost empty and I'm carrying water down in buckets every day. There isn't any rain in the forecast until Wednesday and then it's just a 50% chance. This often happens in August.

One of our summer traditions when we have family visiting is to make a movie starring all the cousins. Stacey is the mastermind behind it. She and her crew of helpers come up with a plot, costumes, dialog, and special effects. Most of Friday evening and Saturday morning were spent filming the production. Next will come hours and hours of work as Stacey edits all the footage. I'll share the final cut when it's finished.

All the summer cousins of 2025.

Saturday afternoon was our Branch Birthday Celebration. The Wellsville Branch turned 46 year old. We have been members of it for a little more than half of that time. We have several members that have been here the whole 46 years. We gathered at the chapel. The Lion's Club put up a tent for us. We had hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and corn on the cob, provided by the branch, and various salads and desserts provided by the members. The food was plentiful and good. The Shilligs brought their cotton-candy machine, which was a big hit. Thirty-six people showed up and I think it turned out to be a great event.

At the branch birthday party.

At the branch birthday party.

At the branch birthday party.

Kohl making cotton-candy.

Russell with his cotton-candy.

The Thayns left for home after that. After having the grandchildren here for ten days, the place seems sepulchral now. The energy is gone. The noise is gone. It seems a bit boring with just the four of us here. We spent the evening tidying up, putting away the extra beds, the toys, the dollhouse, the dress-up clothes, and gathering up all the things that got left behind. There are still visitors next door, but with no children at our house, those children don't come over here as often.

Stacey also made the first batch of relish that evening. She ground the cucumbers, peppers, and onions earlier that morning, salted it and let it sit all day. Then in the evening, she cooked it and canned it. The aroma of cooking relish filled the house and made it smell like August.

Stacey canning relish.

This Sabbath morning was very quiet – inside and outside the house. When I went out this morning, there were no birds singing. With nesting season done, they don't sing as much. And the peacock is past his breeding season, so he doesn't make much noise now. The rooster crowed a few times when I went down to feed them, but that was all the noise there was. Inside the house, no one stirred until they had to get up and get ready for church. There was no patter of little feet upstairs, no Russell coming down at 7:00 wanting cereal. It was a pretty morning and very peaceful, but also a little sad.

Church was good. The day has warmed to the point of actually being hot and I love it. After lunch I will take a Sabbath nap, and after that a walk. Shilligs are hosting a Sabbath soiree at 6:00, popsicles on the back porch. The week ahead looks busy again, more work, but not much playing. I have more things to do in the garden, ripping out more sections. There are things to harvest. I will dig up the potatoes, harvest the rest of the onions, trim the cured garlic, maybe can some applesauce. Maybe I'll find a little time for some playing. After all, I wouldn't want to be accused of being dull.