My Ugly Garden

My Ugly Garden

Thursday, October 28, 2010

More Goodies!

Another package arrived from my Aunt today.  Look what was inside:



















Ok, not everything, but I'll get to that in a minute.  The beautiful tomatoes, cucumbers and beans along with the Practical Produce book were inside my care package.  And, boy, the beans and tomatoes are very yummy. After a light saute and steaming they went right onto the dinner plates.  I can't wait to try the cucumbers next.  Vielen Dank, Tante!

A few weeks back my husband, a very good friend and I went to hear a lecture given by Thomas Keller of  The French Laundry.  It was a fascinating evening and I was able to purchase his latest cookbook: Ad Hoc at Home and have him sign it.  Our family has only visited his bakery, Bouchon,  in Yountville.  It is one of our favorite stops when we drive up to the Napa Valley.

The last jewel on my list today is the lovely peacock illustration by Rebekka Seale.  I just love her whimsical prints and was so excited when it arrived. If you click on the photo it will enlarge so you can see the detail a bit better.  A side note:  my 4 year old son picked out the moss green mat when I went to get the print framed.  I was looking at white and black mats and wasn't thrilled with the look.  While I was debating, my son had gone a little way down the aisle, and came back with the green mat.  "Mom, how about this one?"  Perfect.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Times I wish I had a telephoto lens: today.  Times I wish I could take a picture that was actually in focus:  all the time.  I have been finding half chewed apples hanging on the apple tree and strewn about the yard for years.  Assuming it was the work of roof rats, I just discarded the fruit.  But it seems I have another critter taking advantage of the free apple buffet.....

























Squirrel Nutkin, here has taken residence in the Ugly.  I think I saw its nest up in one of our trees.  I also believe this little guy has been reeking havoc on my potted plants.  Digging holes in around my fig sapling and completely decimating a pot full of poppy seedlings I had started.  That last one really made me mad.   Despite all that, Mr. Nutkin here is awfully cute, so it's hard to stay mad.  So, lesson learned.  Protect fall seedlings with mesh or chicken wire and save a few apples for our furry neighbors.

I just realized how long it has been since my last post.  Life here in the Ugly has been especially crazy the last few weeks.  Homework, both mine and my middle schooler's; the weekly wedding performance; teaching and preparations for symphony season have kept me out of the Ugly.  If I'm totally honest, though, I've really been using all of the above as excuses not to go out.  After our last mini heat wave a few weeks ago that took out any remaining veggies, I became fairly discouraged.  But then, I found this book at the library: The Urban Homestead.  This book by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen is getting me excited about the possibilities of gardening in the Ugly again.  They also have an interesting blog called Homegrown Evolution that I like to follow.

More pictures to come.  We had a great family "Weekend Wandering" last weekend.  My husband took some truly beautiful photos I can't wait to share.