End of Summer Garden Recap

I realize that I'm talking about the end of Summer while we're well into Fall, but we have had quite a busy last few months. The best news--the new windows are in! They were installed a week earlier than expected, and I can already tell the difference. We have needed new windows for years. The old ones were the crappy builder quality ones. Two had broken seals and moisture had come in. Some didn't close right and you could see gaps (which meant bugs could slither their way in). The screens didn't fit in all of them, so I couldn't open windows to let fresh air in. However, that didn't matter upstairs because all the windows on the top floor were so drafty. That meant that while the temperature was perfectly comfortable downstairs, as soon as you'd walk up the stairs you could feel the cold winter air, and cranking the heat up did not make a difference. In the summer the upstairs was stuffy. Our new windows are the energy efficient kind, and I think we'll see a real difference in our heating and cooling bills over the next year. Actually, I think I can already tell the difference. It's not chilly upstairs, I don't feel the draft when I walk up the stairs, and I have screens that fit so I can actually open windows to let fresh air in without worrying about flies or stink bugs flying in. Life is good.

So, about the garden. The pepper plants are the only thing that made it through the summer with flying colors. The photo above is of habanero peppers, but our 3 bell pepper plants are doing well too. The fruit are small, but it's nice not to have to buy peppers at the store.


Things That Didn't Work

{Mortgage Lifter on August 1}

{Mortgage Lifter on September 21--dry as a bone}

The Mortgage Lifter tomatoes never did take off. If you remember I posted a Mortgage Lifter SOS back in August because the plants were not producing anything. Actually, that's not true--one plant grew one tomato and that was it. Some suggested giving them an Epsom salt spray, which I did. That, plus the slightly cooler temperatures after the heat wave broke in August, seemed to help the plant that already had a tomato, because many more flowers appeared. Unfortunately, none of those flowers resulted in a tomato. The other plant was sucked dry by a tomato horn work. I came back from Maine to find that plant brown and dry, and Friends, I touched that creepy worm while moving the plant around. I almost died. Anyway, no luck with the ML variety this year. Not sure if I'll try again next year. But, as you can see, the basil has got on smashingly!

Also, before I left for Maine, this is what the two surviving corn stalks looked like. This was the first time I tried growing corn. They were tasseling and we were looking forward to the home-grown sweet corn later in summer. Alas, we got back from Maine to find both stalks cut down and the corn completely chewed up (by the evil squirrel). Wah-wah.


A Pleasant Surprise

I want to end on a high note.Although squirrels and rabbits dug up all my sunflower seedlings and plants, one sunflower made it!  This is the only picture I managed to take, a little blurry, sorry about that. It attracted lots of bees, unfortunately a little too late in the season to help pollinate my veggies. But it was nice to have a sunny sunflower in my garden. They're my favorite flower, that's why they're on my blog header. Some of the seeds have dropped to the ground and I've seen a few new sunflower volunteers popping up. I doubt they'll make it through the freeze that's coming soon, but I was happy to see at least one sunflower pop up in my garden.

Did your garden have a good summer?

Independence Day

Source: july.tipjunkie.com via Angela on Pinterest

Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans!

Do you know that I've never been to a 4th of July party where someone serves an American flag cake or pie? I feel like I'm missing out on an important tradition. Maybe I should try to make one myself.  We've been invited to a cookout/fireworks party and I was asked to bring dessert; however, they want us there at 2:00, and on a day that's supposed to get up to 95 degrees, I don't know if I want to spend that many hours under the broiling sun. Maybe if there are plenty of cocktails...

I associate the 4th of July-- and all of summer, really--with cookouts/grilling/BBQ-ing, etc. I found this interesting organization called the Southern Foodways Alliance. It's all about the food traditions of the Southern U.S., and of course, barbecue is an important focus. There's a section on the history and oral traditions of BBQ in the South, and it includes this interactive map of different restaurants where the owners talk about their association with BBQ, how their restaurants started, and how food fits into the local culture. It's a pretty cool site. I'd love to go on a BBQ restaurant road trip and visit as many of these places as possible.

If you're going to a 4th of July party, I hope there's lots of good food. And to all my friends in the northern hemisphere--stay cool today!

Happy Summer!

Source: Uploaded by user via Angela on Pinterest

According to the Old Farmer's almanac, summer officially starts at 7:09 p.m. tonight for those of us in the northern hemisphere. It definitely feels like summer has arrived. It's hot, hazy, and humid, and all my plants look like they need a drink. All I want to do is sit with my feet in a pool and drink iced coffees and rosé.  Happy Summer!