Ike came through on Sunday and blew down trees and power lines and signs and roofs. And half the apples off our tree. I spent a bit of time picking through to find the good ones. Still not the best eating apples, but they're looking way better than previous years. And it makes me a little giddy to see them all in a bucket.
In the meantime? I'm digging up a good recipe for applesauce.
I don't want to brag, but HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT'S GROWING IN OUR BACK YARD?
We're total amateurs when it comes to gardening. Purple thumbs all around. I've killed more houseplants than I care to confess to. But we persevere.
Like this year? We dutifully started our seedlings in early spring, just like you're supposed to. But then things got crazy and all of a sudden one day I looked up and they were all wilty and sad.
In early July, on a whim one day when everyone miraculously napped at the same time, I threw some seeds into dirt. They didn't look good. There's something to be said about the magic of spring…it's definitely the right time to plant. But our little seeds have slowly become plants, and just now, in the late days of summer we're beginning to see the fruits of our labor.
Birth announcements for my zucchini and corn forthcoming.
When we first bought the property, I fell in love with a cluster of apple trees planted by the previous owner. As we built the house, for various reasons (utilities, house siting, etc.) they kept lopping down the trees, one after another. When it was all said and done, I still had four left. They're terrible apples, quite sour and inedible, but I still love the trees. Who knows? Maybe I can make some sort of apple sauce out of them? I need to get one assessed by our favorite fruit farmer at the Farmer's Market.
Neko can see them out her window as she goes to sleep at night, and has been keeping us posted on their progress. Tonight, Neko and Shep ran out right before bed and declared it was time to pick apples. They really aren't ready for picking, but the excitement and the perfect summer evening got the best of us and we picked until our bowl was full.
It's kind of one big Backyard Bug Adventure around here. Every day it's kind of a mystery about what will be in the bug cage by the end of the day.
Today we hit the jackpot…a caterpillar. A fuzzy, adorable caterpillar. (Who poops green, if you'd like to know.) Neko is determined to see it through to a butterfly, so with some help from What's That Bug, we determined that we have a Wooly Bear caterpillar on our hands. It eats milkweed and will turn into a Tiger Moth if we can keep it alive. So we've decked out to bug cage in sticks and dirt and delicious leaves.
Cross your fingers.
I have great memories of summer nights when I was little. Okay, most of the memories are of lying in my bed thinking, “It is totally light outside and I’m supposed to fall asleep? This makes no sense.” Which I’m sure my children think often.
But the other memories are of being able to stay up way past my bedtime and run around the yard in the warm summer night, catching fireflies and feeling like I was a part of some secret, magical place.
We’ve been letting Neko stay up a bit later lately, later than the other kids. She helps us around the yard or spends time exploring. Tonight she and I sat on the back porch and watched the bats fly out of the woods and swoop around, looking for lunch. She ran around with her bug cage, and tried to catch as many fireflies as she could before we reeled her back inside.
I know this can’t happen every night. The inevitable grouchies set in the next day, since she still boings out of bed at an ungodly hour. But every now and then? Those are memories she’ll have forever.
Tom had invited Ben to bring Irene and Ezra down to give Kate a little time with the new baby. And our former neighbor Jim had been itching to bring his grandsons down to go fishing. And my friend Beth L. was taking care of her niece and nephew as well as her own two kids and was looking for a diversion. So we threw everyone in a pot and decided to go fishing.
Off to the pond we headed with eleven kids in tow. Foolish? Crazy? Perhaps, but also determined to make a go of it. And in the end? They were a bit impatient and squirrelly, but they did great. Lots of kids even caught fish, including Neko’s big catch.
After fishing we were home for lunch, followed by a romp in the pool and watermelon. You might have thought we walked into a Norman Rockwell painting.
The progressive dinner made its way to our house today.
Our neighbor is a member of the Trust and the Audubon society, so he was natural choice to lead a guided tour of the property. Sometimes in the middle of the chaos of everyday life, I forget to look around and appreciate where we live.
When someone new comes over, and stands in the middle of the field on a perfect summer evening, it’s a great reminder.
(Photos by Chris)
Sometimes I forget that the best playground is in our back yard. Much time spent today catching bugs, chasing dogs, and general mucking about.
On a side note, Neko is wearing socks under her sandals, which is making Tom break out in hives.
