I had a great time backpacking with B and Sally this weekend. I was anxious about being able to keep up, but B cut me a whole lotta slack, and I did just fine. He had all his stuff packed when he picked me up, so he carried a much heavier pack (i.e. all the food and the tent as well). Sally carried her own food in a doggie pack, and did great. We hiked about 1.5 miles in, set up camp and then went on a big hike on Saturday. A big hike. We were up around 11,000' and it was spectacular. Sadly, I did not bring my camera in an attempt to cut weight, but I think it would be worth it. Sally's had to rest up a bit after such an adventure!
I spent Labor Day at home with Mr W, so his dad could go fishing. I had wanted to get some trim painting done on the house, but it was pretty breezy all day, so I cooked instead. I used up all the zucchini I had, and made some zucchini bread and zucchini lasagna. Cooking always seems to take more time than I think it will, but it was fun and both things taste good. Above is a photo of my raised beds yesterday, and you can see why I've been motivated to use up my zucchini. It's the dominant thing in the beds, and has done very well. My grape tomatoes are fading for some reason, but put out a lot of good fruit. I'm still having ripening issues with the other two tomatoes I planted, and have only gotten a handful from each.
Hanging in front of the bed on the left is the one cantaloupe I think might make it this year. It's got brown netting on it already, and it's a race between me and the squirrels at this point to see who gets it first. I'm tickled to get this far with melons and will definitely plant some next year.
One of the nurseries in town has a 50% off sale on all their plants on Labor Day, so I picked up a couple of things yesterday. Above is a mum, which I'm always intending to get (like I'm always intending to plant lots of tulips and never seem to), but until yesterday had not. I was surprised how much mums remind me of my sister, who always had a few around.
Finally, I bought an apple tree! Yup, this is a Fireside apple. I think I'm going to plant the tree pretty much where it is in the picture and fill this whole area with mulch next spring. There's a big Golden Delicious tree next door which should act as the pollen source. It's having a bumper year, and I need to talk to the owner of the house (which is for sale) and make sure it's OK for me to harvest some. It's funny how I've seen several people stop and test the apples, assuming since the house is vacant that it's OK to help themselves. Sort of like the tree is community property.
So...
ReplyDelete1. Did you like the backpack and the chair? Was the chair worth the weight?
2. ALWAYS bring your camera - I always bring my nail file and lipstick!
3. Here's to mums that remind you of your sister :-)
You reminded me of a "stealing apples" story:
ReplyDeleteBack when we lived in Illinois, we had a big, old, very prolific apple tree in the front yard close to the road. One fall day I was home alone (inside) when a pick-up stopped on the road with two teenage guys in it. One jumped out of the truck, grabbed a bucket out of the back and proceeded to start picking apples as fast as he could.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I put a sweet-as-honey smile on my face, went outside and said, "Oh, did you want to buy some apples? They're really very good."
The kid looked at me like I was standing there with a shotgun pointed at him, dropped his bucket, jumped into the truck and they peeled off down the road.
I was sure we were going to wake up some morning and find our tree stripped bare, but as far as I know, they never came back.
Suzanne: The backpack was just fine - I'd try a couple others before I bought this one, but I liked its features, except that it didn't have a zip-off fanny pack for day hikes. I LOVED the chair - it is a must-have as far as I'm concerned. I will bring the camera from now on, it's light.
ReplyDeleteMama Pea - that's funny and a good way to handle the situation. I've talked to a couple of people who consider this particular tree a community resource, maybe since it's on the alley and easy to get to. This year there's a lot to go around.
I bought a pear tree in the spring and it is still in the bucket by the garden unplanted...and it can't go there!! I've got to deal with it before winter.
ReplyDelete