Ode to the Lowly Chrysanthemum

I used to be a chrysanthemum snob! Chrysanthemums were "granny" flowers. I was much too sophisticated to notice them. I wanted beauties such as Bleeding Hearts and Azaleas! I spent time trying to amend my alkaline, North Texas soil to successfully grow these showy plants, only to find they would soon become scraggly and unattractive. I also tried my hand at roses. Time, money, and bleeding hands were soon more than I was willing to sacrifice.

Time passed. One of the gifts my students sometimes gave me was a pot of chrysanthemums. I would give the obligatory "ooh and ahh" over their blooming kindness, add water and set the pot in the window until it became overgrown and leggy. Then I would lug it home because I felt too guilty to just let it die. I would stick it in the ground somewhere, anywhere, out of the way.

As I watered my garden, I would occasionally remember these little afterthoughts and spray a drink their way. I slowly noticed that even though I neglected them, they would struggle back year after year!

When I put my official flower bed in along the front of my house, I dug up the various chrysanthemums that I had stuck here and there and planted them in the prepared bed. I nurtured them along with the garden-center plants I had purchased. The chrysanthemums became huge and showy, crowded with smiling blooms! Those glorious blooms stayed on literally for months! I fell in love with my chrysanthemums and they soon became my favorite flowers!

I lost several of my plant friends in a recent drought. It was sad; I had some for 5-8 years. I have slowly planted new friends. On my teacher gift list at school I proudly wrote “chrysanthemums”, hoping for more of these precious gifts that keep on giving!

Such a happy color!

One plant cascading over the wall!

Purple pretties!

 

Small and delicate!

One of my new friends!

Still blooming strong 5 years and one drought later!

Another new friend. Such a pretty color combination!

Pickled Peppers!

The recent wonderful, marvelous, luscious, rain we have received has really boosted my garden production! If a frost holds off, we'll have a wonderful fall harvest! Today I gathered a basket full of mixed peppers to add to the ones I have already stored in the refrigerator!

I looked up a recipe online for pickled peppers. The one I found had measurements for a single jar at a time instead of a huge amount. I measured to see how many jars I would need by placing the raw peppers inside of the jars.

I then sterilized the jars while I gathered my ingredients: coriander, peppercorns, garlic, apple cider vinegar, honey and salt. (For the exact amounts, see the recipe below). I did a little math and adjusted for the amount of peppers I gathered. I put the pan of ingredients on the stove to prepare and drained the jars on a kitchen towel. The house filled with the aroma of peppers, vinegar and honey!

After the ingredients simmered for 5 minutes, I used tongs to arrange the peppers in the sterilized jars and then filled the jars with the liquid, spooning out the peppercorns, coriander and garlic evenly into each of the three jars.

I processed the pickled peppers in a water bath for 10 minutes then set them out on a towel to cool. I won't be eating these pickled pepper as I am a wimp! My husband is eagerly waiting a week for the flavors to meld before opening a jar. I look forward to his culinary review!

http://www.yumsugar.com/Pickled-Jalapenos-23560096

Pickled Jalapenos
By Anna Monette Roberts, YumSugar
Ingredients
5 whole jalapenos, stabbed 2-3 times with sharp paring knife 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup filtered water 1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorn 1/2 teaspoon whole coriander 1 bay leaf 1 clove of garlic, pounded once 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon honey
Directions
 
To sterilize mason jar: In a very large pot, bring water to a boil. Submerge glass mason jar and lids and continue boiling for at least 12 minutes to sterilize. Use tongs to remove jar and lids, and place on a clean kitchen towel to dry. Keep large pot on the stove to process jar later. To make brine: In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. To jar jalapenos: Using tongs, remove jalapenos from saucepan and place them into a clean, sterilized mason jar. Pour brine on top, leaving about 1/2 inch of space on top. Apply lid and screw metal band on firmly. To process jar: In the large pot of boiling water, lower jarred jalapenos, submerging jar in at least 2 inches of water. Process for 10 minutes. Use canning tongs to carefully remove hot jar, then set it in a cool, dark place. As jar cools, listen for lid to snap, signaling a proper seal. Wait four to five days before opening jar. (If jar does not seal correctly, then refrigerate once it cools to room temperature and use within two weeks.) Refrigerate upon opening. Discard opened jar of jalapenos after two weeks.

Tiny Timothy

Nearly all of our pets have just appeared! Timothy was no exception. As I pulled into our drive, I cranked up the radio so I could continue to listen to the talk show as I crossed the street to check our mailbox. I kept hearing a mewing sound that wasn't part of the radio jargon. I looked in the weeds near the road and there was a little gray kitten, yowling away! I reached for him and he backed away slightly before his curiosity overcame him and he came to me. As we drove down the driveway together there was lots of mewing and purring going on!

I knew Timothy was probably covered in fleas, so I asked Mark to bring the cat carrier to the car. We transported him to the bathroom and the bathing, meowing and scratching began! I managed to comb off at least 25 fleas before they subsided. We dried him and put a flea collar on. I treated our other two cats, Holly and Tad, just in case a few fleas were missed or had jumped ship on the way to the bathroom. We set up a "Timothy" area in the guest bathroom, complete with kitten food, water, a cat box, and a little basket with a blanket.

The vet gave Timothy various shots and a clean bill of health. He told us that Timothy is about 3 months old. We are happy about our newest family addition. Now if only Holly and Tad will share in our enthusiasm!

Timothy!

Pajamas...not a garden story!

I wanted to write a story about pajamas. It is rather a random thought and since I can't devote an entire blog to random thoughts, I decided I'd just stick it here!

I'd been lusting after a particular pair of pajamas for quite some time. I was first beckoned by their cute colors, a quiet green and dark grey. Upon closer inspection I had noticed the exquisite softness and gentle drape. I LOVED these pajamas! I looked at the tags (they were priced separately, like you'd only want a top or bottom!) The top was $36 and the bottom $38... that's $74 before tax!! Who pays over $74 for pajamas? I moped away to shop more practically!

I returned to this store a couple of weeks later and made a beeline to visit my pajamas. I once again touched their softness, held them next to me and lauded their qualities: they even had a cap sleeve that would not cut into my shoulder and would keep my shoulder warm if by chance it happened to slip out from under the blanket! Plus, this time they were on sale: 20% off! I took out my calculator and subtracted 20% from $74....hmm that's $59! Who pays over $59 for pajamas? One last touch and loving glance and I sulked off.

About 3 weeks later I again entered the store armed with a $10 store coupon plus a coupon for 30% off. Would they still be on sale? Would my size still be available? I hurried to the Intimates Section to face my fate. They were still on sale..this time 40% off!!!! I fumbled with my calculator and made the calculations...40% off $74 is $44... minus $10 is $34... minus 30% is $23!!!!! I CAN pay $23 plus tax for my beautiful, perfect pajamas!!!! And I did!

THE END

 

My perfect pajamas!!

Surprise, Surprise!

Purple sage is a staple landscaping plant in the dry Texas climate. Its beautiful purple flowers bloom against green foliage that varies from a light gray-green, to a deep, dark green. I joined in this Texas tradition by planting my own purple sage about 3 years ago. It had grown into a nice, welcoming bush at the junction of our circle drive.

Early this spring I started to notice that one of the sections of my purple sage had curling leaves that were beginning to wither. I decided that I must have neglected to water it enough. They are very drought tolerant, but I guess any plant has its limit! I began to give it a little water every day, but the curling leaves continued to creep along until the whole plant was covered in curled up, crispy leaves.

I still held out a little hope that my purple sage would come back from the roots, so I postponed cutting it down. After a while it became clear that my bush was no more. I was perplexed by these events, but had no clue as to their origin. I cleared away the branches and decided to not plant another purple sage in that location.

Recently while I was working in the house, my husband called me to come outside for a surprise. Our oldest daughter had come by to visit. As she walked through the yard she noticed a small plant that looked familiar. She bent down and saw that it was a purple sage! Not the same purple sage, but a new one that must have been spread by seeds (do they spread by seeds?). It was a couple of feet away from the location of the former bush.

I was so surprised and excited! Thank you, Lord, for these little surprises to brighten my days!

New plant is in the lower left, stump from old plant is in the upper right.

Nice little surprise!

Deluge!

On Thursday, Sept. 13th, a nice shower started around 11am. Rain continued throughout the day. I was trying to finish up at school so I could leave to go home when my daughter (also a teacher) called and told me hurry up so I could get home before the roads started flooding! I threw my things together and headed for the door. It was raining pretty hard by that time so I made a dash for the car.

My daughter called again and told me that the usual way home was blocked off and she was turning around to go in a different direction. She soon called back to say that the alternate route was also blocked! We had to drive 10 miles north, cut across 5 miles and then loop back to our house. During the drive I was listening to the radio to hear which roads were flooding out. There was no news of flooding whatsoever! What usually takes 25 minutes turned into an hour of driving through pounding rain and water on across the road. When I got home my husband told me the rain gauge had long ago topped out at 6 inches!

I went the alternate way to work the next day and roads were cleared by the time I headed home. I stopped by a country feed store near our home to pick up goat feed. The owner told me that she had a 36 inch rain gauge and that we had gotten 9 inches of rain the day before!! She also told me that she had called in for news of the flooding and the surprised screener asked, "What flooding? Where are you?"

It turns out that a very small cell had slowly moved across a tiny area, dropping extensive rain. The surrounding area only recieved 1/2 to 1 inch!! Until reports started pouring in, no one else knew about the flooding out in our neck of the woods!

Saturday we drove around to look at the damage. Several fences were down and new creeks were carved into the countryside. We drove to the local boat lauch that had been dried up for a couple of years due to the drought. A wall of water had come through, twisting some of the ladders leading down to the boat docks and actually carrying several boat docks downstream!

This area is considered the flash flash flood capital of the United States for a reason!

Marina floating down Sandy Creek area of Lake Travis

Winding Down

As summer wanes, the constant heat and dryness have taken a toll on much of my garden. To make matters worse, I switched to an evening watering schedule now that the school year has resumed. By the time the sun is low enough to make watering tolerable, the plants look wilted and thirsty.

I have been taking out plants, or parts of plants, and adding them to the compost pile as they start to wither. I find that I am sad to take the plants out! I have a relationship with them! I feel they have been faithful to produce and I should keep taking care of them until they die naturally! The rational part of me knows this is absurd and I am slowly removing the ones that are spent.

I just can't seem to pull up the watermelon vine. We have had several small but wonderful watermelon moments. I tend to baby it along with extra water and plant food. To just jerk it from the ground doesn't feel right! So I keep telling myself that some winters arrive late in Texas and there may yet be something to harvest.

The few plants I have cleared out have been lovingly chopped up and laid to rest in the compost pile. There they will while away the winter, being slowly consumed by bacteria and bugs. I will be able to greet them again next spring as a few molecules will live on in next year's garden!

Wilted tomato vines still have tomatoes!