Good Morning!

Celosia still going strong above yellow mums and dried out orange mums. #bloomscrolling #celosia #GoodMorning

Good Morning!

New England Aster and a box of celosia, with a side of flowering kale. #BloomScrolling #aster #celosia #GoodMorning

Good Morning!

Looking down onto a raised bed of mums and celosia. #BloomScrolling #mums #celosia #GoodMorning

Good Morning!

Today we have more celosia to share. #BloomScrolling #celosia #bee #GoodMorning

Good Morning!

Landing gear down. #BloomScrolling #celosia #GoodMythicalMorning

Intimations of Things to Come

Hello Friends!

The military continues to occupy Washington, D.C. but not without valiant resistance. The President’s claims that the occupation is due to high crime rates is a big fat lie. There are numbers and reports from reliable sources that all indicate crime rates are dropping. Not coincidentally, the President threatens to send the National Guard to blue states and cities, when still other reliable sources of information show that crime rates in Republican Red versus Democrat Blue states are higher. One of the reports is even on Congress’s own website! Forbes goes to into a bit of detail about the difference in crime rates that basically boils down to guns. Repubicans who claim to be so concerned about crime should look at their own states and cities, because the numbers show that from 2000 to 2020, murder rates were 12% higher in Trump-voting states.

Meanwhile, my city continues to mourn those murdered and injured in the Annunciation shooting last week. My heart is broken over it and I sobbed yesterday even though I only know someone who knows someone with kids who go there. The Democrats in the Minnesota State legislature are putting forward bills to ban assault weapons in the state, but the legislature is so evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans that the ban is not likely to pass. How ridiculous is that? How many children have to die before the Republicans wake up and understand that more guns only makes the problem worse?

If it weren’t for my meditation practice, my sangha, and the garden, I’m not sure I’d be able to find any sort of equanimity and grounding to keep me from despair.

This week the weather turned chilly, intimations of things to come. Temperatures will warm back up this week, and I am glad for it because I have tomatoes and peppers out in the garden that are trying to get ripe.

I opened one of the jars of rhubarb-aronia jam James canned last weekend, or as James has dubbed it, “rhubronia”:

Not only is it pretty with a wonderful consistency (no pectin needed), it tastes divine. There is a little tart rhubarb tang tempered by the astringent earthiness of the aronia berries. Here is the recipe. James made the refrigerator jam recipe but only used about a quarter of a cup of sugar and it was just right for my liking. This will definitely become part of the yearly jam making lineup!

We still have some plums and I suggested James make a plum-sour cherry jam. I think that would be a tasty combination. And I have yet to try the plum-elderberry jam. Stay tuned.

The last couple of weekends I have been out picking dry bean pods. The Hidasta red beans did so much better this year than last year and I will definitely grow them again. The black-eyed peas that were flattened in a severe thunderstorm in August revived and are covered in long, thin pea pods that are starting to dry out. The skunk beans are magnificent. Not only are they pretty, they are big, substantial beans that are fantastic as baked beans and in a thick stew.

Beans are so easy to grow and save, but I love them most for their variety. The only trouble when shelling them is trying to keep them from becoming projectiles shooting across the kitchen when I crack open the dry pods.

Just when I think I’ve figured out how to unzip a particular variety of bean pod without sending them skittering across the floor and under the refrigerator, I get a pod that proves me wrong, and before I know it beans are ricocheting off tables and cabinets and disappearing. That’s one reason I like big beans so much. They are easier to find and pick up off the floor. The black-eyed peas are little and I will discover a few that went missing sometime in December. That’s all part of the fun though.

Marlon the Contender peach tree did not flower this year. It was disappointing since they had fruit when we welcomed them to the garden last year. All the fruit dropped off before getting ripe, not a surprise given the trauma of being transplanted, but I hoped this year there would be some fruit. Nope. Instead, Marlon has concentrated on growing.

They were about six feet/2 m tall when we brought them home. After this summer’s growth spurt, they are over 10 feet/3 m tall!

One of the medicinal herbs I added to the herb spiral this year is boneset. The plant likes their location and has grown beautifully. And the white flowers are lovely.

Boneset is traditionally used for, among other things, colds and flu. It is also an anti-inflammatory, and can be used for joint pain. I have not harvested any this year to save for any remedies. I wasn’t expecting the plant to grow so well the first year. They are perennial so will be back next year, at which time I will feel pretty good about using their gifts.

I planted celosia this year on the premise that the flowers are edible and make a pretty and tasty pink tea. They also allegedly are attractive to pollinators.

The flowers are pretty. I never made tea. I have not seen a single pollinator visiting the flowers. I haven’t decided if I will grow them again next year.

I did make some borage tea because it was supposed to be refreshing with its cucumber-flavor. The tea definitely tastes like cucumber. I poured it out after a few sips though because my mouth started to go numb. That is not supposed to happen, so I suspect I am a bit allergic to it and so will not be growing it again.

I also made wild bergamot tea, also purportedly refreshing. I should have known better than to not flavor it with anything else because the plant can be used as an oregano substitute, which we have done with good results. I don’t know why I was surprised to take a sip of the tea and discover that it tastes like oregano! I like oregano as a flavor in sauces and other dishes, but oregano flavored tea? Uh, no.

You never know until you try something how it might turn out. All part of the adventure!

I will make a valiant attempt to catch up on comments and blog visiting in the coming days. Take care of yourselves and take time to feel the breeze, watch a bee on a flower, and touch the earth with your bare skin.

#Annunciation #blackEyedPeas #boneset #borageTea #celosia #crimeRates #dryBeans #guns #HidastaRed #Marlon #rhubarbAroniaJam #skunkBeans #WashingtonDC #wildBergamotTea