Hot August

The weird rainy cool week in August is over, and we're back to the usual heat. It is cool at night, at least.

Another batch of green beans went through the canner for a total of 28 quarts so far.  There is nearly enough in the fridge for the next batch. This would be impressive if we didn't remember the year C. canned 300 quarts of beans – on a wood stove – back in the olden days when we worked harder and ate more. Still, it's good.

C. brought four of her soccer-ball-sized cabbages in, and we sliced them up and layered them with salt in the 10-gallon crock. I think there's room in there for another four.

I turned the rabbits loose in their yard. I still need to bring in some gravel for the middle area, to keep them out of any mud, but it's quite secure. They seem to like it, but need some toys and hidey-holes. It feels too exposed, they tell me.

Em and Richard came up today and got a load of wood for us. C. and I watched the little fellow. He was good, as always. He's getting big – nearly 5 months old now. I shamelessly Bogart him. C. gets him only when I have to pee or eat, or he gets crabby. He got to stroke one of the angora rabbits, and loved it. He is a fine fellow.

Detachable stinkhorn

Where did it go? Two days after C. discovered it, it's gone.

Maybe the guineas ate it?

I'm a little verklempt as I was looking forward to smelling it and being appalled.

Our first stinkhorn!

We're so proud. It popped up in the garden, in a bit of mulch. I think it's a mutinous elegans, or elegant stinkhorn. I didn't notice a pong, but perhaps that is to come.

Above, a purple Hungarian pepper and nasturtiums. Pretty. Below, one of C.'s many big cabbages soon to become sauerkraut.

In other news, Marty the rabbit has had his ass kicked and is covered in bites and scratches. He's a pushy little guy and probably asked for it. There is a disturbance in the rabbit-colony force, which causes everyone to act up and renegotiate the pecking order. I think it's because Rue is having a false pregnancy and is making a big messy nest and pulling her fur out. So let's help her out by fighting, boys! Good idea.

The rubber boa is still hanging around the chicken house, looking for mice. C. saw him yesterday.

C. is busy

So the third batch of 2016 pesto is in the freezer. And seven more jars of green beans are in the pressure cooker. And shredded zucchini is in the food driers (that goes in winter dog dinners). I shelled peas that'll go in the freezer tomorrow. And the rabbits got the usual big bowl of greens. She is busy.

The power went out Saturday right in the middle of the bread-machine cycle, so I took the poofy dough and made big rolls. They turned out great so I'm eating a lot of sandwiches. We're still waiting for big lush tomatoes, but I tried to push it and made pesto/parmesan/tomato sandwiches with chintzy little tomatoes. Not the same. You really need slabs of big beefy ones to do it right. Sigh. This does not look like a tomato year.

Tomorrow is work (from home).

The canning begins

There are 14 jars of green beans in the pantry, and nearly another batch (which is seven jars) in the fridge. And there are six big bags of books in the hallway. That's my first August weekend – the monthly Deer Park book sale, and the beginning of the summer canning season.

The kids came up for the book sale. Liam was cranky as his mother had eaten cheese. Em's gone mostly dairy-free since it seems to bother him. What a sacrifice! We loves the cheese in my family.

We got to babysit the little fellow Friday night. He was angelic. Must remember to tell Em we'll sit anytime, as long as she isn't eating cheese.

I could write more, and take some photos... but I have six bags of books. And some funky oatmeal cookies.

Tube food!

OK, I learned to eat in Wyoming. Meat, potatoes, salad (iceberg and store tomatoes), tuna casserole. Like that. Mexican food, sure. But I didn't have Chinese food until I was 19. And certainly we never had this world-food/Thai/sushi/curry/Vietnamese/Mongolian-barbecue stuff that everybody eats now. (OK, I tried a bite of eel sushi once. Gah. And raw fish sounds like a good way to bring parasites and pollution to the table.)

So I'm not adventurous in the food department. I don't do the '60s Wyoming meat-and-potatoes diet any longer, but I rarely eat in restaurants. I eat mostly out of the garden. No meat. Spuds and peas and beans. Pasta. Eggs. Brown rice. A little salad. Chocolate. You know: like a hippie, only more conservative.

But I had some spring rolls at the middle grandson's 26th birthday party the other day. Like salad in a tube! Way cool!

So why is ordinary salad so boring (crunch, crunch, crunch, bleh) – yet the same salad rolled in rice paper is awesome? Maybe finger food is more fun. Maybe flavor is improved when everything is squished together. Maybe the transparent container makes everything taste more colorful. Maybe it's the peanut sauce. Yeah, probably it's the peanut sauce. (Do they make peanut-sauce salad dressing? Why not?)

I've been making spring rolls from various combinations of rice noodles, garden greens, carrot slivers, cooked egg, snow peas, tomato and cucumber. My wrapping still needs work – they tend to be a little loose, and lose integrity toward the end. (Annie the dachshund is usually nearby in case of tubular explosion.)

These tube salads are tasty. Especially for something so completely adventurous. So wild and crazy. (Don't tell me they are healthy, and spoil it for my bad-ass self.)

Holy shit, it's August!

And we're having green beans for dinner!

There's just enough for tonight, with our leftover pasta stuff. There will be more tomorrow, though. And tomorrow and tomorrow.