My Black Friday Helper

Living so close to the second-largest mall in New York State just makes me want to hide in the house on Black Friday.  It’s hard for me to believe that people think it is fun to wait in line for a $12 popcorn popper.  An astonishing number of people even go on Thanksgiving night!    

After we spent Thanksgiving Day with our cousins in Brooklyn, they came and stayed with us here in Nyack for a couple of nights.  My 5-year-old niece Xeta and I spent much of Black Friday outside in the garden.  She helped me feed the chickens and rake leaves.    

Then she asked what we could plant.   All my flower bulbs and garlic were already in the ground, but it was such a beautiful day and I had such an enthusiastic helper.   The sun was shining and the temperature was in the low 60s.  We didn’t even have jackets on!  It definitely seemed like weather that could still germinate some cool weather crops, so we’re trying some kale, cabbage and lettuce.  I have a row cover that I’ll put over them and hope for a head start on some spring seedlings at the very least. 

One of the other fall projects that Xeta helped me with is building up the beds,  We put compost, chicken litter (wood shavings and chicken manure) and shredded leaves and grass on top of the vegetable beds.  Throughout the winter, the mixture breaks down and in the spring the beds are fertile and ready for planting. 

I can't believe this is my 400th post on this blog.  I started it in 2008 and still have ton of tons of things to write about -- the problem is finding the time.  When I look at my first blog post...oh my lord ....it was so pathetic...  I'm grateful for all the friends I've made through this blog, around the world and locally and hope to continue to write about everything under the sun. 

Maine Photos

Here, especially for those like my mom and dad who come for their kid pics fix, are some shots of our recent vacation in Maine.


Old Orchard Beach Pier



Monarch on a milkweed

Boogie Boards on Old Orchard Beach

Old Orchard Beach, from The Pier

The sparkling sand.



Palace Playland





Your kid pics fix!





Saco Bay Lookout



Carlo, Saco Bay Lookout

Saco Bay

Evelyn



Downtown Old Orchard Beach




Downtown Portland ("Old Port")



Berry picking at Spiller Farms in Wells



Growing, Blooming, Picking, Baking



It's Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.  Lots going on here in zone 6A this time of year -- so much that it's hard to give anything the attention it deserves.  There are still vegetables to be harvested, and flowers to scope out, apples to pick and ... we're finally in the mood to bake!  Forgive me, but I'm combining 4 posts in one today.

First the Growing:

Peas - "Sugar Ann" is a variety of snap pea that has a very short time to harvest - only 50 days.  These were planted around mid-August.  Although they're not supposed to need trellising, I think it could have helped.  It was nice to have some fall peas, since I neglected to plant them in the spring.

It took a while to get going, but the radicchio was finally harvested. I cut it in half, brushed it with bacon grease, grilled it and topped it with balsamic vinegar.  So good!

The Butternut Squash that grew in the backyard didn't grow to a very impressive size, but it was delicious,

filled with beets and topped with brown sugar and butter, then roasted.

Most of the lettuce seeds I sowed in August were washed away by hurricane Irene- I got one nice harvest though.


Blooming
Front door - I've got Autumn Joy and red geraniums in pots,  some volunteer nasturtium growing between the steps.  The container has Cuban oregano, creeping thyme, oxalis, lavendar, and I've forgotten the name of the plant with the purple veined leaves (please remind me if you know!)

Pentas and petunias still going strong in an old BBQ grill that I converted to a planter.  Zinnas still standing strong.

Here are the 3rd generation French Marigolds -- I'll be collecting these seeds again for sure.  Nothing looks better this time of year.

Apple Picking
We've had lots of stunningly gorgeous sunny fall days, aso we took advantage of it and made two apple picking trips this year, to our local spots,  Dr. Davies Farm with our friends Kelly, Aiden and Robby, and to Orchards of Concklin with our cousins. 

Baking

The kids peeled the apples, and my sister-in-law Janine put together an awesome apple crisp.  Thanks to Cindy F. from our Working Moms group for the recipe.

Apple Crisp

6 cups peeled sliced cooking apples
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup butter

Put apples in square baking dish. Combine the next 5 ingredients in a bowl.
Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over
the apples. Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes or until apples are your favorite
consistency. Serve warm with caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream.

 

Hey, I saved a whole bunch of "Minnesota Midget" heirloom cantaloupe seeds - they were lots of fun to grow.  If you'd like some, just send your address to me at nyackbackyard@gmail.com.  While supplies last, of course.

The Joys of Summer

Orange palm trees against a lavender sky.

The smell of Hawaiian Tropic Dark Tanning Oil.

Jumping into an ice cold ocean on the hottest day of the year.

 

Carving the name of your crush in the sand.

Riding the roller coaster with your BFF. 

The Tilt-A-Whirl.

.

A row of stuffed puppies.

Have you been "On the Boardwalk" lately?

See also Theme Thursday: Summer

Ghosts of Snowmen Past

You won’t believe what my son said when I asked him if he wanted to go outside and make a snowman with me.  “Mom, I’m not three years old anymore!”  Oh yeah?  Since when did snowman building become exclusive to toddlers?   This guy in West Nyack is sculpting amazing giant colored fish for god’s sake! 

My kids loved making snowmen until just a few years ago.  Last year all they could muster was this mini picnic table model. 

2010

Previous years were more impressive....

2009

2008

2007 (this one, as I recall, was anatomically correct in places)

2006

                                                                                 2005

2004

So what are they doing this year?  Making igloos and tunnels. 

What started as a simple tunnel through the snow the plow piled up became a maze of tunnels complete with a central dome and windows. 

Are you still playing in the snow?