Oh yes, the deep fall temperatures have arrived with a biting wind to accommodate them. There has been lower 20s at night with barely into the 40s during the day for the last week. It’s kept me inside thinking about winter projects.
This is bed 4 after a good cleanup. The plant debris and weed mess was weed trimmed off and the mulch buried at a shovel’s depth. It will be covered with yard waste leaf mulch like the bed next to it for a winter blanket. That completes the formal garden area cleanup. This next week will be in the 50s and 60s so the cleanup will continue. Only five more beds to go and then I can hunker down for the winter.
Here’s the squash harvest for this year, 75 in all. Some have been given away and some have been stored away for a winter’s day. I see eating a lot of squash this winter. I’m thinking that the squash plants will be less next year.
I have had a couple baked and stuffed squash that were tasty, and this is a stir-fry that I made. My stir-fries are mostly just clean out the fridge and see what happens. Some turn out great and others … not so much. This one was great with chunks of squash that were first microwaved for 10 minutes then put in with the rest of the stir-fry.
The winter projects have begun. During the summer months a friend remodeled his kitchen and gave me the white dishwasher. It was an upgrade from the cheapo that I’ve used for many years. So the exchange was made on a cold and dreary day with the wind howling outside. The old washer was taken to the recycling center. The installed dishwater is a much better one. However, it didn’t come with a cutlery basket. It was just my luck that I’d already taken the old dishwasher to the recycle center before I discovered the missing item. Amazon came to the rescue.
A refrigerator came with the dishwasher but it’s just a second fridge that will reside in the garage. I wanted it mainly for the freezer space, which I’ve filled up with garden produce. I suppose the refrigerator side could be used for soda and water. I don’t drink much soda, but my daughter and grandson do. My family has always thought my eating habits were a little strange. Eating healthy in the 1980s just wasn’t thought about in the same way as today. Anyone who thought about gardening, canning, and living off the land was just weird. The trend is turning back to the basics today and more folks are gardening, even in the city. Almost every neighbor on my street has a couple tomato plants and a pepper or two in the backyard. Salsa is the rage today, to make fresh out of the backyard. I say whatever it takes to inspire people to grow things is OK with me.
There’s always some thing to fix in an old house. Well, some would laugh when I say my house is 52 years old when their house is over 100 years old. Unfortunately, the very thing I liked about living in this neighborhood has become my plague. Tree roots have begun to creep into the main sewer line. It happens so often now that I will have to learn how to rent the machine and clean out the main line drain on a regular basis. I’ve discovered that a major name DIY home improvement store rents the machines for a reasonable price, which is much less than a service to come out to do it for me. So I better get to it. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Have a great day. May all your chores be pleasurable; all your disasters be small; and all your days be filled with joy.
Nebraska Dave
