KALEIDOSCOPE

Ok.  Yesterday, I harvested at least nine “green bags” of romain lettuce.  It was getting to the point where I either had to harvest it or it would go to seed and be no good.  So we decided to create our own version of a “special Italian” salad he has where he works.

For each salad, place the following in  a bowl -

romain lettuce torn up

one cooked Italian sausage cut into disks

one hard boiled egg cut up

half a medium tomato cut in bite size pieces

some cucumber slices

2 or 3 slices of Genoa salami and pepperoni cut up

some shredded mozzeralla cheeze

a couple of pepperocini cut up

sliced black olives

croutons

cover this with a mixture of equal parts of Italian dressing and Ranch dressing

Then, either toss the mixture together or put a top on the bowl and shake the salad to mix.

Unlike the last few years, the weeds are not overtaking my garden this year, and the vegetable plants are growing “like weeds.”  Pardon the pun.  This year, when the gardening season drew close, my hubby and I decided that this garden would grow vegetables and not weeds.

The land on which my house sits used to be, as many of our yards were, farm land.  It is a hard, clay based soil that held onto the weeds like cement.  If I wished to conquer the weeds, I needed to water the garden, and then proceed to work in the mud.  The excessive watering also formed a breeding ground for mosquitos.

This year, however, I was determined to be a successful gardener.  Two years ago, we created raised garden beds approximately 8 feet by 16 feet (I think.) and filled them with top soil.  This was a frustrating mistake.  I finally convinced my hubby that we needed to add something to the gardens: To each garden we added 4 bags of hummus compost and 4 bags of mushroom compost (Gotta love that smell.) and a large bag of peat.  This combination we mixed in the wheelbarrow and then tilled into the garden.  After planting, I covered the beds with cocoa hulls and lightly watered.  After the initial watering, the resin in cocoa hulls is supposed to  form a weed barrier.

It worked.  Granted, I have my share of weeds to pull that the birds have transfered with their feet and beaks, but it is no where near what it used to be, and to top that off, the weeds are easy to pull.  I have already harvested enough green beans for two dinners and at least 16 zucchini squash.  The watermelons are the size of large marbles already, and I think I will have more than enough tomatoes, beets, lettuce, and peas.

I’m finally a happy and successful gardener.  Eat your heart out, Dad.

FISH 2 / ME 0   Yup! That’s the fishing score.  The fish have stolen my bait, teased me by playing with the hook, and today swam around where I could actually see them, but did any bite the bait on my hook?  NOOOOO!  On the other hand, hubby, my fishing partner, has caught fish on both of the excursions.

It all began last week after I got home from teaching summer school.  My hubby had planned to go fishing while I was at work, but it had been raining, and he decided that it would be more enjoyable to wait and have me go with.   So, it was a date.

What I hadn’t realized was how quickly the fishing trip would relax me and get my mind focused.  Usually, I have a million and one things running through my head.  In fact, I had figured that this would be the case so I pocketed a few pieces of paper and a pen to jot down anything that came to me as I was fishing.  As the evening wound up, the papers were still in my pocket, unmarked.  Five hours had passed and I hadn’t once thought of grading papers, the dishes, the laundry, the vacuuming, or any other mundane tasks that needed to be completed.  I had let go and played with the fishes.

At the end of the evening, my hubby suggested that we go fishing again this week.  This morning was dreary and rain threatened on the horizon; in fact, it was raining when I left the school building.  I called hubby from my Jeep to ask if there was anything I needed to pick up and was duly reminded that we had a fishing date this afternoon.  I needed to hurry up and get home.

So, off we went fishing again.  Once again, he caught fish and I didn’t.  Somehow, I think that the fish know that I really don’t care if they swallow my hook; it’s enough that I am feeding them and I have escaped my stresses.

Summer.  As a teacher, I usually look forward to this season.  Ten or eleven weeks to get everything done in the house and the yard that I have been too busy to get to.  True to form, life’s speed bumps have once again slowed my progress.

Although the season is only half over, I can already sense the things that will not get done OR things that got done that could probably have been postponed.

1.  The airconditioner that was electrified in a lightening has been replaced, but the temperature has yet to warrant it turned on.  However, I did turn it on to dry the floors and carpets.  Watch out, though.  When the start of the school year creeps closer, the temperatures will finally rise and I will have to turn the air on; unfortuantely, there is no air at work.

2. The vegetable garden got planted, but at this time I have harvested 18 of the long green vegetables and made 4 recipes of zucchini bread.  My kitchen is home to so many of the green squash that my son called me at work and wanted to know what was up with the stuff in the kitchen.

3. My almost 80 year old mother is working to “simplify” her life and we have already run two garage sale weekends.

4. Did I mention that I had the brainy idea that I should teach summer school to cover some of the extraneous bills we have?  I didn’t.  No sleeping in until 7:00, I’m up at 5:20 to leave by 6:20 and school starts at 7:30.  Two sessions that last two hours and thirty minutes for six weeks.

As summer is half over, I don’t think I have accomplished much.