the magic behind the morning

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.
 - J. B. Priestley

My friend Sue's kaleidoscope of the day post this morning offered the above quote, and not only do I love it, I think it sums up my approach upon waking every morning.

Today's magic included several friendly encounters with the young black snake living in my feed room. He (or she) is very respectful of my work space,  staying near the walls along the floor. After I said hello, he left for a few moments but then came back, peeking out (literally) at me from behind the oat bin, and then coming around behind my work table to peep out from that angle.

This morning's magic also included Dickens E. Wickens lying sprawled, legs all akimbo, upside down, in a pile of hay in the grass paddock. Salina and the donkeys are used to having a tuxedo cat mixed in with their hay, and the donkeys will sometimes nuzzle Dickens' very white belly.

There were more squash, more zucchini, more cucumbers, a few beans, and new sunflowers blooming in the garden. Last night we had yellow squash and zucchini tempura. Delicious!

The tomatoes are coming in, still small and green, but we should have a nice crop soon. The basil is getting bigger - can't wait for the tomato/basil/garlic/olive oil/salt/pepper/brie pasta that is so easy yet so good it almost seems too good to be true. It's only good with vine-ripened tomatoes that have never seen the inside of a truck or refrigerator.

The watermelon vines are thriving and the pepper plants are now blooming.

Although I still have squash borer moth eggs, we are getting so many squash I can hardly complain. It might be that when the squash decline I just need to clear them out and plant anew. I'd rather do that than use chemicals!

I started a new compost pile yesterday, in a very bare spot in the bottom of the front field. I'm excited to watch the compost mature, and I'm thinking by late summer I can spread the black gold out and transform that area into more fertile ground.

zen harrowing and some other things

Last night after dinner I went out to harrow the arena. Sunset, orange and lavender, coincided with my methodical circling, and husband was there to move jumps, standards, dressage markers, and ground poles so that my circuits were uninterrupted. I hadn't realized just how calming it is to go around and around, making harrow lines in the near darkness.

Just before I drove through the gate to the barnyard to begin the harrowing, Dickens E. Wickens, cowboy and hunter, came from the forest with a young bunny in his mouth. Since the bunny was already dead, we gave it back to him, but when I first spotted those dangling ears, I called out to husband and was making upset noises. Rafer Johnson and Redford came running when they heard my cries - with looks of concern on their donkey faces. It was about the sweetest thing in the world to see them look at my face, searching to see what was wrong, donkey ears held high. They are true friends and guardians.

Today I spent some time checking my compost piles after getting the barn set up for the day. There is so much color this time of year - green grass, green leaves, yellow goldfinches, blue birds, red cardinals, brown tree trunks. Walking through the field is like opening a new box of Crayola crayons, the big box, and trying to choose which one you'll use first.

This afternoon I went into town to run errands and ended up running into my dentist at the gas station. He came over to say hello and reassure me about an upcoming dental appointment. Have I mentioned lately that I love our little town? I grew up in a different small town and couldn't wait to leave when I graduated from high school. I'm beginning to see the benefits, in middle life.

Another thing I did today was set up the second pondering bench. I have one looking into the back field, and today's looks over the barnyard. These are simple benches, utilizing leftover cinder blocks and pieces of wood, but they sit nicely and provide two shady spots to sit and watch and think. Redford walked with me to the back field bench, and knocked the bench off with his nose, but when I put it back, he allowed it to stay.

summer sunday supper

Today was another hot one, and I took an uncharacteristic late afternoon nap that I guess I needed but I am really not a napping kind of person - I always wake up groggy and feeling off kilter.

However, it was nearing dinnertime and I had a special meal in mind, so I shook it off and headed to the kitchen.

The menu:

havarti potato pie
chile lime corn on the cob
cucumbers from the garden, sprinkled with salt and splashed with balsamic vinegar

My friend Debbie, who I went to school with most of the years from kindergarten on through high school graduation, and who I have come to know again via Facebook, gave me her recipes for the potato pie and the corn.

I harvested cucumbers yesterday from the garden, and although they were not beautiful on the outside, they were absolutely perfect to eat. Best I've had in years!  I attribute it all to Keil Bay. :)

The meal was absolutely delicious, and the cucumbers made a lovely a side dish. My husband took Kyra Corgi for a walk just before dinner, and when he came back he put a handful of just-picked blackberries on my plate. Even more perfect!

This summer supper was light, yummy, and easy, and Debbie's dessert idea to go with it would have been one more incredible course - mango sorbet.

There is rumor Debbie has a cookbook in the works, and if so, I can promise you I'll be buying it the moment it's available.

I am so enjoying the garden - and the farmer's market. This week past we had a beautiful salad centered around locally grown beets I roasted in the oven - they were a bright orange and deep ruby red, and when I sliced them, they were striped! The taste was rich and good. The colors were added pleasure.

And there was something wonderful about spying them at the farmer's market, making my way to the table they were on, complimenting the grower on her lovely produce, purchasing and sticking the bunch into my bag, and pondering what meal I'd make with those gorgeous beets. 

I missed the market this week and am barely able to wait until this Thursday when it's here again.

sunflowers and squash

 

The sunflowers have begun to bloom, and I'm not sure why, but just seeing them there makes me very happy. The echinacea is coming up, although not as quickly as those sunflowers did!

I realized that I need to be checking the garden every morning - as you'll see in the last picture, one squash was trying to break a world size record... and this one was being carefully guarded by a spider. I'm happy to see the spider, although I did ask it to move away from the squash so I could pick!

 

The first zucchini was ready, and one lone dragon tongue bean. I've planted more bean plants, beneath the shade of the older ones, and once they're bigger I'll take the older ones out and hopefully get more of these lovely beans.

I also found some odd copper-colored dots that look a bit like braille. I'm assuming these are eggs of some kind. Anyone know what?

 

Update: I just discovered these are squash borer moth eggs - which I need to get rid of. Suggestions are to spray with soapy water each day, mostly around the stems, where the eggs hatch into caterpillars which bore into the stems, causing the squash to die. I'll be out there later in the day, spraying with peppermint soap and water.

some november hill updates: composting and tears

On Sunday I rotated horses and mowed/dragged the front field - noticed immediately that the first of several compost piles I started back in the late winter is now fully composted. My plan was to reduce the work load and make small compost piles along the edges of the fields so that we don't have to make the long trek down to the woodland/labyrinth paths all year long, and to put the compost where we actually intend to use it - for the most part, to fertilize the fields.

I wasn't sure how this plan was going to work, but I decided to give it a try while saving up for the O2 compost system that I hope to get at some point.

On Sunday I discovered that my plan is working. That first pile was black, crumbly compost and when I use the harrow behind the mower to drag this material out over the ground, there is virtually no hard labor involved.

This morning I headed to the back field to check those piles out. The first one I made in back is also black and crumbly, and when I rotate the horses back around in a few weeks, I'll do the same thing I did up front - drag, mow any weeds, and pull that lovely compost out to fertilize.

The thing I love about this is that the piles can be made where the compost is most needed. I have not turned the piles. All I did was pile manure/stall waste around four feet high, put a layer of mature compost on the mound, and flatten the top of the mound into a slightly concave shape so it catches the rain. It's amazing how quickly the compost is forming, and wonderful that when I walk around to check the piles, there are no flies. You can smell when it's working - there is no odor of manure. It smells like compost!

Added benefit: horses are beginning to drop manure next to the piles. Perfect way to start the next pile or even add to the existing pile, depending where it is in the compost process.

On another note, Rafer Johnson has had leaky eyes off and on this spring. I suspect he is still adjusting to the pine pellet bedding we switched to, and probably the fact that we made the change during the peak pollen season did not help matters.

Maire, from PoniesAtHome, shared a tip on her blog a few weeks ago. Make chamomile tea and use as an eyewash. The tea bag itself makes a nice compress as you're washing the eye. Rafer submitted to this very non-donkey experience, and when it was over, he was wary, but then decided it felt pretty good, so he came back to my picnic table treatment center to see what else I had up my sleeve. I discovered that the homeopathic remedy allium cepa works wonders for Rafer. After one dose he is a firm believer in the tiny syringe of distilled water and remedy. We love homeopathy on November Hill.

I was going to take a few photos of the Italian sunflowers, but we are having thunderstorms this afternoon, so I'll save the sunflowers for tomorrow.

And check out this very nice read over at the Thinline blog.