Harvest Time

It has been a cool summer here in the redwoods. Rarely hit 80 and the mornings were foggy and evenings chilly. The environment is reflecting that shortened warmth with smaller yields. The huge blackberry stand that winds itself from my fence in an L shape into the backyard has tons of berries on it, but they are smaller than last year's crop. I finally got around to picking them and baking a pie today. Used a Mario Batali recipe and loved his final instruction "Let it cool and devour." That is a definite with a homemade berry pie, eat it warm with cream and savor life's blessings.

This year I planted broccoli, onions, cabbage and cauliflower. The seeds from last years eggplant and tomatoes decided they wanted in on the action and are coming up in the bed as surprise and welcome guests. The tomatoes I planted in a container went in too early and the long rainy season drowned them, although they have made a slight comeback too against all the odds. But we'll see if they can get enough sun as the fall moves in and the sunlight takes a more slanted angle to the earth.

Since it was the first time I have grown broccoli, I had no idea what to expect. What I ended up with isn't what you see in the grocery store. I got a long stalk, really long, with a spindly looking flower end. The end that is supposed to be the edible part. So that was an experiment that didn't quite work out. The cabbage is coming along nicely if slowly, adding leaves and building a nice purple head. The great success is the onions. Easy to grow but my first attempt as well. I planted several kinds, red, yellow, and an Italian onion. They all grew and I now have several wonderful and delicious onions. I took one and just ate it on the spot raw, it was incredible. Can't wait to get them into a nice fresh salad with the sweet rich taste of a fresh, ripe tomato. 

The days are getting shorter. Right now it is only 7 pm and it is starting to get dark outside. But this year, I made a conscious effort to take full advantage of the long days and take those dog-initiated walks after work as late as 8 pm. So Penny and I got the most we could out of the summer's long days. My genius dog brings me socks and tosses them at me as I recoup from the commute on the couch. Gentle hint. Winter is coming, she wants to get in as much fun as possible before the rain limits our evening constitutionals.