Sow: fall/DIY/dog saving

For a weekend, this ranks right up with our top #10 busiest. Friday, surface of the sun all-you-can-eat (or not) baseball for Bruce’s work.

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Yesterday?

Well, I was supposed to work. Instead I spent time up in the peach tree, harvesting:

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It was a fair haul. Not as good as last year but the fruit is larger. The composter got a lot of half eaten or bird pecked peaches, but I know it will be delicious dirt one day. George wanted to eat any peaches that fell on the ground.

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Lots of garden work. More tomatoes harvested. The first okra came in. The last cucumber.

We grilled the okra tonight–amazing. Just toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Delicious. NOT slimy at all.

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Pulled out the last of the carrots.

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Lots of garden is cleared so we can start the fall planting in a few weeks. Hard to believe!

Another big beet harvest with more to come.

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Dunked all of the rain barrels (those are the little donuts).

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One of the beets was really big. That’s Bruce’s iPhone next to the beet.

Saturday was also the day we kept working on the family room/lounge. Our little fridge for beer, wine and drinks came in so Bruce and the Gs took the truck to go and get it. Bruce and I went to pick up the last cabinet after confirming the fridge’s dimensions in real life, in place, not just at the store. And a shower solidified my farmer’s tan.

And then there was the more somber purpose of today: saving the Gs and their pals. We spent 6 hours in a dog first aid and CPR class learning what to do if there’s an emergency. Sobering. But good. I feel a lot better since I am prepared for the worst.

Now, Bruce is assembling that last cabinet so we can do a preliminary countertop measurement.

Our pal the electrician is coming by on Tuesday since we uncovered another issue while attempting to install a replacement ceiling fan in the office/tv room. He needs to move the new fridge plug anyway and better understand what else still needs to happen.

The plumber needs to visit to remove and cap the wet bar sink, making it a more useful dry bar.

See what I mean about busy? And I’m traveling all week this week, leaving Bruce to harvest tomatoes, okra, peppers and chard. Back Thursday!

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Sow: happiest hour

Today was an excellent day.

George came to work and was a fantastic canine coworker:

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just hanging out with his toys

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all tuckered out from meeting and greeting

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George worked his jaws

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worn out from a hard day of work

And after a long day, Bruce brought home a pizza so after dinner, we all have come outside to enjoy the cooler temperatures and water the garden.

Here’s what we found today:

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much bigger harvest than Monday

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twice the size it was two weeks ago

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on the verge

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container watermelon

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cute baby watermelon

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okra flowers

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artichoke going strong

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purple beans

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weird heirloom cucumber

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zucchini

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more zucchini about to happen

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chile peppers

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jalapeños

And finally, one of my garden helpers:

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Perhaps I just needed to spend some time outside to get my super powers back.

Sow: tomorrow’s planting

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I like red Solo cups. Toby Keith song aside, they remind me of good times with good friends. College parties. Housewarmings. Barbecues. Beach parties. You get the idea.

Well, today I loved those cups and their blue brothers even more. You see my coworker and fellow urban farmer Lisa used them to bring me seedlings!

Lisa repurposed containers from catered work lunches to make mini greenhouses for her seeds and nurtured the baby plants for good long while.

Today, she brought me some of her bounty and made today like Christmas! Or my birthday again (seems to be a 2013 theme)!

Here’s what’s in the red and blue Solo cups:
Spaghetti squash.
Round zucchini.
Yellow crookneck squash.
Black Diamond watermelon.
Thomas Laxton peas.
Pickling cucumber.
Marketmore cucumber.
Straight 8 cucumber.
Tender green bush bean.
Clemson spineless okra.
Burgundy okra.

But best of all, my most favorite veg in the whole wide world: green globe artichoke! Lisa, you are the best!

18 precious seedlings in all. An awesome and thoughtful gift that will hopefully turn into a bounty I can share back with Lisa and her family. Lisa’s as crunchy as me (perhaps even more so) and gently reminded me to please reuse or recycle the cups (party people: always put your recycle bin out when you use these cups).

Don’t worry, it will all get planted tomorrow. And as you can guess, there will be photos of their growth and development.

Stay tuned!

PS: You’ll want to stay tuned to the blog next week. There will be a Bruce guest post, plus I’m going traveling for work, so you never know what will happen next. I certainly don’t.