Friday, April 2, 2010

Picnic Blanket





Four or five years ago I found this quilt made by my grandmother. I pretty much stole it from my mother...but I think she knows and is okay with that. I guess parents are used to such crimes. It has been my faithful companion through the spring and summer months, holding up as a beautiful and comfortable picnic blanket. It's covered in stains and would shred into a thousand tiny little pieces if I put it in a washing machine. I once hand washed it and hung it from a shower rack, which immediately gave way and broke due to the weight. I don't know why I'm writing about the blanket. It's just kind of special to me and part of the backdrop to many special memories.

Finally the rows were run and I got three types of seeds into the ground: cilantro, parsley, and borage. According to dad most people around here plant their seeds around Easter. I guess that means tomorrow or Sunday I'll be planting the remainder of my plants. I just hope there won't be any more frosts between now and then. Kevin helped me till the rows, remove a ridiculous amount of wire grass, and crumble giant dirt clods into manageable soil. I am very thankful that someone was there to help. You don't just sprinkling seeds and cover them up. Did you know that watering the seeds after planting isn't the wisest thing to do? Instead plant when there is a little moisture in the soil, so the seed can get some water to produce growth. But if you water the seed, the growth starts immediately and then lack of rain stops the growing process and your seed is stunned.

As I was working on Wednesday I had several run-in's with dad's bees. We might have a problem since my garden is right beside their hive. I hate getting stung by a bee. You'd think I would be used to it by now. When we were little my cousins told me that after May you had to go outside barefooted. I was always trusting enough to agree to whatever truths they declared, and therefore got my share of splinters, stings, cuts, and scrapes. Our drive way was shaded by chestnut tree after chestnut tree for heaven's sake! If I had any sense I would have always wore shoes.

Almost forgot! I love the bread dough from Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day. I was really amazed at how little effort I put forth into making really great loaves of bread. There is a great crust on the bread and a tasty chewy center. The dough that had been refrigerated longer tasted more yeasty, which I loved. We ate an entire loaf with goat cheese and apples for lunch today. YUM!

No comments: